Chapter 6: Deneb (5)
“Rowen, do you know why this afternoon’s training was canceled?”
“We have afternoon tea with the upperclassmen today.”
“Afternoon tea? How long could drinking a cup of tea possibly take?”
“Well, usually about two hours?”
“Two hours?!”
Rowen flinched, surprised by Luina’s astonished reaction. Afternoon tea was such an ordinary part of noble life that he hadn’t considered it might be unfamiliar to Luina.
At Imperial Herden Witagium, social gatherings with upperclassmen were often arranged. Officially, the gatherings gave students a chance to hear stories and advice from seniors who had already seen actual combat.
In practice, they were also an opportunity to build connections with future military officers. Consequently, competition for a spot could become fierce whenever a group included a student from a family worth cultivating ties with.
“What on earth do you do sitting there for two hours?”
“We drink tea, eat snacks, and mostly talk.”
“Talk…? I don’t think I’ll have much to say. Can I leave in the middle if I get bored?”
At Luina’s innocent question, Rowen’s expression darkened.
“No, absolutely not,” Rowen said flatly. “There are a few other things you need to be careful about. Break a scone in half with your hands before eating it. Never bite straight into one or cut it with a knife. And don’t use the same knife for the jam and the butter. Whenever you’re unsure, wait and copy what I do.”
As Rowen delivered his crash course in afternoon-tea etiquette, Luina’s expression grew faintly sullen with boredom. But Rowen was becoming increasingly anxious.
Few occasions revealed a person’s upbringing and refinement as clearly as afternoon tea. One tiny mistake could lead to considerable embarrassment. Worse still, the offender might be the only person present who failed to realize it.
While enrolled at Witagium, all students were treated equally.
Once they graduated, however, social status mattered enormously. No matter how talented they might be, commoners could never attain a general’s rank or enter high society.
Fortunately, most of her classmates were fond of Luina’s kind and unpretentious nature, but there was no knowing how the seniors would behave in such a formal setting.
Thank goodness I’m in her group.
Rowen had quietly maneuvered to end up in Luina’s group; he congratulated his earlier self for doing so.
At least no one would pull cheap tricks while he was there. Rowen resolved to make his friendship with Luina unmistakably clear.
“Even if the tea is a bit hot, do not blow on it—”
“Hey.”
Rowen, still lecturing as they hurried through the courtyard, paused at the sound of a familiar voice. The clearly annoyed tone had not been directed at him.
“Ferken?”
“You’re going, looking like that?”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”
Ferken strode purposefully toward Luina, swiftly untying her necktie. Then he removed his own tie and looped it briskly around her neck.
In that moment, Rowen and the nearby students all stared in stunned horror.
What the hell was that bastard doing?
Ferken was forever snapping at Luina, and now he was untying her necktie in broad daylight, before everyone!
Luina, accustomed to the easy familiarity of her small village, seemed clueless, but Ferken had just behaved in public as though he were her betrothed. From now on, any boy interested in courting Luina would have to challenge Ferken to a duel first.
Thanks to Ferken, Luina was now unlikely to have any romantic involvement with anyone at Witagium before graduation.
Unless someone was hopelessly smitten with her, no noble would bother with that ordeal. More to the point, few would willingly make an enemy of House Alios.
There was also a risk that Rowen himself could become entangled in a scandalous love triangle. And it was inconceivable that the calculating heir to House Alios could possibly be unaware of any of this.
Luina alone remained completely unaware that her romantic prospects had just suffered a devastating blow. She merely stared at Ferken with silent bewilderment until he showed her a faint stain on the tie with an expression of deep exasperation.
“How careless.”
“You can barely see it.”
“Only to your eyes.”
“And who cares if there is a stain?”
“Presenting yourself properly is the bare minimum when you’re meeting people. If you can’t even manage that, they won’t just gossip about you. They’ll talk about the people who raised you, too.”
Ah. Well, I can’t have that.
Luina had been uncharacteristically grumbling because the complicated rules had already given her a headache, but now she nodded obediently.
“I see. Thank you.”
Ferken offered no response to Luina’s thanks, turning abruptly and walking away. Rowen watched his retreating back with a sour expression, his mind a tangled mess.
Rowen genuinely liked Luina, but he could not honestly claim that his reasons for staying close to her were entirely selfless.
At first, he had decided that forming close ties with powerful families immediately after leaving the imperial palace would be too risky. Befriending Luina, a commoner, had seemed far safer.
And that attempt had proven fairly successful. His classmates still weren’t completely at ease around him, but they gradually began to strike up casual conversations with him.
For Luina, who had no powerful family to rely on, a friendship with a prince could only benefit her.
Graduates of Witagium’s martial arts program began their service as officers, and their chances of survival depended heavily on how close to the capital they were stationed.
In the worst case, she could be sent to the border, be worked half to death, and die in service before even completing her mandatory term. Connections with the imperial family would prove invaluable in such circumstances.
For all those reasons, Rowen had resolved to remain close to Luina for years to come, taking particular care to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. He treated her with unfailing courtesy and maintained a proper distance, making a deliberate effort to ensure that everyone else saw it too.
And that bastard had ruined it without warning!
Rowen had been building a perfectly respectable friendship with Luina, only for Ferken to sweep in from nowhere and ruin everything.
Rowen quietly ground his teeth, thinking of ways to get back at Ferken, while continuously nodding to show he was listening to the upperclassmen.
* * *
“What the hell is wrong with you? Care to explain what you’re doing?”
Ferken returned from his bath to find Rowen waiting in his room uninvited. He regarded the intruder with an indifferent stare.
Rowen sat on the edge of his bed, looking unusually serious.
“I beg your pardon?”
“To Luina, I mean.”
“I’m afraid I have no idea what you mean…”
“Don’t play dumb. Do you like Luina?”
“No, Your Highness.”
“Then why did you follow Luina when she went out?”
Ferken shot him a baffled look, as though Rowen had just uttered the most ridiculous nonsense. Rowen merely sneered and laid out his evidence at once.
“Remember the restaurant behind that stationer’s shop? I found a button in the courtyard with your family crest engraved on it, plain as day.”
At Rowen’s accusation, Ferken’s eyebrow twitched subtly. Most people would never have noticed, but Rowen knew Ferken far too well to miss it.
“Did you really split that beam with your sword—to save Luina?”
As Rowen’s voice grew louder, Ferken frowned and gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “I didn’t do it for her. You were inside that stationer’s shop, too.”
“Hey, if you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing. You’re smarter than that,” Rowen taunted. “How could you have known I was there? I went out on a whim. Everyone in our class knows Luina goes to the market every two weeks. And if it were truly me you wished to save, why did you run without a word?”
“I merely kept my left hand from knowing what my right was doing, as any person performing a good deed should.”
“Where did you get that ridiculous philosophy?”
“Ridiculous? You irreverent bastard. Those are the words of God.”
“Well, fine. Let’s say I believe you. Then why did you untie Luina’s tie earlier?”
Ferken, who had been responding with barely concealed irritation, finally met Rowen’s gaze head-on. He knew better than anyone that flimsy excuses would never sway Rowen, and that fact grated on him more today than ever before.
“The stain happened to catch my eye. Whether I care for her or not, she’s still my partner. I wasn’t going to let those petty nobles humiliate her over something so trivial. Can’t I show my partner that much consideration?”
“Hah, consideration? Are you being serious? Thanks to you marking her as yours in public, any boy who takes an interest in Luina will have to risk his life. You call that consideration? Do you hear yourself?”
“Marking her?” Ferken repeated, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “Your Highness, what an expression… Besides, why are you so worked up about it? I did not ask you to risk your life, did I?”
“What, am I not allowed to risk my life for a girl? I like Luina. I could give her a safe and comfortable life. I could even send treats every day to those siblings she’s always worrying about.”
Is he being serious?
Ferken studied Rowen’s expression for a moment, then gave a quiet, amused huff.
They had met as childhood playmates ten years ago. Ferken knew the look in Rowen’s eyes when he truly cared for something.
“If you’re not serious about her, leave her alone. Her life is difficult enough already.”
“Hey, Ferken. Let’s get one thing straight. You’re the one who went and bothered Luina when she had done nothing to invite it.”
“Rowen.”
“Don’t you use that tone on me. Whenever you say my name in that tone, you end up pissing me off.”
A subtle smirk flickered across Ferken’s face, only to vanish as he composed himself and spoke in a calm, serious voice. “If you really like her, I won’t stop you. You only live once, after all.”
“Hey, don’t suddenly get all serious. You’re scaring me.”
As though anything could frighten Rowen Herden. Ferken answered his friend’s theatrics with a quiet scoff.
* * *
Ferken, swinging his sword as mercilessly as ever, lowered his gaze when he felt a cool touch against his side. A sharp throwing knife had sliced through his outer coat before stopping against his side.
“You told me to use throwing knives. After thinking it over, I realized monsters are hardly the sort to offer a fair and honorable duel.”
Ferken looked down at Luina in silence for a long moment, then smiled faintly.
No matter how hard she trained, her stamina would always have its limits. Carrying another light weapon was a good idea. And she was undeniably quick.
“Impressive.”
Luina’s face brightened into a radiant smile at Ferken’s gruff compliment. For the first time in six months, he had acknowledged her skill.
As Ferken watched her beam with childlike delight, he found himself smiling faintly in return. The corners of Luina’s eyes curved prettily when she smiled, and her cheeks were lightly flushed.
The moment he caught himself thinking she was lovely, a heavy pain struck his chest. It felt as though someone had driven a fist straight into his heart.
Ferken had never experienced pain like it before. The fact that he could not begin to understand its cause only left him more bewildered.
