[Ch. 13] Never Give Up (Past)

[Author's note: From no one's point of view]

Princess Mona quickly rushed over after she noticed Moao leave. She shook her brother frantically, "Suitor? What are you thinking? Have you gone mad?"

Raylon chuckled spitefully, "I believe I was just turned down."

Mona was only half surprised that he had been turned down. Raylon was a natural charmer. His personality was agreeable and he was a very polished individual. Usually, he was able to seduce women, and even men, if he wanted to.

However, this was Moao that he had attempted to charm.

Moao was famous for being unreactive and uncaring. No one had ever seen her even smile nor had they ever even heard her speak more than one sentence. So for this reason, Mona wasn't too surprised that Raylon had been turned down.

Mona looked pitifully at her brother, "Brother Raylon... A lot of women find you to be the ideal man. However, it isn't that surprising that she turned you down. Didn't I warn you about Lady Moao? She's not the type to be swept off her feet. The fact that she even let you live is a miracle in itself."

He continued thinking to himself, paying her no attention. He muttered under his breath, "I never get turned down."

Mona looked back at his expression and felt an unsettling feeling in her chest. She knew this matter was far from over. Although she didn't get to spend much time with her brother, she knew how persistent he was when he wanted something. He was certainly not the type to give up when something seems impossible.

She sighed in defeat, "Please be careful not to start a war."

Raylon stood pondering why his usual techniques didn't work. Contrary to what Mona believed, he hadn't been trying to win Moao's affection. He was trying to gain an ally in the Baron's Palace that he could use to infiltrate and destroy it from within. After all, he had heard Moao hated the Baron and would constantly threaten to kill him.

So why wasn't she interested in helping him? Just because she was a woman, surely there was something she could still do to help him. He pondered relentlessly why his usually successful scheme fell flat.

Mona saw him deep in thought and sighed. She patted his back, "Lady Moao is a strange girl. I'm sure she doesn't find you completely ugly."

"I know. I just wonder why she-" He turned abruptly, "Wait, what?!"

"My brother is truly a stunning and perfect man, so you don't need to listen to her. After all, I was already approached by several ladies today asking if you were engaged. Moao must be blind to your handsomeness."

His face fell in disbelief. Ugly? Moao wouldn't talk to him because she thought he was an eyesore?

He shook his head, "No! No. No. No. No. That's not right."

He knew that he was the most good-looking man around. He was sure of it. He looked back to Mona indignantly, "How could anyone think I'm not handsome?! You must be mistaken. There had to be another reason why she didn't want to help me."

Mona sighed when she saw her brother, who usually had such a charming face, was now twitching from a mixture of denial and anger. He puffed his face and took a gulp of his drink unconsciously. He made a face and coughed roughly, "Ugh! Bitter!"

He stuck his tongue out in disgust.

She gave him a helpless look, "Please don't drink too much, brother Raylon. You know you can't handle your alcohol."

He ignored Mona and started planning. Moao believed him not to be handsome eh? Well. Now he is going to show her just how handsome he was.

He turned to Mona with a crazed look in his eye, "I will show her! Yes. She will regret the day she messed with me."

Mona felt her jaw drop as she watched her brother hurriedly shuffle away while muttering to himself. Sure enough, he's lost it.

…..

[Author's note: This part is back to Moao's point of view.]

I went about my day unaware of Raylon's new plan. In fact, I nearly forgot all about meeting him…

If such a thing was possible.

I slept in only stirring after Amanda started to drag me out of bed. After trying to crawl back into bed, Amanda began to force me into clothes. She quickly brushed my hair, pinning half of it back in a braid. She then dragged me to class where I was forced into my seat. Amanda handed me a book, bowed, and quickly made her way out of the room to get herself breakfast while I attended class.

I sat in the back corner of the room, completely avoided by everyone else. Once the teacher started speaking, I stretched and laid my head down on the desk quickly falling back to sleep. When the time came, I woke up and shuffled to the next class. This time, I sat in the back corner without falling asleep.

I pulled out the book that Amanda had given me and started reading. As the other students came in, they all knew to keep their distance from me. Raylon walked in and was surprised to see me, the only female, in this class sitting by myself in the corner. He walked over to me and smiled, "Is this seat taken?"

I glanced up at him and hummed as if to tell him it wasn't. He sat down next to me obviously trying to smile attractively. I continued to read my book without being distracted by his candor. He looked around the room, "This class is about destructive magic, isn't it? Don't they force women to take classes about light magic?"

"They can't force me."

Raylon watched as some of the close neighbors flinched at the sound of my cold voice. Even he himself felt his skin crawl from the emotionless tone. He smiled at me regardless, "Well. I think they should allow more freedom here anyway."

He watched as the professor walked in and looked towards the corner. The teacher jumped in surprise when he noticed someone was brave enough to sit next to me. Even I found it strange that someone wasn't scared of me, but I didn't show it. Raylon didn't understand the teacher's reaction, nor did he understand why the rest of the class avoided me.

He had no idea that everyone was more scared of me than they were of the Baron.

Once the teacher started speaking, Raylon noticed that I didn't even try to pay attention. Throughout the entire class, I kept flipping through my book, reading it.

Raylon recalled the rules of admittance to the school. The individual being admitted either had to be from high-ranking nobility or have high magic potential. He imagined that I didn't have any potential for using magic as no one had ever seen me use it.

Due to my Royal status, he assumed that was how I landed a spot in the school. This made sense since it was the case for most of the women at the school.

After the class ended, he watched as I stood up. I left the room without ever looking away from the book in my hands. He quickly followed after me, surprised by the number of people who quickly cleared from my path. As he followed me throughout the large castle-like school, he began to admire how fast I walked.

I finally walked outside to a garden where Amanda waited by a white table and chairs. I took a seat, still reading my book, and grabbed the cup from Amanda. He approached us unabashedly with a smile. He bowed, "My ladies. May I join you?"

I didn't even look up at him, "Mmn."

Amanda smirked at him admiring his tenacity, "Would you like a cup of tea to drink, Sir Raylon?"

"Oh, sure. I would love a cup." Amanda smiled at him and poured a cup. She took several sugar cubes and made sure to put plenty inside of the drink. She handed him the cup and he grabbed it briefly caressing her fingers.

Amanda blushed in response, "My lady likes bitter tastes, so I made sure to add in some sugar."

He gave her a charming smile, "Thank you so much."

He looked over at me and gave a smug smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him posing as if to show off his skill at seducing women. However, I didn't care enough to acknowledge him.

Amanda forced herself to stifle a snicker. She thought to herself: Oh, Sir Raylon. You are being too obvious.

He cleared his throat when he noticed that he was being ignored, "You seem very interested in that book. What is it?"

I showed him the title of the book and kept reading.

He had expected me to at least answer him aloud, but he didn't appear to be uncomfortable when I hadn't. He continued to smile, "Hmm, a chronicle on the history of dark arts? Usually, people find that topic too heavy and confusing. Is it good?"

"Mmn."

"Ah, well it must be. I noticed you read it through the entire class. I'm surprised though. Why would you take a class if you weren't interested in it?"

"I am."

He lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? But you weren't paying attention at all."

I finally looked away from my book to meet his eyes, "I was."

He sat back speechless. I could see that he was trying to think about things to talk about. However, he just couldn't start a conversation. He sat there contemplating it. I noticed his tense shoulders and momentarily placed my book on my lap.

I spoke in a tone that accidentally came off a bit too cold, "Do you have a question for me?"

He looked back at me in shock. He hadn't expected me to take the initiative to speak first. Amanda was also shocked, but her lips quickly turned into a large grin. He was so flustered that I spoke, he blurted out. "What is the taboo of room 134?"

Amanda's smile immediately fell and looked on in horror at his question. I stared at him apathetically before glancing at Amanda, "Perhaps we should invite him over some time to see first-hand."

Amanda thought her jaw would fall off her face, "No! My lady, please!"

She fell to her knees as she begged, "Please don't show him such horrendous things!"

I turned back to him ignoring her pitiful state, "Next time I return home, I will make sure to invite you."

"No!" Amanda shouted doubling over in pain. She held her stomach as if she would puke.

Raylon began to wonder if he really did want to discover the truth behind the taboo. Especially if it really was THAT bad.

I returned to reading my book ignoring all of Amanda's protests. Raylon stood listening to Amanda not even realizing that he had forgotten his personal mission. Once he said goodbye and had already walked away, only then did he remember.

He cursed and decided that he would just try again the next day.