The next morning at the first-year training ground.

  Even though it was a holiday, I still trained Irene, Leandra, and Lily.

  "Let's take a short break," I said.

  The three of them complied. Since we were taking a break, I decided to chat with the others.

  "How did you feel about the celebration yesterday, Irene?" I asked.

  "Nothing special, but I guess attending an event like that once in a while isn't bad. It's been a long time since I've been to a gathering like that," Irene said.

  "That's true, even my lady rarely attends noble gatherings anymore," Leandra said.

  "Yes," Irene said.

  "Why don't you attend noble gatherings so often?" I asked.

  "........." Irene paused for a moment.

  "I'll tell you, it might be quite a long story," Irene said.

  "It's okay, I'll listen," I said.

  Then Irene began.

  -

  "So that's how it is. Thank you for telling me about this, Irene. You even told me why you're called the Ice Princess," I said.

  "No problem, you're my partner after all," Irene said.

  "But now you can slowly shed your 'Ice Princess' nickname. You can even be friends with Chloe, and last night you were able to join the celebration with the others," I said.

  "I did promise to be friends with Chloe if I managed to cancel my participation in the matchmaking battle. Besides, the reason I stayed away from Chloe and the prince was to avoid rumors that I was courting the royal family in order to win the matchmaking battle. Now that I have a partner, I can be friends with Chloe without worrying about those rumors anymore. And the reason I decided to attend the celebration... probably because no one tried to take advantage of me like they did at the noble gatherings. So I feel at ease attending," Irene said.

  "I'm glad you have a good impression of my friends," I said.

  "Yes, your friends are really nice, Rid. None of them even mind our different races," Lily said.

  "That's true," Leandra said.

  "You'll always be open to playing or hanging out with us again," I said.

  Meanwhile, Irene seemed lost in thought after speaking.

  "What's wrong, Irene?" I asked.

  "I was just thinking about what you said earlier, saying that I'm slowly shedding my 'ice princess' nickname. Do I look different now than when I first came to the academy?" Irene asked.

  "From your expression and words, it doesn't seem like anything has changed. But from your attitude of inviting Chloe to be friends and your daring to come to the celebration, doesn't that indicate you've changed a bit?" I asked.

  "I see, but I don't want to lose this 'ice princess' image of me," Irene said.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "It's the nickname 'Ice Princess' that keeps people away from me. According to rumors I've heard, 'Ice Princesses' have a cold expression and personality. They also don't want to get close to others. Because of these rumors, people don't approach me anymore because it's pointless for them to approach me, and I won't respond to them," Irene said.

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  "Is that true? Is it true that the nickname 'Ice Princess' is keeping people from approaching you?" I asked.

  "What do you mean, Rid?" Irene asked.

  "When you attend noble gatherings, they probably don't approach you. But don't they try to approach you through other means? Like sending letters directly to your residence or through your family?" I said.

  "Hmm, come to think of it, I used to get lots of engagement letters from other nobles. But suddenly, no one sent me those letters anymore," Irene said.

  "Did you become a participant in the matchmaking battle when the letters stopped coming to your residence?" I asked.

  "Yes... wait, don't tell me—," Irene said.

  "That's right, the title 'Ice Princess' doesn't keep people from approaching you, as they can choose other ways to approach you. The reason they no longer send you letters is because you've officially become a participant in the event held by the King. Although you think only the Dukes know about this, for some reason, someone from the Dukes' families may have leaked this information, allowing the lower-ranking nobles to also know about it. They're unlikely to send you a proposal letter once they know you're Charles's prospective partner. They're afraid of being seen as disrupting the King's event. They don't care whether you're as cold as before or not. They'll still get you one way or another and become part of the San Lucia family," I said.

  "How do you know this, Rid?" Irene asked.

  "I'm just guessing, but doesn't this make sense to you?" I asked.

  "Yes, you're right. I was so stupid to just realize something as simple as this," Irene said.

  "But now that I'm your partner, you don't have to worry about that anymore. You're free to go back to your old self or keep your 'Ice Princess' nickname. But if you want to keep your 'Ice Princess' nickname, at least no one will mess with you at this academy if you keep your 'Ice Princess' nickname," I said.

  "I see. So far, no other students have approached me to take advantage of me, and usually they choose to avoid me. But there's something that makes me wonder about it," Irene asked.

  "What is it?" I asked.

  "Why do you seem so indifferent to me, Rid? Even when we first met. You even tried to chat with me several times when the other students preferred to avoid me," Irene said.

  "Hmm, I don't know. At first, I didn't know why they were avoiding you. I wondered if they were afraid of you. But I didn't know what to fear from you. You're just an ordinary woman, after all. So I treated you the same as everyone else. Why did you even reply to my chats back then, even though you always ignore people who want to approach or chat with you?" I said.

  "It's because I sensed you weren't someone who wanted to chat with me for ulterior motives," Irene said.

  "Is that so," I said.

  Then we both fell silent. The atmosphere became quiet.

  "Hey, Rid. Do you think I should drop my 'ice princess' nickname and go back to my old self, or should I keep my 'ice princess' nickname?" Irene asked.

  "Why are you asking for my opinion? It's up to you to be whatever you're comfortable with," I said.

  "Just answer me," Irene said forcefully.

  "Hmm, I don't know what you were like before you were nicknamed 'Ice Princess,' but if you're asking for my opinion, I'd prefer you keep your 'Ice Princess' nickname. If you're asking why, it's because your nickname has stuck with you, and I think your cold expression, which earned you the nickname 'Ice Princess,' has its own charm. I like it," I said.

  Irene paused for a moment after hearing my words.

  "I see, you like me better as 'Ice Princess.' You really are a strange man," Irene said.

  But after saying that, Irene seemed to smile.

  "By the way, how long have we been chatting like this? Let's continue our training," Irene said.

  "That's true," I said.

  "Hey, Rid. You said you've never seen me before like this, right?" Irene asked.

  "Yeah," I said.

  "Next time, I'll show you. My old self," Irene said.

  "I haven't seen it, but that doesn't mean I want to," I said.

  Meanwhile, Leandra and Lily were observing the two of us.

  "Hey Lea, for some reason, looking at those two feels like a real couple, not a fake one," Lily said.

  "Never mind, let it be," Leandra said.

  -

  That afternoon, in the principal's office.

  The principal was chatting with someone.

  "How was your first exam?" Miss Karina asked.

  "It was so easy, I didn't even feel like it was a test," the person said.

  "You're so arrogant, aren't you, leader?," Miss Karina said.

  "Just call me Vyn, Miss Karina," the person said.

  It turned out that the person chatting with Miss Karina was the leader of Elevrad, Vyn Laterza.

  "So, why did you invite me to chat alone on this holiday? You students aren't the only ones who want to enjoy the holidays; as the leader, I also want to enjoy my holiday," Miss Karina said.

  "Sorry for interrupting your time, Miss Karina. But what I want to talk about is important. It concerns my ideas for the theme of the upcoming tournament and festival," said Senior Vyn.

  "About the theme for the upcoming tournament and festival, huh? Okay, tell me what ideas you have. I hope they're interesting. If not, I'll just go home and enjoy my day off," said Miss Karina.

  -To be continued