I Possessed The Villain’s Childhood Friend

56 – Pre-Break Prom – 2

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not Miss Sophia’s fault, so it’s okay not to apologize.”

Helen comforted Sophia, who was still crying.

“… Even if I prepare a new dress right now, I don’t think I will be able to make it in time for the start.”

It is 6:00 PM now.

Considering that the ball starts at 7 o’clock, as Atal said, it will be too late no matter how quickly we get ready.

Of course, participation in Arcana’s Vacation Ball is basically free.

But that’s just a matter of rules, the prom has quite a few meanings.

Especially for commoners like Sophia.

Enrolling in Arcana means that you have been recognized as the gemstone that will lead the future of the empire.

Of course, it is said that there are special students who continue their family business after graduation, but most of them walk the path belonging to the imperial institution.

In other words, it means that the more nobles you get to know, the more helpful you will be in the future.

Even if Sophia becomes a saint in the future, that fact won’t change.

No matter how much Martires are the only religion in the Empire and are less politically influenced, it is impossible to completely rule them out.

Actually, in the original work, Sofia had no ties to nobles except for the crown prince and Helen, so there were many things that she did not receive cooperation from.

The part that many readers misunderstood in the original work also came from here.

‘Why don’t nobles cooperate with Sophia, the saint who will save the empire?’

However, a saintess is more like a kind of title, ‘a woman chosen by the god Eos’.

The proof was that even if there were no saints in the empire right away, no big problem would arise.

The saintess is not the one who saves the empire.

The saintess who saved the empire was Sophia.

Of course, it was true that Sophia had been active a lot until she was appointed her saintess.

Without her, Avatar would have completely encroached on her empire.

But that was only a result theory for the nobles.

Without Sophia, they could make up an excuse that someone else would have blocked their plans.

In addition, Sophia had a confrontational relationship with Reina until the Heros perfume incident.

Even though she is the crown prince’s new fiancée, Sophia has little to do with nobles other than him.

She is the eldest daughter of the Duchess of Roselia, the pillar that supports the Empire, and with her outstanding talent, Reina stands at the center of various factions.

It was only natural that the nobles did not have to say who they would pay more attention to.

Even after Raina’s death, her support for Sofia was reduced because she was concerned about the loss of her eldest daughter, Roselia.

Anyway, what is certain is that if there is no connection with other nobles, the future Sofia will face difficulties.

And the ball now being held was one of the biggest opportunities to get acquainted with nobles.

Of course, now Rei has become close with me, and I feel that her importance is fading because I am also there.

As expected, I thought it would be good if there were many cards that could be used.

So, through this prom, I was trying to open a channel for exchange.

“… Miss Sophia. Let me put on my other dress for now. If you include the repair time, you will probably be able to participate by 8 o’clock.”

“Reina-sama?”

At Reina’s suggestion, Sophia looked at her with her eyes wide open.

“I’m fine. It’s a pity that I can’t dance with everyone, but even if I don’t participate in this prom….”

“No. Please consider it my gift. This is a reward for teaching me how to bake.”

Reina smiled her grin, then turned and left her room.

“I will bring my dress. Please wait a minute.”

And I could hear Reina.

“… It must be something I should apologize for.”

There was definitely regret in that voice.

“Who the hell did this?”

No one opened their mouths to Atal’s question.

Of course, I was able to roughly guess.

Once you think about Reina’s story, just like the original story, her followers were certain.

But I couldn’t figure out why.

In the original story, Reina and Sofia had a bad relationship, so it was grumpiness that took advantage of that.

But now Reina and Sofia were very close.

They are close enough to hear that a new faction has formed.

There’s no way they wouldn’t know about such rumors, but what was the reason for touching Sophia?

Almost all students of Arcana spend three years here.

And Arcana is a form of taking most classes together, except for majors.

Whether I like it or not, it meant that I had to spend three years with my classmate.

There’s no need to create a bad relationship.

That’s also with Reina and Sophia who are close friends.

“I brought you a dress.”

After about 10 minutes, Reina returned to the room.

A bright light green dress, folded in half, draped over Reina’s wrists.

“I brought it in a color that is as similar as possible to the dress Sophia was originally going to wear, so there won’t be much discomfort.”

“Thank you, Reina.”

“It’s okay. Try it on once.”

At those words, Atal and I quietly went outside and closed the door.

It was absolutely not because Helen noticed.

★

“It looks good on you, Ms. Sophia.”

Sophia’s face turned red at Helen’s sincere compliment.

Reina didn’t say it directly, but she had similar thoughts to Helen.

Sofia’s bright scarlet hair and light green dress matched admirably.

Especially, her reddish-brown eyes were felt as a definite point even between her flashy appearance, adding to her charm.

I could say that this dress is perfect for Sofia, who always brightens up the atmosphere with Helen.

Wouldn’t all the men who participated in the prom turn their eyes to this bright atmosphere at least once?

‘Maybe Ike too….’

For some reason, Reina’s heart felt heavy at the thought of that, but her feelings soon disappeared.

In the first place, Ike and himself were simple childhood friends.

She kept repeating that there was no reason to worry.

“It was a dress that didn’t suit me, so I hope Miss Sophia will continue to wear it.”

“Huh?! It can’t be, Reina-sama.”

It was a dress that you could tell at a glance that it was expensive.

It was impossible due to Sophia’s personality to just accept something like that.

But Reina’s words were sincere.

Actually, a calm and cool dress suited her better than a dress with a bright atmosphere.

I had worn this dress only once before and it was so out of place that I never even took it out of the closet.

If you have nothing to wear, it would be much better to present to Sophia, including her heart of apology.

“After all, Miss Sophia needs a simple alteration to wear this dress, right?”

“Yeah, but….”

“Let’s assume that even having this dress perfectly is included in the reward I mentioned earlier.”

Sofia, who was naturally weak at pushing, had no choice but to accept Reina’s dress.

“But what about repairs?”

Helen raised her hand in a flash at Sofia’s question.

“Leave it to me. In its own way, mending is special. Of course, since it’s an expensive dress, it might feel a little different from now.”

My clothes were often torn while sparring.

Every time she did that, Helen, who was too lazy to entrust her clothes to others, began to learn to mend her clothes herself.

She is quite dexterous with her hands, and she also had a talent for sewing.

She said it modestly now, but in fact, she was superior to all the maids in her family.

She even learned her own skills from several designers and repairmen.

“By the way, that’s surprising. I thought Miss Sophia would be good at mending.”

Raina had an illusion that Sophia, who taught her baking, would be good at household chores.

“For some reason, when I sew, the clothes fold strangely.”

So, when Sophia helped her around the house, the only thing forbidden was mending.

“… Without Miss Helen, she would have been a big deal.”

“Let’s prepare quickly! Depending on the situation, it will take about two hours.”

“Oh yes!”

“From the outside, it doesn’t look like much of a problem. Miss Sophia. Are there any inconveniences?”

“Uh, once I walk, the dress seems to drag on the floor a little bit. And….”

“First of all, I will go to the ballroom.”

While talking about repairing the dress, Reina turned around at the same time.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go with you when the repairs are finished?”

“It’s okay. Others are waiting outside….”

Reina smiled lightly at Sophia’s proposal and she refused.

“I feel like I have work to do more than anything else.”

Sophia and Helen couldn’t see Reina’s expression when she said that.

★

With a click, the door opened and Raina came out.

“We go first, gentlemen.”

“Is it okay if I don’t wait?”

“Yes. We don’t have to be together.”

Reina saying that, she had a colder expression than ever before when she saw her recently.

“His Highness the Crown Prince and 4 nobles are entering!”

The loud applause echoes.

We passed through the hall of the banquet hall where we visited last time for my birthday and entered the main building.

The time was just before 7:00.

“Your Highness! Let’s talk with us for a while….”

“No. We were waiting first.”

“Do you have any evidence of that?”

The moment the prince appeared in the hall, numerous noble ladies started talking to him.

It was a scene of too blatant faction solicitation.

It’s only natural that the fact that he wasn’t partnered with Reina has spread widely.

Still, you should have come in with Reina, but coming so blatantly….

“Huh?”

When I turned around, Reina was nowhere to be seen.

“Princess Ike, Miss Reina walked that way earlier. Hurry up and follow me.”

“You and Miss Reina seemed to know something about the current situation. I’ll draw other people’s attention from this side, so come and see.”

Atal and the prince quietly opened their mouths so that the people around them could not hear them.

I bowed slightly to them and left.

“… They.”

As I walked to the location Atal pointed out, what I saw was Reina facing several women.

The atmosphere seemed unusual.

In the original story, it was Reina’s follower who tore Sophia’s dress.

But the ones standing there right now were obviously different opponents from the original.

In the original description, most of them were daughters of barons or viscounts.

But who are the opponents facing Reina?

The eldest daughter of the Marquis Marquis and the third daughter of the Celt Marquis, currently occupying the center of one of the largest factions. In addition, the twin daughters of Count Tennen.

Of course, that power would not reach the 2nd dukes, Axus and Rogelia, but at least they were faces at a level that would be difficult to dismiss as Reina’s followers.

No matter how much she is called me or Reina, she’s not something that can be taken lightly.

I hid behind a wall to assess the situation and listened.

“Did you guys tear Miss Sophia’s dress?”

There was confidence in Reina’s voice.

And surprisingly they are.

“Yes, that’s right.”

I didn’t deny that at all.