While Professor Moses hustled to sell magic phonographs and raise funds for the academy, the long-awaited ball finally began.

  Professor Phil and Professor Rossetti served as hosts for Siria Magic Academy. Each invited a young professor from the noble academies, and together they led the opening dance.

  Once the first couples took the floor, eager students who'd been holding back finally made their moves. They invited their chosen partners and stepped onto the dance floor, swaying to the gentle music.

  Axina accepted an invitation from a duchy prince. The young men she'd rejected looked crushed, like they'd lost their souls.

  Nearly everyone dancing was noble. Commoner students huddled in corners around the hall, watching the center with envy.

  The commoners brave enough to attend were the wealthy ones. Their clothes weren't much worse than the nobles wore.

  Poor students who couldn't afford decent formal wear wouldn't even show up.

  But even these rich commoner kids felt inferior. They didn't dare approach the dance floor—offending nobles could destroy their families.

  Commoners dancing with nobles? That was an insult. Going in meant asking for humiliation. Better to watch from the sidelines. At least that was safe.

  Then a few weirdos broke the rules.

  Sebastian, a senior so broke he stole water, had somehow found a decent black suit. He invited Laura, an intermediate Magic Rune student, and they marched onto the dance floor without a care in the world.

  That was one thing. Sebastian at least wore a suit. Laura wore a new dress and had actually combed her usually messy hair. They'd clearly dressed up and wouldn't look too shabby.

  But what about those two chasing after them?!

  A beggar dragging a serf, charging furiously onto the dance floor—and they were both guys!

  "Holy shit~ The pants-ripper!"

  "What pants-ripper? That's Theodore, the violent maniac from intermediate, and Hol, the Master Poisoner from beginners!"

  "You haven't heard? Violence isn't enough for Theodore anymore. My buddy heard him say it today—he likes ripping people's pants off and staring at their bare asses!"

  "That's not what I heard. I heard he rips pants off to do that kind of thing."

  "What kind of thing?"

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  "You know... the butt-touching kind."

  "What?! Oh my God! Does he have no shame?!"

  "What shame? He farted and played with shit in the arena. Siria's been embarrassed for two years because of him."

  The bored commoner students perked up at this juicy gossip. They crowded around, chattering excitedly.

  Gladys stood nearby, getting more confused. Did Theodore really say that? She didn't remember it that way.

  "Don't listen. You'll rot your brain," Hessel pulled her away. "Come on, let's dance too."

  Gladys let herself be dragged along. "But I don't know how."

  "Just copy them." Hessel thought: how hard could it be? Walk two steps, spin around. Easy.

  If Theodore and Hol could dance, so could they.

  The two girls walked hand-in-hand onto the floor, turned to face each other—one cold, one dead-eyed—and seriously began... spinning in circles.

  In the corner, the gossiping commoners fell silent. Their jaws dropped.

  Wait. Guys with guys was weird enough, but girls with girls too...

  The world had officially stopped making sense.

  The commoners weren't the only confused ones. Everyone on the dance floor was baffled.

  They glared at those two beggar-looking guys. Instead of dancing properly, they chased another pair around the floor, disrupting everything and stomping on people's feet!

  This wasn't dancing—it was two monkeys fighting!

  Those two joining was bad enough. But before the first dance even ended, two more weirdos showed up spinning like tops.

  If not for the occasional blur whipping past, they wouldn't even know two more bizarre things had invaded the floor!

  Actually, maybe not two. Maybe just one spinning really fast. Or maybe an animal. Hard to tell—they couldn't see clearly.

  "Ah!" Axina's train got stepped on again. She nearly fell.

  Her partner caught her waist just in time.

  Axina was furious. Ten minutes into the ball and she'd been stepped on three times. The culprits? Those damned commoners, Hol and Theodore!

  She looked back at her train. The white fabric was covered in footprints. Completely ruined.

  Her partner was thrilled, secretly hoping those commoners would step on her more. More chances to catch her, to hold that slender waist.

  After another ten minutes, the torturous first dance finally ended.

  Axina couldn't take it anymore. The second the music stopped, she dropped her partner's hand, refused his second invitation, and stormed toward the rest area.

  Train dresses weren't practical for dancing. She'd known that before leaving home. But this was the most beautiful dress in her closet. She'd figured if she kept her steps small and careful, it'd be fine.

  Who knew there'd be lunatics at the ball?!

  Her train was filthy. It had gone from white to black. Now it looked like she was dragging mud behind her.

  What made it worse? Seeing Luo Wei in the rest area—radiant, gorgeous, elegant and noble.

  That light purple ball gown looked like flowing clouds and sunset mist. The dress was covered in fancy decorations but didn't look cluttered at all. Instead it seemed soft and dreamlike.

  Most people couldn't pull off such a fancy dress. The dress would steal the show and make people forget the wearer.

  But not Luo Wei. Her features were too striking. Fair skin, black hair, black eyes, red lips—the contrast was vivid. Standing there, she commanded attention. Her presence combined moonlight's clarity with the night sky's mystery. She dominated the ornate dress easily, turning everything eye-catching into background decoration.

  Axina bit her lip. If she'd just arrived, she might've had a chance to compete with Luo Wei.

  Now she was a mess. Standing here, even she felt inferior.

  Jealousy burned through Axina. She hated herself for not just leaving, for following those stupid ball etiquette rules and coming here.

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