"What do you mean the magestone is stolen?" you asked followed by a sudden sneeze.
Vil immediately handed you a piece of tissue paper while explaining, "Temperature control on this campus is controlled by fairies, who draw power from a valuable magestone."
"The magestone was originally stored in the Mirror Chamber, but this morning, the headmage found that it was gone. Without the supply of magic power, the fairies can no long maintain a constant temperature on this campus."
You took another sweater hanging on the clothes stand and put it on. "So this is why Ramshackle Dorm turned into a refrigerator." you sighed as you looked around your dormitory. The whole building was cold, the wall was frosting, and there were even snowflakes in the air.
Vil nodded as he continued, "The magestone was stolen by a group of fairies who're running a fashion show called Fairy Gala in the botanical garden. They affixed the magestone onto the tiara of the Queen of Faeland."
"Forcefully taking the magestone back will incur the fairies' wrath, and that will bring forever winter to Twisted Wonderland." Vil elaborated.
"Lemme guess, Crowley throw the trouble to you housewardens, again, right?" you made a guess according to the headmage's past records.
Vil helplessly shook his head. "You're absolutely correct, Y/n. He, the headmage of this school, threw the unpleasant work on his students. " he complained, "He is even threatening us for holding back the entire student body! How irresponsible and ridiculous!"
You could only say you had never expected much from Crowley. How he handled your returning home issue had already shown everything about this so-called principal. "So you end up being the chosen one to tackle this?" you sat down next to Vil on the sofa and asked.
Vil again nodded helplessly, "Crowley was like 'Oh, Schoenheit-kun! You're the one most familiar with fashion among all housewardens!"
You gave a pat on his shoulder. "Everything will turn out right, trust me. After all, Vil Schoenheit is in charge of it, and I'm more than confident in him." you comforted.
Hearing your words, Vil gave you a small smile, and soon, it turned back to his iconic confident smirk. "Well, it's not like I dislike fashion shows. After all, it's my expertise."
"We've already got the whole plan. Someone will disguise themselves as fairies with the fairy dust and sneak into the Fairy Gala. One will then reach the tiara, and swap it with an imitation tiara, while the others would distract the audience's attention." The only reason for the fairies to pick the magestone was only because of its beautiful appearance, so a fake tiara that was convincing enough would be able to fool them, he added.
"I'll be very busy in the coming day, and that's why I want you to help me with the operation." he said.
You were a bit surprised when you first heard Vil's request, "Me?! Why?"
"You mentioned that you used to work in a TV program station. I'm sure that you're familiar with the backstage jobs. I can hardly find a better choice other than you, Y/n." He explained.
You wanted to help your friend, and at the same time, you could not stand the refrigerator-like temperature of your dorm, and that was why you immediately agreed to help, "Ya sure."
A relieved smile appeared on Vil's face once he heard you answer, "Thank you so much, Y/n. It's always you who can help me." It reminded him that it was you who showed up and gave him a helping hand back when you two first knew each other.
"Y/n! When will the cold disappear?! My fur is gonna be frosting!" All of a sudden, Grim yelled from the room, followed by a big sneeze, "ACHOO!"
You and Vil gave each other a smile for Grim's silly action.
"Alright, let's get started."
Everything started with the training for Kalim and Jamil in Pomefiore's ballroom. Coming from a wealthy family and having been trained in traditional dance since childhood, Kalim's walking posture met Vil's standard, and so did Jamil's, as he was into street dancing. However, to Vil, there was always room for improvement.
Crewel was also there. Vil asked him, who was a fashion maven, to help with the show, but he could not be here for the whole time, as he was busy with an international competition that the Science Club had applied. He would help design Jamil's and Kalim's outfits and would try to squeeze some time to design for the remaining models who were still not yet found.
"Have we found someone who can replace the tiara with the imitated one yet?" You asked Vil while watching the boys practicing their stage walk, but all he did was shake his head in reply. There was simply no one in the school who would want to drag himself into any trouble.
----
Due to the uncontrolled temperature on campus, Crowley announced that lessons would be suspended for a week until the magestone was taken back. You got much more time than usual, and it was why you invited Leona to come over to play chess.
"Great Seven, your dorm is as cold as mine." was what Leona expressed when he first stepped into Ramshackle Dorm. It was unusual for him to put on his uniform jacket, and you could tell that Savanaclaw must be as cold as here.
Noticing his arrival, you quickly tidy up the messy table which was full of paper and files. Leona sat down on the sofa opposite you and took out the chessboard. He took a look at the paper on the table and noticed one with drawings instead of words on it.
Out of curiosity, he picked it up along with a few under it. It looked like a design draft of an outfit that was mainly white, with gold decorations and ornaments. The main piece was a white robe. Around the model's shoulder and neck, there was a translucent tippet that reached the knees with gold decorations on it, making it look like the wings of fairies. Being hung on the shoulders was a white cape with gold flower patterns.
"What is this?" Leona asked while flicking to the following pages. There were detailed designs of the ornaments and shoes.
"Oh, just some random drafts I drew when I had nothing to do at night." You answered, "You know about the Fairy Gala, right?" Leona nodded and added that it was because all housewardens were called for an emergency meeting in Crowley's office at that time.
"So these are all your design?" He asked while repeatedly watching those drafts of yours.
"Kind of." you shrugged with a smile. "The theme of the gala is windswept. One night, after finishing the homework, I all of a sudden got some inspirations popped up in my head, so I drew them down and added some details when I was free."
Although Leona did not say it out loud, he was actually impressed by the designs. Being a prince, he had seen different types of fancy clothes. He was never interested in fashion, but this one did catch his attention. Wild, refreshing, stylish, yet elegant and noble. Just when he was still appreciating the design, a sudden thought came to his mind.
"Do you want this outfit to be shown on stage?" Leona suddenly looked up and asked.
You were not sure about Leona's intention of asking, but still, you nodded while answering, "Ya, sure. I mean, why not? But why are you ask-"
Before you could finish the sentence, Leona had already pulled you up from the sofa with the drafts in his other hand and left the dorm with you.
You could not react and did not even know where he was taking you to. He just held one of your wrist and led you to the Hall of Mirror.
"Leona, why are we going to Pomefiore?" you asked when you saw him standing in front of a mirror with a stone-carved peacock. As a reply, Leona gave you a light smirk without saying anything and led you into the mirror. After a few seconds, with a strong white light, you were already at the oldest yet most elegant dorm in NRC.
Leona went straight to the lounge and opened the door after knocking on it. The temperature in Pomefiore was rather hot instead of cold like Ramshackle Dorm and Savanaclaw. On the peacock throne, it was Vil was sitting there, with Rook standing next to him. Both of them seemed surprised to see you and Leona here, at this time.
"Ohlala! If it's not Roi du Leo and Mademoiselle Savior!" Rook cheered once he saw you two. He just would not stop calling you by that weird nickname. Leona just took a step back with an annoyed face so as to be as far away from Rook as possible.
"Leona, Y/n? Why are you two here?" Vil raised a brow in confusion and questioned.
Leona took out the designs of yours and showed them to Vil. "I will agree to be the model, only if you let me go on the stage with this."
Vil skeptically took the paper from Leona's hand, but the doubt on his face slowly turned into astonishment. "Where did you get these designs, Leona?" he asked.
Leona smirked and pointed at you at the back, "Designer-sama herself is right here." And that only made Vil even more surprised.
"Have you received any professional training in fashion design?" Vil turned to you and asked.
"I did take a course for fashion design before, but I just attended half of the whole course and I only learnt that basic stuff." You explained that it was because you applied for the wrong course when you wanted to apply for a business one. You could not get a refund and so you attended the lessons for fun. However, you later found that it had a time clash with another important course and you stopped having the design lessons.
"Like how... this design... Pure talent." Vil gasped while kept flicking to different pages of your drafts. "The outfit has deliberately muted colors, giving a stoic, mysterious look. Yet the loose sleeves and untucked shirts retain a certain rugged air ---- windswept indeed."
Seeing Vil's reaction, satisfaction was shown on Leona's face. "So it's a yes, huh?" he asked.
Vil looked up and turned to you, "Y/n, as the designer. Will you give us permission to showcase this in the Fairy Gala?"
You had never thought that you'd have anything to do with fashion design, after all, your aim had been starting a business to prove yourself since you were small. However, at this moment, you thought, it would not be that bad to give it a try, right? Having an answer in your mind, you looked at Leona, who gave you a nod, before you gave Vil your final answer, "That would be my pleasure."
Vil was glad about your decision, but that beam faded when he turned to the lion next to you. "If I'd known that there was such a simple way to make you comply, I would've asked Y/n to design your outfit in the first place." he shook his head helplessly.
"There is no way I'd say no. After all, you have a handsome face, and that makes you the perfect choice for our model, although that is also the only thing you have."Accepting Leona's request, Vil did not forget to tease him, making Leona roll his eyes out of annoyance.
"Ohlala! I think I should start calling you Mademoiselle designer, Y/n!" Rook cheered. Here it is, another weird nickname, you secretly sighed.
"Since you have officially joined the model team, you will be given strict training until your performance on stage can meet MY standard." Vil reminded Leona with a smirk, "You sure you can handle that, Leona?"
Leona chuckled when he heard Vil's challenge, "Bring it on. Let me see what they call the world-class level."
There's no way that he could not handle Vil's so-called deathly training, right? Even the Pomefiore students could go through it, it must be a piece of cake for him.
How hard could it be?
----
"FOR THE GREAT SEVEN'S SAKE! VIL! Take those stupid things off me. NOW!"
No, he could not handle that, at all.
Leona growled while trying his best to balance the vases sitting on his head and shoulders so as not to get wet.
"This is an essential step in fixing your posture. Keep going until you can walk a full lap around the room without spilling any water." Vil crossed his arms and stood firm.
"Tsk, Vil, you little--"
SPLASH!
Leona was about to fume at Vil, but he was cut off by the vase on his left shoulder which fell onto the ground. Splash! Followed by the one on the right, and at last, the one on his head.
"Wuh-oh. Leona's soaked. Guy looks like he just went for a swim!" Grim laughed when he saw water splashed all over the lion and dripped down his clothes.
"And you've spilled some more water already. Start over." Vil demanded at the side of the ballroom, "Oh, and don't worry. I'll be happy to refill your vases every single time they run out of water."
"I don't get it! I walked the same as the Scarabia guys!" Leona retorted.
"You most certainly did NOT! You have none of Jamil's flexibility or Kalim's class." Vil pressed his fingers against his forehead. He pointed at Leona's feet, "Your feet drag along the ground. Your posture is atrocious." and then to his head, "Your head bobs when you walk, and you swagger like some kind of ruffian!"
Leona was totally speechless upon Vil's criticism. He gritted his teeth and tried to retort again, but was stopped by Vil.
"Now, return to the practice, or lunchbreak will be delayed to 3 pm, if not canceled!" Vil commanded, not only to Leona but also Kalim and Jamil, who failed to meet the standard in dancing.
Before returning to the starting point, Leona peeped at you who was sitting near the mirror. What kinda shit has I signed myself up for? he asked himself. Originally, he was just amazed by your talent and wanted to give you a chance to showcase that to others, and also to get himself a chance to spend some more time with you without being too awkward. However, things just would not go as how he had expected. The only thing he felt at the moment was embarrassment and humiliation. Being ordered around by Vil and getting himself all wet was bad enough, but it was worse when you were there, seeing that humiliating look of him.
You could only give him a small beam and a tiny "ganbatte!" gesture to support him. You knew it must be torture for him, but on the other hand, you understood that it was necessary, so their performance will go smoothly, and winter would not last forever. You did not doubt that Vil was even much stricter than you had expected though.
"Leona stop ideling! Or I will have you holding two more vases in your hands." Vil urged, and Leona had no choice but moved back to the starting point. He adjusted the positions of the vases after Vil filled them up, and started moving forward carefully.
While walking, Leona could not help but secretly peeped at you to see if you were showing any disappointment at his embarrassing movements. However, the more he looked away, the more distracted he was. The water ended up spilling out before Leona finished half of the lap.
"I'm embarrassed to be part of Savanaclaw right now. Sorry my dorm's housewarden is giving you guys so much extra work." Ruggie next to you sighed. After Leona agreed to walk the T-stage in the Fairy Gala, Ruggie was recommended by his dorm leader for being agile and hence the most suitable person to replace the tiara.
"AGAIN! START IT OVER!"
"DRILLING UNTIL YOUR MUSCLE MEMORY COULDN'T FORGET EVEN IF IT WANTED TO!"
----
These kinds of training lasted for days. During this period, you worked with Crewel to design the outfits for the remaining members based on the first one you had designed. Soon, they were made and all you could say was the outfits suited them and the theme a lot. While working with Crewel on the outfits, you kind of found that designing was much more interesting than you had thought.
"AGH!"
The three models shouted when Vil gave them a magical kick in the pants.
"Get up, all of you. From this point forward, if you sit without my express permission, you're doing five hundred squats." Vil announced.
"Especially you, Leona. Put the vase back on your head and get back to walking. If you spill any water, your penalty will be an hour-long air chair exercise!"
"Who are you to order me to do anything?!" Leona who refused to stand up bellowed.
"VIL SCHOENHEIT, WORLD-CLASS SUPERMODEL. THAT'S WHO." Vil uttered, and that was enough to shut the three of them up. He did not forget to give them another magical kick again.
You could not help but gasp at Vil's strict instructions. You knew he was strict with himself and everyone, but you had not expected this level. "Spatra indeed." you lowered your voice and sighed.
"Real glad that I'm not those guys right now..." Grim was relieved when he saw how the three models were suffering.
The training never stopped, yet you could not see any great progress. Kalim and Jamil were a bit better, but still far from meeting the standard. Leona was obviously the one with the least progress. You would not deny that you found it a bit funny that the smug face of Leona totally disappeared, but still, it kind of pain you to see him being forced to do the same thing over and over, and not getting any rest. You had thought of speaking to Vil, suggesting giving them a rest, but you knew Vil was just doing that for the whole situation, and there was no way you could blame him for that.
"Leona, don't slouch!"
"Leona, your shoulders! Balance them!"
"Don't put your hands into your pockets!"
"FOR THE SAKE OF THE KING OF BEAST I AM SO FREAKING DONE!" finally, Leona could not stand the humiliation. He got rid of the vases on his head of shoulders and walked towards the door. "It can stay winter the rest of my life, or whatever. I DON'T GIVE A DAMN. I AM OUT!" was all he growled before he left the ballroom and smashed the door.
Vil was total startle by Leona's action. "What- That lion-" He was so angry that you could see his whole face was tomato red and there was almost steam coming out from his head.
"Y/n! Look at your lion!" You could feel that Vil was almost angry to cry. You knew he had been trying his best to complete the mission. You gave a soft pat on his shoulder, "It's fine, Vil. Give the rest to me. Take care of Kalim and Jamil first, and I'll take care of Leona.
You then walked out of the ballroom, and it was when you realized that it was already evening. The sky was dark and the moon was not really bright tonight, but it was also why the stars looked even more sparkling.
You first went to the kitchen of the dorm, and then you walked around the castle of Pomefiore, trying to seek Leona. He shouldn't be far away, you thought. At last, you found the lion on the external balcony. He was facing you with his back, elbow leaning on the baluster, and chin resting on his palm.
"Someone forgot to grab his dinner."
Leona heard a familiar voice. When he looked at the back, he found you walking towards him with two boxes in your hand.
You stopped next to him, placing the boxes on the marble baluster. "I had the chef reserve these. Steak, medium rare, you like that?" you said while slightly pushing the box containing a steak towards to moody lion.
"I'm not hungry." Leona claimed while looking away. Obviously, he was still furious for Vil ordering him around, but the next second, his stomach growled, which made him close and rolled his eyes out of embarrassment, and you could not help but let out a little laugh.
"You didn't have lunch today, right?" you asked while opening the meal box for yourself. It was a Carbonara Spaghetti, "Mind having dinner with me?"
Leona slightly turned to and looked at you before he finally decided to take the meal box and open it. "Be grateful that you're you, if not I'm going to punch whoever comes close." he uttered while cutting the steak.
"Vil is strict, right?" You expressed, trying to break the silence.
Leona poked the fork into a small piece of steak and put it into his mouth, "You've been there watching. Can't see how that's even a question."
"Ah, so someone is angry at me for not helping him to plead, huh?" You mocked with a teasing smirk.
Chewing the steak, Leona kept his chin propped on his hand sulkily, "Uh, so angry."
Hearing his response, you let out a smile before you deliberately raised your voice, "Oh, that's kinda sad then. I was gonna say that I did see some improvement, but never mind now."
Your words caught the lion's attention. he kept silent for a few seconds before he decided to speak, "So... you did see some improvement in me?"
You nodded, "Of course I did. You think I have been sitting there the whole day doing nothing?"
"At first, your feet drag the ground when you were walking, but now, you're no longer doing that."
"Also, your head used to bob whenever you take a step, but you have corrected that either."
"You're actually doing better and better." you told him.
Leona smirked as he heard your words, "You knew I don't buy that 'blindly praising' approach, huh? That will not be able to convince me to go back to that hell. I quit."
"Ya, I know you don't buy that, and I've finished yet." You continued, "I said you're doing better and better, and that also means that you've still got a long way from the target."
Hearing that, Leona frowned, "So you think my walking posture is that terrible huh?"
"No, it's not that I despise that. I never found any problem in the way you walk, to be honest." You explained, "But everything has its own rules and standards, and so does the T-stage. Vil is an expert on it, and I think listening to him isn't that bad."
Leona seemed still not convinced by you. "Tsk, you're just sticking up for that neat freak because you two were friends." Leona rolled his eyes when he said the word "friends". He would not show any of his jealousy though.
You shook your head, "I'm certainly not sticking up for him. In fact, I'm rather confident in you." and that again made Leona a bit surprised.
"You just lack motivation. I'm sure it should be a piece of cake for you when you're actually willing to do that," you told him.
Leona's eyes slightly widen in surprise while moving his eyes to you. Perhaps you were right. At first, he wanted to take part in the operation because of you, but slowly, Vil's strict training slowly obliterated his patience, and he did not even want to stay in that ballroom even for one more second.
An idea popped up in his mind along with a smirk on his face, "You know what? Maybe I do need some motivation, so let's give me motivation."
You looked at his mischievous smile with a doubtful one, but you still let him go on, "Alright, what gives you motivation?"
"Let's see." Leona continued and pretended to be thinking, "Ah I got it. If I succeed on the Fairy Gala show, you're going to give me a treat."
Not knowing what this cunning lion was planning again, you raised a brow and asked, "A treat? Of what?"
"Anything. I haven't figured that out yet. I will tell you if I do." He said before repeating his question, "So, what do you think about this deal?"
You thought for a second, and finally gave your decision, "Fine, if you can really do that."
Leona widened his grin, "Then wait to see how I make those fairies under the runway feast their eyes on me."
You let out a small laugh and rolled your eyes, "Confident, as always. But can't say I'm not glad that you're not quitting."
And that aroused the lion's curiosity. "Why is that?" he wondered.
"After all, I guess no one can carry that outfit better than you." slightly beaming, you answered.
"Ah, so you admit that you're thinking about me when you design that outfit, huh?"
"Hmm... Maybe I wasn't."
"Or maybe you were."
"Finish the steak quickly and return to the ballroom, or Vil will be mad at you, again."
"Distracting me from the topic, huh? Nervous, herbivore?"
"Definitely not."
The starry sky seemed to be more stunning tonight, but perhaps it was because of who you were looking at it with.
----
Finally, the day of the Fairy Gala had come.
"We'll go to the botanical garden in an hour. Now, start dressing up." Vil clapped his hand and announced.
After changing, Vil helped Kalim put on the makeup, while Jamil did that by himself.
You saw Leona sitting in front of the mirror, seeming a little bit confused about the cosmetics on the table.
"C'mon let me help you." you said while turning Leona's chair to you. Before he could react, you already had the brush in your hand. "You've put on the primer and foundation, right?" You asked.
"Y- yes, I did." Leona replied. He tried to hide the surprise caused by your sudden help, he did not hate that even for a bit though. "Thank you. Nearly forgot this is your expertise" He uttered.
You started by putting on the concealer. Leona's skin condition was great, but considering the visual effect on stage, you wanted him to look flawless. "I'm curious. Who helps you apply makeup every day? Ruggie-senpai?" You asked while putting on the highlighter, followed by the bronzer.
"I do it by myself." Leona said, "But I just do it with a finger and a one-colour eyeshadow palette." it usually took less than two minutes, and it was why he was a bit shocked when he saw a bunch of unknown cosmetics in front of him.
After finishing his base makeup, you moved on to his eyes. To fit the clothes and the theme, you decided to put on something gold and brown. It would give a fancy, noble yet wild look, so "Leona Kingscholar". "Close your eyes." You said before starting to put on the eyeshadow.
You leaned closer to his face to have a clearer vision of his eyes. Being focused on the makeup, you did not realize how close you two were. However, Leona did, even though he was closing his eyes. He could literally feel your soft breath, and that made his heartbeat start raising. He secretly opened an eye and looked at you, who was having all your attention on his other eye.
People say a person's most charming moment is when they focus on working. Leona did not pay attention to that before, but he did now, and he could not agree with it more. He unconsciously let out a tiny smile, and closed his eye, silently enjoying that moment of you and him.
The makeup nearly came to an end, and the lip gloss was what missing. You searched the case to see which one suited Leona the most, and finally, you found one with a low saturation colour. You carefully applied the gloss to his lips, making them look supple but not too glossy. You looked at Leona's face to have the final check, and everything looked perfect. You did not remember looking at Leona's face in such a close distance, and you were once again remained of how gorgeous he was. Lastly, your eyes stopped at his lips.
Kissable. All of a sudden, a word popped up in your head, and the moment you realized that, your heart was already beating crazily along with your face turning extremely red and warm. You immediately moved your eyes away, and it was when they met Leona's emerald ones. Your brain went totally blank when you finally realize the short distance between you two. If a heat detector was put in front of your forehead at the moment, it must tell that you're having g a fever.
No longer having any itchy feelings on his face, Leona thought you had finished the makeup process and decided to open his eyes. He stopped either when he saw you looking at his eyes. It felt like even air stayed still for half a minute when none of you two were able to make any reaction.
You pulled away and widened the distance once you successfully "rebooted" yourself, so as not to further embarrass yourself. "It... It done. Your makeup. You can... check it." You said with your eyes looking away, trying your best to calm yourself down and not to show more nervousness.
Leona blinked twice before he turned to the mirror and leaned closer to it. "It looks good. Thank you." He expressed.
You suggested moving to the hairstyling part quickly, so you could have an excuse to lower your head and not let Leona see how you were blushing.
How the hell would that word even come into your mind, Y/n?! You asked yourself while combing Leona's hair. You did not know why and definitely did not even expect that to happen, and you could not help but feel ashamed even though you were the only person who knew about that. You kept taking deep breaths but not so obvious so the others, especially Leona would not discover that. Combing his hair into one braid or a low bun with two braids aside were considered, but you ended up thinking putting down his hair naturally suited the theme windswept the most.
Sitting in front of you, Leona peeped at you and tried to check your expression. Although you tried hard to hide that, Leona could notice how pink your cheeks were. He let out a tiny smile and took out his phone to check on it.
Cute.
Finally, the three models and Ruggie were ready. Vil and Crewel went to Ignihyde to view the show via a drone feed set up by Idia. You, Grim, and Ruggie followed the model team to the botanical garden, as Ruggie had to replace the tiara, and you could assist him.
You and the others successfully entered the botanical garden. Unlike how it was usually, the garden today was decorated with shiny flowers everywhere.
"What a good way to ruin my favorite napping spot." Leona mumbled and rolled his eyes, annoyed by all the decorations.
All models had to gather at the backstage area, and the tiara team would go to the subtropical zone to stand by.
"Ah, now I AM nervous. What if we got caught?" Ruggie sighed. He'd be the one be bounded hand and foot if anything goes wrong.
"Quit yapping about what-ifs already." Leona impatiently shook his head.
"I'm here to keep that from happening, remember?" He assured Ruggie, of course, also to you.
God, how can he make me blush even with just one freaking sentence?
"Leona, wait." you called before the two teams parted, as you noticed that the back of his cape was folded.
"There." you said after crouching down and fixing it.
Just when you stood up from the ground, Leona suddenly grabbed your upper arm and slightly pulled you closer to him.
"Watch me still the show." was what he whispered near your ear with a smirk before he let go of your arm and walked away along with the Scarabian duo, leaving you standing still there with tomato-red face and ears.
"Oi oi Y/n-chan, what did Leona-san whisper to you? Lemme gossip a bit. Shi Shi Shi!" Ruggie mocked with his iconic laughter, and that only made you even more embarrassed.
Moving to the subtropic zone, Ruggie once again explained the plan: he would hide behind the Face Queen's throne and swap the tiaras. Grim would go with him to do the lookout duty. You would be keeping an eye on the show and signal him when it's time to make the swap, and giving Ruggie a call by that time, as they would not be able to view the show behind the throne.
Soon, the show began. Fairies with unique and gorgeous outfits started walking up the stage group by group. They had different body sizes. Some were as tall as Leona, while some were as tiny as your pinky. It was just like one of those fashion shows that you had watched back in your original world.
"The next group is Entry 14, which is a first-time participating one! They call themselves... 'My Retinue and Me'?" the fair emcee announced.
You could already be 99.9% sure that the name was thought by Leona. Only he could think of such an arrogant name. All you could do was let out a helpless smile.
The three of them entered the runway with Leona in the middle of Kalim and Jamil. Their show started with Kalim and Jamil dancing in the front. You could only say they'd all improved a lot compared to the beginning, especially Leona. It seemed that he had been paying double, if not triple effort in practicing after the night you talked with him.
It immediately arouses the interest of the audience. The sound of discussion was louder than those during the other groups' performance.
"I've never seen that kind of makeup! It suits the theme windswept a lot!"
"The outfits are well-received, and the details! Who IS the designer?"
The enthusiasm of the audience did not drop but kept on rising. Just the next second, Leona, who was originally walking behind at the back stepped forward. This action of him immediately wowed the crowd once again.
"Who is that fae in the middle?! So refined and self-possessed."
"His verdant eyes shine as brightly as a grassy plain on a spring day!"
"Truly! He embodies the theme of windswept!"
Seeing the reactions of the audience, you already knew they were more than successful. Leona looked perfect on the runway. Ranging from how he walked, the vibe he was giving, and his facial expressions. It was better than any rehearsals he had done.
By the time, Leona reached the end of the runway. Normally, models would pose there before turning around and returning to the backstage. You'd heard that Vil had told Leona to keep a pose in his pocket, but it seemed that he had been training for that secretly. He refused to show you, saying that he wanted to surprise you with that, and you knew nothing about that ending pose.
Just the next moment, Leona all of a sudden flipped up his heavy cape and made a turn with a wide sweep of his legs.
"WHAT IN THE WORLD?! This fairy was giving off an aloof and ephemeral air before, but now...! Never have I seen a fairy strike such a bold and powerful pose!" The emcee gasped, followed by everyone in the venue cheering for Leona.
You paused, totally frozen with widened eyes, and dropped jaw when you saw the pose Leona had just given. How in Twisted Wonderland could he pose like he is a professional model?!
You blinked twice to keep yourself on the mission. You looked towards the Fae Queen. She was admiring Leona with sparkling eyes and totally got carried away. You caught that moment and pressed the call button to phone Ruggie. Immediately, you saw a pair of hands above the queen's head, and within a second, the tiaras were swapped.
Operation Steal the Show, success!
Your eyes returned to the runway. Leona was still holding that dramatic yet stunning pose. Suddenly, Leona looked towards you. After confirming that you were also looking at him, he gave you a wink before moving on his runway walk.
You had not even come back into sense after the pose he gave just then, and here he was, "attacking" you with a freaking wink again! You parted your lips in startle, and your heart had already been rushing like crazy. LEONA KINGSCHOLAR!!
Seeing your reaction, a satisfied smile appeared on the lion's face. He walked to the starting point, and went into the backstage after giving one last pose, leaving the crowd cheering crazily for him under the runway.
----
After returning the mage stone to where it belonged, the temperature of the campus finally returned to normal, which meant lessons were reassumed.
You were sitting under a tree behind the Hall of Mirror. Leona once told you that it was a good place for napping, as the breeze was soft and refreshing. Since then, it became one of your favourite places on campus. You sometimes came here to do your homework, read some books, or simply just enjoy some me-time.
"Mind if I join?" A familiar voice asked. Though you already knew who he was, you still looked up with a smile. "Why not, super model-sama?" you teased.
Leona sat down next to you and took a look at what you were doing. "Ah, so you're a fan of fashion design now, designer-sama?" he teased back when he saw the scratches in your notebook.
"Not really a fan but, kinda got a new thing to do in my free time." You replied before closing the notebook and turned to him, "Anyway, what are you here for?"
Leona chuckled as he heard your question. "Well, I'm actually here to find you." your whereabouts were starting to be guessable for him, he added.
"You wouldn't have already forgotten about our deal, right?" he asked.
"Oh, you're talking about that." You said, "How would I?"
Hearing your reply, Leona widened the beam and continued, "Great. So I'm here to claim my treat."
You raised a brow along with a curious smile, "Fine. I admit that you killed the show, and the operation was successful. Go on, what kind of treat do you want?"
Leona gave you a look before he all of a sudden laid his head on your lap.
"Leona! What-"
"This is the treat I want, borrowing your lap as a pillow for a nap." he cut your gasp off and reminded, "You promised, anything."
"Besides, this is not the first time I've asked for that." He said, reminding you of that time he made the same request after he beat Jamil in the basketball one-on-one game. "No excuse to say no this time." he smirked.
"Wait-" You wanted to retort out of nervousness, but Leona had already closed his eyes. Soon, you could even hear his soft snore. He wasn't lying about his unique ability to fall asleep in 3 seconds.
You silently looked at him. Thinking about how he actually spent time and effort to finish the runway show, a soft smile appeared on your face. You tucked a stripe of his hair covering his eyes behind his ears.
"Alright, I will indulge that, just for once."
"Stupid Leona Kingscholar."
NOTE
A bit long, again:D I rewatched the Fairy Gala event to rekindle the storyline and details. All I can say is I was literally screaming at the scene where Leona walked on the runway:,D
Bonus
Art credit to:@Shiyu_x04 via Twitter