The graduation ceremony concluded without incident, and that evening, a lavish graduation ball was held at the royal palace.
After changing out of their simple academy uniforms and into magnificent gowns, Diana and Cordelia attended the ball as members of the graduating class. The moment the twins appeared side by side, every eye in the hall turned toward them.
“They truly are the moon and the sun.”
“They possess not only beauty, but grace as well.”
Whispers like these rose throughout the ballroom.
The twins of House Gazard—Diana the Moon and Cordelia the Sun—were famous not only at the academy, but throughout high society.
Diana the Moon stood at the top of her class, renowned for her brilliant mind and exceptional charisma. Her cool beauty and outstanding abilities sometimes led people to whisper behind her back that she was a villainess.
Cordelia the Sun was the belle of every social gathering and the most popular student at the academy, enchanting everyone with her gentle smile. People praised her soothing presence as something akin to that of a fairy.
They were light and shadow, two opposite sides of the same coin. The twins dominated every conversation at the academy and were always the center of attention. That remained unchanged even at their graduation ball.
Although both possessed the same silver hair and purple eyes, their gowns could not have been more different. Diana wore a gown with an ultramarine-to-pale-blue gradient inspired by the dawn, while Cordelia’s faded from orange to deep crimson like the setting sun.
“To all of this year’s graduates, I look forward to seeing you devote yourselves to our Kingdom of Rutledge. Congratulations to you all on reaching adulthood!”
The ball began with a congratulatory address from Lawrence Rutledge, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rutledge.
The orchestra began to play, and the graduates took one another’s hands as they made their way to the center of the hall. Today marked their final day as students. Every year, there were always plenty of graduates determined to dance the entire night away.
Amid the festivities, Cordelia stared unwaveringly across the open atrium at Lawrence, who stood in the second-floor gallery.
(…She is as infatuated with the crown prince as ever.)
Diana let out a quiet sigh.
Several young men were watching Cordelia, hoping for an opportunity to approach her, yet she paid them no attention. Her gaze remained fixed on one person alone.
Lawrence Rutledge, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Rutledge.
He had been the object of Cordelia’s admiration since childhood—the very embodiment of a prince in her eyes.
He possessed brilliant golden hair and piercing yet captivating blue eyes. His smile carried equal parts confidence and arrogance, effortlessly overwhelming everyone around him with a presence befitting royalty.
The crown prince slowly descended the ballroom staircase to greet the graduates.
“Well, if it isn’t House Gazard’s beautiful jewels. Congratulations on your graduation.”
The first people he approached were Diana and Cordelia. He must have known perfectly well who had attracted the most attention at the ball.
“We are deeply honored by your generous words, Your Highness.”
Diana dipped into an elegant curtsy. Beside her, Cordelia suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly bowed her head.
“Th-thank you very much, Your Highness!”
His gleaming golden hair shifted as the crown prince narrowed his blue eyes in amusement.
“Cordelia, you are as scatterbrained as ever. You would do well to follow your sister’s example.”
“M-my apologies…”
A shadow passed over Cordelia’s beautiful face, but only for an instant.
“Although I suppose that is part of what makes you so charming.”
“—Your Highness!”
Cordelia’s cheeks immediately turned red.
Her feelings were far too obvious. At least, that was what Diana thought. She found it baffling that men continued to court Cordelia even after witnessing her behave this way.
However, the crown prince, who was three years older than the twins, had been engaged since childhood. That was why Cordelia had always kept her love for him hidden.
(Well, I don’t understand her in the slightest.)
Though they were twins, their resemblance ended with their appearance. Diana and Cordelia had entirely different personalities and tastes.
(What could she possibly see in that stiff, artificial smile…? A serious, honest man would be far more attractive than a crown prince who is nothing but a polished facade.)
Men like Lawrence—the slender, delicately handsome type Cordelia adored—did not appeal to Diana in the slightest.
Diana preferred strong, rugged men with the powerful build of a knight.
(Speaking of which…)
Diana looked around the hall, her heart fluttering with nostalgia. Before long, a familiar deep laugh reached her ears.
The owner of that voice was raising a glass with her father and chatting pleasantly with him. The sight made Diana’s heart race.
“Father! Lord Alan!”
“Ah, Diana.”
Wesley Gazard, the twins’ father and the Duke of Gazard, brightened when he saw his beloved daughter. He possessed the same silver hair as his daughters and distinctly aristocratic features.
Perhaps Cordelia had been drawn to the crown prince because he reminded her of their father.
The man standing beside the duke, who also greeted Diana with a smile, was tall and strikingly handsome. His powerful build and broad shoulders made him appear far more at home on a battlefield as a knight than at a social gathering as a nobleman.
“Lady Diana, congratulations on your graduation.”
“Thank you, Lord Alan.”
The man offering his congratulations was Grand Prince Alan Rutledge, the king’s younger brother.
Beneath his short, glossy black hair, his blue-gray eyes held a gentle smile.
To Diana, he was her father’s friend—a man seventeen years her senior. And yet, Diana admired this kind and powerful grand prince more than anyone else.
(When we were children, he was the gallant knight who saved us from a villain in the capital… Lord Alan has been my hero ever since that day.)
He was a hero who had supported the kingdom for many years as commander of the Royal Knights. Even after stepping aside to allow the next generation to take his place, Diana had heard that he continued to dedicate himself to training young knights.
(To think I have been given the chance to see Father and Lord Alan again…)
Diana’s chest grew warm at the sight of them.
In her memories, this graduation ball had been the last time she ever saw Grand Prince Alan.
During her first life, Alan had continued to take part in monster-subjugation expeditions as a knight even after retiring as commander. A massive Stampede had broken out during one such expedition, and he had never returned.
(Lord Alan, my first love… After he died, I was so lost in grief that I accepted Miles’s proposal…)
Though whether his words could truly be called a proposal was debatable.
There had never been any romantic feelings between Diana and Miles.
“I think you’re the most suitable person for me to marry.”
That was all Miles had said, and Diana had merely agreed.
Seeing Alan again after so long made her heart race anew. The tender feelings she had cherished since childhood stirred within her once more.
Considering how she had wept alone after his death, being able to stand before him while he was still alive felt like a dream.
(No, this isn’t a dream… Lord Alan and I are both alive, right here and now.)
Alan had been feared throughout the Royal Knights as the Demon Commander. Yet he always regarded Diana—the beloved daughter of his closest friend, who had adored him since childhood—with gentle eyes.
Though born into the royal family, he had deliberately remained unmarried all these years to avoid becoming embroiled in a struggle for power.
Diana admired everything about him: the sincere way he lived, his steadfast integrity as a knight, and the kindness he rarely revealed to anyone else.
“Lord Alan, if you would be willing, may I have this dance?”
“Yes. It would be my pleasure.”
Amid the graduates whirling beneath the chandeliers in the center of the hall, Alan and Diana drew considerable attention.
The famously stern former commander of the Royal Knights wore a gentle smile. Meanwhile, the usually composed elder twin known as Diana the Moon gazed at him with melting warmth.
The way they stared into each other’s eyes and held their bodies close was enough to suggest a deep intimacy, despite the nearly parent-and-child difference in their ages.
“To think Lady Diana would ask me to dance. It seems I’m not entirely past my prime after all.”
“What are you saying? There is no one at the academy half as dependable as you, Lord Alan.”
Their palms met, their bodies drawing close enough to be in an embrace.
Diana’s heart hammered rapidly in her chest, and warmth spread from their touching fingertips. This was the first time she had ever been so close to Alan.
“You are an excellent dancer as well, Lord Alan.”
“This is nothing more than an old man pretending he is still young. I am doing all I can simply to keep up with your graceful steps.”
“My.”
Alan gave her a wry smile.
In truth, having lived most of his life as a warrior, Alan had rarely accepted an invitation to dance. He had agreed only because this was a joyous graduation ball and because his partner was Diana, whom he had cherished since she was a little girl.
Diana understood that perfectly well, which only made her wish the song would never end and that this moment could continue forever.
“Lord Alan… Once this ceremony is over, will you leave immediately to subjugate the monsters in the north?”
“Yes. That is my duty as a knight.”
“Even though you have already stepped down as commander?”
“My duties as commander may be over, but my role as a shield of the kingdom remains unchanged.”
His unfailingly earnest answer made Diana’s chest ache.
She swallowed the words Don’t go before they could leave her lips, her brows drawing together as anguish tightened around her heart.
At the graduation ball of her first life, Diana had been far too young even to recognize her own feelings. It was only when she received the news of Alan’s death that she realized her admiration for him had been love.
In her first life, everything had come too late.
But now, things were different.
Diana and Alan were both still alive.
His powerful arm was wrapped around her back, supporting her body. Their warmth mingled, and their heartbeats seemed to overlap.
Every sensation threw Diana’s heart into turmoil.
(I knew it. I don’t want to lose you…)
When Diana looked up, Alan’s eyes softened tenderly.
She had no way of knowing whether his smile was meant for a beloved woman or a cherished child.
But even so—
(I will not let you die. No matter what I have to do—!)
With unwavering resolve in her purple eyes, Diana stared back at him.
“They are rather passionate, aren’t they?”
Diana and Alan were being watched from the second-floor gallery as they danced in one another’s arms.
“To think the first person Lady Diana would invite to dance would be my uncle… How fascinating, Miles.”
Crown Prince Lawrence cast a teasing glance toward his younger friend, Miles O’Donoghue, the son of the Marquess of O’Donoghue.
In Diana’s previous life, Miles had been her husband. At present, however, he was merely a childhood friend whose family had long been close with hers.
“There is nothing fascinating about it. His Highness is nearly old enough to be Diana’s father.”
“Oh? From where I stand, they seem quite well suited.”
The crown prince’s lips curled sardonically. Beside him, quiet anger flickered in Miles’s eyes.
“To say they are well suited is taking the joke too far, Your Highness.”
At the barb concealed beneath Miles’s calm tone, Lawrence’s smile deepened ever so slightly.
Miles continued staring at the two figures dancing in the center of the hall, tightening his grip on the glass held before his chest.
Whether the emotion hidden within his gaze was jealousy or something else entirely, no one could tell.
