To the prince
"!!!"
"I never traveled by carriage like that. It's more dangerous than I thought."
With flustered Victor raising his hands up in a statement that he wasn't trying to use the situation inappropriately, Clara assessed the situation and sat upright, straightening her dress and pointing out without the slightest change in the tone of her voice.
"S-so it seems…"
The young man gulped down his saliva, tense as a rock, not knowing what to do with himself, while the feel of Clara's softness still lingered on his body.
"It got me spooked. Young Lord, can I stay by your side? You make me feel safe."
"I… I don't mind… I…! I mean, if you don't mind! No, wait! I mean, if you don't mind…! No, wait...!"
She said flatly, leaning against Victor's shoulder. This caused him to straighten his back and call out, getting so flustered he could not properly control the words coming out of his mouth.
"Young Lord, are you engaged?"
"Huh?! N-no…"
The white-haired girl suddenly changed the topic, causing the brown-haired youngster to flinch, taken by surprise.
"I see… as a son of a General, your future wife must be of adequately high social standing but also someone of proper character. It must be rather difficult to find the right candidate."
Clara nodded, and although she remained as indifferent as ever, something about her aura felt… content with Victor's answer.
"Well… it's more about the living conditions of my family…"
"..."
Unfortunately, the subject she picked ended up being a landmine, and the brown-haired young man shifted in his seat and murmured awkwardly before turning away from her and facing the window.
"Then you have to find a wife who will understand and support the decision of sacrificing so much for a just purpose. For example, if that girl would end up being the Diamondium's chosen champion of the goddess Perseverance, it would work out so…"
"Miss Clara…!"
The white-haired girl fidgeted in her seat and leaned even more into the brown-haired young man, causing him to call out and turn to her.
"Just Clara is enough, young lo..."
"You don't have to feel indebted to me or my family. I'm happy that you're grateful, but my help had no ulterior motives, so you shouldn't be bound by it; let it shape your life! The best way for you to repay me is to live a happy, fulfilling life!"
Victor grabbed Clara's hands, declaring firmly without a shred of the embarrassment from before, making the indifferent girl look between their hands and his face again and again, suddenly extremely bashful.
"!!!"
It seemed that not even a quarter of what Victor said to her had registered in her brain because of the physical contact he had initiated.
"AH! Please pardon me. I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable."
Victor's confidence dissipated just as suddenly as it appeared, and he took his hands away, put them on his lap, and turned his head away in embarrassment.
…by doing so, he missed the dreamy look in Clara's eyes as she was gazing at him, pressing both of her hands to her chest.
The ride to the residence where the crown prince was spending the summer break didn't take long, and soon enough, Victor and Clara got out of the carriage.
"..."
The brown-haired youth was worried, and there were no two ways to deal with it.
He didn't know what Prince Ester wanted from the white-haired girl. He didn't know whether he wanted to apologize to her in person since all accounts that Victor knew of were pointing out that Clara got struck by the curse aimed at the young royal or was she summoned just to be threatened into silence.
On top of that, there was also the case of Clara's absentmindedness which coupled with the clumsiness she showcased around Victor could lead to some serious breaches of manners.
While normally, that shouldn't be a big deal during a private meeting of classmates, something like that could be used against the white-haired girl if the crown prince wished so.
If it wasn't obvious yet, despite others seeing Victor as Ester's friend - or rather lapdog - the brown-haired youngster expected the worst from the future monarch.
And how could he not?
When he looked into the gossip…
------
"Oho~! So then this is the rumored lucky commoner who managed to break through a mysterious demonic curse!"
The red-haired youth, this time dressed in beast skin and donning headgear made from the skull of a horned monster, walked out of the summer mansion, personally welcoming his guests…
…with crude gauntlets made of fangs on both hands…
"..."
"...!?"
Only by chance did Clara catch a glimpse of VIctor's expression at Ester's side. Although she knew it wasn't directed at her, her eyes filled with tears at the thought that such cold disgust could one day be directed at her.
"Hmm? What's with that reaction? Don't tell me this attire upsets you. It's a mere…"
Ester chuckled at the sorry sight presented by the upset Clara, misunderstanding something about the reason for it.
"Is this your idea of a joke? Do you have no shame?"
"...oho…? Are you sure it's okay for you to talk to me in such way?"
Victor interrupted him, stepping between the white-haired girl and the red-haired prince, making Ester raise his eyebrows and snicker without much respect.
"..."
While the two young men were glaring at each other, the white-haired girl stepped closer to Victor, grabbing onto the back of his shirt and resting her forehead against his back.
"What happened to learning the brawler's skills? How are we supposed to interpret this sudden change in any other way?"
Instead of calming down, Victor ended up even more agitated, barely stopping himself from spitting at the choice of equipment that was the closest to the look of a demon-crowned human that could be excused and not bring inquisition on the red-haired prince's head.
"That's what this is about? Haven't you heard of specializations, Victor? I happened to unlock the path of the Savage Brawler. It would be a real shame to not dabble in it a bit since it is a stronger version of the baseline Brawler,"
Ester scoffed, shrugging his shoulders dismissively, taking off the horned headgear and running his fingers through his crimson hair.