In a majestic hall of the Lucratis palace, a young woman who had barely come of age stood motionless. Her long silver hair and golden eyes gave her an imposing presence, but beneath that porcelain facade, the air around her trembled with restrained tension.
"Brother, the carriages to depart for the Demor Empire are ready," she announced in a cold voice.
Her brother looked at her with his usual indifference. There had been a time when he openly despised her, considering her a stain on the imperial lineage. However, since her talent had seemingly blossomed out of nowhere two years ago, that disdain had lessened somewhat; now he merely tolerated her presence, if only because her newfound strength made her somewhat useful to the Empire's interests.
For her, every glance from her brother was a reminder of her greatest fear: weakness. In Lucratis, being weak was the most unforgivable sin, a mark that condemned you to oblivion. Yet she was convinced that her own efforts had pulled her out of the pit of insignificance.
"Try not to be a burden in Demor," he replied without even looking at her directly.
She clenched her fists, hiding them beneath her silk sleeves, swallowing the sense of inferiority that always surged in the presence of her family.
As the carriage advanced toward the border, the princess watched her reflection in the glass. Her golden eyes shone with an intensity they once lacked, but a shadow crossed her mind as she remembered the days when she had been considered the "shame" of Lucratis.
In those moments of desperation, a face would appear in her memory: Cassian Varkas.
She remembered him as the second son of a count who used to stay close to her—someone she had, strangely, enjoyed spending time with. She recalled the afternoons when she would sneak away, how his jokes or calm presence allowed her to forget the pressures of the palace, giving her a sense of relief she found nowhere else. But now, as someone who had to live up to her family—
"How pathetic…" she muttered to herself, feeling a sharp pang. "And how weak I was, allowing myself to feel comfortable by his side."
To her, having sought refuge in someone like Cassian was the clearest proof of her former inadequacy.
…
The week at the academy passed relatively calmly, if we ignore that incident…
The dining hall was at its busiest, yet at our usual table the air felt strangely heavy. I sat down with my tray, and Sera was already there, occupying her usual seat. It didn't take long after I settled in.
"Is this seat taken?" Valeria's voice broke the silence.
She stood beside the table, holding her tray with a stiffness that betrayed her effort to sound casual. Her eyes met mine, searching for any sign of recognition after our conversation about the sword on Saturday. Before I could answer, Sera set her glass down with a sharp thud.
"I don't think we're close enough for that, Valeria," Sera said, not bothering to hide her irritation.
"It's just lunch, Sera. There's no need to react like that," Valeria replied, sitting across from me without waiting for a formal invitation.
The atmosphere froze completely when Cassane approached. She didn't speak at first; she simply walked with that "ice queen" elegance that made people step aside. She stopped at the edge of our table and, after a slight nod in my direction, sat beside me with absolute composure.
Her presence there—as my official fiancée—might have seemed natural to others, but Sera clearly didn't think so.
"I hope you don't mind. I usually have lunch with Valeria," Cassane said in a flat tone, though her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer than necessary.
Sera tightened her grip on her utensils, shifting her gaze between the captain of the knights and Valeria. For her, Cassane suddenly approaching me was a blaring warning sign.
At the peak of that tension, Klaus arrived with his tray. He stopped short when he saw the scene: me, surrounded by those three women—something that would certainly become the talk of the academy.
"Well, well…" Klaus let out with a grin he couldn't suppress. "Cassian, my friend, I didn't know today's menu came with something this special… Did I miss an official announcement, or were they handing out flowers at the entrance?"
Sera shot him a glare that could have incinerated an army, but Klaus, used to her outbursts, only widened his grin and squeezed into a seat at the end of the table.
"Careful, Klaus. The atmosphere's a bit… tense," I said dryly, taking a sip of my drink.
"I can see that, I can see that," he replied, sitting down and glancing at Cassane. "Though I suppose it makes sense for Miss Windsteel to share a meal with her fiancé, right?"
That reminder of the engagement was like pouring fuel on the fire. Sera gripped her fork so tightly her knuckles turned white.
But someone else in the dining hall clearly had an opinion about our "gathering." My refusal to attend her invitation had undoubtedly wounded her pride. Morgana Valois, with her long night-black hair, walked toward us with unwavering confidence, drawing everyone's attention.
"You didn't come," she said upon arriving, without preamble. "I don't know what you thought the banquet was, but the more I see, the more things around you don't add up."
I leaned back in my chair, watching her indifferently as the rest of the table fell into tense silence. Morgana wasn't here to socialize.
"First, Elizabeth," she continued, listing my "faults" with businesslike precision. "Then your top rank in the exams; even with the academy's official explanation, I have my doubts. A Valois member also disappeared during those tests and, coincidentally, according to the investigation, he had a particular fixation on Seraphine—your close friend."
Sera paled slightly at the mention of the missing noble, but Morgana didn't stop. Her eyes swept over the women seated with me with analytical disdain.
"And lastly—though I could keep going—to complete what doesn't quite fit… you're now sitting here with Valeria Astaford and Cassane Windsteel. Too many coincidences for someone who was nothing but a pretty face all this time, don't you think?" she concluded, crossing her arms and letting her words hang like a formal accusation.
The dining hall, already silent since her arrival, seemed to stop breathing altogether. Morgana had just voiced what many were thinking.
"The Valois are always so obsessed with numbers and coincidences," Cassane said in her "ice queen" tone. "Perhaps, Morgana, you simply lack the ability to see what others recognize in Cassian. Not everything in life is an asset you can audit."
Morgana let out a dry laugh, unfazed.
"Oh, please, Cassane. We both know you're no different from me," she replied venomously. "I understand he's your fiancé, but this—" she gestured at the table "—is proof that something changed your opinion of him. And we both know you don't change your mind over a pretty face."
"It seems you've been studying me quite closely, Morgana," I interjected with complete detachment. "I should feel flattered by such interest from the Valois Duchy. But I'm not sure what you expect to find here."
Morgana narrowed her eyes, clearly irritated by my condescending tone in front of the entire hall. She wasn't used to being treated so lightly by someone she had always considered beneath her.
"Money explains almost everything, Cassian," she replied, regaining her composure. "And Elizabeth has been a thorn in our side for quite some time. Knowing who she associates with—and why—is our business."
With that, Morgana turned on her heel and left, carrying herself with the certainty of someone who had said everything she needed. Her departure left a heavy silence behind, one that Sera quickly filled with a look of uncertainty.
She set her utensils down and stared at me. She was visibly upset by Morgana's arrogance, but more than anything, she looked confused. While she knew I was close to Elizabeth, what she couldn't process was the connection Morgana had just drawn.
"Why would she say something like that, Cassian?" Sera asked in a whisper, trying to keep others from hearing. "I understand she might dislike your connection with Elizabeth, but… linking you to what happened to Damian Valois?"
She looked at me, searching for a logical explanation to dismantle that idea. To her, I was a lifelong friend—someone who could hardly be involved in the disappearance of a noble, even if that man had been harassing her.
Cassane and Valeria remained silent, watching as Sera's trust wavered for the first time under the weight of a suspicion that, ironically, was entirely true.
In my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about how much had changed this year… Even though living a quiet life had always been my goal when I came here, it seemed that no matter where I was, something would always force me out of that normalcy.
As I watched Sera struggle with her doubts and felt Cassane's cold gaze beside me, I realized that the low profile I had carefully maintained was beginning to collapse under its own weight. I had tried to remain a spectator in this world, but my own actions—from protecting Sera to my dealings with Elizabeth—had pushed me back to the center.
"Don't overthink it, Sera," I said, breaking the silence with a voice that revealed none of my thoughts.
Sera nodded slowly, wanting to believe me, though the seed of doubt had already been planted.
Klaus, sensing that the atmosphere needed a break, cleared his throat and stepped in before the tension suffocated us all.
"Well, now that the interrogation's over, is anyone actually going to finish their food? Because all this drama made me seriously hungry," Klaus said with his usual shamelessness, managing to ease some of the stiffness at the table.