Extra 2: Selena and Her Feelings
THAT day, Edward visited the palace with his father to attend military drills. The exercises had just ended, and he was wandering the palace corridors when he met her.
“W-Wahh!!”
A young noblewoman ran out of a room, only to trip on the hem of her own skirt and stumble.
“Look out!” he shouted, extending his arm at the last moment to catch her.
He arrested her fall just as her long, midnight-blue locks grazed the marble floor. She was all too light in his trained arms. He had no issue supporting her weight. The mass of paper she was carrying, however, caught his attention as they tumbled noisily to the floor.
“What’s that?” he wondered aloud.
It seemed to be a book. To his surprise, it was none other than the novel that captured his heart and imagination alike one short year ago—Even the Stars Cry for the Holy Maiden. It was one of the original printings, no less. A few other papers were scattered with the book, among which was a detailed drawing of a black dragon.
Before he could pick up the drawing for a closer look, the young lady he’d saved squirmed out of his grasp and scooped up her load. She then turned to him and bowed deeply.
“Th-Thank you very much for helping me! I’m so sorry I caused you such trouble!”
“No, it’s fine. Are you all right? I hope your book is undamaged.”
The first edition was quite rare. Only a few hundred of them were ever printed. For most novels, that was a respectable amount in and of itself, but the first volume of Star Maiden had been printed dozens of times since its original release.
The maiden wordlessly bowed again and again before hurrying on her way. Something about the way she moved was oddly charming.
“That was Baron Haven’s daughter, wasn’t it?” Edward’s father asked.
He recognized the name. Lars Drewleid had screamed her name during the Coming-of-Age Ball fiasco the previous year if he remembered correctly.
“Lady Selena, wasn’t it?” Edward mused to himself.
“Do you know her?”
“O-Only by name.”
His words wouldn’t come out right for some reason. The Star Maiden incident brought back no shortage of unpleasant memories. He had worried his father a great deal back then. Even now, he shuddered to think of what he might have done if the crown prince hadn’t brought the Academy to its senses. He was chasing that Yulisse girl for some incomprehensible reason—most of the details were blurry, as though he had dreamt it. Vincent’s efforts ensured that most of the parents were ignorant of the whole affair, though, and as a result, he knew little that didn’t immediately concern him.
The name Selena Haven was just one of many details that were nearly lost in the chaos. She was the object of some amount of pity from her peers, given the abuse they assumed she’d suffered at Lars’ hands, but she graduated soon after and disappeared from their minds.
From the looks of it, Selena was a Star Maiden fan herself. If not, she wouldn’t have held her first edition with such measured care. High society kept the series at arms’ length as of late, but she had the courage to be open with her preferences. He also believed in hating the sin instead of the sinner—or rather, the sinner instead of the series.
I hope I can chat with her about it someday, he found himself thinking.
✦ ✦ ✦
💕 💕 💕
THEIR second meeting happened sooner than Edward had hoped. He ran into her on a visit to the Royal Library. She had a look of great concentration on her face as she gathered an impressive tower of books. Against his better judgment, he drew closer to watch her. She would flip through the books, and as soon as she found what she was looking for, she would copy down the page on a fresh sheet of paper.
He couldn’t look away from her delicate, practiced handwriting. She was clearly used to scribe work. Even the charts and figures she copied were immaculate. Selena was creating art before his very eyes. Then he watched as she stretched in an unladylike manner, and he couldn’t help but chuckle good-naturedly at the sight.
Perhaps alerted by his laugh, she looked up at him. It was hard to tell where she was looking through the forest of her bangs, but their eyes probably met. Either way, his cover was blown. She sprang to her feet, but in the process, she knocked her chair back so that it threatened to fall. He caught it at the last moment.
She was evidently a bit of a klutz.
“Y-You’re—!” she started.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again. I am Edward Norden.”
“N-No, um, the pleasure’s all mine! My name is Selena Haven. Thank you so much for helping me the other day.” She repeated her dipping bows again, then thought better of it a moment later and dipped low in a proper curtsy. “I-I’m so sorry for my earlier rudeness! It’s a bad habit of mine to bow like that whenever I’m startled…”
“Please, no need to apologize.”
He wondered where she’d picked up such an otherworldly habit, but if he asked, she’d likely feel worse about it. Something else attracted his attention far more. Laying among the scattered tomes on the table was Star Maiden. His heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t be frank with his father, but he was still a fan of the series.
Selena paused for a moment to think. “Lord Norden… Where have I…?” Finally, she recalled what was troubling her, and her eyes went to Star Maiden. Evidently, she remembered his unfortunate history with Yulisse. “I-I’m so sorry!” she apologized. “I’ll put this away right now!”
She hurriedly stuffed the book into her bag. She was worried he had unpleasant memories of those days, which was true to an extent. Watching her hide Star Maiden on account of that was far worse.
He glanced about to ensure nobody was close enough to overhear him. “Please don’t apologize. I was honestly being quite the fool back then, and it was no one’s fault but my own. I couldn’t possibly blame a book, especially one as wonderful as that. Why, I’ve never felt so moved by a story.”
Selena stared at him slack-jawed. Her eyes were probably as wide as saucers somewhere behind all that hair.
A few moments of silence passed. Selena lowered her head, preventing him from seeing her face altogether. He got the impression that she was blushing.