Vincent.

The prince had separated from his family to take a walk through the gardens for three reasons.

The first was his older brother. Sigfrid was tiresome, and that night he was especially determined to remind Vincent that he was the heir. As if Vincent had ever shown jealousy or desire to be king. Far from it. He accepted his role and was satisfied with it. Being king was a great responsibility. He was happy supporting Sigfrid and he didn't need or want more.

The second was Bianca. He trusted her—he knew she intended to break things off with Marco, as she had assured him—but that didn't stop him from feeling he would breathe easier once she confirmed it, especially since strange things sometimes happened around her. And he couldn't help but be eager to see her again. That dress she wore was breathtaking, and it was his color. While seeing Sol clad in his color had only stirred rejection, seeing his beloved claim it as hers made his heart race like never before.

While greeting friends as he passed, his eyes searching for Bianca, he instead came upon a scene he had, in a way, been expecting. After all, the third reason was Mary. He'd noticed her watching Ronan's parents during dinner and had figured it was possible she might want to confront them about how they'd treated her friend when he was a child.

A few meters ahead, three people stood together and one of them was grabbing a young woman by the arm against her will. He moved closer and realized, sure enough, that it was Mary and Ronan's parents. Moreover, the man was shouting at her.

Vincent, who was usually calm, felt alarmed.

If Ronan saw this, someone was going to come to a bad end, and he refused to let that someone be his friend.

"Baron Velbrun, is something wrong?" he asked in a cold, cutting tone.

He didn't let it show that he thought he was probably saving the man's life.

The man immediately released Mary.

"This commoner is being rude and insolent."

"I seriously doubt Mary could be either of those things," he replied, choosing to leave unmentioned—but not forgetting—the baron's crude remarks about the young woman's social status. "But if you wish, I can arrange an audience with my parents to discuss it."

"No, Your Highness, of course not," the baroness intervened, pleading. "We don't intend to bother them with trifles. Please excuse my husband, it disturbs him when someone doesn't follow proper etiquette."

"I see. We'll take our leave…"

Vincent gently placed his arm around Mary's shoulders and guided her away from there. They walked for a few minutes, putting some distance between themselves and the area. They passed other nobles. It was likely that someone had heard the incident between Mary and the baron.

"Are you all right?" he asked her near a fountain.

Water fell in several streams, creating a sound the prince thought might be soothing to his friend.

"Thank you so much, Vincent, but honestly, I'm not. They're horrible parents—what they've done to Ronan... and the baroness started crying while telling me that Ronan manipulates me."

Mary's shoulders began to tremble, accompanied by a soft sob.

"Mary, don't worry. They're like that—they have affinity for darkness. It's normal for them to be cruel."

"But all those horrible things they said about Ronan..." she protested.

"Ronan isn't like that. He's only shown us kindness, and when we've fought as a group, he's more than proven his worth."

"I don't understand why he has dark magic."

"You don't have to be a bad person to have that affinity. It's more about your potential. Ronan possibly has the potential to do something terrible without hesitation, believing he's doing the right thing. That's why it's so important that we treat him fairly and not with prejudice."

"Is that why you tried to resolve his confinement by Duskmere right away?"

"I would have done it anyway regardless of his affinity, but yes, it was an added reason to free our friend."

"Well, given those parents and the way many people treat and judge him, if Ronan continues to be so good, I think he chooses not to develop that potential, that if in some moment of injustice he has a vengeful impulse, he simply pushes it aside and discards it. He's helped me a lot and I worry about him. I'm going to try to be by his side in case he needs me," she declared.

Vincent looked at Mary more closely. Tears were no longer falling. It was as if helping Ronan calmed her and made her feel fulfilled.

"Though he already has Bianca. She's like a role model for him," she added, sounding disappointed as she realized this.

"Mary, you know Bianca is very special to me, but I think your guidance will be better for Ronan. Bianca sometimes has impulses that could—how to put it—compromise Ronan's moral guidance if he misinterprets the motive. You, with your high affinity for light—your only affinity—are impossible to misinterpret."

"Thank you," she managed a somewhat shy smile. "I'll be there for him too. Between Bianca and me, I'm sure we'll prevent him from succumbing to evil."

Vincent's words had helped her realize that darkness wasn't synonymous with evil, and that had calmed her. She knew Ronan was good, but why he had that affinity was something that had confused her considerably.

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Bianca.

After my brief meeting with the queen, I look for the room where my parents, the counts, are. I'm not thrilled about telling them about Marco. Actually, I'd like to see how Judith is doing, since I intend to set them up at the ball.

Basically, I tell them I've broken off the engagement, though I still don't want it to be made public out of respect for Marco, since it would seem too harsh to make something like that official on the day of the ball.

"Why?" my father asks and, contradicting the good-natured character I had associated with him, he's quite angry. "You can't make a decision like that."

"This decision is backed by an engagement with someone of higher rank, whose parents will adequately compensate Marco's family."

"I knew it!" my mother exclaims, jumping up from her seat with excitement.

We're alone (I'm not counting the discreet Berta or the bodyguard who remained in the hallway). I wouldn't have said this if there had been other dinner attendees in this room.

"Forgive me, Father, for not telling you before."

"Oh, don't worry," my mother positions herself in front of me, leans forward, and takes my hands in hers. "There's only one type of marriage where we can only obey. And we'll obey happily, very happily."

"Yes, Mother. But it's not official yet. I couldn't find Marco in the days leading up to the ball, so we'll make it official in a couple of days."

I look at my father. He's still upset and sullen, but he's no longer reproaching me. I imagine that becoming part of the royal family, even though he would have preferred our connection to Marco, is something that must be very difficult to refuse. Especially if his wife is delighted and has no intention of doing so.

More than twenty minutes pass where I have trouble getting away from my mother, who's thrilled about her new social status and keeps proudly repeating what a good job she's done raising me.

Please... I roll my eyes more than once and she doesn't even notice. She's still going on about it.

"But do you love him?" my father finally asks me.

"Yes."

He nods and says nothing more. When I manage to leave the room, claiming I want to see my friends (yes, Mother, that includes Princess Lily), there isn't much time left before the ball starts. I'm going to see if I can find Vincent or Judith.

Oh, and Ronan. Ronan's crucial. I can tell him about Sol and my improved healing spell while we dance the laltz, but it's better to do it now somewhere quiet.

I don't run into any of my friends in the hallways; however, when I go out to the gardens, I spot Alistair walking with Lily.

"Hi, how's it going?" I greet them.

"Very well," the princess answers me, as they stop and she smiles at me. "My older brother told me about these academy dinners—I was looking forward to attending one. Though the divine beast warning is something new. Look around: everyone's making theories about who it could be."

Lily is wearing a white dress with plenty of volume and ruffles and delicate flowers sewn on, made from what looks like silk in the same shade of red as her brother's.

Quickly, I remember the royal coat of arms and its colors. For example, the embroidery on the queen's maid's cap. And no, it doesn't have this shade of red.

I relax. For a moment I was scared, thinking they might be the colors of royalty and I, stupidly, was sending a message to the court that I didn't intend.

Plus, I haven't seen the queen or the king wearing any garment in that exact shade.

And as for those theories about the future demon king...

"I hope they're not pointing at Ronan because of his high affinity," I comment.

"Some are, others at various dark mages, like the father of the current Count Montague, known for the atrocities he supposedly carried out in his laboratory."

"Who?"

"Oh, haven't you heard about him? Seriously?" Lily gets excited at the prospect of telling me about it. "He was the talk of the court four years ago, which is why they removed him from his position, and his son inherited it... They accused him of human experiments—on his peasants. They couldn't prove it, but the Crown Chief Investigator considered it better to remove him from office and have his son keep him under surveillance in a secluded wing of his mansion. His affinity for darkness is high, and they say some of those experiments are buried and waiting to emerge when their master calls them."

Another necromancer who buries corpses once reanimated? And I thought Ronan was original in that...

"And does the son also have high affinity for darkness?"

"Medium."

"Either way, don't worry, Bianca," Alistair intervenes. "We're not going to let them talk bad about our friend. Darius has already challenged a couple of nobles to duels. That's shut the others up."

"But aren't duels between students supposed to be forbidden?"

"He didn't challenge students."

"Adults? He challenged adult nobles?" I worry about Darius, because then they'll be higher level than him and have more combat experience.

"Yes. But don't worry, he says he's capable of beating Count Whitmore even though he's three levels above him and has far more sword mastery. He says he has a secret weapon. And Baron Holloway shouldn't be a problem, he's a mage with low water affinity who didn't even graduate from the academy."

A secret weapon? I can't think of what it could be.

Darius wasn't in the otome game, I think. Well, he sounds familiar, both his name and especially his house name. I think his father was relevant, but toward the end of the video game, and I can't remember how. But anyway, Darius wasn't part of the academy's combat or magic elite, so I think those duels could end very badly for him.

Then the image of him riding the scorpion crosses my mind. If you can go to a duel with a mount, something like that could make him win; but given how hard it was for him to get Ronan to lend it to him for a little while, I don't think he'll manage it again anytime soon.

I feel somewhat worried. Darius is very impulsive (not to mention airheaded) and I can perfectly see him jumping to defend his friend, the one who finally let him ride an undead, and then realizing he screwed up, that his opponent isn't someone he can beat.

"Maybe..."

"But the duels are friendly, first blood, right?"

"Yes. Except with royal permission, those are the only ones allowed."

Good.

"That puts me somewhat at ease."

"Darius is strong. I don't think he'll have problems. And if not, well, he'll learn the hard way," Alistair winks at me.

"As long as it's just that—some blows that heal easily..." I shrug.

And speaking of this, when I thought about the scorpion I remembered the bone dragon. Honestly, I'm dying to check if Myrthaxya arrived safely at the village. Now that I think about it, I should have asked Ronan. Through mental bonds, he can communicate with his direct vassals across vast distances, much like I do with him. He certainly can reach the goblin village, something he can't do with his undead.

"Of course," Alistair confirms. "I trust him. And he's not impulsive: he's an honorable warrior you can rely on."

Lily bursts out laughing.

Right, who am I to tell him that his friend has too much fire in his mana?

"I'm glad. By the way, have you seen Vincent?"

"Not for a while. He was in the gardens," his sister tells me.

"Thanks. And Ronan?"

"Yes, I saw him talking to Damien and his father a while ago."

What?

"Where?"

"In one of the parlors near the great hall."

Now I really need to find him. Damien might have planned something, with or without Sol's help, to get Ronan into trouble. And if his father supports him as well...

"I'm going to see if I can find him. See you later."

"I can't wait to see you open the ball, you'll make a beautiful couple." Lily winks at me mischievously.

I don't bother to answer her. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. I don't run because it wouldn't be appropriate for a young noble, but I return quickly to the building.

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