Chapter 49: The Popularity Contest, Part 3

 

 

 

Chapter 49: The Popularity Contest, Part 3

 

THE four of them stood side by side as the headmaster introduced them by name.

“It’s Mint!”

The children from the clinic all pointed at Iris and waved innocently. A commotion was slowly spreading through the crowd, but she kept a straight face and pretended not to see it.

“And Cherry’s with her!”

They pointed at Reseda next; he smiled and waved back.

“Prince Reseda and…the Green Holy Maiden…?”

“So, Mint’s real name is Iris?”

“Weren’t people saying Lady Mint was the Holy Maiden who visited the Cavern of Death? They claimed to have met her at the clinic during a pilgrimage.”

“A prince and a high-born girl would never travel out to the castle town, much less lay their hands on the diseased!”

“But you can’t deny Lady Mint looks like a Holy Maiden in that white dress!”

Some of the older audience members began to pray right on the spot. In the face of this outcry, the headmaster looked at Iris, his complexion ghostly pale. She ignored him. Oh boy, I can sense another lecture in my future, she thought, staring wearily into the distance.

With a grin, Reseda looked over at the orchestra. The conductor snapped back to reality and started to wave his baton; the musicians all followed suit, bringing the music to life. Then, without batting an eye at the audience, Reseda bowed in Iris’s direction. She hastily curtsied back.

Defeated, Camille looked out at the crowd. To her, this was proof that Iris was the true Holy Maiden, whether she wanted to be or not.

She had tried her best, both for Iris and for herself. She was sure that if she worked hard to be like Iris, she would be worthy of the title. Besides, Nigel, Mégane, and Iris all wanted her to win. But if she lost, she wouldn’t really be surprised. Still, she’d feel bad for letting them all down.

But right as Camille slumped her shoulders, Nigel put an arm tightly around her waist. Startled, she looked up at him.

“Keep your eyes on me,” he told her, staring deep into her eyes.

She blinked, then looked back at him firmly. After all the time they’d spent practicing, they had established a foundation of trust.

“We’re never going to dance better than His Highness, so let’s just dance how we want to dance,” he continued with a grin, and she nodded.

Of course. There was no point in trying to be someone she wasn’t… Camille could feel the ice in her chest melting away. Then she took his hand. Right now, the best thing she could do was to dance how she wanted to dance. As Nigel spun her around on the stage, he was relieved to see the light return to her eyes, and a smile form on her lips.

The crowd cheered. In response, Reseda started spinning Iris around, too, like he was trying to compete. And when Camille and Iris locked eyes, they smiled at each other.

In a blink, the fairies had gathered around them, joining in with a dance of their own. Some sat among the orchestra members and chimed in with their little flower instruments. Backstage, Sauge and Fuchsia watched over the performance like proud parents. The whole stage was glittering.

Then the conductor’s baton fell still, and the music came to an end. The dance was over. And when the dancers lined up to take a bow, the crowd exploded in cheers.

❀❀❀

AT last, they announced the winner of the Holy Maiden Popularity Contest: Iris. When they said her name, Camille started clapping with a genuine smile on her face. But Iris was conflicted. Granted, she had given it her best—partly to avoid incurring the wrath of Sauge and Reseda, but mostly because it would be disrespectful to her hardworking opponent to throw the competition. But she was really expecting that her best wouldn’t be enough to win.

“Miss Camille…”

“You earned it, Lady Iris,” Camille declared.

Any pity I show her would just hurt her even more, Iris thought.

“Thank you. You performed superbly as well.”

With that, Iris offered Camille her hand. She took it and shook it firmly. All around them, applause rang out in celebration of a duel fairly fought.

Next, it was time to announce the overall winner of the Holy Maiden Evaluation.

“The winner of this year’s Holy Maiden Evaluation is…”

The headmaster’s face went deathly pale.

“…A tie…? Both Iris du Chevalier and Camille du Pont have scored an equal number of points, and therefore, both candidates will progress to the in-person interview…”

The crowd went nuts. This outcome was entirely unheard of. Normally, only one person made it to the interview stage!

A cold sweat trickled down Iris’s back.

“You’re kidding me, right?!”