Starting early in the morning, the students and teachers were busily moving around the fortress, getting everything ready for the party in the evening.
The observers would also be attending the party. There, they would get in touch with students who had caught their eyes; on the other hand, some students would go to try and sell themselves to the observers. This was really a party in name only—it was actually a battle of behind-the-scenes negotiations, one where observers might obtain the best candidates and students might secure the best positions. With graduation soon approaching for the fourth-year students, they were motivated to an abnormal degree. They could be seen all around the training facility, eyes bloodshot, drilling into their heads information they had collected about the observers beforehand, or else practicing their approaches for when it was time to speak to them.
In the middle of all that, Yui was peacefully relaxing in her room. Berg had officially permitted her to skip out on the preparations after she had collapsed the previous day from using too much magic energy. Since magic energy was essential to life itself, using too much of it didn’t just make it hard to move—it could be fatal. Luckily, though Yui had collapsed, her symptoms had been relatively light, so her magic energy had largely recovered after she’d gotten some sleep. However, she usually went through life making sure to leave plenty of power in reserve—about a fifth—so the backlash from using everything she had was large. Even though a day had passed, she was still lying in bed, feeling lethargic.
As she lay in her quiet room, her exhausted body and mind were overcome by drowsiness. She closed her eyes to go to sleep. But then, she felt the door to her room open, and someone entered. She sensed a slight depression form on her bed, then felt someone stroking her head. The gentle hand made her feel even sleepier, but she opened her heavy eyes to see who it was.
There, in her field of view, she saw the beautiful, elegant Filiel. His appearance was only matched by his older brother, Alexis, who was also there as an observer. Many of the female students had been quite noisy when talking ecstatically about wanting to see the two princes side by side. If any of them had been in the same situation as Yui—opening their eyes to see a lovely, kindly smiling Filiel—they might’ve gotten excited enough to faint on the spot. Even Yui, who was used to seeing Filiel, vaguely thought, Pretty, as she looked at him. She blinked her eyes to fight off her sleepiness.
“Did I wake you?” Filiel asked.
“No, I was half awake,” Yui said. Filiel continued to stroke her head, even as they talked, and Yui felt like she was about to drift off to sleep at any moment.
“How do you feel?”
“Just tired.”
“I see.”
Anyone hearing only their brief exchange might’ve gotten the impression that they were speaking somewhat curtly, but the mood in the room, as well as the expressions on their faces, were very peaceful.
“I went through a lot because of those three...” Yui mumbled.
“Yeah, they seem like they’re really interested in you.”
“I could definitely go without it.”
Filiel chuckled. “If anyone at the camp were to hear you say that, they’d be outraged. Those three rarely concern themselves with anyone as much as they have with you.”
Yui might’ve felt remorse for making the others angry, but from her perspective, she really just wished those three would give it a rest.
“You’re not interested in entering any of their organizations?” Filiel asked.
“The army sounds strict, and the grandmaster is just annoying. And the church makes you live there, which I don’t want to do. Over anything else, I’ve already decided to take over my grandfather’s bakery...” When she said that, she put a bit of strength into her hand. “In the future, I’m going to take over my grandfather’s bakery,” she repeated for emphasis. Then she changed her position so she was lying on her stomach and put her face into her pillow so Filiel couldn’t see it. “That’s why I can’t give you the answer you want.”
“Okay,” Filiel said. In spite of her refusals, he hadn’t given up.
After Bernard had hinted at marriage, she had resolved to firmly say no, but his simple reply took the wind out of her sails. She’d thought that he would try to stop her and oppose her taking over the bakery.
Filiel soon continued. “If it’s really your wish to take over the bakery, then I won’t say anything else... But that’s not it, is it? That isn’t really what you want to do.” He spoke imploringly, and Yui’s body quivered slightly—so slightly that it was impossible to detect unless you looked closely. “Are you still afraid of your father?” he asked.
Yui shivered, and it was obvious this time. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, as if she were trying desperately to withstand something.
“There isn’t anything for you to be worried about. The prime minister is your legal guardian, so your father can’t do anything. And of course, there’s no way the prime minister would ever let anything happen to his precious Yui, right?” Filiel was speaking softly to comfort her, and his tone implied that he could understand what she was feeling. But even though Filiel’s voice normally made her feel at ease, his sentiment rubbed her the wrong way.
“I know that!” Yui shouted, vigorously sitting up from the bed. She wasn’t quite angry at him—really, she was only venting—but this type of reaction from her was extremely rare, and Filiel gazed at her with astonishment, his eyes widening slightly. “Papa will take measures before I even have to ask him, and he’ll unconditionally protect me, no matter what happens. I know!” Her face twisted, and she looked like she was about to cry. “I know, but...but...”
Filiel drew the agitated Yui close and hugged her tightly, gently caressing her head to soothe her. His warmth and the feeling of his soft hand calmed her down, and just as she regained her composure, Filiel’s voice echoed out in the quiet room.
“You met your father at last year’s tournament, didn’t you?”
Yui gulped. “How do you know about that?”
“Ahh... Well...”
Filiel was being evasive because he had been given the information by one of the Shadows that Theodore had attached to him out of an excess of worry. The Shadows were a secret organization that accomplished various tasks for the royal family, but unlike the royal guard, they never showed themselves in public. Yui didn’t know about them, so he couldn’t tell her, even though he wanted to. She didn’t seem to mind him withholding this information though, and she didn’t question him any further. Frankly, she was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she didn’t have room to think about anything else.