Chapter 656: Fun Night

Several minutes earlier...

"Selena!"

Professor Liliana called out as she walked through the Royal Grand Hall, searching the faces of the people gathered inside.

She had already checked several parts of the hall, yet there was still no sign of her niece.

The party was in full swing, with nobles moving between groups, servants passing through the open spaces, and the sound of conversations mixing with the music in the background.

Every time Liliana checked a spot she wouldn’t see her niece there.

Only other Nobles or Non-Nobles conversing with themselves.

And sometimes, they would want her to join in the conversation.

It was getting annoying.

She had only started looking for Selena after one of the girl’s loyal fan girls informed her about what had happened.

Apparently, Selena had failed to get Ezra Ashenlocke to become her dance partner and had left afterwards.

The girl had also managed to peek into the conversation, so Liliana had received more than just a vague report.

She knew enough to understand that Selena had not gotten the result she wanted.

The young lady had tried to put on her usual elegant appearance, but her disappointment had been too much for her to hide.

At least, that was what Liliana had gathered from the report.

"That girl is running off like a baby because she couldn’t get the person she wanted as her dance partner."

Liliana muttered as she quickened her pace.

She moved through one of the hallways, lifting the front of her long gown just enough to keep the hem from catching beneath her shoes.

The fabric still brushed against the floor whenever she took a step, making it difficult to move as quickly as she wanted.

She glanced towards one side of the hallway, then the other.

Nothing.

Liliana continued towards the upper floor of the Grand Royal Hall, checking the quiet balconies one after another.

The sounds of the party became less direct as she moved away from the main gathering.

She could still hear the music, but the walls and distance softened it, leaving her with the faint noise of instruments and voices from below.

"Selena!"

She called her niece’s name again.

Her voice travelled down the hallway, but nobody answered.

Liliana stopped for a moment and looked towards the next balcony.

There were several of them on the upper floor, each offering a view of the grounds beyond the hall.

Their railings followed the design of the building, and the wide openings allowed the evening air to enter.

She let out a breath.

"Damn it. I wish I could just use my Cognis to lift this gown of mine and sense this baby niece of mine."

She glanced down at the gown dragging along the floor.

The dress was long enough to touch the ground, and while it suited the occasion, it was hardly the sort of thing she wanted to wear while searching for someone who had decided to disappear from the party.

Liliana adjusted the fabric around her legs again before continuing.

Every few steps, she had to make another small adjustment to keep the hem from getting in her way.

Her pace remained quick, but the dress kept reminding her that she was dressed for a royal gathering rather than a race through the hallways.

Her irritation grew.

Finally, she reached the fifth balcony, located on the other side of the upper floor.

She stepped out and looked around.

There she was.

Selena stood near the railing with both arms resting on it.

Her attention was directed towards the evening sky, where the clouds drifted beneath the moon.

The moonlight fell across the balcony, outlining the young lady’s figure and catching the emerald colour of her eyes whenever she turned her head.

She was quiet.

Too quiet for someone who had just walked away from a failed attempt to secure a dance partner.

Liliana slowed down as she approached.

After searching through so many hallways and balconies, she had finally found the person she wanted.

Snap.

Snap.

Snap.

Bright flashes came from behind Selena, briefly lighting up the area around her.

The sound was unmistakable. Someone was taking photographs.

Selena turned sharply.

Her emerald eyes moved towards the source of the noise, and her arms left the railing as she looked behind her.

Liliana stood there with nothing in her hands.

For a moment, the two stared at each other.

"Finally found you, Young Lady."

Liliana spoke calmly.

She raised her left hand and blew air towards her face, trying to cool herself down after walking so quickly through the hall.

Selena’s gaze shifted from Liliana’s face to her empty hands.

"Did you just take my pictures just now?"

She narrowed her emerald eyes.

"No."

Liliana answered without hesitation.

Her expression remained straight, as though the question had nothing to do with her.

Selena continued looking at her.

The silence stretched for a moment.

Her eyes remained narrowed, and she gave her aunt enough time to realize that the answer had not convinced her in the slightest.

Liliana, however, showed no intention of admitting anything.

"Enough about me. Why are you even here?"

She changed the subject.

Rather quickly, too.

Selena looked at her aunt for another moment before turning back towards the moon.

She returned her arms to the railing and rested against it, clearly unwilling to answer the question.

Liliana watched her.

The young lady’s posture looked relaxed, but that did not mean she was in a good mood.

Her gaze remained fixed on the sky, and she had become noticeably less talkative.

Liliana stepped closer.

"Sad because other Flowers beat you to the punch?"

She placed one hand on the railing.

The question was direct, and she watched Selena for a reaction.

"I’m not sad because of the dance."

Selena answered calmly.

Her voice was steady, without the sort of hesitation Liliana might have expected from someone trying to hide her feelings.

"Ehnn... then why do you look sad?"

Liliana asked.

She moved to Selena’s side and now placed both arms on the railing, following her niece’s gaze towards the moon.

The evening clouds continued drifting overhead, and the air on the balcony felt different from the busy hall below.

Selena finally turned her head.

"Does this face look sad?"

She presented her face to her aunt, keeping her expression elegant.

There was no obvious sign of distress.

Her lips were set neatly, and her emerald eyes had returned to their usual composed appearance.

If someone passed by without knowing what had happened, they might have assumed she had simply come outside to enjoy the evening.

Professor Liliana narrowed her emerald eyes.

She studied Selena’s expression for a few seconds, looking at the face her niece was so carefully presenting.

"You think I can’t see through you?"

Liliana spoke calmly.

Selena’s lips pushed forward into a pout.

Then she turned back towards the moon.

"I’m mad at myself."

She admitted it lightly.

The words came without much fuss, but they were enough to make Liliana pay closer attention.

"Why?"

Professor Liliana asked.

She did not press her niece to look at her again.

Instead, she remained beside her, waiting for Selena to explain in her own time.

"Because, after I lost to Vera during the Combat Festival, I realized my shortcomings with my love for Sir Ezra Ashenlocke, but..."

Selena’s voice remained light as she spoke.

She paused before finishing the thought.

She lowered her gaze, studying the hand fan she held on her right hand for a moment as though it had somehow become the cause of her troubles.

The fan rested against her palm.

Then her fingers tightened around it, and the small movement made the change in her mood easier to notice than her face had.

"I promised myself that I would get close to him, that I would try to get to know him more."

She tightened her grip on the fan.

It was a simple promise, but she had taken it seriously.

She had wanted to become closer to Ezra instead of remaining someone who admired him from a distance.

Yet, after everything that had happened, she had begun to notice how little progress she had made.

Selena’s fingers pressed against the fan’s handle.

"But both Diane and Willow beat me to his contact."

She suddenly turned towards her aunt.

Her emerald eyes were now filled with tears.

"I don’t even have his contact. Gosh."

She brought both hands to her face, covering it as embarrassment caught up with her.

The movement was quick.

One moment she had been standing beside the railing with a composed expression, and the next she was hiding her face from her aunt.

"How backwards can I be?"

Her voice carried a hint of frustration.

Liliana looked at her.

For a moment, she did not interrupt.

She simply watched Selena struggle with the fact that two other girls had managed to get Ezra’s contact before she had.

Selena lowered her hands slightly, enough to continue speaking.

"I understand Willow getting his contact since she did tell me that she and he had study group sessions together, so she ended up collecting his contact so they could communicate better."

She had no trouble understanding Willow’s situation.

They had studied together.

Exchanging contact information was a reasonable thing to do, especially if they wanted to communicate more easily about their sessions.

That part made sense to Selena.

"...But Diane? Since when did that Babar..."

She stopped.

The word had barely left her mouth before she caught herself.

"Cough! Cough!"

Selena coughed and adjusted her emotions almost immediately.

Her hands moved away from her face.

She straightened her posture, and the embarrassment that had taken over her expression began to disappear.

By the time she looked towards her aunt again, she was already trying to return to her usual elegant appearance.

"Since when did Diane ever know how to collect anyone’s contact?"

She asked with genuine surprise.

Her question was no longer about Willow.

It was Diane who had left her confused.

Selena seemed to find the situation difficult to accept.

She had expected Willow to get Ezra’s contact because of their study group sessions, but Diane’s success was another matter entirely.

Still, the change in Selena’s expression was almost complete.

The tears were gone from her eyes.

Her face had returned to its composed state, and she held her fan properly again.

Professor Liliana watched the whole thing.

She had just seen her niece move from elegance to sadness, then from sadness to irritation, before returning to elegance again.

All within a short span of time.

"This girl..."

Liliana muttered helplessly.

She rubbed her forehead, wondering what she was supposed to do with this niece of hers.

Selena looked at her.

Liliana lowered her hand and answered in a straightforward tone.

"Then just even the odds and get his contact. Plus, Diane got his because the two did a group mission for their club together, so it’s obvious they would exchange contacts."

She delivered the explanation without making it complicated.

There was no need to treat the matter as some great mystery.

Willow had a reason to exchange contact information with Ezra, and Diane had one too.

Both situations made sense when viewed from the outside.

Selena only needed to do the same.

"Oh."

Selena blinked once.

The answer seemed to reach her a moment later.

"I see."

She spoke calmly.

Her expression remained elegant as she considered her aunt’s words.

The frustration in her eyes had eased, at least for the moment.

Then she remembered something else.

"But how do I get his contact when he isn’t even going to be alone for a while? Wait, can I even do it today? Wouldn’t I have to wait till the Second Semester begins?"

Her voice carried a trace of concern again.

Even if she had decided to get Ezra’s contact, that did not mean she could simply walk up to him whenever she wanted.

He was surrounded by people at the party, and the circumstances were unlikely to change quickly.

Liliana looked at her niece.

"You’re still shy. Gosh, you’re helpless."

She placed her right hand against her forehead again.

Selena had managed to recognize what she wanted and even understood what she needed to do.

Yet she was still worrying about approaching Ezra herself.

Liliana found it difficult to watch.

But at the same time, she could not deny one thing.

Selena was extremely cute when she acted like this.

Damn...

Liliana lowered her hand, and a grin began to appear on her face.

That Ezra boy and Selena should just date already so I can get more access to cute Selena moments.

The thought brought her a little too much happiness.

She looked at her niece again, watching the way Selena tried to maintain her elegant expression despite the trouble running through her mind.

Liliana had come out here to find her, but she was beginning to think that this search had been worth the effort for more than one reason.

"Well, I got a backup plan since I knew something like this could happen."

Liliana smiled calmly at Selena.

"Seriously?"

Selena tried her best not to look excited or too happy.

She kept her face composed and looked at her aunt with an elegant expression, though the interest in her eyes was difficult to miss.

Liliana noticed it.

Of course, she did.

"Trust me."

She pointed at herself.

Her smile remained in place, and she looked entirely confident in the plan she had prepared.

Selena watched her aunt for a moment longer.

She did not ask for every detail immediately.

For now, Liliana had promised that she had a backup plan, and Selena wanted to believe that it would work.

The two remained on the balcony for a little longer, with the evening sky stretching above them and the distant sounds of the royal gathering rising from below.

Liliana’s plan was ready.

All that remained was to put it into action.

Back to the present...

The entire Grand Royal Hall was filled with an amazing melody.

The music travelled through the hall, passing over the dance floor and reaching the people gathered around it.

The mood had completely changed with the arrival of the new piece.

Conversations had become harder to hear, not because everyone had gone silent, but because so many people were now paying attention to the music.

The dance pairs on the floor moved with everything they had.

Some turned in time with the melody, while others followed the rhythm with movements that were less formal than the dances usually seen at a royal ball.

Their faces showed how much they were enjoying themselves.

Several couples laughed as they moved, and even those who had begun the dance with reserved expressions were finding it difficult to remain still.

The Golden Matching Order Band followed the lead of the two young musicians.

Their instruments worked together, carrying the melody across the hall.

Each musician kept an eye on the others while following the direction of the performance, and their playing grew livelier as the music continued.

The members of the band looked pleased with what they were playing.

Some smiled as they followed the rhythm, while others kept their attention on their instruments, making sure they did not lose their place.

The melody flowed between them, and the sound filled the large hall without losing its rhythm.

Even the people who were not on the dance floor found themselves moving to the music.

Some swayed where they stood.

Others moved their shoulders or tapped their feet, unable to keep their bodies completely still.

The music had spread through the gathering, reaching people who had no intention of joining the dance in the first place.

Cyrus was among them.

"I don’t know what the hell this music piece is, but I’m definitely sure it has Ezra written all over it."

He laughed as he moved his body smoothly to the left, then to the right.

His movements followed the rhythm without much effort.

He did not seem concerned about whether he looked elegant enough for a royal academy gathering.

He was enjoying the music, and that was enough for him.

Lyra, standing nearby, burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... I don’t get what you mean, but it’s fun! Hahaha..."

She jumped slightly and moved her head from left to right.

Her laughter blended with the sounds of the music and the crowd.

She was not trying to keep up an elegant appearance either.

Not that she could even keep any elegant appearance like a normal Lady of Britannia.

Instead, she let herself enjoy the lively piece, moving along with the beat while Cyrus continued dancing beside her as always.

Around them, other people on the stage were moving in ways that no one would normally expect to see at a typical dance ball.

The steps were different.

The rhythm was different.

Even the way the people responded to the music had changed.

This was not the sort of formal dance music that usually filled a royal hall.

It carried a completely different energy, one that encouraged the listeners to move with the beat instead of restricting themselves to the familiar patterns of a ballroom dance.

And that was because the music playing was not normal ball music in the first place.

The genre was Funky House from Ezra’s past-self world.

Or, to be more precise now, what was playing here could now be called...

Orchestral Funk House.

The sound of the orchestra gave the piece a different character.

The instruments of the Golden Matching Order Band followed the melody, giving it a full sound that spread throughout the hall, while the two young musicians guided the performance.

At the center of it all sat Selena.

She moved her hands elegantly across the keyboard of the grand piano, her fingers pressing the keys as she played.

Her posture remained graceful, but her attention was completely absorbed by the music.

She was immersed in what she was playing.

Her eyes followed the movement of her hands, and her fingers travelled across the keyboard in time with the melody.

She did not appear distracted by the crowd or the people watching her.

For the moment, her focus was on the piano and the music flowing from it.

Beside her, Ezra followed her lead.

He played through the melody as Selena continued, keeping his attention on the piece.

The Golden Matching Order Band followed suit, their instruments moving with the direction set by the two young musicians.

The music continued to fill the Grand Royal Hall.

The dance pairs kept moving, the crowd remained excited, and the final dance had become something quite different from what anyone might have expected at the beginning of the evening.

For now, the Last Dance Core was underway.

And the whole hall was enjoying it.