"Well, Marcus, if you want to come outside and talk to your students, I think Jonathan can assist you, you know?"
"You're right, Maurice. I think I'll come and see how you all are doing. Honestly, I would be very proud of you if the Academy wasn't in flames or something..."
"Oh, come on, Marcus... Don't you trust the Academy council?"
"I don't have much trust in the council, but I do trust its president... And I'm starting to have some faith in the vice president now that I see he's taking responsibility..."
"Oh, who are you and what have you done with Marcus? Weren't you two enemies before? You know what you used to say about Jonathan's impossibility to recover, right?"
"Yes, I know... But I think I was wrong... Anyway, I'd like to talk to Jonathan for a moment, do you mind?"
"No, just be careful... You were just discharged, and you're not supposed to engage in strenuous activities, you know?"
"N-No, it's not what you think, okay? Anyway, if it comes to that..."
My fudanshi heart started beating faster at the thought of Jonathan and Marcus potentially becoming a couple. They would make an interesting pair if that were the case. I just hope Jonathan doesn't exhaust himself in the first few days... Maybe I should go visit Adrien...
"Adrien, are you in your room?" I asked after knocking on his door.
"I'm here, Maurice..."
It seems Adrien is in his room, and it appears he is rooming with one of our council members... Well, I can only say that they are well-suited roommates. Anyway, for any eventuality, Adrien already has someone, so...
"Stay calm, Maurice... And I also have someone outside that I miss... I can say we're just two people lamenting the absence of our partners..."
"Well said, anyway..."
"Maurice, my brother greets you... Oh, it seems your acquisition is inseparable from you, isn't it?"
"Oh, come on... That whole spectacle was just to make sure Felix is okay. Anyway, it seems that Felix and I are more than just friends now, right?"
"M-Maybe..." Felix stammered.
"Well, from what it seems, it's true, I have to admit... Anyway, my brother wasn't right for you," the Japanese prince said.
"I think you're right... Now, getting back to the subject, I believe all the rumors about your masculinity are just rumors, don't you think?"
"I'm glad you're on the side of the Japanese people, dear Maurice... Anyway, it's not like the rumors about you are any more true than those... You know, the one about you being involved with the Duke of Milan's daughter..."
"I have no intention of talking about that witch... I miss the days of the Inquisition. But I know that as a noblewoman, she couldn't be burned at the stake..."
"Let's go downstairs together, shall we?"
As soon as we descended, we were greeted by Marcus, leaning on Jonathan, surrounded by students wishing him a speedy recovery. I hope today will come without any unpleasant experiences, though...
"I was discharged today, and I'm feeling quite well... Anyway, I assume you're eager to ski on the Emperor's 500-meter slope, aren't you?"
"Father, aren't you coming with us? It's not like you've broken your legs or something, right?"
"I-I think that Mar-" Jonathan tried to intervene.
"I think I could give it a try. Anyway, I think we should first see the place, shouldn't we?"
After the butler and the other servants gave us a tour, we saw the dining hall and the recreation room. After touring the entire residence and being amazed by the wealth of the imperial family, we all went outside to ski on the imperial slope. We were all excited and trying to have fun. Although I had never skied before, I put on my skis and, after less than a minute, I fell...
"Quick, the president has fallen!"
Oh no... It sounds even more embarrassing than it is... I've made a fool of myself in front of all my colleagues...
"Maurice, are you okay?" Felix asked, extending his hand to help me up.
"I-I'm fine... Anyway, I guess I should learn how to ski before attempting it on my own, right?"
"Typical of you, Maurice... You always want to appear tough even though you have no idea what's happening around you..."
"Jonathan, you better keep quiet if you don't want me to get back at you, okay?"
"M-Marcus, Maurice is threatening me... Say something..."
"Jonathan, I told you not to address me by name in public, didn't I?"
"Sorry, I forgot..."
Well, the interesting thing is that Felix knows some medicine and noticed that I have a minor sprain that will heal overnight if I take care of my leg. Anyway, it seems I can't ski on the first day, so I'll have to wait until the second day...
"Maurice, I'll come with you," Felix addressed me. "I think we should join too. Our teacher needs rest, right?" Jonathan continued. "Well, I guess you're right... I just got discharged, so I won't be that active in the first few days..."
It seems like most of our group gathered again to go to the recreation room and play some games... I thought it would be better to go to mine and Felix's room, considering it was the most spacious one.
As we headed towards the room, a familiar voice came from behind us. It seems that Adrien got bored with skiing and thought it would be nice to join us inside.
"Now that we're all here, let's go to my room and play Monopoly, shall we? Anyway, Jonathan has a few bags of chips and some bottles of soda, and we can have a quiet fun time until midnight, right?"
"You're right... Let's go..."
We went to my room and started playing Monopoly. Of course, Marcus was chosen as the banker, being the oldest and richest among us... The emperor's son, what can I say... And let's not forget that this residence belongs to his family, so...
I was the first to roll the dice and got the highest number, followed by Jonathan, Marcus, Adrien, and Felix. It seems Felix is quite unlucky when it comes to dice rolling. I bought a country on the game board, paying the necessary money to the banker, which was Marcus.
The other three did the same, buying other countries, while Felix landed on the Community Chest... Let's see what the card says...
"Today is your birthday. Collect $10 from each player."
It seems Felix is not as unlucky as he seems. Anyway, not long after that, I rolled the dice again and landed on one of the four stations in the game. It's starting to become fun...
Jonathan landed on one of the Chance cards... Let's see what chance Jonathan has of winning...
"Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200."
"I told you... I'm a magnet for jails... It's not like I'm a bad guy, right, Maurice?" Jonathan started lamenting.
"Was that a rhetorical question, or..."
"It doesn't matter anymore... It's your turn, Marcus..."
"Oh, come on... Jonathan, I told you not to call me that in public, okay?"
"But we're not in public here... We're all members of the council, and you're not as old as you want to appear, okay?"
"Yeah, you're right... Oh, the maximum number..."
It seems that the maximum roll didn't help him, as he landed at my station and had to pay $25 in rent. After Adrien purchased another country on the game board, it was Felix's turn to roll the dice... Once again, he got the lowest possible numbers... Wait, it can't be...
"Felix, how much would you give me for that station? You know, I don't think you need it, right?"
"Maurice, I don't think you want to cheat, do you?"
"Why would I want to cheat? Anyway, Jonathan and Marcus are in jail, Adrien keeps buying small countries around, but I need your station to win, you know?"
"Sorry, but I can't help you with that..."
"Felix, don't forget that you'll be sharing a bed with me for a week. If you want to wake up with problems, let me know, and I can arrange that..."
Even threats didn't seem to affect him, and I had to acknowledge my inability to have all four stations... for now...
After a few more moves, it seemed like everyone was close to going bankrupt. Jonathan was in jail, Marcus was visiting him, Adrien started mortgaging his properties to avoid bankruptcy, and Felix was busy building hotels on his properties.
"Well, now it's my turn to roll the dice," Marcus said excitedly. "Hm, it seems I have to move five steps... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... No way... D-Did I go bankrupt?"
Our beloved teacher and banker, Marcus, just landed on one of Felix's hotel properties. With joy in his eyes and a glimmer of a businessman, Felix took the last bit of money from poor Marcus, who became the first victim of Felix's power.
"Well then, I can finally get out of jail... Let's see what the dice say..."
Jonathan, just released from jail, had the same fate as his roommate... Two victims fell under the scythe of Felix's hotels...
Adrien, already on the verge of collapse, met the same fate... This time, it was because of my hotel in Russia... Oops, I didn't mean to do that...
Now it was just me and Felix. The battle was tight... So tight that our other colleagues started placing bets...
"Hey, Felix... Do you want to make a bet?"
"What do you want to win from this, Maurice? Or rather, what do you want to lose?"
"I thought that the loser should be the servant of the winner in the room for the entire trip. What do you say?"
"That sounds boring... I had something else in mind... Come here, I'll whisper it in your ear..."
I approached Felix to hear the secret wager he was proposing for the loser of the game... I couldn't believe what the stakes were.
"The winner gets to do whatever they want to the loser all night for the entire 7 days of the vacation? Do you agree, or are you too scared of such a bet, Maurice?"
"Do you think I'm scared of such a bet? Anyway, I won't lose, so you should mentally prepare yourself, my dear roommate..."
Now I had to win... I guess he wouldn't mind if I used this wager to make some advances on poor Felix. Anyway, he wouldn't even know what hit him.
Immediately after that, I rolled the dice, praying for a double to escape the misfortunes caused by Felix... What were the chances of having to move 8 steps? 0%.
"Well, let's see... 4, and another 4 make-"
"8 steps, Maurice... What were you saying about the bet?"
"N-No... It can't be... I can't lose against you... Jonathan, there's no 8 on the dice, right?"
"I'm sorry, buddy... It's your fault for making such bets. Anyway, I suggest you pray that Felix doesn't try to make advances on you this week... Good luck..."
After we finished the Monopoly game, accepting my defeat like a true noble, we started playing card games, including a bit of poker... It seems we picked the wrong opponent because Marcus was a poker professional, which we found out from the first few seconds...
"Come on, anyone has something to bet? Jonathan, do you have anything to bet? Seems like you're out of money, right?"
"That's not fair... You're our teacher and..." Felix tried to intervene.
"Then I'll make a bet... I'll bet my virginity on this game," Jonathan said, surprising everyone.
What followed was even more astonishing... Marcus accepted the bet...