You fools. I would never let something like Latin get the best of me.
Most ancient books were written in Latin. Father made sure I was even more educated than boys so I could read the many valuable books kept at the Liddell manor.
Reading something as simple as the book’s introduction wouldn’t make me break a sweat.
“Demons can move freely both in our realm and in parallel universes. They hide their ugly, repulsive forms with their powers to transform into human or animal bodies. As humans, we must acknowledge the existence of demons, as the power to resist them all stems from recognition.”
“Marvelous…” The headmaster praised me once I finished. The twins clapped for me, too. “That was a perfect reading. Let me reward you with a chant to exorcize a demon. It goes ‘deus ordo seclorum.’ It means ‘to change the era of demons’ prevalence.’”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
Fry and Batta bitterly turned back around to face the front of the class. I only hoped they would give up on replacing me as dorm brothers now…
The rest of the class consisted of reading about the nature of demons. Then, we were dismissed.
When we stepped into the hall, someone stopped us from behind.
“Wait up.”
It was Fry and Batta. They glared at me arrogantly.
“You’ve got a real ego, huh? How dare a girl like you show off like that.”
“You shouldn’t have volunteered me if you didn’t want me to show off,” I replied. “Or do you mean to tell me that a boy like you couldn’t read such simple Latin?”
“Don’t talk back to me!”
The second Batta raised his fist, Dum and Dee jumped into the air. They’d slipped past me faster than I could even see, kicking the boys in the stomach and slamming them into the ground.
“Can we cut them up, Alice?”
“Can we shoot them, Alice?”
Their icy, cold voices made the boys tremble.
Fry burst into tears and begged them not to kill him.
I know you’re scared, but don’t worry. These two are experts at going for the vital points of the body. They wouldn’t slice you in half without a good reason, like Jack, or rip your nails off one by one, like Leeds.
But saying any of that out loud would surely make them scream, so I simply smiled at them.
“No cutting and no shooting. Let them go. I happen to be good at Latin, and that’s all it was. If we’re going to be students at the same school, why don’t we try to help each other if there’s something we don’t understand? We all belong to the same dorm, right?”
They’d been released but were still in a state of disturbance.
“You know about us?”
“Of course. You seemed lovely, so I’ve been watching you from a distance.”
Well, I’d really only spotted them in the cafeteria and just happened to remember them.
As soon as they realized I liked them, the boys instantly turned shy.
“Is that right? Sorry, we started a fight with you.”
“I don’t know why I thought a girl could never be a dorm brother!”
I’d succeeded in winning them over.
As I waved goodbye to the bullies, I felt two pairs of eyes drilling into the back of my head.
“Hmph…”
“Hmph…”
I turned around and saw their blue eyes looking down at me.
“Wh-What’s the matter, you two?”
“Infidelity.”
“Seduction.”
“It’s neither of those things,” I said. “I was only chatting with them normally. Come, let’s go to our next class.”
As I walked from sociology to orthography to geometry class, the other students in the halls all expressed their envy, too, saying I wasn’t fit to be a dorm brother. I was used to being harassed by young noblewomen, so I wasn’t sensitive enough to be hurt by their words. But I was still exhausted by the end of the day.
I dragged my heavy body out onto the grass field. The students were enjoying their after-school activities while the sun was still out.
Dum and Dee followed me on the way to Lion Dorm, hands shoved into their pockets.
“I’m going to bed once I get to my room,” I said. “Your guard shifts will change at night, so can you wake me up at ten tonight?”
But I received no response. I turned to look at them, and both twins had terrifying expressions. They were glaring at any student who glanced my way.
“Dum? Dee?”
Their faces instantly returned to normal.
“What is it, Alice?”
“What is it, Alice?”
The looks they gave me were so sweet that I almost felt like I’d imagined what I just saw. I pinched my cheek to see if I was dreaming. That was when I heard a shout come from Unicorn Dorm.
“Listen to what I’m telling you!” Robins was scolding a group of short boys on the grassy plaza. Even passing students were recoiling slightly from the sound of his voice. “You can never go into the Nameless Woods, or awful things will happen to you!”
“What’s going on, Robins?”
Robins looked at me with teary eyes when I approached him.
“These boys were daring whoever lost their game of cricket to go into the forbidden forest as punishment, even though I told them that it’s a dangerous place where people have gone missing!”
Missing. The word piqued my curiosity, so I asked for more information.
“Is it easy to get lost in the forest?”
“It sure is. The older boys used to tell me that a monster lived in that forest and ate all the missing people.”
I felt like the curious boys might only want to go exploring more after hearing such an incredible supernatural tale.
Sure enough, the boys were fidgeting restlessly now.
Robins pleaded with them. “Don’t ever set foot in that forest, and don’t go near anything scary. You’ll end up trapped and wishing you’d listened to me, but it will be too late.”
It was best to let sleeping dogs lie. Recklessness was no different from looking down at a landmine and then stepping on it. Thinking you were the exception to harm would lead you down a path of pain.
“I’ll stop lecturing you now,” he said. “Go back to the dorm and think about what you’ve done! I’m sorry you had to see all that.”
“That’s all right,” I said. “I can tell the Unicorn Dorm members enjoy activity. The Lion Dorm members seem quieter if I had to describe them.”
“The dorms each have their own characteristics. Lion Dorm’s students are well-behaved, probably because Charles guides them well.”
Dum and Dee gave big nods of their heads.
“Gentlemen aren’t made in a single day.”
“Gentlemen can take any road to get to Rome.”
“You two know some unusual expressions, huh? What’s it supposed to mean?”
Robins was just as strange a character as the twins.
I was charmed by the exchange, but then I spotted a top hat with tall ears attached passing right by us. I gasped and turned my eyes, only to see Dark heading straight for the dorm without glancing at us.
W-Wait, what’s that about?
He should have noticed us, considering how close we came…
I was in shock. Jack, fiddling with his beret, came running up to us.
“My lady and the twins! And the prefect…um…”
“Just call me Robins, Jack. Unlike other boarding schools, it’s normal to call each other by our first names at Ark School. No need for any formalities. Be sure to let me know if anything’s troubling you.”
Robins’ eyes were full of affection. He seemed to see Jack as a child who needed to be looked after rather than an underclassman.
However, Jack sulked at this patronizing treatment.
“I’m just small right now, that’s all. My lady, do you think Knightley’s okay?”
“Did something happen?” I asked.
“He’s acting cold, like a different person. He used to be a sheltered brat, so maybe having to go to school all of a sudden has him feeling drained.”
Jack had merely turned into a child, but Dark had horns on his head. Having to spend every waking minute keeping his true nature a secret was probably a source of unimaginable stress.
So, is that why he ignored me?
The Dark I knew would never do such a thing.
“I’ll try to keep up with him, but you should talk to him too, my lady.”
Jack returned to the dorm in a state of frustration. He was small, but still, like an older brother, I knew I could rely on him.
I smiled at the twins to lighten my mood. “Let’s head back to the dorm too.”
I waved goodbye to Robins and left Unicorn Dorm.
The twins didn’t fail to spot the shadow of the person staring down at us from a second-story window.