Chapter 27: The Pearl Hidden in the Ishikawa Family.

On this day, the banquet hosted by the Noyama family took place as scheduled.

On the surface, it was a social gathering for the new students of Ōka Academy, but to any discerning observer, it was clear that this was merely a pretext.

Recently, a particular piece of news had been circulating within high-society circles: Nogami Hiroki, the heir to a top-tier prestigious family, had reached school age yet still had no fiancé.

Normally, a child of such lineage would have already selected several candidates for a marriage alliance and begun initial contact.

Yet, the heir to the Noyama family not only lacked a formal fiancé, but even the list of potential candidates had never been made public.

This was highly unusual.

Was someone already chosen internally but kept secret for some reason? Or had the original candidate fallen through, necessitating a search for someone new?

Various speculations quietly spread through social circles.

The Noyama family’s continued silence only served to make the rumors grow more fervent.

Even more suspicious was the preparation for this banquet—notified only one month in advance, yet inviting numerous key figures from the political and business worlds.

A banquet of this caliber usually required several months of preparation.

What exactly did the Noyama family intend by acting with such haste?

Soon, word began to leak out: the Noyama family might be announcing their heir’s engagement tonight.

The source of the news was unknown, and its authenticity was hard to verify, yet it was enough to make the onlookers incredibly excited.

Families who were genuinely interested in a marriage alliance, however, secretly braced themselves.

For those who knew their family status was far below the mark, this was merely a good show.

But for families with the actual strength to compete, any slight movement was a cause for vigilance, as the Noyama family had never officially discussed a marriage alliance with them.

If the rumors were true, it meant they had already been excluded.

Those families who had invested significant resources into a marriage alliance—some even planning corporate mergers—now put on forced smiles as they felt each other out, trying to find any clue in their rivals’ expressions.

Amidst such surging undercurrents, the doors to the banquet hall slowly opened.

Although the banquet had not yet officially begun, this slightly late entry instantly attracted all eyes.

“That is Young Master Yota of the Ishikawa family… then the one beside him is…”

The two individuals walking through the open portal became the focus of the entire room.

The boy was a familiar face to everyone: Ishikawa Yota, the heir to the Ishikawa family, whose status was enough to rival that of the Noyama family.

What was surprising was that Yota, who usually moved alone, was currently playing the gentleman and escorting a young girl.

“Is that the rumored hidden pearl of the Ishikawa family?”

“I think her name is…”

The answer was self-evident.

The Ishikawa family did indeed have a daughter who had never been seen in public, a mysterious figure who had remained hidden despite being at an age where she should have already debuted in the social world.

Her name was…

“Miss Ishikawa Yuka!”

The rumors about her had always been unpleasant: some said she was rude and unrefined, others said she was ugly, and some even whispered that she was so dull-witted that she couldn’t learn basic etiquette.

Those rumors were shattered in an instant.

“So beautiful…”

“She doesn’t look like someone who doesn’t know etiquette at all, does she?”

“No matter how you look at it, she doesn’t seem like someone with a perverse personality.”

The young girl named Ishikawa Yuka walked into the venue with a composed stride, her back straight and her poise perfect beyond reproach.

That posture not only far exceeded her peers, but even professional etiquette teachers would have marveled at it.

She offered a slight nod, and the elegance in her shifting gaze was enough to captivate even the adults present.

It turned out that the Ishikawa family head’s usual boasting about his daughter was no lie—no, it could even be called modest.

Some might feel that using such vocabulary to describe a six- or seven-year-old child was an exaggeration.

But Ishikawa Yuka truly captured the hearts of every guest in the room in an instant.

It wasn’t a romantic attraction, but something more like the affection of a grandparent for a grandchild, or the admiration of a fan for an idol.

Regardless of age or gender, no one in the room could take their eyes off her.

A normal child’s first debut would inevitably involve some nervous blunders, yet this young girl’s perfect performance made it hard to believe this was her social debut.

Later, when Nogami Hiroki and Kurohara Masahira stepped forward to speak with her, the distance made it impossible to hear the specifics, but the familiarity between the three was obvious.

Even more surprising was Hiroki’s performance; that precocious and arrogant boy revealed a bashfulness appropriate for his age only in front of Yuka.

Everyone knew exactly what this meant.

When Mrs. Noyama also took the initiative to approach the Ishikawa siblings, the last clouds of doubt vanished completely.

Everyone became certain of the true purpose of this banquet.

The adult guests were full of curiosity about Yuka, who was making her first appearance in the social world.

Some pretended to get food to observe her closely, only to be left stunned.

The girl’s dining etiquette was perfect beyond reproach, not only far exceeding her peers but even surpassing the standards of professional etiquette instructors.

What kind of rigorous teaching had she undergone?

Those who were unwilling to accept it tried to find a flaw, only to return empty-handed in the end.

At that moment, another girl approached Yuka: Matsuyama Shoko, rumored to be one of the candidates for Hiroki’s marriage alliance.

Those who had previously thought Shoko was quite precocious only realized the gap when seeing them side by side.

If Shoko was like a “little adult,” then Yuka already possessed the aura of a true adult.

Interestingly, when Shoko stood beside Yuka, she actually seemed more appropriate for her age.

After a brief conversation between these two potential rivals for Hiroki’s hand, Shoko departed.

Finally, the banquet reached its climax, and the dancing segment began.

The adults withdrew to the edges, leaving the center of the dance floor to the children.

Ishikawa Yota escorted Yuka into the dance floor, where Hiroki, waiting there, naturally took Yuka’s hand from him.

The symbolic significance of this action was self-evident.

Just like a father handing his daughter to the groom in a Western wedding, Yota entrusting Yuka to Hiroki held the same weight in everyone’s eyes.

Hiroki, who had never had a dance partner, and Yuka, who had never been shown in public, led the dance in the center of the floor—the meaning of this meticulously arranged performance was more than clear.

The music began, and the children started to dance.

Most children danced with a cute clumsiness, stepping on toes or bumping into each other—except for the pair at the center of focus.

Only the two bathed in the spotlight seemed to be in another world.

They were as synchronized as if they had practiced thousands of times, every step fitting together with precision.

The unique choreography was performed to the fullest without a single hint of disarray.

The children surrounding them became mere background.

Some ladies were even moved to tears, as if they were watching a beautiful scene from a movie.

The music quickened, and the other children began to struggle, yet the two in the center remained perfectly at ease.

Rather than saying they were following the music, it was more like the professional musicians were working hard to keep up with their steps.

When the music ended on a crescendo, the entire banquet hall remained immersed in the lingering charm, falling into a long silence.

Clap… clap clap… clap clap clap!!!

Scattered applause startled the crowd into awareness, which then transformed into a thunderous roar of cheering.

“That was wonderful!”

“A match made in heaven!”

Their dancing was flawless, and their chemistry was astonishing.

To reach such a level, they must have undergone long-term joint practice; it could not possibly be a temporary pairing.

Everyone believed that Hiroki’s partner had been decided.

However, things did not end there.

As the dance concluded, Kurohara Masahira appeared before the two and took Yuka’s hand for the second dance.

The onlookers began new speculations: after yielding the first dance to Hiroki, Masahira immediately invited her to dance—could this mean that between the Noyama and Kurohara families, and between Hiroki and Masahira, a battle for Yuka was unfolding?

Even more surprising was that the dance between Masahira and Yuka was equally magnificent.

This did not look like partners dancing together for the first time.

If it hadn’t been rehearsed, even a professional dance teacher would have found it difficult to achieve such harmony.

It turned out this banquet was not just about announcing an engagement between Hiroki and Yuka.

The reason the Noyama family had delayed the announcement was that the heir and the son of the Kurohara family were competing for the daughter of the Ishikawa family!

From this day forward, this rumor would spread far and wide through high society.

And a certain major event that followed would ignite another even more shocking rumor within the social world…