An Unexpected Acquaintance

'Pretty...' I thought. 'This version of Zepherin definitely looks so pretty.'

The contrast of her black hair with her pale, white skin. Her wondrous, light violet eyes even made more noticeable with her dark locks. She had cut bangs on her forehead and her once wild and unkempt hair was now silky smooth and fell in wondrous waves. Without a doubt, she would be a temptress in the eyes of all the men in the Aerim Continent.

She was sneering at me quite contemptuously, but I knew that smile. Back in the Order, I had taken a long time to understand the complex smiles this girl had. There were ones that only meant happiness, others a mask of excitement, and this smile... was definitely one she would make when she was troubled.

'Does she find my presence here irksome?' I wondered. 'After all, I did follow after her without giving her prior notice. I imagine she must be greatly shocked if she could even allow her demeanor to show that particular smile.'

I smiled back a little before turning away. Albert was still looking up at the Sinus Fidei Maximus, his eyes shining in the light. He muttered, "They look so different from us. They're like gods, looking down on us puny mortals."

I chuckled a bit. I thought that he would hardly think the same if he even had a glimpse of how wild and chatty that girl once was. I said, "They definitely look cleaner than us, without a doubt. How come they didn't have to travel through the Forests of Elara like we did?"

"I mean," he started. "Why should they do such a thing anyway? If it was a test, they don't really need it. They're the top of the breed. They come from blood lines as ancient as the continent, and their magic is as strong as they are mysterious. I doubt the school would test them and not rather just invite them into their halls outright."

I nodded in understanding, but it still didn't sit that well with me. I mean, I was totally alright with Zepherin since I knew it was all an act. But, what of the other four? There were three boys and another girl. They definitely seemed very noble and all, but what could make them become so different that they would look down on us with eyes filled with disgust? They were children, not much different from us, yet they already seemed so pulled into their respective roles in society.

"Also... Also," Albert whispered in my ear, although I felt it wasn't really helpful, since his voice was a tad too loud to be a whisper. "I heard there's actual, first-line royalty coming in this year."

I looked at him with a small smile. "Are you talking about yourself, Second Prince?"

He blushed redly in the hall's warm light. "O-Of course not! I hardly qualify as royalty anyway. I mean royalty from the two mega-nations themselves: the Saule Kingdom and the Mond Empire!"

I paled in shock. "What do you mean, the Saule Kingdom?"

And, just like it was meant to answer my very question, a dashing young man walked right past us, a few servants and attendants following right after. His golden blond hair glinted in the air, and his steps were swift and dignified. He passed by me like a storm swirling through my heart.

'Brother,' I whispered to him. 'My cutest Clement.'

I hadn't seen the second prince in a year now. He had grown taller and even at nine, he was a very handsome figure. I especially liked the fact that he had no scar on his pristine face. I couldn't help but smile after him. He looked better than our eldest brother, the way he was now.

"You seem to know him?" the other second prince asked beside me.

"Yeah," I said with an adoring sigh. "I saw his majesty once in the Saulian royal capital. He was a cute boy then, and he's even cuter now."

Albert grabbed at my hand. "Y-You... I mean, I don't think it's appropriate to call a royal highness as... c-cute."

I laughed a little. "What's wrong about it? It's a good compliment!"

"Well, I... I suppose it is alright," he muttered. "There might be a lot of customs I am not familiar with when it comes to Saulian pleasantries."

I laughed inwardly. I doubt there was anything greatly different between my kingdom's culture and the culture of Montauk. But, I'll let the boy think whatever he wanted for now. For now, as a child, I could say all that I wanted within reason, since I could easily explain it out as childish whimsy if I ever step on the wrong foot.

"I will say he is very dashing, the prince," Albert said. "His blond hair definitely shines as bright as the Sun God Solus' golden rays."

"... You definitely know how to please with words, don't you?" I asked with an amused smile. This prince would do good as a head eunuch.

"Ah, well..." he stuttered. "I was educated quite profusely in my very early childhood. My mother, the queen, once said that I won't be ready to go out to the courts until I had beaten my tongue into a smooth silver, much like a hammer unto an unsuspecting ingot."

I laughed. "Your tongue is definitely shining a lovely silver, for sure."

"And that's how you know a scholar of Montauk has finished his schooling." The prince smiled widely, cheeks a bit flushed in pride and good humor.

"Your kingdom definitely has quite the traditions," I said, while my mind worked ahead of me. Now that I thought about it, I wasn't even privy to the kind of education my own brothers had. I knew they had far more tutors than I ever had in both lives, and I also know they would come to the Lunar Academy once in a while for special events, but... I knew nothing about anything more than that. But I had a good feeling that there definitely was more to their princely training than History and Maths.

'And now the future has changed,' I thought. 'Instead of staying in the palace, my brother has now come to school here, probably for a much longer time than a few days. Something must have happened to have caused such a change...'

"The crown prince of the Mond Empire will be coming sometime too," Albert continued on beside me, still staring at my brother with appraising eyes. "We're actually quite fortunate to have come to this school this very year. Although I'm not too sure if it will be a fortuitous one, I am quite sure it will be at least very interesting."

I nodded in turn, but panic started to bubble up inside me for unknown reasons. 'Even the crown prince will be coming here too? That never happened in the past at all!'

Forcing myself to take deep breaths so I could calm down, I looked around the long hall. If the crown prince were to come, he would surely have just as much attendees at his side as my brother. In fact, I would find it even normal to see him waltz in with a whole parade of them. However, no matter how hard I looked for it, I couldn't find him.

"If you're searching for the crown prince, I suggest you cease it at once," Albert told me with a smile. "I heard from a little bird that he'll be coming later than usual."

"Oh," I uttered, and felt embarrassment creep into me. Also, deep inside, I even felt a flash of disappointment. It's not like I wanted to see the boy. It's just that I was curious about him. I've never even seen him in both my lives, yet he had been a part of them irregardless. So, now, at the chance to actually see his face, I felt quite conflicted. I wasn't sure what I should even feel about him.

In the past, I would have easily just stayed angry at him and called him a monster, but now I knew different. After speaking with Sneak, I realized that the crown prince might just be as much of a victim as I had been. I suddenly shuddered. What if we had met and I saw that he had felt the same way about me as I had towards him? What would I do if he would approach me and call me, "Monster!" or "Witch!".

Frankly, I would feel really bad about it, but I knew I would also come to understand his hate. He was the crown prince. An existence that would be the successor of the Emperor himself, and he was a man who could choose his own pick at his woman. But, now, due to political reasons, this choice was taken away from him.

When I looked at it like that, it seemed like he had more reason to hate me than I him.

I sighed. "I'm glad he's not here."

"What?" Albert asked. "Did you say something?"

I shook my head. "Nope!"

I came to know, however, that Albert could be quite relentless, especially in the pursuit of truth. He had immediately seen through my lie. When he had swooped in to ask me more questions, I was saved just in time by the arrival of my other companion.

After feeling a short surge of magic, two figures appeared at the center of our side of the hall: one robed man and a smallish boy with bright red hair. He was momentarily distraught just like the others, but he adapted quite faster than most. Upon seeing the joyous atmosphere of the great hall, his countenance calmed down immediately. Knowing that this was a chance to escape from Albert's interrogations, I shouted out, "Monty!"

He looked over to me as though it was definitely his name. His eyes widened at first and then he broke out into a smile. "Therion! And even the prince!"

After he looked at his mage escort for permission, he headed out towards us in a run. He surprised me by gathering us up in a threesome hug. "I'm glad both of ya're okay!"

I laughed, although I worried for the second prince, since Joren's hugs were quite strong. It looks like he was fine, though, although his cheeks were beet red. I would almost imagine him saying, "Unhand me, you peasant!"

"Unhand me, please, my flame-haired companion," he said instead in between slight gasps of pain.

"Oh!" Joren shouted out innocently. "Sorry 'bout that. My da always told me mah hugs were too strong."

"Among other things," I muttered.

"Wat'cha say there, Therion?" he asked me with his usual eyes laden with suspicion.

I smiled sweetly. "Nothing at all!"

"... It seems like Eleftherion has a bit of a habit of saying things and then forgetting he's ever said them," Albert observed very seriously from the side.

I sputtered out into bare air. "I do not!"

"And he also has a fancy towards denying the truth," the prince continued with a straight face.

I squirmed in annoyance, although good humor filled our three-people space. We bantered back and forth for a while, and soon enough the two boys had grown closer. Unfortunately, though, they had found a common liking to teasing me...

"Therion's always so bossy. He used to order me 'round during our first days of travellin' like he was an adult!"

"Did he really?"

"Ye, and he'd always speak like he was this well-bred lad, and he might've been, but thas not my point! He speaks far too well for his age, dont'cha think?"

"I would say so, although I too speak just as well."

"Ya... Ya're just as conceited as he is, Al!"

"I believe I haven't given you permission to call me by your nicknames yet."

I sighed as the bickering continued, and found myself looking elsewhere. Unfortunately, as I trailed my eyes around the hall, I met eyes with my brother. Prince Clement stared at me with a complicated expression. It didn't look like he had placed that I was his sister, but I knew he was very close to that realization. He looked like he might just call me out any second, and I knew that would be very bad...

An unexpected savior came to the rescue. Zepherin, who sat beside the prince on the bleachers, called out to me first, "Eleftherion!"

This caused much of the attention of the new students around the area to turn to her, and then to me. Whispers echoed around us, as eyes followed our every move.

The Sinus Fidei Maximus were practically the kings and queens of the first year students, and not one of them has ever directed their attention to any of the normal students. But now, an unfortunate event had occurred, and it was ripe to be taken as gossip.

To make things worse, Zepherin had started to smile, and it practically illuminated the room. She hopped up from her seat and started to gracefully walk down from the top benches. Soon enough, she was standing right in front of me.

She giggled a bit. "Eleftherion, don't tell me you've forgotten all about me?"