An hour later, the student council members, along with the heads of various clubs, gathered in the student council room.

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss various preparations for the upcoming festival in two days, including budget execution.

On this day, the facilitators of the meeting were the student council members, led by Erekaya.

This was because the student council was in the most neutral position among those present; therefore, it was practically impossible to reach a consensus that everyone would accept without the student council’s involvement.

Moreover, despite being referred to as a club-related meeting, all the club heads attending today were successors of influential nobles in the empire.

It was only natural that those who were accustomed to standing above others and leading the way took on the role of club heads.

As such, Erekaya, who would eventually become the head of the ducal house and the owner of Pendragon, could not afford to openly disregard those who would be attending today’s meeting.

In the past, or rather, if it were the Kaya from a hundred days ago, she would have been extremely enthusiastic about preparing for today’s meeting.

No matter how high the Pendragon ducal house stood in the empire, the governance of state affairs was something that could not be achieved by their house alone.

However, the current Kaya was somewhat different.

“…Hah.”

Ten minutes before the meeting began, while glancing at the somewhat quiet scene in the student council room where some people had yet to arrive, Kaya let out a soft sigh.

“President? Is there something troubling you?”

Serika, who was right beside her, queried with a hint of concern. Kaya merely shook her head.

“No… it’s nothing. I’m just a little tired today.”

In fact, it was no wonder that Kaya felt fatigued today. Ever since her outing to the amusement park with Jin, her heart had been racing so much that she simply couldn’t fall asleep until now.

‘I’m crazy; I’m really crazy.’

Looking back now, it seemed that she was half out of her mind. How had she dared to engage in such bold actions with Jin? And from where had she summoned the courage for such audacity?

However, was that act, in some ways, not sufficient to be called a kiss?

Back then, Kaya had stealthily held her finger to his lips. Even at this moment, she felt as if she could still sense a lingering touch on her finger.

Lick.

Kaya gazed intently at the finger that had touched his lips and then cautiously extended her tongue to taste it.

Of course, there was no flavor. In fact, it shouldn’t have had any. After all, she had licked and caressed her finger countless times throughout the night before.

If she had known it would be like this, she should have progressed a bit further than merely bringing her finger to his lips that night.

For instance, she could have opened her arms to hug him or placed a kiss on his cheek or neck…

‘No, no.’

Now, if she were to confess, Kaya preferred an approach in which she was led by someone else rather than taking the initiative herself in romance.

In other words, she would have preferred if the man took the initiative to kiss her rather than her doing it.

Moreover, isn’t it a bit embarrassing for a woman to actively push herself onto a man for a kiss?

Because the more she took the initiative, the more it would appear as though she was clinging to him.

Her mother had once commented that in relationships, the one who loves first or yields first is the one who loses.

Of course, she didn’t want to engage in mind games despite liking him more, yet she still felt that as a woman, there should be some pride.

If Jin thought that Erekaya was overly accommodating to men and considered her a cheap woman, that would be a troubling matter indeed.

So, at least in front of him, she would have to act dignified, gentle, and nurturing.

At this moment, Kaya’s mind was filled solely with such thoughts; hence, the fact that today’s meeting could influence not just Nineveh but also the future of the empire seemed trivial to her.

Right now, it felt far more productive to ponder how she could enjoy the festival beginning on Monday with Jin rather than chatting with these incompetent, dull noble brats.

How could she enjoy the festival alongside him? It was evident that unruly girls like Altina von Rudel Seryas or Claire Delphin Mascarena would likely stick around him, so it seemed wise to devise some countermeasures regarding that…
“…President, President?”

“…Ah, yes?”

At that moment, Kaya was jolted back to reality thanks to Serika, who was urgently whispering in her ear.

“The meeting is about to start. All the student council members and the heads of each club have completed their seating.”

“Oh, right.”

Only then did Kaya gather her thoughts and look around with a dazed expression.

As Serika mentioned, while Kaya had been momentarily lost in thought, the student council room was now filled with those who were required to attend this meeting.

Which meant that all sorts of riffraff in her eyes had assembled here, and at the same time—

‘…Jin. No, my lord.’

This was precisely in line with her thoughts of longing for a certain man to be present here.

She was delighted. It had only been about five days since they last met, yet it felt as if she hadn’t seen him in years, overflowing her heart with both melancholy and joy.

During finals week, she had tried her best to avoid meeting him, worrying it might disrupt his studies, but now it was truly reaching its limit.

She wanted to run over to him immediately. She wanted to go over and speak to him, to hug him tightly, to call him “my lord” without caring about the others around.

But… she must not do that. Because if Kaya acted solely on her desires, disregarding everyone else, it wouldn’t be her that faced the consequences, but Jin instead.

So, for now, she needed to hold back. After all, spending some quiet time with him could be done anytime after this meeting was over.

Ensuring her demeanor didn’t appear odd to those around her, Kaya cleared her throat and reverted to her usual strict and aloof student council president persona.

“It seems that everyone is here now. Then, I will commence the meeting to prepare for the academy festival starting next week.”

As the meeting got underway, it proceeded somewhat smoothly, just as Kaya had initially anticipated.

Well, the truth was that the items on the agenda were merely following the same decisions made in previous years, so there wasn’t much room for disputes.

However, just then, several heads of clubs who had been watching the situation leisurely suddenly raised their hands.

“Excuse me. If it’s not too much trouble, may I have a word with you, President?”

“…What’s going on all of a sudden?”

Even as Kaya rolled her eyes at them, they didn’t appear intimidated by her gaze; rather, they seemed to enjoy the attention of the room with a surprisingly relaxed demeanor.

It was quite an audacious attitude, yet they wore it as if it were a fitting ‘elegance,’ suggesting they were undoubtedly the children of renowned noble families within Nineveh.

“…I am Pierre van Crutier, the president of the fencing club, and this is Antike del Tuan, the president of the magic research club. We are the offspring of count and marquis families that hold some influence in the central and southern parts of the empire.”

As if sensing Kaya’s thoughts, Serika quickly approached her side and whispered softly.

As a fellow noble of the ducal house, Serika, who wouldn’t even bother with ordinary students, knowing their faces and names meant they were quite significant nobles indeed.

“It’s nothing serious. We just have something to discuss regarding the budget allocated to our club in preparation for the upcoming festival.”

“Are you referring to issues related to the budget proposal?”

Hearing Pierre’s words, Kaya furrowed her brow in confusion.

To her knowledge, the fencing club and the magic research club were among those receiving the largest budgets of all the clubs in Nineveh.

This was because Nineveh fundamentally served as a place for developing students’ skills, so there was no reason for the school to interfere with students who wished to pursue ‘training’ beyond class curricula; thus, special consideration was given to them.

In other words, they were the ones benefitting the most from the budget allocation related to the festival; so what exactly were they trying to get upset about?

“Regarding the festival, it means that unlike usual, various outsiders, including parents, will be coming in droves, correct? Our clubs are tasked with publicly showcasing our achievements at Nineveh before these outsiders and guests.”

“That’s true.”

“However, no matter how much I think about it, this seems somewhat unfair. We are stepping forward at the forefront of the festival, representing all the other students and making a significant contribution to Nineveh, yet it seems other clubs don’t appreciate our efforts.”

As he spoke, Pierre subtly raised the corners of his mouth and slowly glanced around at the other club heads, who were watching him quietly.
“Well, it’s not that we are dissatisfied. After all, we are those who stand above others. With such a glorious duty upon us, there are things we must endure even if we don’t feel like it.”

“However, that said, I think it’s not too unfair to assert a bit more of our rights in proportion to the duties we bear.”

“…By ‘a bit more rights,’ do you mean?”

“Nothing major. For example, it would be appreciated if you could be a little more attentive regarding the budget allocation planned for our club during this academy festival…”

In other words, after a somewhat lengthy preamble, they were essentially asking for an increase in their budget.

It was a veiled threat implying that rather than pouring unnecessary budgets into other worthless clubs, they wanted those funds allocated to themselves.

“…Hah.”

Perhaps they had some backing and confidence to make such demands, but the sheer audacity of their words caused Serika, who had been observing the situation quietly, to snicker in disbelief.

To be honest, it was truly a brazen and ridiculous claim; yet, simultaneously, it did carry a plausible reason.

Moreover, what they were discussing was entirely within the scope of issues that could be resolved through discussion and consensus among students, and since they hadn’t mentioned their family names even once, Kaya and Serika couldn’t dismiss them outright by leveraging their authority.

However, it was also impossible to simply acquiesce to their proposal.

Faced with an unexpected situation, Kaya, Serika, Shura, and Midir all exchanged glances, while Pierre and Antike’s faces grew even more triumphant.

It was clear that they had calculated this moment and spoke such words intentionally.

Then, at that moment.

“President, I apologize for the interruption, but may I speak on behalf of the student council to those esteemed upperclassmen?”

“Is that you, my lord… no, the secretary?”

“Yes. I believe I can mediate opinions with the upperclassmen in a peaceful manner.”

As Jin shrugged his shoulders and spoke, Serika glanced at Kaya without saying a word and nodded her head in agreement.

Kaya didn’t know, but this was a sign that Jin was someone she could trust unconditionally.

“…Then let’s do that. Go ahead and do what you want.”

If Jin couldn’t manage this situation, she could step in if it came to the worst, so Kaya had nothing to lose.

And crucially, she believed in Jin. He certainly wasn’t someone who would falter over such a trivial matter.

“I am Jin, the secretary of the student council. Upperclassmen.”

“I know. The rumor about a remarkable underclassman in this first year has spread quite widely in our grade.”

Contrary to his words, Pierre’s gaze toward Jin was tinged with contempt, viewing him merely as a commoner.

Not only him, but Antike also regarded Jin with a similarly condescending manner.

If this had been any other place, they would surely have ignored him altogether or dismissed him without a second thought.

Of course, Jin found their condescending looks nothing more than laughable. Moreover, compared to what he was about to do to them, those gazes were utterly insignificant.

“I have heard a few stories regarding you, upperclassman. The president of the fencing club, a skilled individual who won the fencing tournament in first year, and you rank among the top ten in your class, correct?”

“Mmm… was my name that widely known, even to a person of your caliber? To hear such words from you is indeed an honor.”

Upon hearing Jin’s compliments about himself, Pierre’s expression softened slightly, as if he wasn’t displeased. He’d turned out to be one of those types who were susceptible to flattery.

However, regrettably for Pierre, Jin’s intended words were anything but flattery; they were far more profound and personal. What he had just said was merely a stepping stone to gain momentum.

“Oh, and I’ve heard some amusing rumors about you, upperclassman.”

“Rumors? What are they?”

As Pierre leaned in, showing interest, Jin whispered something softly into his ear, wanting to respond to his expectations.

“For example, they say your father is even-numbered, while your mother is odd-numbered.”