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chapter 09…
“Coming back to see everyone after so long, and you start with that?”
Sierra grumbled and lowered herself slightly. Their friends, busy with their own assignments, had gathered in the student cafeteria after a few days.
“Really?”
While the others teased, Kisha, quietly nodding, asked. Thistlein shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t really know if ghosts exist. But apparently, someone claimed to have seen something like a ghost.”
“Ugh, scary.”
Irina twisted her face, but she didn’t hesitate to bring a spoonful of pudding to her mouth. When the other three looked at her, she blinked and casually said,
“What? What does a ghost have to do with pudding? The living have to eat.”
“That’s true. It’s rare to even get something like this in the school cafeteria.”
“Considering how much they donate, why is the food so bad?”
When Thistlein enrolled, the Ermis family had donated about three times the amount of her entrance fee. Kisha’s family, the Maris house, probably donated a similar amount, since their financial situation was similar. The Pontinaire Marquis, who doted on his only granddaughter, likely donated three times that.
Irina’s father, Baron Kirsi, being a banker, probably gave an enormous donation too, though no one really knew how much.
‘Maybe the same as what the Duke gave when Damien enrolled?’
Even though Duke Luxen had gritted his teeth over losing his favored student to the royal school, he did not hesitate to give a huge donation. Regardless of the king or duke’s rivalry, the school benefited from both the money and getting Damien Ksanov.
Still, even with all that money, the school cafeteria only maintained food that was just edible. It almost felt like they were determined not to give any better food to the students who had donated.
There were other places in school with better food: the second floor of the central plaza cafeteria, or the faculty cafeteria near the dean’s office. But you couldn’t go there every day.
“This year Anatis joined, too. And yet nothing has changed.”
“Hasn’t it?”
Irina poked at the remaining pudding as she asked, and Sierra made a grimace.
“Just barely?”
“Shh.”
Sitting across from each other, Thistlein and Kisha quickly stopped Sierra.
“Why?”
“You wouldn’t like it if someone talked about you behind your back either.”
Sierra seemed to understand, nodding. At that moment, Prince Anatis entered the cafeteria.
The once noisy cafeteria fell into an unusual silence.
“Hm. Is it usually this quiet?”
Only after the prince murmured that did people start to chatter again, but everyone still kept listening closely. Thistlein’s table was no exception.
The prince was accompanied by a student with a Knights Department emblem. They seemed to know each other, which was surprising given the casual manner.
Of course, considering status, Princess Adeline of Luxen—two years older than Anatis—also acted playful and innocent around Thistlein and Damien. Anatis, two years younger than Thistlein and three years older than Adeline, could also comfortably hang out with someone of similar status.
Still…
“I thought I’d get to see Sir Ksanov after enrolling in the royal school. Dief, you’re in the Knights Department, right? Have you seen him?”
Why Damien again? Thistlein nearly spat out her food.
Luckily, her friends were too focused on the prince to notice her expression. She quickly swallowed and set down her utensils, not daring to drink water in case something unexpected came up.
“Not seen him?”
“No. Not yet.”
Sierra muttered softly, wondering if he was really her friend. Thistlein shrugged.
“When you do, be sure to tell me what he’s like. My brother went into the Knights Department alone and met Sir Ksanov…”
It was unusual that Crown Prince Castro, Anatis’s older brother, had entered the Knights Department, but it wasn’t for meeting Damien. Castro had enrolled two years before Damien, and they had only been in the same class for half a year.
The prince clearly didn’t know any of that and just stared, mouth agape.
Thistlein had seen men in Luxen show the same interest in Damien before. Sometimes, they were more persistent than women who liked him. Yet Damien remained indifferent to everyone.
“Yeah. Meeting such a great knight must teach you a lot. You can even use my name if you need.”
The prince said generously, then took a bite of his food, made a face, and set his spoon down. He didn’t spit it out, aware of the watching eyes.
“Of all things, you had to order that. Didn’t the seniors tell you not to get soup in the cafeteria?”
Clearly, he had no friends from the same department. The four shared knowing glances, making sure the conversation didn’t turn into gossip about the prince.
“Speaking of Sir Ksanov… Tis, didn’t he come looking for you before?”
Ah. Finally, the topic comes up.
Irina and Kisha had been considerate, keeping their curiosity in check while Thistlein focused on assignments. The incident with Damien had been swept away by a flood of homework, but they probably hadn’t completely forgotten.
“Ah, yeah. That happened.”
“Does your family know the Luxen Dukes?”
Thistlein rolled her eyes. She couldn’t tell Irina and Kisha about the engagement.
They were good friends and would try to protect her secret, but both were social and would find it hard to keep a secret.
“Uh, because of an assignment.”
“That’s right, you worked on an assignment together. But that was after Sir Ksanov came to see you.”
Way too observant!
“I guess they knew in advance. He’s really busy, couldn’t come on that class day.”
“The professor told him beforehand? That’s unfair.”
“Well, it’s… complicated.”
Sierra, feeling sorry for Thistlein blushing while making up excuses, quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, how about the ghost story?”
Thistlein was glad for that, though she only knew so much. Luckily, Irina spoke up first.
“Why not? The martial arts competition is in May. Maybe they were training at night and saw something.”
“Then they probably just saw wrong in the dark.”
“Kisha, wasn’t your fiancé in the Knights Department too?”
“I don’t talk to him.”
Kisha, rarely so blunt, spoke coldly. Apparently, she had fought with her younger fiancé. But then she added quietly,
“They say they all take whatever pills they can find to build muscle. Maybe it was a shared hallucination.”
“I wish the magic students would try that.”
Sierra propped her chin on her hand and gestured toward Kisha.
“The Knights may not be smart, but their bodies are good, right?”
Kisha scoffed, and Irina laughed loudly.
Sierra’s glance briefly passed over Thistlein, as if to say, ‘You know too, right?’ Thistlein squeezed her eyes shut, recalling old memories.
Before they had enrolled, at the Luxen Duke mansion’s training grounds: Damien’s dark blue eyes, his hand wiping sweat from under his chin, clothes sticking to his body. She had hidden behind a pillar until her face cooled, a painfully embarrassing memory. Damien had even noticed her.
“Tis, why is your face so red?”
“Oh, Tis… are you in the Knights Department…?”
Sierra shook her head in mock pity, lifting Thistlein to rescue her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll interrogate properly.”
“Inquisitor Pontinaire. I’m counting on you.”
Irina’s sudden roleplay made Sierra giggle and bow deeply.
“Yes, Your Eminence.”
Escorted by Inquisitor Pontinaire, Ermis immediately begged for mercy.
“I have nothing to say.”
“See? I can’t protect you forever.”
Exactly.
Thistlein had to decide whether to hide her cursed complexion or come up with a reasonable excuse. The latter seemed more likely.
“But Irina and Kisha probably know you like someone.”
She gave up on that now. According to Arkin Rudera, most young nobles in Luxen knew Thistlein liked Damien. What Irina and Kisha knew didn’t matter.
“Fortunately, it hasn’t spread to the Knights Department yet.”
“Damien isn’t the type to talk, and Arkin Rudera has kept quiet.”
“Still, if you really plan to break off the engagement, you need to be careful. You know your luck has lasted this far, right?”
If she slipped up, the whole school could find out about her engagement to Damien Ksanov. So far, her luck had held.
“And you freeze up in front of Sir Ksanov anyway.”
“There’s nothing I can do… but I’ll try.”
Sierra crossed her arms firmly.
“You said you have to go to the Knights Department for an assignment? If you get caught, it’s over.”
“I’ll be careful!”
“Only you’ll be careful. Will Sir Ksanov? He probably doesn’t care about rumors. If you weren’t planning to break off the engagement, you wouldn’t worry either.”
Of course.
Thistlein nodded. If she really intended to marry Damien, she’d have already made it official. Gossip would just be an added problem.
“Tell him as soon as you get there. Ask him to keep it a secret. He should listen, right?”
“Probably.”
Even if not the engagement, he’d probably honor that.
“Alright. That’s what I’ll do.”
Thistlein repeated her resolve. She would calmly tell him immediately. She muttered to herself several times: ‘Keep the engagement secret,’ while Sierra watched her with concern.
