It was the next free day, and I stood in front of the entrance to King Casimir Academy. A simple doublet, breeches, and shoes adorned my form.

  Still, since the incident yesterday, Augusta's words repeated in my mind. She said she would be okay with me...I pushed those thoughts out of my head. Augusta probably just meant that she'd be fine if I accidentally touched her when we were training. The people of this world had weird ways of saying things. So, I had no reason to think she meant anything more by that.

  I heard the sound of footsteps and turned to see Augusta walking towards me. She was wearing a shirt, shoes, and breeches. A sense of embarrassment flowed through me.

  "And here I thought I was being casual," I chuckled with nervousness.

  "You are," Augusta assured me. "And..."

  After a moment of hesitation, she continued.

  "...how is your nose?"

  "It's doing fine," I said. "Turns out, the whole thing was just a normal nosebleed. It wasn't anything to worry about."

  It was such a minor plot point that I'd forgotten about it, but in The Duke's Duplicity, Dante did get a nosebleed that day in gym class. Nothing remotely sexual happened in the game.

  Augusta breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Good. Now, Dante, we are going to have fun today," she stated.

  "We are," I gave her a thumbs up.

  I had planned on taking her on what Dante and Millia did in the original game. But before I could bring that up, Augusta pulled out a list. The paper was...quite long.

  "It is important for warriors to rest and relieve stress. I prepared a schedule of things for us to do," Augusta explained.

  Taking a peek at the paper, I saw that there were over 100 items on it, and there were less than five minutes scheduled for each.

  "Augusta, we can hang out again some other free day. You don't have to try to pack so many things into today," I replied.

  She shook her head.

  "This is the most efficient way to have fun. We can talk after you've relaxed," Augusta said. "And we've spent enough time at the school gate. We need to move."

  The girl grabbed my hand and started dragging me off. I followed her, moving to Augusta's side. We walked at a brisk pace into the city together. My friend guided me over to a food stand.

  "Ah, some young students?" the man at it asked.

  There was a blissful expression on his face. I guessed that he had no idea who Augusta was.

  "Candy orange peels, now. Two cups," Augusta put some money on the counter.

  The vendor nodded and did as requested. I took one cup and Augusta took the other. She shoved the food down her throat so fast that she couldn't have possibly tasted it. Then, Augusta started dragging me onward.

  "We made up for lost time. Now, we..." she started.

  "Wait! Wait! Augusta!" I stopped. "This isn't a good way to have fun."

  My friend halted too. Augusta turned to me. There was a slight hint of sadness on her face.

  "I thought you would enjoy it," she said with the faintest flicker of sorrow.

  A sense of guilt flowed into my body. But I couldn't stop here. This was for both my sake and Augusta's.

  "I don't. Are you?" I asked.

  "No," Augusta admitted. "But this is how my father took me to have fun. Isn't this how boys enjoy things?"

  I shook my head.

  "It isn't. Don't assume that every man is ike your father. After all, lots of women are different, right?"

  "They are," Augusta said.

  I gave her a reassuring smile.

  "Let's just take things slow. We normally just spar, so why don't we try to relax?" I suggested.

  "Okay," Augusta nodded once.

  Shoving the cup of orange peels into Augusta's hands, I started walking.

  "Start eating these slowly," I said. "And follow me. I can help."

  At that point, I realized that Augusta needed something other than what happened with Millia in her bonding event. So, I threw my old plans into the gutter. I took Augusta to a clearing in a forest just outside of town. The villagers used this place as a farm for plants that grew in the shade, so it was kept clear of any debris. Its various trees had their branches pollarded so they pointed into the air. This made them better for making poles. And it kept deer from eating their branches.

  Now, my focus was on making sure my friend relaxed. I took deep breaths.

  "Breathe deeply, Augusta," I advised. "Mimic me."

  She did, and I looked around. I saw some butterflies flying through the air. A squirrel ate a nut on a pollarded tree branch. On the ground, a line of ants carried a dead centipede to their nest. And high in the air above, a hawk flew through the sky.

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  But as far as humans went, it was just the two of us.

  "Augusta, do you like insects?" I asked.

  "I don't know," she answered. "I never even thought of it."

  "Then, you can think now."

  Pointing at the butterflies, I gave Augusta a warm smile. Her expression was emotionless.

  "Look at them. Aren't they beautiful?" I questioned. "And if you don't like them, there are lots of other animals we can look at."

  Augusta shook her head.

  "Dante...we're here in the woods. No one else is here. Is there anything you want to say? Anything you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

  I lowered my hand. Augusta was being dead serious.

  "Aside from the beauty of nature?" I pondered.

  "Yes," Augusta said.

  She walked over to me. The girl pointed right at my face.

  "Dante, you are smiling. But I don't think you're happy."

  "Don't focus on that," I said.

  Then, I pushed her arm away.

  "Augusta, this day is about you, not me. You should focus on yourself," I told her.

  "Why can't it be about us both?" she asked.

  Because you shouldn't worry about me.

  "Augusta, do you have anything you want to talk to me about?" I changed the subject. "You clearly have issues with your parents, but you haven't opened up with any of them."

  She shook her head.

  "Opening up is pointless. I can't do anything about them yet, so I'm not worrying about it," Augusta said.

  I folded my arms, an expression of victory on my face.

  "Then, it seems that I've won this round, Augusta," I replied. "How can you expect me to open up to you when you haven't done the same to me?"

  Augusta looked like she was thinking of stomping on my foot.

  "You're mean," she stated with the faintest hints of anger.

  I looked away.

  "I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have tried to be cute," I said.

  Augusta's look of rage slowly faded. She then reached up and patted my head.

  "Dante, I know you have good intentions. But you don't have to worry," Augusta told me. "You are right. I haven't opened up to you."

  She sat on the grass. I took a seat next to her. Augusta's normally stoic expression looked awkward.

  "If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. I won't force you to say anything," I assured her.

  "Thank you, Dante, but you deserve to know what I have to say," Augusta said. "I assumed that you knew and didn't care. But after you said you had amnesia...after everything you've done for me, I owe it to you."

  I shook my head.

  "You don't owe me anything, Augusta," I stated.

  "Yes, I do," she replied. "At the very least, you deserve to know why I'm called the Bloodbath Princess."

  Augusta looked down, pain and sadness mixing in her face. Her hands clenched her legs. Uncertainty was clear in her eyes. I...had to do something.

  "You're called the Bloodbath Princess because of your fire powers, right? That explains it," I lied.

  Fire alone is no reason to call someone a bloodbath. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that flames have nothing to do with blood. There was something else to this story.

  "Not entirely. There's more to it than that," Augusta said.

  A tear leaked from her eyes.

  "Dante, if you hate me after I tell you this, I will understand."

  I turned pale. Fear seized my heart. What was Augusta talking about?

  "If you feel like you have to tell me, I will listen to everything. But if you want to stop at any time, stop," I replied.

  Augusta didn't respond to my words. Her gaze seemed distant.

  "When I was a little girl, no older than five, my parents had my train with other children," she said. "I was the princess, so I should have been in charge. But the other kids always picked on me. Boys, girls, it didn't matter. They let me win when we sparred, but after, they always made sure to prank me in secret, always having an alibi. It was so horrible that I couldn't eat lunch without getting sprayed with water. When I told my parents about it, they told me to endure it or do something about it on my own."

  My heart sank. I thought I knew where she was going with this.

  "So, I did," Augusta stated.

  She took a deep breath before continuing.

  "I trained in pranks as hard as I could, learning them well. Then, I countered the other students' tricks with my own. I defeated all of them, one at a time. And every time I defeated one of them, I helped them up after. I hoped I could at least get their respect. This worked, for a little bit."

  Oh. Things didn't go the way I thought they would. Augusta's response was pretty generous. I'd expected her to use violence. It made me want to have a prank war with her. But...

  "For a little bit? What happened?" I asked.

  "They started bullying me worse. They hurt me with traps. It went from water and mud to rocks, never getting in a fight but always making sure I felt pain," Augusta explained with empty eyes.

  She put her head in her hands before pulling her arms down. Augusta's face was filled with agony.

  "You don't have to keep talking," I said.

  "I do," she replied. "One day, in the middle of training, the teacher announced that he was being replaced. I panicked. He was one of the only two people I liked. They were the only people I could talk to. So, I...I..."

  Tears leaked from her eyes.

  "...I begged him to not leave. But then, everyone in the room was ash. My fire magic activated for the first time, and it killed my entire class."

  Augusta screamed as she slammed her arms down.

  "I just stood there like the stupid little shit I was! I didn't even figure out what happened until my parents told me! Everyone was there one moment, and dead the next! That's why I'm called the Bloodbath Princess!"

  She beat the ground, sending dirt flying up.

  "I've never forgiven myself! I can't forgive myself! I did so many stupid things after that too! My parents told everyone I did it on purpose, and I didn't even try to object! Then, I couldn't take how lonely I was after everyone heard what I did! So, I tried to get people to forget the title! When that didn't work, I lashed out and tried to own being the Bloodbath Princess!" Augusta ranted. "But ever since I became your friend, I realized just how horrible that was! I'm not cool, I'm not good, I'm a monster! I'm not any different from those soles you killed or the anti-god that lives in the abandoned school building!"

  Her breaths came out heavy. I stayed still.

  "Did you say everything you wanted to?" I asked.

  Augusta nodded once.

  "Yes. I did," she choked out.

  "Alright," I said.

  I grabbed Augusta and pulled her close. My arms wrapped around her in a strong hug.

  "D-D-Dante?" she stuttered out.

  "Augusta," I replied. "What happened was not your fault."

  The girl's jaw dropped, tears still flowing from her eyes. No words came out. I held her tighter.

  "That was the first time your fire powers activated, right? You didn't even know you had them, so you had no way you could have stopped the incident," I stated.

  "I...but...that...doesn't mean it wasn't my fault," Augusta's voice was weak.

  "It does," I said. "If you couldn't have done anything about it, then it wasn't your fault. Could you have?"

  "N-No, I couldn't. B-But..."

  "Then, it wasn't your fault. And I've never been afraid to call you out when you did something wrong. So, you know I'm telling the truth. You can stop blaming yourself."

  We stayed there like that, me cradling Augusta in my arms. I had no idea she was carrying all that baggage. All throughout our training, our interactions, everything.

  It put her own feelings about me in perspective. Augusta probably saw some of herself in me. That might even be why she noticed things that she shouldn't have.

  Which was all the more reason why I couldn't let her focus on someone with no worth like me.

  "Augusta, let me help you. You cannot help anyone else while you're in a horrible state. And however bad my missing memories might be, they can't be worse than what you've gone through," I said.

  The girl looked down. She took a deep breath. Then, Augusta gazed into my eyes. Hers were covered with tear stains.

  "Okay, Dante. But after you've helped me, please let me help you," Augusta begged.

  "I will," I lied. "Now come on. I'll start off by giving you a really fun day."

  With that, I helped her up, and the two of us moved off.

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