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THE next day, Emma saw something she had never wanted to see. In a secluded area surrounded by a proliferation of trees, not far from the large garden and common area, the two sat on a single, ancient bench.
The young man leaned against the back of the bench, legs crossed, his arm around the young lady next to him. She had curled in on herself. It was an eyesore, but when Emma carelessly drew too close, her aggravation increased upon hearing their conversation.
“Annette. Truthfully, I despise the thought of marrying Emma. I want to protect you.”
“Oh… Really… So that’s how you felt!”
Bernard favored the same line over and over again. He could at least try to be creative. And it sounded like the two weren’t on the same wavelength.
Emma’s class was in the middle of learning about the theory of applied magic, exclusive of elemental attributes. They ran out of magical materials for their experiments, so the three students sitting closest to the corridor were sent to the storehouse to resupply. Those three happened to be Emma, Victor, and Glen.
She wanted to commend their teacher for treating Victor and Glen like normal students, making no exceptions for their royal status. Yet she wished now that they weren’t there with her because her luck ran out when she chose to take the shortcut through the garden. It would have been one thing for her alone to be subject to this melodramatic scene of Bernard and Annette so diligently conducting their secret rendezvous, their dedication to their personal theater so great that they were skipping their lessons. But Victor and Glen had to watch this farce play out as well.
“Annette, tell me the truth. How do you feel about me? You’re always evading the question.”
“Ummm… It isn’t that I don’t feel anything for you. Perhaps…I just need more time to get to know you. Yes, that’s it!”
“What does that even mean?”
Hm… Annette is acting strange. Although she wanted to retch at Bernard’s sickeningly wheedling tone, Emma cocked her head thoughtfully. Yesterday, during their conversation, Annette gave her the impression that she found Bernard’s advances annoying.
The reality not far from her lent weight to her conclusion. She still found the conversation repulsive, but Annette was trying to fend off Bernard. Unfortunately for the other girl, her passive, non-confrontational personality made the task difficult.
Except if she truly wanted to reject Bernard, there was no need to come to a place like this. That was one point. Another was that, despite her nature, she could pluck up the nerve to refuse him much more directly and harshly. Emma suspected that something else bothered Annette.
She knew something was off, but she couldn’t put the unnatural feeling into words. While she racked her brain, analyzing her discomfort, something tapped on her right arm. When she turned, Glen stared down at her anxiously. He didn’t say anything, but his expression was different from his usual confident one. Oh, right… He saw me vilify Bernard at the dinner party.
“I’m fine,” she whispered. “I don’t even feel angry. Just annoyed that I ever let myself even be duped by them.”
“I’ll take you at your word then.”
Hm… I should revise my thoughts on my lack of fortune. Having Prince Victor here might work in my favor. After viewing the situation from this new angle, Emma felt her heart dance giddily. The scene playing out before them couldn’t be called infidelity, yet the fact remained that Emma and Bernard’s engagement was pledged under His Majesty’s direction. If a formal objection to the betrothal entered the king’s ears, especially from his own son or one at least affirmed by him, even Count Sagden would have no choice but to accept its dissolution. No matter how much he protested.
“For now… Why don’t I dump some water on the fool?” Glen suggested.
“What a wonderful idea. I’ll do it myself,” Emma readily agreed.
“Um… Please don’t…” Victor interjected.
Just as Emma was about to start chanting a spell, “Pillar of water, rage like a torrent,” in response to Glen’s joking suggestion, Victor stopped her in her tracks. An epiphany jolted her as she stared at him. Victor was the embodiment of justice itself, a descendant of Reauxvil’s royal line, one that placed tremendous importance on law, order, and discipline. His face was scarlet with fury.
Along with Ian, Emma had interacted with Victor since they were young. Unlike his remarkably lenient older brother, the crown prince Wheeler, Victor was serious and earnest. In her original timeline, during the dinner party in her honor where she had been so brutally humiliated, he immediately noted the change in the atmosphere and rushed to her aid as quickly as he could. He had declared himself her staunch ally, and the rest of that night transpired as it had.
“What are you doing?! I demand an explanation at once!” Victor stomped through the thicket directly toward the bench where Bernard and Annette sat. Emma and Glen glanced at each other before racing after him.
“Th-This… I… Y-Your Highness, this is—”
Bernard jerked his arm from around Annette’s shoulders and stood up in a panic. Annette remained seated in shock, her face pallid. Unnaturally pallid, Emma thought.
“You swore to uphold your engagement to Lady Emma, daughter of Viscount Seagrove, in front of the king himself!” Victor roared.
“R-Right, I did. I did indeed.”
“Then explain yourself. What is the meaning of those words you spoke to this lady? You should be well aware that the title of count granted to your father, one you will someday inherit, was conferred so Lady Emma could live her life freely and comfortably in the future. Does this mean you only used her and the royal family for your own dastardly purposes?”
“N-N-N-No! No, no, no! You couldn’t be more wrong, Your Highness! I-I was just using a figure of speech. Yes, that’s right. Carried away by the atmosphere, you know.”
Glen, amused, smoothly fired off a verbal rally to aid Victor. “Interesting… Skipping class to conduct a clandestine rendezvous, eh? Makes one question the disposition of an heir to the family chosen as the prize for the time traveler, hm, Prince Victor?”
“Yes! Yes, it most definitely does!”
“E-E-E-E-E-E-Exactly as you say, Prince Victor!” Annette’s unexpected declaration sounded particularly biting against Bernard. “I-I-I-I’m always receiving invitations from Lord Bernard. And he’s forever saying how his engagement to Emma is just a means of securing his family’s elevation of rank!”
What in the world?! Not only was Emma shocked, but she struggled to make sense of this surprising turn of events. Annette was a spoiled, shy girl. In tense situations like this, she normally hid behind someone and sobbed hysterically. This Annette wasn’t adhering to that pattern. Her face was just as red as Victor’s as she hurled censure at Bernard, her eyes moist with angry tears.
“You can rest assured that I will be speaking to His Majesty about this matter because it affects the royal family’s honor,” Victor declared.
“N-No… Please… I…” Bernard collapsed on the bench, stunned by Victor’s declaration.
“Um… When would that be, Your Highness?”
Emma felt another unpleasant jolt of discomfort when she heard Annette’s resolute tone. Something was definitely different about this version of her old friend.
“I’ll send him a letter immediately, so I should receive his approval to rescind the engagement in less than a week,” Victor said. “But this is none of your concern because, clearly, you weren’t reciprocating this fool’s advances.”
“Oh, please don’t concern yourself with me… More importantly, um…” Annette glanced at Emma.
“Ah, yes. Lady Emma. You must be terribly shocked by today’s events. Why don’t you return to your dormitory and rest? Glen and I will take care of resupplying our class with the magical materials. I’ll also inform the teacher of your absence.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness, but I feel fine. You don’t have to worry about me.” Emma’s reply was calm and composed. Far from being shocked, she wanted to curtsy deeply to Bernard in thanks. He slumped in a daze, crushed by how badly things had spiraled out of control. She couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome.
“E… Emma…” Annette seemed like she wanted to say something to Emma.
Glen murmured to the girl so that Victor couldn’t hear. “Later. Can you come back here after classes are over for the day?”
“I… Yes. But, um, may I request only your presence and Emma’s, Lord Glen?”
Emma realized Glen had been perturbed by Annette’s behavior as well. The other girl’s eyes looked uncertain but determined.