Chapter 7: Unknowingly Reciprocal Love
AFTER three long months away from the Academy, the students soon broke into noisy chatter upon their return. There was a plaza inside the grounds, just a short distance from the main entrance, and it was here that people were reuniting with one another. Rather than return to their dorms, they loitered there, babbling amongst themselves.
Oriana and her companions managed to slip out of the crowd, intending to head toward the cafeteria, when someone flagged them down.
“Heeey! Oriana, Yana, Azraq! How’ve you guys been?” Lucian waved excitedly at them from where he stood in the plaza, surrounded by other male students he’d been talking to, his luggage left sitting at his feet. Kai also stood beside him. Neither one seemed to have changed much in the time since she’d last seen them.
Oriana gave them a wave, wandering over with Yana and Azraq in tow. “Lucian, you must be exhausted from your long journey back.”
“Yeah, I’m totally wiped. Wouldn’t be so bad if our territory wasn’t so remote. Oh yeah, I got you a gift. Yana, too.”
Caught off-guard, Oriana stuttered, “Th-Thank you.”
“You have my gratitude,” said Yana.
Unlike Oriana and Kai, who both lived on estates in the capital, Lucian was the son of a regional lord and thus had to return to their territory during long holidays.
“I’ve got something for Azraq, too.”
“You needn’t bother. I am fine sharing with Princess Yana,” said Azraq.
“Nonsense. Here ya go.”
Azraq grunted, accepting the proffered fruit with a wry smile. “Thank you.” It was because of Lucian’s generous nature that even though he could be insensitive on a fairly regular basis, people still forgave and fussed over him.
“Ah, look! There they all are!” shouted a voice.
“Edda, don’t yank me around… Ugh, I can’t do this. I’m so nauseous…”
“Come on, just a little bit further, Heidemarie. You can do it!”
Edda, Heidemarie, and Constance made their way over, marking the arrival of the rambunctious trio. With the arrival of the Enchanted Voyager, the number of students pouring in through the gate multiplied. It was nearly time for the next wave of people to hit as well.
“Heidemarie, are you all right?” Oriana asked, hurrying over to support her tottering friend.
“I made myself motion sick, reading a book on the Voyager.”
Like Lucian, she had also traveled a long distance from her home territory.
“Oh boy. Do you need to go to the infirmary? I can carry your things for you,” Oriana offered. “You need to get some rest.”
Heidemarie didn’t stay in the same dorm building as Oriana. Although it was two doors down, Oriana had gone there to visit enough that she knew the layout and where Heidemarie’s room was located.
“No, it’s fine,” Heidemarie insisted. “I’ll just take a seat here for a few.” She cradled her luggage in her arms as she slowly slid down to the ground, only for Kai to grab her by the arm and yank her up. “H-Hey, what are you…” She stumbled, completely unprepared for him to pull her right back to her feet, but even though she was unsteady, she obediently followed him.
“Hey, make way! We’ve got a sick person here.”
“Oh, right! Sorry.”
Some students had deposited their luggage on a nearby bench while they stood and chatted with each other, but when Kai spoke to them, they hurriedly cleared the space. They were probably underclassmen. It was almost pitiful the way they hastily fled the area.
Kai planted his own luggage on one part of the bench before forcing Heidemarie to sit. “Here, you can use my bag here as a pillow,” he said.
“I owe you.” Heidemarie planted herself on the bench and buried her face in his bag, waving her hand lazily at him.
Edda and Constance exchanged looks before turning to Lucian and saying, “Did you see that? That is how you get popular with the ladies.”
“And because you can’t do that much, you’re forever a virgin.”
“Hey, guys! You know Kai’s a virgin too, right? At least, I’m pretty dang sure he is. Right, Kai?! Right?!”
“It’s our first day back and that’s what you choose to shout at the top of your lungs? Ugh, I’m ashamed to be associated with you.” Disgusted, Kai put some distance between himself and Lucian.
Ahh, it didn’t sink in that I was back at the Academy ’til I saw them interacting like this again. Oriana watched her friends warmly. But soon, her attention turned to a group creating a very different kind of fuss from her companions.
Not too far from where she and her friends stood, two male students were surrounded by a crowd of girls. Judging by the amount of luggage they had with them, they hadn’t yet been able to return to their dorm rooms and stow it away.
It was easy to see who was at the center of all the attention; even surrounded by dozens of female students with gifts in their hands, Vincent and Miguel were tall enough for Oriana to glimpse their faces. Being flocked by admirers didn’t seem to bother them at all. They kept cool smiles on their faces as they interacted with the girls.
This was the first time Oriana had seen such a spectacle. She tugged on Yana’s arm. “Hey, hey. Look at that.”
“Oh my, certainly popular, aren’t they? Like a couple of circus bears.”
Oriana snickered at the perfect analogy.
However, leaving Miguel aside, she did find it peculiar to see so many girls crowding around Vincent without any compunction. At the very least, she hadn’t seen anything like this prior to their long holiday.
Vincent Tanzine had always been solitary. Forget casually touching him like that, people couldn’t even approach him. He was treated as sacred as the moon.
“I wonder what’s gotten into them. They always used to watch him from afar before.”
“Since he got so close with you, they probably figure they have a chance to do so as well,” Yana reasoned.
“What? Me?” Oriana paused and nodded as it sank in. “Yeah, I guess?”
It did make sense. Oriana wasn’t a noble. She wasn’t part of the Special Class or a boy, either. Normally, she would have no contact with Vincent at all, and yet she had still managed to befriend him. If she could, it only stood to reason that other female students could as well.
Everyone was still in good spirits after their long break and since they had gifts to serve as an icebreaker, they took their opportunity to go after him.
“I guess that tracks. I wonder if Vincent is enjoying the attention,” Oriana muttered.
“He certainly doesn’t look like he is to me,” said Yana.
Oriana hummed to herself. Yana didn’t know it, but Vincent had specifically approached her because he didn’t have any friends, and he wanted to make one. That was how lonely he was. True, all the people surrounding him now were girls, but so was Oriana. There was nothing wrong with having friends of the opposite sex. Even assuming their motives were impure, he surely had to be happy for the opportunity to become acquainted with all these schoolmates.
“I don’t want to disrupt them. I’ll just wait ’til later to—”
“Oriana!”
Say hello to him, she had meant to say, but he cut her off midway by shouting to her.
What in the world? Oriana thought, spinning around. She wasn’t the only one; all the students who hadn’t yet noticed Vincent’s presence suddenly turned their gazes to him.
“Did you come all the way here to welcome me back? My apologies for being a little later than I’d promised.”
“Wha?” Oriana blinked at him, completely in the dark.
While she remained dumbfounded, Vincent took the opportunity to try and slip away from the throng of girls. “Let’s be on our way, shall we?” He paused and turned to Miguel. “Are you coming?”
“Nah, I’m good. Have fun.” Miguel smiled blithely at him, waving even as the girls coalesced around him.
Vincent sprinted over to Oriana. “Sorry, but if I could just borrow you…” He whispered into her ear as she gaped at him. After speaking, he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her along, breaking out into a run again.
Still shocked by what was happening, Oriana glanced over her shoulder at Yana and the others. They all waved at her, even Heidemarie, who had lifted her head to see what was happening. It was so utterly embarrassing that Oriana found herself whimpering.
When they finally reached somewhere deserted, Vincent paused to catch his breath, the shadow of the nearest building casting darkness over him. “Thank goodness you were there,” he said.
“N-Not a…problem. B-But…wh-what…were…” In contrast to Vincent, Oriana was completely winded even though she wasn’t carrying any luggage with her. Her shoulders jumped with every eager gulp of air she took.
Vincent is…way too fast!