(Inside a Private Carriage)
“Found your favorite, huh?”
“They’re pretty addictive.”
Dan was talking about the peanuts in his hand, a box of dozens swiped from the banquet.
“I’ll grab some on my way back, then.”
“While you’re at it, get those things called grapes, too.”
“You like grapes now?”
“…Yeah.”
“Not for that Skank, right?”
“…Uh… no.”
Chokehold.
“Yes! Yes, okay!”
Chokehold tightens.
“I just wanted her to have something nice! Gack!”
“Dog food only.”
Her grip loosened. Dan grabbed his wife’s warm, soft hands, giving her a look.
“She’s my subordinate… and your dear friend.”
“I don’t care for her kind.”
“Right, right.”
“Ten years there, and now how many more here…? When are we gonna get a proper date?”
“Anytime you’re free. I’m always ready.”
“Wow, such a sweet-talking playboy lizard.”
“You call me a playboy? Should I actually be one?”
“Hey, no, no! Kidding, just teasing!”
Platform
The carriage, like a taxi, dropped them at Artheris’s platform, where the last steam train waited.
“Okay, I’m off. I’ll be back soon.”
Casca leaned in, offering her cheek.
“Oh.”
Dan leaned forward.
Kiss.
“Like that?”
“Perfect.”
Casca hugged him tightly, peppering his face with kisses.
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“Go before the driver sees or the train leaves.”
“I paid the driver. He’ll take you to the wall.”
“Alright. Safe travels, Casca.”
His wife stepped off the carriage.
Anfield
“Phew…”
The prince pushed through the forest, returning to his cozy cabin. The air tonight was chilly, making his legs tremble the whole walk back.
“Ugh… cold… so cold…”
(Door creak)
“The grass out front’s getting tall. Guess I’ll have to clear it, too.”
Dan hung his coat on the rack. The fireplace’s glow and warmth hit him instantly, tempting him to collapse and rest.
Then…
Zeedee Lamb was sprawled on the bed, reading a book—History of the Five Kingdoms.
She turned, glaring at him with a sharp look, then huffed.
“Hmph.”
And went back to reading.
First, Zeedee and books didn’t mix. Second, was that a death stare? Third, she was reading the book upside down…
“What’s up, Freya?”
This wasn’t the homecoming he expected.
The prince scratched his head, walking over to unbuckle his belt and shed his gear.
“I’m gonna shift to my real form and hunt some big game. You can sleep, don’t wait up.”
“…”
Dan turned.
“Where’d that attitude go, Freya?”
“…”
Zeedee rolled her eyes, giving him a side-eye full of attitude.
“Hmph!”
She went back to her upside-down book.
“Ugh, whatever.”
Dan stashed his clothes in the wardrobe and slipped into plain white pajamas.
“I’m off to hunt. Put out the fire and sleep. Later.”
(Door shuts)
Checks he’s really gone.
“…”
Double-checks.
Zeedee sprang off the bed, kicking the book aside like it was trash. She rummaged through the laundry basket, grabbed the prince’s freshly discarded uniform, buried her nose in it, and sniffed deeply.
Sniff!
“This is…”
Sniff sniff!
“…that wench’s scent?!”
Sniff!
“No doubt… I smelled it the second you walked in, but I played it cool…”
Zeedee glared outside.
“You ditched me to go on a date with that hag?! Weren’t you supposed to be packing?!”
Eyebrows twisted, face sour, Zeedee gritted her teeth.
“You lied to me! Argh!!!”
Artheris Academy Dormitory
Rafinya Saint-Pauli returned to her room, dazed, her mind adrift.
Still, she had enough sense to move quietly, avoiding waking her roommate.
Her thoughts swirled around the banquet, questions flooding her head.
…Was it a dream?
Was it real…?
Casca Saint-Maximin, the hero Rafinya revered with fierce Luminus pride.
Why was she so chummy with Dan, even sponsoring him?
Had they met before?
What were they talking about out there?
Why Dan…? What made him special? What did Casca see that others didn’t?
Why, why, why…
Endless unanswered questions spun around her, threatening to unravel her.
She’d trained relentlessly, striving to be noticed, to be number one in swordsmanship, to uphold the Pauli family’s glory above all others… to maintain that proud image.
But Dan was the one noticed?
Her teeth ground together, hands trembling with rage.
She could’ve punched through a beam to vent, but instead, Rafinya stormed to the sink and splashed water on her face.
Splash.
“…I’m not irrational…”
Splash.
“Anger is foolish, rage is mad… Think clearly…”
She chanted to herself, water dripping from her face and hair, pattering into the sink.
Her anger and envy morphed into curiosity.
“This isn’t the first time…”
It had happened with Princess Nora Ophilis, too.
Even someone of her stature stooped to hover around Dan, protecting him.
And now Casca, a legendary hero, willing to pay his tuition and negotiate to pull him from the scholarship program.
“Chiesa was right… This isn’t a fluke… I got it wrong…”
Was it all a facade?
Did Dan let her knock him out in the ring on purpose?
Or… was Dan…
A secret royal heir?
The thought hit Rafinya. Without a reason that significant, there was no explanation for two elite figures being so close to him.
The memory of that test day replayed in her mind.
Maybe… he was hiding his power, like Chiesa suspected? Maybe he was such a skilled actor he’d let her kick him unconscious mid-air? That level of dedication meant he wasn’t hiding for looks or ego—it was for a grander purpose.
What could that purpose be?
Was he hiding from some great threat? If he was a secret royal, from which lineage? Only Luminus, Snowhaven, and Diablo were absolute monarchies.
The more she thought, the wilder it got, her anger transforming into a drive for answers.
Rafinya stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink… her Red Velvet eyes glowing faintly, water streaming down her face, wet hair clinging as she stepped back from the view…
“I’ll find those answers myself…”
She declared.
