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“AHAHA!”
He recognized Oriana’s laughter immediately. On his way back to his dorm from study hall, he passed by the lounge where Oriana and the others always gathered. His feet froze in place. As he anticipated, her classmates were gathered around her at a couch in one corner of the room, engaging in light-hearted banter. Yana and Azraq were nowhere to be seen, likely attending to one of their trials.
Glad to see the two of them smiling at each other again.
Vincent had no special feelings toward either Yana or Azraq, but he knew that if things went well between them, Oriana would be happy. There was no way of knowing what trajectory they would go down in this timeline, but at least for now, he’d already told Miguel not to participate in vying for Yana’s hand, regardless of the circumstances.
This time around, Vincent almost never visited the tiny lounge at the corner of the eastern building. When, on occasion, he felt the urge, he would go there to clean it, but he kept his distance for the most part, lacking the time to indulge himself in taking a break there. Since the wood by the fireplace was periodically replenished, he could only guess some of the other students were using it on occasion as well.
Whenever Vincent had time, whether it be in the early morning, during breaks, or after school, he spent all of it either in the library, study hall, or one of the Herbology facilities. Even though this was his second go-around, it still wasn’t easy maintaining top scores the entire time. Perhaps the promise he’d made with his father was ultimately meaningless, but striving to maintain that position helped keep his spirits up.
On top of that, any time he didn’t spend studying, he instead dedicated to performing experiments in the Herbology fields. In all, he was dedicating almost every hour of the day, every single week, to Oriana. That was why, up until this point, he’d never had the spare time to spend dropping by one of the lounges or trying to make friends.
“Oh, Vincent! Miguel!” Oriana waved at the two of them, pointing to the couch as if it was the most natural thing in the world to invite them to join her.
It’s fine, he reassured himself. I’m doing the right thing.
Every time he saw the smile on her face, it was as though he was getting her seal of approval. It lightened the immense anxiety he’d been juggling since he’d started his life in this new timeline.
Miguel slipped inside first, and Vincent followed behind him.
“So, what were you talking about?”
Vincent kept a respectable distance as he settled down on the couch beside Oriana. Proper etiquette came second nature to him. It was only when it came to Oriana that he found his sense of reason wavering, and found himself thinking, Just a little more. It couldn’t hurt anything for me to be even an inch closer.
Vincent had to resist the urge to grab and hold Oriana’s hand as it sat there on the cushion beside him. He pretended not to notice that her thighs were literally right there next to his. If he gave it too much thought, he wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes on her.
“We were discussing pen nibs.”
“Say, Mister Tanzine, Mister Ferveira, what kind do you use?” Constance asked from the seat on the opposite side of Oriana, leaning over so she was nearly on top of her friend.
Stationery was evolving, and that wasn’t limited to Amanecer; it happened in all countries where magic flourished. Namely, because writing utensils were essential to drawing magic circles. Consumers, manufacturers, and of course mages everywhere had their own specific preferences.
“Hm. I’m using one of the Lazisha types,” Miguel said.
Heidemarie nodded eagerly. “The ink flow on those is tailored perfectly.”
“Really? Then maybe I should buy one next time. I bet it would help my popularity if I told everyone I’m using the same one as Mister Ferveira, don’t you think?” Lucian grinned.
“Just the opposite. If you started using them, their whole reputation would probably crumble.”
“Edda, you wicked girl…” Lucian grumbled.
“What about you, Vincent?”
“I am using one manufactured by one of the merchants my family employs,” Vincent answered with a strained smile.
Edda and Constance sucked in a breath, gulping. They leaned closer, whispering to themselves. “See, just what you’d expect from one of the Eight Dragons.”
“He’s on a totally different level!”
“Think there’s any way I could get my hands on even one?”
“It would cause a huge uproar even if you somehow managed to. All the female students would be so overjoyed about it, they’d probably put it on an altar to worship.”
“See, that right there. That’s disturbing.”
“Heidemarie! Don’t you dare try to act like you’re above us!”
“Yeah! Well, remember whose pen nib we’re talking about here. The man’s from a duke fam—no, it’s less about what he is than who he is. Even you have to admit you’d want to get your hands on a pen nib Mister Tanzine had touched himself.”
“Well, yes. If given the opportunity, I could hardly say no, could I?!”
While the three rambunctious girls suddenly started fussing among themselves, Kai turned to Miguel. “What type of Lazisha pen is it?”
“Wanna see? I have it with me.”
“Yes, please.”
“Me too, me too!”
Miguel slipped off the pen that was fastened to his book band and held it out for Kai and Lucian to see.
“That one I borrowed recently—the converter-type—that was made by your merchant as well?” Oriana asked.
Vincent finally turned his gaze toward her and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”
“They made everything personally? From the barrel to the ink chamber?”
“They have their own workshop. The man’s son is almost entirely responsible for creating the chambers.”
“That’s incredible. My nerves were so shot when I was using it that I didn’t get a real feel for its performance, but I did notice it was so easy to write with that it was hard to believe it was an integrated model.”
Vincent suspected she was remembering their time in the field together. She kept nodding to herself, a pensive expression on her face. It was so adorable.
“Shall I prepare one for you as a gift?” Vincent offered.