Fireworks

“You know, it’s a shame that this is going to end...”

“It did go by rather quickly, didn’t it?” Medrauta wove her fingers into Viviane’s as the noblewoman shuffled closer to her, pressing her body against the knight’s arm.

Viviane nodded. “...Yeah. I wish these days could last forever.”

“I don’t.”

Medrauta and Viviane stood at the back of the crowd. They’d arrived after the festival-goers had assembled, and squeezing themselves into the crowd now would’ve been awkward and would only serve to diminish the intimacy between the two.

While Trista had certainly managed to arrive on schedule, the closing speech had suffered a slight delay thanks to her noble having gone missing. Without him, there’d be no way to amplify her voice, forcing Trista to go searching for him.

Thankfully, it had only taken a few minutes to find him in the nearby gardens where he was having a romantic rendezvous with his fiance. It was only after receiving a thorough earful from Trista that the speech finally began.

Despite that, Viviane couldn’t hear a word of what Trista was saying. Instead, her eyes were glued onto Medrauta, their light dimmed by sadness thanks to the knight’s unexpected answer.

“H-Huh...? Was it... Was exploring the festival with me not fun for you?”

One look at the noblewoman’s glistening eyes told Medrauta that she’d made a massive error in attempting to convey her intent. Although she’d rejected Viviane’s statement in a gentle and somewhat suggestive tone, it was obvious that the noblewoman had taken it in a negative way.

However, it wasn’t as if the knight didn’t understand that such a blatant rejection could easily be interpreted negatively regardless of what tone her voice took on. She now hastened to correct that error.

“Of course not. I loved every moment of it, but I don’t wish for these days to last forever... because there’s a whole future I want to spend with you, Vivi.”

“T-That...! Y-You should’ve said it like that in the first place! Hmph!” Viviane pouted despite her flushed cheeks conveying the fact that Medrauta’s words had scored an immeasurable number of points with her heart.

“Oh? So you’re telling me to be more forward?” Medrauta smirked. She lifted her free hand to Viviane’s chin and tilted the noblewoman’s head slightly upward before leaning down and planting her lips against Viviane’s for a quick kiss. “I love you, Vivi.”

“H-Hey!” Viviane exclaimed after she recovered from her lips being stolen. “I-If you keep doing stuff like this, you better be prepared for what I’m gonna do later!”

Medrauta raised an eyebrow. “And what might that be?”

Viviane blushed fiercely. “Y-You’ll find out...!”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

What she’s gonna do later, huh...? S-She can’t be thinking of that right...? Despite her outwardly cool demeanor, Medrauta’s heart was thumping like crazy. Already, a whole slew of absolutely depraved thoughts were running through her mind, and all of them involved Viviane being on top. She didn’t know what it was that drove her to imagine the usually shy noblewoman taking the lead, but even the mere thought made her head fuzzy.

Medrauta shook her head in an effort to dispel the unholy scenarios that kept popping up in her mind and instead attempted to summon the memories of the dates that they’d enjoyed during the course of the week, hoping that the more wholesome memories would help her settle down.

She smiled in reminiscence as Trista listed a few of the festival’s most successful booths, evoking fond memories of the date she’d enjoyed just two days ago. The booth they’d visited that day had been run by a few of the more artistically inclined nobles who offered to paint beautiful portraits for visiting festival-goers for a trifling sum. Naturally, it was quite popular with couples.

Somewhere in the crowd, Sakura stood alongside Riku and a few of her newfound fans that had accumulated throughout the week. A proud smile touched her face as Trista saw fit to mention the tea house among the most successful booths.

“I wonder if we’ll be able to enjoy the festival together next year, Viviane...” Medrauta murmured.

“What are you talking about, Medrauta? Of course we will!” Viviane grinned. “I’m looking forward to becoming a second-year with you by my side! Hopefully, we’ll be able to win a lot more matches!”

Medrauta flashed her own smile in return and a gentle warmth settled over the two as they basked in each other’s presence, the setting sun serving as a romantic backdrop that caused their hearts to beat in tune.

Trista made a wide flourishing gesture with one arm as she began wrapping up her speech, the exaggerated motion drawing the crowd’s attention. “But it’s not over just yet, everyone! Those who’ve been here before know what’s coming up, but for the first-timers, we don’t just wrap up Avalyne Academy’s festival with a whimper! Now, I’d like to be the one who kicks off the closing surprise, but this year, we’ve been graced with a very special guest!”

With another flourish, Trista drew the crowd’s attention to Gwenhwyfar who had just emerged from the set of curtains that had been arranged on the platform. As the princess looked upon the crowd of festival-goers who stood below her, her noble’s smile slowly transformed into a genuine expression of happiness.

Though Gwenhwyfar was undoubtedly arrogant and high-handed, something about the joy that the festival had brought her future subjects made her uncontrollably delighted and she found herself wondering if it was the whole debacle with Galahad that had awakened some semblance of maturity in her.

“I’m sure you all know who this is!” Trista’s voice boomed over the roaring applause of the audience. “Introducing Gwenhwyfar Augustyne di Kyrrako! The one and only Princess Imperial of Avalyne!”

Gwenhwyfar stepped forward as Trista retreated from the stage, disappearing behind the curtains that the princess had emerged from. With an elegant and practiced curtsy, the princess greeted the crowd and spoke.

“It is a great honor for me to stand before everyone here today,” Gwenhwyfar began. “This is not the first festival I have attended, but it certainly is the first that I’ve had the pleasure of participating in. I have no doubt that more than a few of you encountered me passing out fliers, and while such a job would have normally been beneath an imperial princess, I rather enjoyed it because I received the gift of meeting so many of you.

“I certainly would love to continue doing so, but unfortunately, the festival ends today. However, we need not part so soon, for no festival is complete without showing off the hard work of our proud knights and nobles who have toiled tirelessly to present to you Avalyne Academy’s signature fireworks!”

Cheers rose from the audience as Gwenhwyfar paused to allow a group of students to step out of the curtains. Though they wore the academy’s uniform, it was dyed in red and black instead of the usual blue and white. The princess introduced them as members of the academy’s pyrotechnics club and the ones who had designed the fireworks that everyone was about to witness.

“Now then, without further ado, let us give this festival a beautiful conclusion and end it with a—”

“Bang.”

“—Huh!?”