The other students stare shamelessly at me, but they say nothing. They just glare with contempt.
“They don’t need to say anything; their eyes tell all.”
I silently agree with Gill’s assessment. They are looking at me as if I were the plague incarnate. And while a barrage of insults would have been annoying enough, their annoying gazes speak volumes.
“Hey, Alicia, when you called those girls trash…that was the second time. Rather, you used the insult trash the first time, and the second time, it was worse than trash, so that means you were harder on those girls.”
“Huh? Did I call somebody else trash before?” I look at Gill with round eyes.
I think I remember most of the things I’ve said, and since trash is a powerful word, I definitely would have remembered it…but no matter how hard I rack my brain, I just can’t recall.
“When we were kidnapped and you lost your temper…that’s when you said it.”
“……I don’t remember.”
“Guess I’m not surprised… You were in quite a state then.” Gill’s gaze is grim.
Maybe I was so worked up, I forgot about it.
“Oh, Aliii!”
Suddenly, Curtis’s cheerful voice calls out casually from behind me.
“Haven’t seen you in a week. How’ve you been?” he asks.
“Good, thank you. And you’re looking well, too… Are you unaccompanied?”
Curtis smirks at the question. “What, were you hoping to see Duke?”
“No, I just don’t usually see you by yourself.”
“Fair point! I’m usually surrounded by pretty girls.”
“Yes, there truly is no shortage of pretty girls with empty heads around here,” I tell Curtis, forcing a smile to my lips.
He clams up for a moment, but his smile quickly returns. “What’s this? Are we jealous?”
“Inconceivable,” I answer with a big smile.
I would never be jealous because of Curtis. What bothers me more is that he completely ignored my badass quip about pretty girls with empty heads…
“I don’t suppose you’re going to scold me for mocking your fan club’s intelligence.”
Oops. I baited him.
Curtis’s eyes go wide. “You’re right, Ali…” Curtis smiles. “They have less substance than you. Both in magic and in academics.”
I’m surprised… Well, maybe I shouldn’t be. So many things have changed in the past two years that it’s hard to keep up. To be honest, I assumed that everyone was keeping their distance because they saw me as a villainess…but I’m still not sure whether Curtis is Team Liz or not.
“Everybody at this school seems to be under the impression that I’m a vapid bitch,” I tell Curtis, smirking slightly.
Curtis chuckles cynically. “I’m not from one of the Great Five noble families, but I at least have the ability to tell whether somebody understands me.”
“I’m not even of the nobility, and I can tell the difference,” Gill adds.
This time, I chuckle.
“Hey, Ali?” Curtis’s gaze on me suddenly becomes serious.
“What is it?” I ask, staring into his eyes.
“Liz is intelligent…but she’s just—how do I put it?—shallow-minded.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Aha…” Curtis then lowers his voice so nobody else can hear. “Liz is supposed to be important to Durkis—the saint of legend, right?”
From the look in his eyes, I can tell he’s already made up his mind that Liz is the saint.
“How did you know that?”
“It’s easy enough to tell from the way the king acts around her. Then there’s her ability to use all the magic elements—she’s Divergent beyond reason.”
“Sounds like quite a lot of information went public over the past two years.”
“She’s pure and innocent…believes the world is all beauty.”
“Yes…she sure does.”
After I agree, Curtis brings his lips close to my ear, takes a breath in and out, then whispers softly, “The king is using you, Ali…using your dark side that contrasts against Liz. If my theory is correct, he’ll eventually ask you to be the saint’s shadow.”
“…!!”
And with that, Curtis turns and leaves.
Her shadow? Liz would be in the spotlight, and I would be her shadow?
“Alicia? What did Curtis say?” Gill demands, peering into my face.
“He said I’d be the saint’s shadow…”
A dark look fills Gill’s eyes. Since his brain spins at a speed beyond the norm, he surely grasped what that means right away.
Her shadow…? I’d rather die.
I am destined to become a villainess in the spotlight. Why do I have to be the saint’s shadow?
“So that’s what Curtis told you?” Gill asks.
“Not exactly… He said it’s what the king would say to me someday.”
Gill’s gaze darkens even further. We both know the king is using me. And I don’t mind being used. But being a shadow is one thing that, as a villainess, I cannot abide.
“What were you talking about?”
Then a familiar crisp voice calls out behind me. I look in the direction of the voice to see Duke, standing outside the window.
“Long time no see.” He reaches out and gently caresses my cheek.
I’d rather my heart not beat like an alarm first thing in the morning. I am almost out of my daily allotment of stamina.
If I slammed the window real hard…I wonder how he’d react.
“Erm…what about you, Your Highness? What’s that supposed to be?”
You’d better let go of my cheek ASAP. Otherwise, you’ll feel how hot my face is. Well, I’m sure that ship has sailed, but still…
“An expression of love.” Duke answers my question with a teasing smirk.
“Well, I don’t need that,” I reply sharply.
Now my face is getting even warmer. If Duke finds out he’s making me blush, he’ll gain the upper hand…… How can I gain the upper hand with Duke? Having a sudden stroke of inspiration, I reach out with both hands and vigorously tousle Duke’s hair.
……His hair is wonderfully silky as ever.
“What’s that for?” Duke asks, his eyes wide.
I suppose this counts as a tie. Hey, you caught Duke by surprise, Alicia. Not too shabby.
“It’s an expression of love,” I say with a victorious smile.
Duke freezes for a moment, but then he breaks into a smile. “Ohhh, so you love me,” he says, staring intently at me with his customary devilish grin.
“Huh? Wait, uh, no, I—”
I didn’t expect him to take my witty retort in earnest. Now Duke has the upper hand again!
A satisfied expression crosses Duke’s face as he watches me squirm. Then he looks straight at me and says soberly, “I would do anything to win your love, Alicia.”
I feel my eye pop out of its socket. It is like time stopped for an instant.
That’s the first time anyone delivered that line to me. I never even heard it in my past life. Why didn’t he say it with that teasing tone he had earlier? Then I could stay cool…
My heart rampaging beyond control, I press my hands to my cheeks in a desperate attempt to cool them down.
“Don’t hide,” Duke says, reaching out—then something quickly slides in front of my eye and I hear a thudding noise. Gill slammed the window shut.
“I’m not against flirting, but could you please not do it so early in the morning?” Gill demands of Duke.
Duke smiles smugly at him as if to say, “Jealous?” Gill looks a bit displeased by the sight of his grin.
At the end of the day, Gill is my biggest ally.
Ah…the fever left my face in a flash. But wow, Duke’s attack sure was a doozy. I wonder—do I have a thing for him? Well, duh, of course I do… But is it true love? That, I’m not sure.
“Oh right, I forgot to ask Prince Duke about the wolf.”
It isn’t until a few minutes after we parted ways with Duke that I remember. I forgot to ask Curtis, too…