I left my sister’s room and left Sister and Mary behind. My sister probably wanted to unleash her pent-up lust, and it was better for me not to disturb them. But the ceremony was going to start, so they better finish that quick.
The others were not in the dorm anymore; they were probably in the auditorium already. Thinking they already had, I made my way to the colossal auditorium.
Since it would be a closing ceremony, a large part of the nobility would attend. Not only from the empire, but from all over the continent as well. And of course, the security of the whole academy was extremely tight, and more guards and knights were roaming around the premises.
Upon arriving at the destination, I found the four of them. They were already sitting in the designated seats for first-year parents. Probably sensing my arrival, they waved their hands at me, so I made an approach toward them.
“How was it, Raphael? Did she forgive you?”
As soon as I reached them, Mom inquired about my progress with my sister.
“Not yet, Mom. But she said that we will continue our discussion at home.”
“Really? I’m glad for you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
I replied as I took my seat between Mom and Sophia. Apparently, their hands were on the armrest, so I placed mine on them, to which they responded by clasping back.
“By the way, Raphael,” Sophia, who was at my right, spoke, to which I turned my head. “Where is Miss Mary?”
“Well, she is still in the room. They are probably having horizontal refreshments as we are talking.”
“Oh, is that so?” Sophia said as she was covering her mouth with her free hand. “I hope they are having a good time then.”
“Yeah.”
It seemed that Sophia immediately guessed what I meant. I looked at the other side and saw Mom, Mother, and Gabrielle chuckling; they must have heard our conversation.
There was still some time before the ceremony started. While waiting, I scanned the surroundings to kill time.
As far as I could see, we were apparently sitting in the left middle part of the dress circle. The students were sitting in the stalls, by the way.
The seating arrangement was actually based on the rank of the families. The Raevender territory was only a viscounty, so we were not in the front.
By the way, throughout the continent, there were more baronies and viscounties than counties and higher ranks combined. So almost half of the dress circle was occupied by members of lower ranks, including us.
The front rows of the dress circle were where the members of the ducal and archducal families sat. The first row of the first year was where the family of the Imperial Crown Prince’s fiancée were sitting.
Aside from the stalls and dress circle, there was the gallery, where royals and highly influential people would sit. There was also an area that was reserved for servants and guards. The security and the service for the audience were important even inside.
Looking around the auditorium and the people inside it, I caught a glimpse of some people I knew or recognized. Just a few rows in front of us, I saw the families of the people I was acquainted with. For example, the families of the young noblemen who courted my sister last summer.
They appeared to be okay, just chilling in their seats while waiting for the ceremony like us. But I suddenly felt something off when I focused on the Arcenciel family—the family of Alexander.
There were three of them, the two of whom were probably Alexander’s father and mother. As far as I could remember, he did mention that he had a sister, so she probably was the girl between his parents. I did not look up his background, so I could not be sure. But her board said so.
But for some unknown reason, I had a feeling that I had felt the aura of that girl before, but I completely had no idea where or when. Also, she was a bit familiar. Then again, I was utterly unsure of the event. Maybe those were all just my imagination?
◆◇◆
“It seems that Mary is here.” .𝙘𝒐𝒎
Several minutes had passed, and Mary finally arrived at the auditorium, noticeably sweaty and with slightly messy clothing. She just finished her congress with Sister, after all; that was why.
However, since Mary was still our servant, she went to the area for the servants instead. By the way, Sister decided to make Mary her wife, not just a concubine. So they will be having a marriage in the future.
“It means that Louise has been here as well.”
As Mom said that, Sister had been walking her way toward her seat in the stalls. Even though she just finished her affairs, Sister did not show a sweat and maintained her gait as elegantly as she could. She even spotted us before she took her seat.
“Hey, Raphael,” and then suddenly, Mom called me out. “You are going to attend the academy next spring. Our time together would significantly decrease, and I will surely miss you when that time comes.”
“I would too, Mom.” I raised our clasped hands and kissed the back of her hand. “But I will be making sure to pay you all a visit every now and then.”
“How sweet of you.”
I kissed her hand again and then turned my attention to the right.
“I am sorry for asking this of you again, Sophia. But are you sure you don’t want to come and study with me at the academy?”
“I’m very sorry, Raphael, but I don’t want to. It’s not that I am not happy being with you; for me, I think that it would be better if I stay home and manage our business.”
“Well, it was your decision, so all I have to do is respect it.”
Nobles were not the only ones to attend the academy; there were children of wealthy families as well. Raeven was one of the wealthiest families in the empire, so Sophia could afford it financially. But she chose not to.
Just a few minutes after that, the orchestra started to play, which indicated that the ceremony was about to start.