"It's Alice's turn tonight."
In the headmaster's office, Percival picked up the teacup the maid had poured for him.
"Yeah." Edward gazed out at the tangerine-hued sky, his mood unusually bright.
Noting his bland response, Percival raised an eyebrow slightly. "Has anything changed with Alice recently?"
Changed with Alice?
Edward turned back, puzzled. "No, why?"
This guy really doesn't understand his own daughter, Percival shook his head helplessly.
"Did something show up on her physical?" Edward pressed.
Because of her frail body, Alice regularly went to Percival for check-ups. Was Percival asking because something was wrong?
But who knew how long it would take to achieve the Divine Machine...
Edward's fist clenched unconsciously, but Percival's next words made him relax just as quickly.
"No."
Percival shook his head with a slight smile, then his tone shifted. "However..."
The sudden pivot successfully grabbed Edward's attention. "However?"
"During the check-up, she asked me about hearts."
"...What?"
Had she discovered the contract? Or was it just a coincidence?
Edward clung to a sliver of hope.
Watching him, Percival suddenly let out a hearty laugh. "My intuition tells me it's definitely not a coincidence," he chuckled, pointing towards his own heart.
He felt it was time to say something, otherwise Edward might go to his grave without ever realizing.
"Do you know why Alice obeys you so unconditionally? Even when you assign her the most unreasonable tasks, even when you treat her with such cruelty and indifference."
Percival's smile widened.
"The reason she still follows your orders like a loyal dog, do you know why?"
"...Because her life is held in your hands and mine."
Hearing this expected answer, Percival shook with silent amusement.
"Just as I thought, you're still that clueless father!" He mercilessly mocked the father who failed to understand his daughter, and then delivered the final blow.
"Alice believes she's the one who took your wife from you!"
A thunderous shock struck Edward.
A superior magus bloodline often leads to difficult pregnancies. The intensely potent inherited magic can be too much for both mother and fetus to bear.
Both Alice and her mother—Alicia—fought hard, but precisely because of that, it eventually became a situation where a choice had to be made: save the mother or the child.
In the end, the mother made her choice, and the daughter was born safely.
But more than half of the Alice who entered the world couldn't function properly; her mere survival was considered a miracle.
"I thought... she would hate me... hate me for depriving her of her mother, for depriving her of a healthy body." Edward sat stunned in his seat, murmuring quietly.
"And that's exactly why you're a fool!"
The white-haired, cane-leaning, elderly Percival laughed like a carefree child on the street.
He shouted at the self-important, stubborn father across from him.
"You fool!"
--+--
"Alice."
In the dining hall, Alice softly called out to the silver-haired girl across from her.
"How's the Night Party going?"
Alice, who had been gazing out at the tangerine sky, snapped back to attention. "Tonight's the time for Germany's last high-ranked participant to take the stage."
Lately, from Alice's position at 87th right up to the 74th scheduled for tonight, not a single participant had shown up for the Night Party.
When no one ranked higher than you is present, you too can choose not to appear—a privilege of the highly ranked.
Aside from Alice and tonight's 74th, everyone else knew no higher ranks would appear, so these nights had brought a rare period of peace.
But tonight, the 74th would appear, meaning Alice's group would face attacks from thirteen people.
The Germans forming the Kreuzritter?
Alice gave a faint smile. Facing thirteen knight automata like Sophia?
She glanced at Irori beside her, eyes closed as if asleep in her chair.
The life force within Irori had been absorbed to its limit. Perhaps, tonight would be the end.
"Brother! You got hurt again, didn't you?"
Komurasaki slowly pushed Nadeshiko closer; newly revived, she still couldn't walk well on her own.
The war-girls had also been repaired during this time by Shouko and Alice, who helped occasionally.
"Uh..."
Facing his sister's questioning, Raishin looked at Akabane Tenzen with a pleading gaze. Tenzen smiled and had Komurasaki push Nadeshiko even closer to Raishin.
This guy...!
Raishin's mouth twitched slightly, then he put on an ingratiating smile for Nadeshiko.
After the war-girls were repaired, the Academy's top ranker had shown up with his freshly restored team to join Alice's group.
He hadn't been demoted yet, ostensibly to 'train his younger brother.'
Loki was quietly conversing with Sophia by the window. Frey was feeding Hinaichigo cake, bite by bite, while accompanied by Yomi and Rabbi.
Suigintou and Shinku sat on either side of Alice, while Kirakishou curled up in Alice's lap.
Kanaria stood on the table playing her violin, with Souseiseki and Suiseiseki sitting nearby watching her performance.
It seemed because of Alice's earlier actions, the Rozen Maidens had recently been accompanying her everywhere as a group.
"Feels like there's no need to even continue the Night Party," Alice propped her chin on her hand, looking at everyone in the dining hall. "Who else could be the Demon King besides Alice?"
"Alice was the only candidate for Demon King from the start," Kanaria lifted her head. She brandished her violin as if to say that if she took action, everything would be settled.
Then, she turned to ask her sisters, "What's a Demon King?"
Such a lively bunch.
Alice shook her head helplessly. The sun slowly sank below the horizon.
Souseiseki and Suiseiseki waved to Alice; they had promised to return to the mansion tonight.
A moment later, the bell signaling the start of the Night Party echoed through the night sky.
"Time to get ready."
"Okay—"
--+--
For the first time since her fight with Loki, Alice stepped onto the Night Party stage again.
She quietly watched the figures approaching from the opposite side.
One, two, three... eight, nine?
Only nine people. Where were the other four?
The honey-blond young man, Rosenberg, stood opposite her. Seeing the full contingent of puppets around Alice, he flashed a confident smile.
He hadn't expected Nursery Rhyme to be so wary of his Kreuzritter.
Two automata slowly took their places behind him, one wielding a sword, the other a shield.
Pointing at the shield-bearing automaton, Kanaria cried out, "It's the puppet that chased me and Henri before!"
Charlotte's eyes instantly sharpened. Sigmund flew into the air, spreading its wings.
Reinforcements, it seems.
Alice scanned the spectator stands, but there was no sign of the other four knights.
Just before the Night Party began, Rosenberg suddenly walked towards Alice.
"Nursury Rhyme, we truly cannot oppose your giant." Unfortunately, in an area without a river, the Bridge Giant couldn't emerge for now.
Alice glanced at Loki's Cherubim and Irori beside her.
But it was only temporary.
"But... isn't Karyuusai at your mansion tonight?"
Alice's eyes narrowed instantly.
Rosenberg continued, his voice suddenly dropping low, his mouth quirking sharply upwards. "Care to guess where our four missing members are?"
After speaking, he shot a glare at Alice before turning to leave.
"This guy..." Charlotte glared venomously at his retreating back.
"Should I go?" Raishin asked from the side. Leaving now meant forfeiting his place in the Night Party.
But his original purpose for coming to the Academy was complete. All that remained was repaying his debt to Alice.
"No need."
"Huh?! But..." Charlotte turned back, incredulous. Wasn't Alice worried about the mansion...?
As she turned, the small bottle containing a green, oily liquid in Alice's hand came into her view.
Someone's going to get it tonight.
Charlotte blinked, then slowly turned back around.
Seeing Charlotte's reaction, Raishin and the Loki beside him exchanged a look. "Is that something really powerful?" he whispered.
"Judging by Dino-girl's reaction, probably."
"Don't worry about the mansion," Alice said, standing behind the two idiots with her arms crossed. "That blond guy is truly asking for it."
Even though she'd only seen a fraction of what Flat Snark could do, she wouldn't underestimate automata of that level either.
Suigintou and Shinku nodded simultaneously.
The liquid in the bottle transformed into mist, dissipating into the night air.
A gentle breeze stirred Alice's hair, making her shoulder-length locks sway slightly.
The Night Party had begun.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.