Title: Through Session After Session Of Intensive Practice
Characters: Riddle, Trey (flashback), Vil, Ghost
JP Proofreader: okaykei
EN Proofreader: Starly
Part 1
The Other Dimension - Sparkling Chamber
Riddle
Now, the turn is up next. Move your body according to my lead… Here we go.
*Flash*
Riddle
Good, your timing was perfect. You spun quite beautifully.
Ghost
I really did it! I was bad at the waltz when I was alive, so I'd always feel depressed on days when balls were held…
But today was oh so fun! I would never have managed without your skillful leading!
Riddle
That's great to hear. Contredanse format means that one changes partner in sequence. That allows you to dance without being too self-conscious, wouldn't you agree?
Such a style of dance may be unsuitable for a highly refined social function, but I believe it is perfect for a casual party like this.
Halloween's rules dictate that everyone must spend this day with a smile on their face, after all.
Ghost
Indeed, as you say!
Riddle
It is almost time for us to switch partners. Take the hand of the person to your left when the next bar ends.
Ghost
Will do. Thank you for the wonderful time we spent together. Have a good evening!
Riddle
You're welcome. I hope you have a good evening, as well.
???
Well, look at you. You're more comfortable escorting the ladies than I thought you would be. Would you be so willing as to dance with me next?
Riddle
Gladly.
Then, your hand, please… Vil.
Vil
I was watching you while dancing during the last round. Even in dance, your posture is refined, and your footwork is exceedingly smooth.
You surprised me. I didn't think you'd be able to dance this well.
Riddle
…That is because I have been fond of ballroom dance since my early childhood. I learned it from my mother as part of my education.
Given the choice, I would say that I prefer moving according to routine steps over dancing freestyle to the rhythm.
Vil
Now, don't scowl like that on a splendid day like Halloween. I never intended to criticize you.
In fact, it's quite the opposite: you managed to receive praise from me. How about looking just a tiny bit happy instead?
Riddle
…It felt like you were looking down on my athletic ability.
Vil
Good grief. Don't you know that taking praise in a negative light is practically the same thing as revealing one's own insecurities?
What I'm trying to say is, you've managed to come a long way to be able to dance in those high-heeled boots without wobbling.
And to think that last year, your legs were trembling as if you were a newborn deer.
Riddle
…Huh? Last year?
Vil
Oh my, have you forgotten? It was back when you'd just become housewarden…
Part 2
The Other Dimension - Sparkling Chamber
Vil
Oh my, have you forgotten? It was back when you'd just become housewarden…
Interior Hallway
Riddle
Do these housewarden meetings always drag on for this long?
If we were having a constructive exchange of opinions, then fine…but that whole meeting was spent doing nothing but pushing troublesome tasks onto each other!
Trey
Haha… That's because the housewardens are busy with all kinds of different jobs. Adding more to their plate is probably the last thing they want, honestly.
Riddle
Yes, but I'm just as busy as they are.
I cannot feel the Queen of Hearts' spirit of strictness in the current Heartslabyul.
However, now that I have taken the role of housewarden, I will see to it that this situation is fixed.
First, I'll need to make every student of our dorm memorize all 810 laws created by the Queen of Hearts.
They're nothing but rulebreakers. I barely have enough hands to keep up with punishing them all.
Trey
Riddle… I understand where you're coming from, but make sure not to go overboard.
Changing housewardens just a week into the new school year is practically unheard of. The dorm students are probably at a bit of a loss over what they should do, you know?
Riddle
You're too lax!!
You upperclassmen who allowed such sloppy behavior in the first place are the root of the problem to begin with.
Had the students been strictly disciplined according to the Laws of the Queen of Hearts from the start…
…Ngh!
Trey
Riddle? Why did you suddenly stop? Is everything alright?
Riddle
…It's nothing. I just remembered I have an errand to complete. You may return to the dorm first, Trey.
Trey
…Okay, got it.
*Trey leaves*
Riddle
Is Trey…? Alright, it appears he's gone now.
There doesn't seem to be much traffic in this area, so I should be able to afford a little rest.
Riddle
Sigh… As expected.
I was wondering why my feet were aching. As it turns out, I've gotten some horrible blisters.
These are new boots, after all, and I've never worn high heels in my life, so it's no surprise, really.
It's already impossible to believe that these would be suitable for walking or exercise from its form alone… I wonder why shoes with such high heels are so widely popularized.
???
Do you need this bandaid?
It is a wonder how blisters hurt so much even though they are such tiny injuries, isn't it?
Riddle
You are… If I'm not mistaken, you're the vice housewarden of Pomefiore…
Vil
Vil Schoenheit, yes.
I thought I should call out to you when I caught sight of you walking as awkward as a newborn deer.
I can't help but feel sorry for the Queen of Hearts when the housewarden of the dorm embodying her spirit walks in such an unsightly manner, no?
Riddle
Grngh!
Vil
But still, what made you go out of your way to wear heeled boots?
Riddle
Huh?
Vil
This school allows housewardens to freely alter their own dorm uniforms, correct?
Based on your moaning and groaning, it doesn't seem like you chose to wear those boots because you like them.
Ever since I entered this school, the Heartslabyul housewarden has always worn a uniform identical to the rest of his dorm students.
That includes his sneakers. You shouldn't have a need to force yourself to wear high heels.
Riddle
You're not mistaken. Honestly, my feet ache wearing them, and it gets on my nerves knowing that there are those who believe I wear these to appear taller.
Vil
Then…
Riddle
However, it was recorded in the archives that both the Queen of Hearts and the first housewarden of Heartslabyul wore high heels.
…I had my housewarden uniform tailored to the same design as that of the first one.
Regarding what you've just said, Vil, I have heard about being able to arrange one's uniform.
But if I am to be the leader of the dorm that embodies the Queen of Hearts' spirit of severity, then I should be honoring its traditions and wearing an appropriately dignified uniform.
The housewarden must always lead his dorm's students by example.
Riddle
The Heartslabyul of today has slackened to its very core! I must change the students' attitudes both swiftly and thoroughly!
Vil
I can understand your desire to improve your dorm. But…
Riddle
But… What?
Vil
…It's nothing. I shouldn't meddle with your dorm's affairs as an outsider.
In any case, returning to your dorm with your feet in such a state would be difficult. Stop being stubborn and accept this bandaid already.
Riddle
…Then if you don't mind, I'll gladly use it.
Vil
I'm used to wearing heels now, but I always needed to have bandaids on standby when I first started wearing them.
Riddle
I also plan to ensure that I will always have bandaids with me from here on. It's no one else's fault but my own that I neglected to prepare countermeasures for something like this.
Vil
Changing your insoles and attaching cushioned padding to the back of the heel are effective at preventing blisters, as well.
The road to wearing high heels beautifully and comfortably is surprisingly rocky, after all.
Riddle
…Thank you for sharing your bandaids with me.
Could you let me know which class you belong to so that I can return a new one to you tomorrow?
Vil
Do I look that cheap to you? You don't need to return something as simple as a bandaid, you know.
Riddle
…The reason I insist is because our dorm has a rule stating that one must return what was borrowed.
I will never show myself in such an unsightly state again. I'll take my leave now.
*Riddle leaves*
Vil
From the way he walks to everything else about him… It feels as if anything could trip him at any moment.
Part 3
The Other Dimension - Sparkling Chamber
Riddle
…That did indeed happen.
Vil
The fact that you really went so far as to find out what my class was all to return a bandaid the day after that truly surprised me.
Riddle
I believe I did tell you that it was so decreed by the Laws. And…more importantly, I wouldn't have been able to find peace of mind if I left things at that.
…After you gave me the bandaid, I ordered a manual on walking that night.
Together with reference videos, I used that manual to put myself through session after session of intensive practice where I studied postures that allow one to walk gracefully with ease and learned how to adjust my center of gravity, among other things.
Now I can spend practically an entire day in heels with no problem. And as you can see…dance steps are also perfectly doable for me.
Riddle
Being able to present myself dancing in heels like this to you, Vil…
…honestly gives meaning to today's whole commotion. It would have been vexing had I never been given the chance to erase your past impression of my incompetence.
Vil
I thought you'd become more relaxed for the most part, but it looks like that part of you remains the same as always.
…All that said, you truly do come across as a different person now. I can no longer spot a single vestige of the newborn deer you used to be.
Riddle
Spending all this time daily in high heels has made me realize there is something good about them that no other shoes can boast of.
Whenever I move to walk gracefully in heels, my gaze naturally turns upwards, and my back and neck both straighten.
I've taken quite the liking to how it both improves my posture and keeps me alert at the same time.
Vil
I concur. High-heeled shoes enable us to appear more domineering and charming.
Riddle
Yes. In addition…
…my dorm's students instantly straightening up the moment they hear my footsteps isn't so bad, either.
High heels are the sole shoes that can produce such uniquely reverberating footsteps, after all.
Vil
Now we're talking.
Even right now as we perform in this dance hall, everyone's attention turns to us with every step we take.
I have little doubt in my mind that both the Fairest Queen and the Queen of Hearts…
…let their heels resound just like this to bring their subjects to their knees.
Riddle
Indeed. And the same must have applied to the card soldiers who realized they'd forgotten to paint the roses red…
I can just imagine how they would have trembled out of fear for their heads upon hearing the click-clack of her heels as she approached.
One can announce their presence through but a single click of a heel, inspiring both reverence and awe from those gathered.
We are the ones who stand at the peak of the dorms holding the spirit of those queens. Nothing is more suited for us than these pointed shoes.
Riddle
Happy Halloween!