It had all started that morning. Summer vacation at Otoleanna Academy of Magic was over, and today was the first day of the new semester. Brigitte had put on her uniform for the first time in a month and was tickling her spirit playfully as she waited for the carriage to arrive.
I think you might have grown a little…
Plumper, that is. The chick still fit in the palm of her hand, but if she wasn’t mistaken, its girth had expanded. Its spindly legs poked out below its squat little body in the most endearing way.
Spirits were believed to live far, far longer than humans. Born in great numbers from the mana pervading the atmosphere, some spirits were said to emerge immature and develop slowly over incomprehensible spans of time. Although they did not have bloodlines, some copied human society by creating pseudo-familial relationships.
Brigitte had never heard of a spirit’s form changing over such a short period—but she could imagine one reason why hers might have done so.
Maybe it’s because Peep ate the fireball I created at the cottage…
She wasn’t sure if that could be called food, but she thought it might be an explanation. Also, she was fairly sure Peep had eaten the storm unleashed by Nival’s ariel to protect her.
Does it grow when it eats magic? Does it mature as a spirit?
“Peep, are you going to grow into a chicken?”
“Peep?”
The spirit didn’t seem to understand.
“Miss Brigitte!”
Just then, the door to her room slammed open. She assumed it was Carson from the bang, but she assumed incorrectly.
“Sienna?”
Uncharacteristically for her, Sienna was panting and looked upset. Brigitte leaped to her feet, sensing instinctively that something was wrong, while Peep burrowed into her hair. Normally, Sienna would have raised an eyebrow and plucked Peep out, but this time she didn’t even notice.
“What’s wrong, Sienna?” Brigitte asked.
She answered breathlessly, and bitterly.
“…Prince Joseph Field is at the doorstep.”
Brigitte wanted to sigh as she remembered these events of a few moments before. She resisted the urge, however, because Joseph was sitting across from her in his carriage on the way to school. He had appeared without warning and invited her to ride to school with him.
“Brigitte, are you angry?”
“……No, it’s nothing like that,” she answered stiffly.
He should have known that a mere earl’s daughter could not turn down a direct invitation from a member of the royal family. If she did, her position would become even more imperiled.
“…Forgive me for saying this, but would you mind not doing this sort of thing again?”
“Why not?”
“Because I am no longer your fiancée, Prince Joseph.”
She lifted her eyes, although not so much that it would be unnatural.
Joseph, the Third Prince of the Kingdom of Field, had golden hair and eyes. As he sat across from her, a sweet smile on his handsome face, she felt as if she’d gone back in time. But she knew this was no illusion. He must have been thinking the same thing because a hint of melancholy crossed his expression.
“Can’t you call me Sir Joseph like you used to?”
“!”
She was speechless. Joseph had disgraced her in front of a crowd of students when he broke off their engagement. After accusing her of harassing Lisa, he had ignored her pleas and hadn’t believed a word she said. And now he was acting like none of that had ever happened.
“…I’m sorry, Brigitte.” He held out his hand.
She shrank back, while the back of her head bumped the carriage window. An awkward silence fell over the chamber. Joseph stared at his hand hanging there with nowhere to go, then smiled thinly.
“Yes, I hurt you deeply by believing only what Miss Selmin said. I genuinely regret that, Brigitte. That’s why I want us to try again…as I said before class let out for the summer.”
Brigitte could not answer. She simply watched him conflictedly.
I used to like this person.
She knew that her feelings had been far too shallow to call “love.” When her father had abused her and abandoned her in the cottage to be laughed at by the world, Joseph had been the only one to reach out a kind hand. She was grateful to him for that, and she felt indebted. She wanted to do whatever she could for him, and so when they were engaged, she had followed his every order.
“Or…,” he said, the warmth suddenly gone from his voice, and Brigitte flinched. “Do you like someone else now?”
“…I…”
The carriage stopped. She was relieved, but of course she knew it wasn’t over.
“Your hand.”
“…Thank you.”
Responding stiffly to his practiced motions, she stepped out of the carriage with his help. Instantly, the students nearby began to whisper to one another. Of course they did. Brigitte and Joseph had arrived in the opulent white carriage of the royal family. How could they fail to gawk when out stepped the prince and his former fiancée? The pair would be the talk of the school for the rest of the day. A depressing thought.
Then, belatedly, she noticed that the one person she least wanted to witness this scene was standing nearby.
“Sir Yuri!”
“—”
His eyes widened slightly as he looked at her. Behind him was the same Aurealis carriage that had taken them to Nival’s vacation home.
“Hello there, Yuri,” Joseph called, ignoring the frozen atmosphere. Yuri did not answer, so Joseph went on. “I came to school with Brigitte today. I’m hoping we can get back together.”
“What?” Yuri blurted out. “Your Highness, are you fully aware of what you did to her?”
He was as good as asking Are you insane? It was worse than disrespectful toward the prince…but Brigitte was happy he said it.
Joseph, however, did not let his self-assured smile slip. “I could say the same to you, Yuri Aurealis,” he said.