Rotsard wouldn't approach Mira during lunch breaks. It was done purely so that other students wouldn't associate the two with each other and start trying to harass his fiance to get to him…
…and the time the two of them lost would be then regained in the evenings they would spend together.
That day was going to be the same, but as he was walking to the cafeteria, his nose picked up the familiar smell… only that it had a hint of fear in it…
"..."
The look in Rotsard's beastly yellow eyes changed.
Mira was a prodigy in alchemy, but even a genius like her has been hurt many times when something went wrong with the preparation of one of her potions.
She was never afraid of that risk, and since there was no medicinal smell spreading around, it meant that nothing blew up and gave her a reason to feel fear.
She also had a very healthy approach to studying. No matter the difficulty of the task or exam at hand, she would challenge them with a positive attitude. Excitement, even.
She was a born scholar like that.
…which meant that her fear had to have a different origin…
"..."
Without a word, Rotsard passed the cafeteria door and rushed to the source of the smell.
It wasn't far, only a hallway and two flights of stairs away, and there she was…
Mira, being pinned against the wall by some tall, handsome guy.
None other than Henry Treedor.
Putting his identity aside, maybe he wasn't exactly pinning Mira down. While he wasn't directly touching her and there was technically enough space for Mira to sneak either under his left arm that he was partially blocking her way or past his other side... Only that for that choice she would have to basically rub her body against him with how little of a gap there was left…
"Tsar!"
"Oh, come on. I'm not going to fall for it again~"
Whether Mira somehow saw the approaching Rotsard, smelled him, sensed him, or whatever, she did fidgeted and exclaimed, but the young man troubling her only chuckled jovially at her…
"...!?"
Although, despite his confident words, he did end up glancing back and raising his brows at the sight of an approaching underclassman.
"Pffft! Look at the angry pipsqueak! What, are you going to beg me to leave you fiancee al…?"
His confidence appeared to be on an all-time high, as he only snorted and waved his hand dismissively as if fully convinced that would shoo Rotsard away…
"Tsk!"
…only to frown and click his tongue as the bleached-blond-haired boy wasn't going to bother with words…
So while Rotsard took the final step before spinning on his heel about to drive his foot into the side of his waist, Henry Treedor shielded his body with the true sword aura.
He was a Sword Grandmaster after all, and had all the confidence in the world that some trash wouldn't be able to put a scratch on him.
"Hmhm~"
He even had a moment to chuckle to himself, imagining how good it will look to the lady when a measly attempt at hitting him will result in her pathetic fiance's leg being broken.
"MASTE-GGH…!"
He didn't even properly notice that his very own contracted fae materializing in the way of the attack, in an attempt to protect him, but it was cut off mid shout by being ripped in half and instantly turning into particles of light…
*CRUNCH*
"...?"
Henry's brain appeared to be so slow with registering what was happening that even when his defenses burst like a soap bubble, followed by all the bones in his waist shattering, and his body was bending in a horizontal V shape, the only thought on his mind was…
|Why did everything turn sideways…?|
—--
"..."
Rotsard didn't even manage to put his leg down and fix his stance when he already realized how much he messed up.
The shadowy figure of a deofol didn't even need to appear in the corner of his vision… although it did show up, all wiggly from excitement… for the bleached-blond-haired boy to be struck by regret.
There were so many other options to handle the situation…
*CRASH*
"..."
The window on the far end of the hallway shattered under the force of Mira's flying wannabe-suitor while Rotsard closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, scowling bitterly.
His stomach churned, but he couldn't just stay there like that.
He had to face the reality…
So he straightened his back, and opened his eyes…
"Tsar~!"
And was immediately faced with relieved Mira, basically jumping into his arms from joy.
|…no…|
"Thank you! Thank you! You saved me! Thank you!"
Mira cheered out with excitement, tightly hugging her fiance, literally jumping with joy.
|…please, no…|
"I knew it! I knew that you would find and save me! That guy was so scary, I was about to cry…!"
She continued cheering while Rotsard bit his lips bitterly, looking to the side… towards the broken window Henry Treedor fell through.
|…don't say that… don't be grateful for what I've done…|
|…why aren't you scolding me…? I messed up so much… I… I should have gone about it the other way… Challenge him to a duel and beat him up in public… just attacking him in the hallway… where is the noble's honor…? Please, Mira…|
|…hold me to a higher standard than that…|
|... I could have saved you in so much better way, so why are you fine with me attacking someone from behind like a coward...?|
|…if it was her in your place, she would have wanted me to do better…|
"Tsar, you're my hero!"
Mira kept showering him with praise, but all of her actions, so different from what the person in his heart would be like, made him feel like being repeatedly punched in the stomach.
He wanted to love Mira so much.
She deserved so much better…
…but she wasn't the one in his heart… and this was the moment that Rotsard felt that with his whole being...
And it was tearing him apart.
"..."
"T-Tsar…?"
Instead of returning the hug, Rotsard raised his arms and separated himself from Mira, causing the girl to let out a small gasp of confusion.
"I have to clean up the mess I've made. You… you don't have to worry about a thing."
"...eh…? But…"
Rotsard mustered all of his will to force a smile and nod at Mira with even a sliver of reassurance, and she finally seemed to realize the weight of the situation that just occurred.
"N-no! Rotsard I… I can back you up when teachers ask for an…"
"It's fine. Everything's fine. You trust me, right? I will take care of everything."
Mira gasped and tried to hurriedly assure, but Rotsard shook his head and spoke over her.
"Leave it to me."
He added, and his smile turned so apologetic and sad that there was no way for Mira to refuse him.
With his fiancee gone, Rotsard could focus on what to do next.
2nd volume didn't focus on his character, with most of its story centered around the trouble Saria Valhall got involved into, including some shady stuff with older students trying to get ahead early and Justin ending up helping her out…
…and as surprising as it might sound, the well-known womanizer, Henry Treedor, WASN'T involved in any of that…
Also… wasn't there something involving his character and the Treedor family…?
Maybe… maybe, by some chance, he didn't ruin everything by overcompensating and overreacting…?
At least those were Rotsard's thoughts as he approached the broken window…
…and then he jumped out, as if in pursuit…