"Shit."
I read the letter over and over again before slipping it into my bag, where it wouldn't get lost. I'd have to show it to Aerel as soon as possible.
It was… serious, if even Fritz had described them that way. The three students were a very serious matter.
Like.
Really.
Serious.
I nibbled at my nail and forced myself to take a deep breath, glancing around the room.
At least today, I wasn't dying from a headache with the faceless girl urging me to write that letter… But then again, if I hadn't pushed to send that letter earlier yesterday, I would've gotten this letter much later.
Tsk.
My heart jumped as a sudden chill pressed against my bare thigh. Lady Mel had firmly planted her cold hand on my leg.
"Stay still," Lady Mel hissed under her breath, her hand firm, cool as polished marble. "You're practically jumping out of your seat. What's gotten into you…? You barely reacted when I pinched you earlier, and now this?"
Her eyes flicked sideways with a slightly disgusted expression. "I'm beginning to wonder if you're a masochist. It's rather insulting."
My heart jumped. "I'm sorry, I—"
*Khi-i-ik*
The lecture hall doors opened with a soft creak. Proctor Doe stepped in, carrying with him a hefty folder laden with presentation notes. He set it down onto his lectern with a *thump* silencing the class.
"I'll tell you later, Milady." I quickly whispered to Lady Mel.
She shot me a disapproving look but let it go.
"Ms. De la Fontaine. I hope you're doing better?" He asked pointedly.
I shrunk inwardly. "Yes. I apologize—"
"No need," Proctor Doe sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Next time, please notify me. I understand that circumstances may have been difficult, but efforts could have been made."
"Yes, sir," I replied softly. I'd managed to calm down slightly.
He gave a short nod, satisfied. "Please acquire the notes you missed."
He then bowed to Mel. "Your Imperial Highness. I'm relieved that you've arrived safely. I hope your time here proves… academically fulfilling."
"Thank you, sir," Mel replied.
Proctor Doe nodded, smoothing his mustache. He then turned back to his board as he snapped the projector back on with a hum.
"All right, everyone. Let us continue where we left off with modern transportation…"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Class droned on for a while before it finally ended. There wasn't much progress, mostly stuff that I'd already known—which was interesting, considering that even I knew this much about modern transport and I hadn't even had a formal education before.
Just steam engines, rail expansions, and trade routes.
It was enough that I could half listen and half watch the way the orange sunlight filtered through the tall windows and caught the dust motes that drifted lazily in the air.
As class ended, I quickly packed up my notes and glanced at Lady Mel.
She packed up as well and took the lead, walking down the aisle to the exit of the lecture hall past the dark wood and glass of Proctor Doe's curious display cabinets.
A voice came quickly behind us. "Milady. A moment of your time, if you please."
We halted on the steps and glanced back. A blue-eyed guy with an immaculate uniform and blond hair walked up to us. He seemed around our age and was well-built. He was pretty good looking, too, in that playboy way.
His gaze flicked dismissively over the surrounding crowd before returning to her. "May we go perhaps somewhere more private? Away from all these… distractions."
"Lord Damien, I'm afraid I must decline—"
His smile sharpened. "That would be unwise."
He stepped closer and Mel flinched slightly.
"I believe," Damien continued, "that you'll find what I have to say rather… necessary, given your situation."
He lifted his hand and reached forward.
He didn't even glance in my direction. It was like for him, there was just empty space between him and what he wanted. I might as well have not existed at all. And I'll admit—even with Fritz's letter on my mind, I still had room to be pissed.
And that really pissed me off.
*JJAK!*
The crack of a hand being slapped away rang out as Damien's hand snapped sideways.
"Milady," I said evenly. "We're on a tight schedule." I stepped between them.
Damien reeled in shock, but so did I, because it was me who slapped his hand away. God, my hand hurt. Why was his hand so hard? The fuck was it made out of? Rock?
"Y-Yes…" Lady Mel blinked, surprised by the sudden turn of events. "We should go." She quickly turned away.
Damien stared down at me like I was some mongrel. I just turned and walked steadily behind Lady Mel, placing my body between her and Damien.
"I'll remember this, Milady," Damien called after her, his voice losing some of its polish at the edges. "My father will hear of it. You do understand your position, don't you? You were born of a treaty between two empires. You're hardly in a place to refuse alliances."
Mel's expression darkened for just a moment, her lip quivering slightly.
"That just means she has two empires instead of one to boot your ass with," I snorted quietly.
"What was that?" Damien snapped—
"Take a hint, Damien," another voice interjected.
A girl stepped past us, her long light-brown hair swaying behind her. A small entourage followed at her heels. "Her Imperial Highness doesn't want to be one of your fifteen wives. Leave her alone."
"Liya," Damien scoffed. "Your impudence is—"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As the two groups began to argue I quietly escorted Lady Mel out of the lecture room, where the noise of the argument dulled into the quiet hush of the polished wooden halls and distant footsteps.
Mel exhaled deeply.
"...Well," she said dryly. "That was certainly one way to handle it."
I smiled. "He looked like he needed the interruption." I could manage a joke or two.
She glanced at me sideways. "You slapped the hand of a duke's son."
"He shouldn't leave it lying around unattended," I shrugged.
"...He's going to come after you. You know that?"
Standing side by side, I realized that Lady Mel was actually a bit shorter than me. The top of her head juuuuust barely reached my eye level.
I nodded and smiled. "Wouldn't be the first noble I've annoyed in my line of work. Dealing with a Duke is going to be a first, though."
"Your line of work?"
I dipped into a small bow. "Rien de la fontaine. Journalist. Public enemy number one, depending on who you ask," I added with a small wink.
"Pfft." Lady Mel pressed a hand to her mouth, laughing despite herself.
I smiled lightly. She looked… better than before.
Lady Mel sobered quickly. "Seriously, though. Lord Damien's father is the Duke Leonhardt. They hold considerable influence. And given my standing, I… might not be able to protect you."
She said the last part with a bit of unease and frustration in her voice.
"..." I just smiled and made a small, reassuring shrug. "We'll manage. I'm sure his precious daddy has some dark secrets he's hiding that I can dig up."
Lady Mel sighed but dropped the subject. "Very well, Ms. Journalist. Where to next? And are you finally going to explain that letter?"
I pulled the letter from my bag. "Right. Let's pay a visit to Inspector Aerel."