Chapter 37: Another Fairy
“WELL now… Very impressive,” a voice called out from up in the trees. The girls looked up to find a young boy with red eyes, spiky white hair, and six translucent red wings. Over his white alb, he wore a red stole with fuchsia plants embroidered along the edges in gold thread.
“Lord Fuchsia, the Red Fairy Leader!” Iris blurted out on reflex.
He looked at her in surprise. “You know my name? That’s funny. A kid your age is too young to be a mage… Are you royalty, then?”
“N-No…” Iris shook her head.
“Okay, whatever. Moving on. You there, other girl,” he called, addressing Camille. “You don’t have the mana it would take to heal that one…so I will lend you mine. State your name.”
“I…I’m Camille du Pont…”
“Very well then, Camille. I, Fuchsia the Red Fairy Leader, shall grant you my blessing.” With that, he planted a lazy kiss on her forehead. “Now raise up your hand and make your wish.”
She did as he commanded, and he put his hand on top of hers. A faint pink light spread outward, enveloping the monster. In a flash, its scarlet flames turned blue.
“It was a Sacred Beast all along?!” Cytisus shouted in the distance. Camille and Iris stared, wide-eyed, as the teachers rushed out from the depths of the forest to meet them.
Fuchsia laughed. “Yep! Well done, Camille.” With that, he flew off between the trees and vanished.
In a blink, the teachers surrounded Camille and started bombarding her with questions. At her feet, the little blue cub nuzzled up against her leg.
Now that she had won the approval of a Fairy Leader and saved a Sacred Beast, Camille had clearly proved that she was capable of being a Holy Maiden. She had performed superbly.
“The winner is Camille! Now to announce the results to the public!”
At this, Iris let out a sigh of relief. The two girls then stepped into the magic portal back to school grounds.
✦ ✦ ✦
❀❀❀
JUST like in HanaKoro, the test results were announced in front of everyone. The two girls stood side by side on the stage in front of the entire student body—Camille, perfectly pristine, and Iris, covered in blood. One look, and it was obvious who had won.
“The winner is…CAMILLE! She has received the blessing of a Fairy Leader and purified a Sacred Beast that had devolved into a monster!” the headmaster declared.
Frowning, Camille snuck a glance at Iris. She was sure she wouldn’t have won without her help, and it didn’t feel right to take all the credit. Her chest ached with guilt.
“I had to let you win once or twice. Otherwise, the race would be ever so dull,” Iris told her with a self-assured smile. This was one of Iris’s best lines from HanaKoro—she didn’t have them all memorized, but she wanted to slip in as many as possible, just for fun. Now THIS is the Iris I remember! Ah, it feels so good to be a little bit evil!
Everyone looked at her scornfully. Now that Camille had proven her worth, the tides were turning against Iris. But she ignored them and walked offstage. She was the villainess—everyone was supposed to hate her.
“Lady Iris, thank you for saving me! Without you there, I—!”
“Stop that. I don’t need your pity,” Iris cut in without looking back. A moment later, Camille was surrounded by other students.
“Iris!”
Nigel suddenly ran up and pulled Iris into a hug. Wait, what? In the game, the love interest was supposed to praise the protagonist, since they trained together. Nigel, you’ve got the wrong one! She’s over there!
“Don’t, Nigel. You’ll get your clothes dirty. Besides, it’s Miss Camille who won.” Gently, Iris pushed him away. After all, her uniform was slick with blood and soot.
“I don’t care.” He held her tighter. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to, silly. The competition was between her and me.”
I swear, he’s so obsessed with me. Softly, reassuringly, she stroked his wavy green hair with her gloved hand. The first-degree burn on her palm stung.
Someone abruptly pulled her hand away from Nigel’s head. Startled, Iris looked over her shoulder to find Reseda standing there, his pink eyes full of tears. Wordlessly, he pressed her dirty hand to his cheek; reflexively, Iris curled her fingers around her palm to shield her wound.
“Open your hand, Iris,” he commanded quietly.
Iris sucked in a breath. He had seen right through her. But she didn’t want to make a scene in front of Camille; it would only make her feel bad. Quietly, Iris shook her head.
Reseda grabbed her hand, wrenched her fingers open, and pulled her glove off.
“Nngh!” Her skin stung as the fabric peeled off, and she grimaced.
“Iris!” Reseda hissed, furious. Nigel looked at her hand, and his eyes widened. But right as he opened his mouth to speak, Iris hastily cut in.
“Please, not here. I don’t want to ruin Miss Camille’s happy moment. I’m fine.”
The two boys bit their lips. Then Reseda ran his cheek up her arm to suggest he was checking for any other injuries.
“Er… Your Highness…?”
He looked up at Iris silently, like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. For some reason, it made her chest ache. But she could wager a guess…
“Prince Reseda?”
As Iris called his name, he broke into a broad smile and nuzzled his forehead against her arm. She could feel something hot—tears?
“Prince Reseda, please. I’m fine,” she told him reassuringly. He nodded quietly but refused to let go of her arm.
What am I going to do with you?