The next morning, Brigitte—who, at least as far as she could tell, had made up with Yuri—left for school two hours earlier than usual.
I don’t want to get stuck going to school with Joseph again…
Sienna and the other servants had been quite worried by his visit to the cottage the day before—or to put it more accurately, they were livid. They knew the whole story about how he had broken off the engagement. It wasn’t long ago that they’d used fire magic to burn a mountain of pink dresses that he’d insisted Brigitte wear.
Brigitte imagined that by now Joseph might be standing on her doorstep, scowling at the servants.
What’s the use in thinking about it?
She turned back to the notes she was taking. Luckily, the teacher’s lounge had been open when she got to school, and when she explained that she wanted to study, a teacher had unlocked the classroom for her.
After she’d been studying for around an hour, her classmates started to arrive. She returned their greetings as they came in. They seemed relieved to see her mood improved from the day before. Eventually, Kira and Nival arrived.
“Good morning, Miss Brigitte.”
“Miss Brigitte, good morning!”
“Morning… I’m sorry I made you two worry yesterday.”
Kira shook her head. “Not at all! I’m just happy you’re feeling better!”
“…Are things all right with His Highness? If there’s anything I can do…,” Nival offered, lowering his voice.
“No, but thank you,” Brigitte answered. “I feel like I need to resolve things with him myself.”
She didn’t know exactly what Joseph had meant by his words the day before. She did know that she had absolutely no intention of reinitiating their relationship. If she stuck to her decision, she figured that eventually he would give up.
“Peep, peep…”
Still, Peep must have picked up on her anxiety. Poking its face from her hair, it gazed at Brigitte’s jaw with a vaguely melancholy expression.
Kira stared at it in surprise. “Wow, Peep has grown!” She was close enough with the spirit to call it by its nickname, so it was no surprise she noticed.
Brigitte nodded, impressed. “Yesterday when I woke up, I noticed it was a little bigger.”
“Oh, really? I think it’s wonderful that Peep is putting on some meat,” she said, smiling and clapping.
“Puep…!” the spirit squealed, making a sound Brigitte had never heard before as it dived back into her hair.
“Peep, are you all right?!” she asked worriedly.
“That spirit hates you, Kira,” Nival interjected.
✦ ✦ ✦
“It does not! It seems to me you’re the one who Peep stays away from,” Kira retorted.
“What?! I treat Miss Brigitte’s spirit Sir Peep with the utmost respect—”
The two of them were at it again.
They do seem to get along well in spite of themselves…
Nival was ruggedly handsome, while Kira reminded her of a lovely little animal. At first glance they seemed like a bad match, but their quarrels were becoming legendary in Class 2. Brigitte watched them warmly as she took her things out of her bag.
After school, Brigitte tidied up her desk and prepared to head over to Class 1, next door. She would much rather have gone to the library or the gazebo to read, but she couldn’t avoid the task at hand.
I have to be crystal clear about turning Joseph down.
She’d believed she’d gotten the message across the previous morning, but judging by his actions, she hadn’t. She would just have to talk with him until he understood.
I don’t ever want to hear Yuri say I’m happy about this again!
Renewing her resolve, she stood, but just then, the other students in her class started whispering.
She followed their stares—and bit her lip in chagrin.
He’d beaten her to it. Joseph was walking into her classroom.
“Hello, Brigitte.”
“…Good afternoon, Your Highness,” she answered.
Ignoring her stiff reply, he smiled amiably. “I came by to pick you up this morning, but the servants told me you’d already left.”
“Oh, did they?”
“May I take you home?” he asked.
She was at a loss for words. After all, for the entire year and some months since they had started at Otoleanna Academy…
He never once took me home, even though we were engaged! I asked him to a million times!
He had some nerve to act like they were the perfect happy couple now!
As Joseph approached Brigitte, who was rooted to the ground, Nival stepped between them.
“…Do you need something? I was talking to Brigitte, and I’d appreciate if you didn’t interrupt us,” said Nival—a former candidate for the role of Joseph’s future assistant.
Brigitte’s heart thudded. She recognized the utter contempt in Joseph’s eyes.
He looked at me that way the day he broke off our engagement…
When he had mercilessly discarded her, he had regarded her as something filthy. Her whole body wanted to shake from the memory, but she desperately held herself together and looked resolutely up at Nival.
“…Don’t worry. I’ll be all right,” she told him.
He stepped aside, although he was still glaring daggers at Joseph. But Nival and Kira and their other classmates were still there by her side. They seemed upset and tense in front of the Third Prince, but they weren’t trying to get away.
Joseph surveyed the room with mild surprise. Then he turned his golden gaze directly on Brigitte.
“Where did you go after school yesterday? You weren’t here when I came for you.”
“…I had something important to do.”
She had gone to the gazebo right after class to talk to Yuri. But she didn’t need to tell Joseph that.
“…That’s a problem, Brigitte.”
“…?”
“I can’t believe you went to see someone else when you have me.”
The classroom fell silent.
“Your Highness…”
“Ugh, don’t glower so.”
For some reason, he was snickering at her sorrowful expression. Why? she silently asked him. Why are you acting like I cheated on you?
Everything about that was wrong. She couldn’t understand why he was acting as if it were true.
“…As I told you yesterday…I am no longer your fiancée.”
“Yes, and?”
Her throat was quivering with nervousness, but she managed to get the words out. “I have things to do today as well, so I cannot go with you.”
“Is that so? I’m sorry to hear it.” He nodded, not terribly upset, then smiled. “Then how about tomorrow?” As she stood there like a statue, he whispered in her ear, “I know you still like me.”
“…”
“If you say yes, I’ll leave.”
So if she didn’t say yes, he would go on endlessly attacking her reputation in front of her classmates.
That’s almost a threat…
But she still didn’t understand. Why was he approaching her after everything that had happened? As far as she knew, he had no reason to cling to her.
“He was the kind prince who rescued the detested Red Fairy.”
His subjects adored him. They thought he was an ideal prince. They’d more likely expect Brigitte to beg him to take her back than the other way around.
“Well, Brigitte?” he said, smiling.
She still didn’t capitulate, and this seemed to annoy him slightly. He reached out a hand and tried to pull her to him by force.
At that very moment, a commanding and unexpected voice rang out.
“I’ll thank you not to touch her.”
She looked around to find Yuri marching into the classroom. Her classmates parted to let him past. He walked down the aisle like it was his birthright, his blue-black hair swinging. He came to a halt at her side as she silently called his name, unable to speak for shock. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, like he was stealing her from Joseph.
What’s going on?!
Totally forgetting where she was, she flushed bright red. But Yuri let her go again right away and turned to Joseph. The prince had the advantage of height…but Yuri’s citrine eyes met his arrogant gaze fearlessly. Brigitte remembered what Yuri had said to her that night at Nival’s vacation home.
He said he’d protect me.
True to his word, he had come running. He was sheltering her behind him this very moment.
“…Yuri Aurealis,” Joseph growled.
His easy smile of a moment earlier was gone, and to Brigitte, at least, he appeared genuinely upset.
It was the same last time, come to think of it…
When Joseph warned Yuri to start treating Lisa better, he’d raised his voice. “Have you no shame? Show some respect.”
“I could say the same to you,” Yuri retorted.
Joseph scowled.
Yuri was obviously echoing Joseph’s words from the previous morning, and he wasn’t backing down.
“With all due respect, Your Highness…”
“What?” Joseph interrupted rudely.
Yuri glared at him. “Your behavior toward your former fiancée is more than a little unpleasant.”
“…!”
A flash of something murderous flickered in Joseph’s eyes at Yuri’s unambiguous words.
Brigitte, who was watching from close range, began to shake. Then, as if returning to his senses, Joseph turned his mouth up in a smile and asked her in an artificially calm tone, “That’s what he says…but what do you think, Brigitte?”
Everyone was watching her now. She had always hated being stared at. Normally, that alone might have been enough to tie her tongue.
But now…
Yuri was by her side.
Nival and Kira were close by, watching worriedly.
She could feel the warmth of Peep burrowed in her hair.