After Yuki payed for her stuff, which turned out to be more expensive than anticipated but still in their price range, they helped Arina pick one as well, though Yuki made sure Yamato was not as involved as she only wanted him to pick her dress and not Arina's. After Yuki had explained the basic manners expected of her when attending such an event, she quickly tried to get out of the interaction to spend more time alone with Yamato. This caused her to accidentally agree going there together with her, which she regretted right after but saw no polite way to retract her consent. But at least it caused her to leave them alone again, so it was only Yamato and Yuki again. A sacrifice she decided was worth it, as she definitely did not want Arina to come along to where they would go next.
And so they went to buy a suit for Yamato, which she was very excited about. Since she allowed (forced) him to pick her dress, naturally she now got to pick his outfit, which Yamato first thought was the only reason sue wanted him to pick in the first place, though he then realized that she probably genuinely wanted to wear something he picked for her. Since he did not mind her picking for him, he thought of it as rather convenient. Similarly to him, she seemed to struggle with picking one, though for a different reason. He simply had no idea about fashion. But she did, yet she could not choose because she wanted him to wear everything. Or at least try everything on once so she could make a mental picture to look at forever! Thoughshe knew he would never do that, as it would take them days probably. She would maybe get him to try on four or five, before he either caught on to her or just got annoyed, which she would hate. So she decided to take it serious and make the perfect choice first try, and that choice fell on a richly textured black suit composed of a sharply tailored tailcoat, a short waistcoat, and knee-length breeches. The coat features a high standing collar, a sloped cutaway front, and long pointed tails at the back, with fabric-covered buttons and wide cuffs detailed with trim and buttons. Beneath it, the waistcoat hugs the torso with a row of small buttons, matching the same patterned fabric. The breeches are slim and close-fitting, ending just below the knee with neat button closures.
A crisp white shirt collar peeks out from the neckline, adding contrast to the dark balck tones.
She clapped enthusiastically.
"You look amazing, Master!"
"I like my school uniform more…"
"Well, it is surprisingly modern, considering all the other clothes are kind of 18th century… But hey, this one looks great too!"
"If you say so…"
"If you are unhappy with my decision, we can pick another one."
"No, it's not about your pick, it's the fashion in general… But it will be fine. I guess it's somewhat stylish…"
"That's the spirit! I will love you in clothes from any time, Master!"
"Thanks…"
Though Yamato was not as enthusiastic as she had hoped him to be, she was fine with that and proceeded to happily hum something as they payed and left the store to bring the clothes back home.
Days passed by until it was the evening before the exam, which was highly anticipated by Yuki as she made it todays mission to dance with Yamato! They were awaited in front of the school gates with carriages. There were ones that had two seats and ones that had four, and the ones with four seats seemed to be more popular. Yuki saw this as her opportunity to get rid of Arina, as she lied about having forgotten something in her room, so she could stall time until only carriages with two seats were left. Though, as she left, the trend changed for no apparent reason and everyone suddenly wanted a two seats carriage, and when she came back only four seat carriages were left. She cursed whoever took the last two seat carriage in her head and wished their entire family death and misery, then proceeded to go into a carriage together with Yamato, Arina and a random classmate she did not remember the name of, neither did she bother to ask. Arina seemed to be friends with him, as they seemed to have a good conversation, though Yuki would just stare at the window the entire time, looking through the reflection at Yamato and herself next to him. What a pretty picture, she thought. Once they arrived, Yamato left first and helped Yuki get out, and they admired the mansion which they were supposed to enter. The garden was as big as the entire school grounds, and the main building bigger than the largest building of the school. Stone pillars with to Yamato fascinating engravings, and statues next to them, twice as tall as the average person. If Yamato had to make an estimate, than the value of this building in a modern world would easily go into tens of millions, without having seen the interior, which might push it into billions. It made him wonder what exactly Elara's family did to afford this, though maybe the existence of magic allows for architectural marvel such as this to be common property amongst aristocrats.
After entering the building, the luxury just became more and more, expensive carpet, paintings and statues of pure gold, it was hard to find a spot that was not valuable beyond ones wildest dreams. They were one of the last ones to arrive, due to Yuki's fauled trick, so there were already a lot of people, not just their classmates but also some other students. Yamato expected this as it was logical for other aristocratic families to come here with their children, even if he did not know what the deeper meaning behijd this event was. Though all people semeed well dressed and fitted into the wealthy atmosphere full of treasure. Though for Yuki everything just did not compare to her one true treasure that was Yamato, a line she considered saying out loud but chose not to as she felt like he was focused on something else. There were large stairs leading into the main hall in which they were standing, and in front of these stairs were two men talking while drinking what appeared to be wine, though it was difficult to tell from that distance. Based on their clothes and accessories, Yamato assumed they were very wealthy, one possibly Elara's father, their host, the other he had no idea, though he was interested in finding out.
"Hey, eyes on me!"
"Not now, Yuki, I'm trying to lip read-"
"Yes, now!"
She grabbed his face and turned it to face her, getting really close.
"You're focusing on the wrong thing! Besides, this is to have fun, not some place were you need to plot and scheme. You'll have to do that tomorrow during the exam, so use this to relax, mentally prepare yourself, and otherwise only focus on me~"
"Maybe you are right…"
"Of course I am~"
He, to her surprise hugged her. She squealed in delight, hugging him back. Though he was just using this to look over her shoulder at the two men, still trying to figure out what they were saying, though their beards made it even more difficult than it already was due to the distance. The only things he could make out were: "money", "royal" and "problem", which really did not help him at all. Feeling like maybe Yuki was actually right, and also having no other alternative than to give up for now, he let go of the hug and shifted his focus onto her. Suddenly, the lights were dimmed and the two men at the top of the stairs held a short welcoming speech, which contained no noteworthy information. After they finished, music started playing and the lights were focused onto the middle of the room, leaving a wide spotlight which seemed to mark the dance floor. Yuki's moment had finally arrived. She took a step back and extended her hand to Yamato, while bowing slightly.
"Dearest beloved, will you grant yours truly this dance to start off this wonderful evening, which shall continue to be as delightful as your appearance~?"
"…How formal. How could I refuse? Though be warned, despite my many talents, dancing does not fall into my area of expertise."
He gently grabbed onto her expecting hand, as they moved onto the dance floor were some already began to dance elaborately in the light which was pointed at them, though Yuki only saw the light pointed at Yamato. She was ready to take the lead, as he just said himself that he was not good at dancing, when he took the lead himself and they began dancing with even more passion and grace than all those around them combined.
"What's that, were you just shy in admitting that you were secretly a pro~?"
"Not at all. I sinply watched those around me doing it while we walked up onto the dance floor, copied and improved it, and now I can dance, I suppose."
"Pft, show off… I love you~"
Their coordination and graceful movements quickly outshined all the other pairs around them, as the floor felt as though it was only meant to be used by those two and no one else. The spotlight only for the two, not that it mattered as no one would be able to take it away in the first place. Everyone seemed fascinated by just watching, as the other pairs just left the floor to watch as well. Even the two men, who were talking without much interest in what happened below the stairs, stopped to watch Yamato and Yuki's dance. Yuki's dress fluttering as she spun in his arms, the deep blue of her eyes reflecting the deep blue of her dress, as both seemed to be focused on Yamato and him alone. As the music reached its climax, so did their dance as she let herself be caught by him as she fell back, ending in a passionate kiss and applause.