Another semester begins

A few days later, back in the Brylant Academy, the final lecture of the day for the third-year students finished, and the teacher left the classroom.

Before the door closed behind him, though, someone grabbed it and pushed it open while entering.

It was none other than the cheerful, green-haired second-year student, Ace Adonis.

"..."

He glanced to the side with a worried expression as the girl sitting in the window in the very back was crying while clenching some sort of letter to her chest while a few other students were consoling her.

"Yo, Laz. This King showed up to pick you up."

This time, it wasn't a heartbreak involving him—at least if his memory was correct—so he moved his gaze towards his blue-haired best friend and called out.

"This time, Tarkuazi won't coincidentally show up, will she?"

Lazurii took his stuff and stood up, going along with Ace while giving him a judgemental side-eye.

"Hey, you were clear the other day. If she pops up anyway, it would be without my involvement. I swear."

Ace raised both hands and assured him with an innocent expression.

"Although I would very much like to learn what exactly is going on, I will not step over the boundaries you so eagerly set up."

The green-haired young man added with a cheeky smirk and nudged his blue-haired friend in the side as they walked down the hallway.

"Not eagerly."

"..."

Lazurii breathed out bitterly, making Ace stop and stare at his friend's back.

"..."

Cleary getting himself in some sort of melancholic mood, Lazurii stepped towards one of the windows and looked outside, resting his elbows on the window sill.

"...soo… just wondering, but was that scene from your class something serious? Or does that young lady require a reliable shoulder to cry on?"

Ace was unsure how to approach the situation, so he cracked a joke that he knew Lazurii would get.

"Not if you aren't sure about commitment."

"...?"

Lazurii answered surprisingly seriously, which made Ace raise his brow.

"She didn't had a fiance before coming to the Academy, she also didn't managed to find someone up to now either, so her family did it for her. That letter informed her that she is now engaged to her father's former classmate, a widower who had just recently finished the mourning period. They are to be married once she graduates."

"...wow…"

The blue-haired young man explained, and his green-haired girned breasted out, leaning against the windowsill right next to him.

"All countries have their own quirks, I guess… "

Ace took a deep breath, trying to find words that would at least seem positive.

"By that time, she will be twenty-one. She's the third daughter of her family, and the other guy is a Viscount with no official heir. From the outsider's perspective, her family seems to try their best to give her a stable future."

"Sure… I mean, I am not condemning anything. Not my kingdom, not my business."

Lazurii ended up continuing the explanation, making Ace shake his head in confusion as normally such subjects weren't included in his friend's interests, so he gave him a window to change the subject.

"...at least she has a few months to get to know the guy. Exchange letters and stuff…"

"Alright, Laz. What is this really about?"

The blue-haired young man sighed while staring into the distance, which caused his green-haired friend to straighten his back and ask point-blank.

"..."

"..."

Lazurii turned his face to him, and they looked at each other for a solid minute before the blue-haired young man looked out of the window again.

"I am Fenrioette, Ace."

He pointed out, and although Ace wanted to make a snarky remark about it, he stopped himself and patiently waited for the continuation.

"A future head of the Fenrioette family to boot. My spouse will be chosen in absolute secrecy to prevent other noble families from taking some drastic measures like assassination. I will see her face by the altar after all the proper security measures are met. Our first conversation will be the exchange of wedding vows. Joining the Fenrioette family is a huge risk, although the benefits are equally impressive. Even so, the risks don't stop after the wedding is concluded. For example, the whole family of my mother was assassinated, and even she herself ended up poisoned and died while prematurely giving birth to Melinda."

Lazurii revealed in an indifferent voice.

"Before the wedding, others can love me, but I cannot show too much affection to anyone for their own safety. At the same time, I am… jealous… I am mentally prepared to do my best to make my future relationship work regardless of the circumstances, but… at the same time, a part of me wishes that I could learn at least a bit about my future spouse. It would surely help me stop thinking about…"

The blue-haired young man was speaking more quietly with each word until he went completely silent.

"That explains a lot."

Ace nodded with understanding and patted Lazurii's shoulder.

"Also… feel free to punch me if I am getting too much into your family's business, but were the perpetrators of that assassination ever caught or identified?"

The green-haired youngster went slightly off-subject as his own curiosity got the better of him.

"The main guy responsible was an elf. When he was around seventy-three, he met my mother, who was around seven. He claimed that she promised to marry him when she became an adult, but when the time came, and he showed up for her, she was already married to my father, had me, and was pregnant again. Mind you, that genius showed up when both of my parents were already twenty-seven. Six years after their marriage. That genius was leading a group of insurgents opposing the elven royalty, so there were plenty of assassins at his disposal. What he didn't account for was that no power in this world is able to withstand the rage of Fenrioette. My father used the help of guard commander Beo - who was a newly hired guard at our estate at the time - tracked the responsible elf and tore him to shreds together with all of his comrades." 

Ace could tell that the situation had to be resolved based on the casual tone of Lazurii's explanation, but he certainly didn't expect to hear a story of that kind.

"Are… are you sure it's alright to tell me all of that? That sounds like some top-secret information… I'm pretty sure that they teach us that around sixteen years ago, there was such a short-lived but extremely brutal war between the desert nation Goldivia and the elven kingdom Opaliteia. I'm assuming that it was a cover-up story and some noblewoman from the Goldivia's kingdom harem had nothing to do with it…"

The green-haired young man looked cautiously to the sides and leaned in to inquire.

"Oh, no. My father, completing his revenge, was covered up. That's true. The war between Goldivia and Opalitea did take place, but you mixed something up in that. It wasn't something caused by a noblewoman from the harem. It was that noblewoman's harem that went out there to slaughter elves and enslave the survivors."

"Oh… yeah, sorry for misunderstanding."

Lazurri corrected Ace's words, making him breathe out and apologize with a relieved smile.

"No problem. Aunt Astrid dropped her family name before going to Goldivia to form her garden of men, so it's not like it was officially done by any Fenrioette."

"...huh...?"

Lazurii added casually, making Ace's smile disappear in an instant.

"Wait…! Your aunt caused that war?!"

"She was also furious about the assassination, but the difference was that she didn't bother with singling out the perpetrator. She was going to have the whole Opalitea razed to the ground, but my father informed her about getting a closing, so she had her men retreat. Right in time, they almost captured Opalitea's capital and were about to burn down their holy tree."

Ace gasped to which Lazurii shrugged his shoulders casually.

"In truth, there is a chance that my future spouse would be an elf as a sign of good will and reconciliation with their kind. Anyway, let's get going, or our spot at the tavern will be taken."

Lazurii pointed out, moving away form the window and continuing the walk.

It appeared that Ace accomplished his goal of lifting his friend's mood, but he also gained some scary knowledge that he would prefer never to learn.

The two of them were about to leave the Academy grounds when they were approached by two knights and a hooded man carrying a rather large magic book.

"Young lord Fenrioette, lord Adonis, greetings."

"...hello…?"

The knights and the hooded man stopped in font of them and bowed, with the hooded man calling out and making Lazurii raise his brow in suspicion.

"What is it?"

"We would like to take some of lord Adonis's time."

Lazurri asked with a grim expression, to which the hooded man hurriedly explained.

"If you want to save yourself some bodily harm, then you better have a good reason for it."

"!!!"

The blue-haired young man scoffed, straightening his back and glaring down at the bowing men, causing them to flinch.

"Whoa there, buddy! Give us a moment, please. Gentlemen, pardon the confusion. What can this King aid you with?"

Ace flinched, too, and jumped between the two sides, taking the role of a mediator despite being the object of interest.

"My lord, we have received a report from the consul Daleric Ontrisanna regarding the events in Silveria's ancient site, but for various reasons, we would be glad if you cooperated with us and shared your side of the story. As the one who had seen everything first hand."

The hooded man straightened his back a little and revealed.

"Understandable, this King shall assist you to the best of our ability. Pardon us this change of plans, lord Fenrioette. It appears we have an important duty to perform."

"...alright. If it's really just that, I will wait for you until it is done."

Ace nodded at the hooded man and his escorts before turning to Lazurii and speaking in an official tone, to which his blue-haired friend responded with a casual shrug.

"You do know a spell that detects falsehood and malicious intent? It would be useful to prove my words."

"My lord, that is not necessary. It really is just to make sure that no details that only someone used to deal with demon followers would find important were accidentally omitted. Although, if you really insist, such countermeasures are within my capabilities."

Ace asked, stepping towards the hooded man, who responded with an audibly more relaxed voice.

"We have permission to take one of the classrooms. Please, allow with us."

"Of course."

The hooded man perked up and led the perfectly cooperative green-haired youngster back to the Academy's main building.