“However, while I daresay this will not make up for all your shortcomings, perhaps you would like to come under my wing? You passed the exam, so your skill must count for something; enough to be tasked with some rather difficult duties, even.”
Arcus stared at her.
“Yes... Perhaps we can have you take up some administrative duties, here or at a high-ranking public office. Of course, you would have to begin as a trainee. You could even work at the Saifice estate, if you so wished. Naturally, you would have to take another exam.”
The conversation was moving too fast. First she was kicking him out, and now she was offering to find him employment? Truth be told, her suggestions would afford him more stability going forward. In fact, it was such a good deal that Arcus had almost forgotten how she had insulted him.
All the while, Claudia’s followers were singing her praises and lauding her leadership. Charlotte seemed just as flabbergasted as he was. It may not have been that the duke’s daughter disliked him, but that she preferred to see people in posts that would realize their potential. It was an odd approach, to be sure, and it was one that didn’t work for Arcus.
“Thank you for your exceedingly generous offer, Miss Claudia, but I am afraid it is more than I could take on. Therefore, I must decline.”
“You would refuse me?”
“Forgive me, My Lady. There is much I still wish to learn at the Institute.”
There was no way Arcus could give up his spot here. Graduating from this establishment would give him a massive advantage in his bid to become a state magician. As long as his lack of aether hampered his chances, he would need all the help he could get.
“Arcus Raytheft. Did you perhaps misunderstand me when I stated that you do not belong here?”
“Not at all, My Lady; however, I believe that what I learn here will make up for my lack of aether.”
Claudia made a frustrated face like she was dealing with a petulant child. Again, Arcus could see things going very wrong, very quickly.
“Lady Claudia,” Charlotte tried again. “As a fellow student of the Institute, is it not somewhat unmerited for Your Ladyship to recommend the removal of another?”
“I am to inherit the House Saifice. I have a duty to protect the reputations of both the Institute and the kingdom itself. In this, I carry out that duty.”
“I understand, My Lady...” Charlotte looked like she wanted to say more, but the girls’ respective ranks made it impossible.
Arcus would have liked to think that the opinion of a single person wouldn’t force him out of the school. However, given the Saifices’ inordinate influence, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
What now?
“Oh! Lady Claudia, is that you?”
The sudden words were spoken with a respectful tone equal to that of Charlotte and Claudia. Having said that, the voice itself sounded awfully familiar. Arcus turned around.
“Why, if it isn’t Lady Susia.”
Susia! I mean, Sue!
Her beautifully combed dark hair was tied up in twin buns and complemented with an ornament. It was a style Arcus would have expected to see in China back in the man’s world. Her skin had a healthy glow that told of the care she put into it. Her sapphire eyes gave off a lustrous sheen under her long eyelashes. They were on full display when she was her usual cheerful self, though sometimes they would narrow when the situation was more serious. Now, they were cast downward. Her body had as much feminine appeal to it as Charlotte’s. Arcus felt as though he had been surrounded by such temptations lately, to the extent he was only becoming more conscious of them. On her hip, she wore an elegant fan made of white sandalwood.
Somehow, something about her seemed wildly different. She was being very quiet; graceful, as if she were wearing not one mask but three. For a moment, Arcus wondered if he was hallucinating and had to rub his eyes to make sure someone hadn’t cast an illusory spell on her. But even then, it was as if he could see the masks layering on top of each other. The difference in her character was making him hallucinate. He felt dizzy.
“Hello, I do hope I haven’t interrupted anything. Oh, Lady Charlotte! I did not see you there.”
“Good afternoon, Lady Susia.”
“Good afternoon. Things seemed somewhat tense over here. I cannot help but wonder what you were discussing.” Sue’s smile was as gentle as any upper-class girl’s.
Arcus realized that this might have been how she usually spoke to the other students at the Institute, and that her communication with him was the outlier.
“We were speaking about this student here, Arcus Raytheft,” Claudia said.
“Oh, yes? What about him?”
“It would seem that his aether falls below the average for martial nobility. I therefore informed him that he does not belong at this institution.”
“Am I to infer that you asked him to leave? Is that not a little extreme?”
“The Institute has its honor to maintain. All who learn here need to be held to the appropriate standard.”
Sue looked at Claudia with a gaze that exuded concern. The young busybody seemed to sense she was being pitied; she raised an eyebrow.
“Is there something you wish to express, Lady Susia?”
“Yes, Lady Claudia. I believe that you may have been working yourself to exhaustion as of late. Even now, you appear quite tired.”
“I am not tired in the least.”
“Are you quite certain? Normally, not even the slightest detail passes you by, and yet today your wits seem to be failing you.”
“Would you be so kind as to get to the point, Lady Susia?”
“It appears you have not properly observed Arcus. Specifically, you have not paid attention to what is affixed to his breast.”
“His breast? Oh!” Claudia’s eyes widened as she caught sight of his Order, its silver glistening in the sun.
When Sue spoke next, there was an edge to her tone. “Lady Claudia, as daughter to a house that has many dealings with military families, I expect you are familiar with the Orders and their various types. You ought to know what that silver represents, in which case... Yes, indeed, you must be tired.”
“The Order of the Silver Cross...”
“Arcus Raytheft here graciously attended His Royal Highness into his first battle, achieving great merits as his retinue. The boy was recognized by His Majesty himself for his efforts. You and I are servants to the royal family. You would disregard His Majesty’s judgment and brand Arcus unworthy? Not only that, but we are yet to inherit our full titles. Is this really a matter worth quibbling over?”