He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think so. Maverick’s large, rough palm rested on the top of my head. Part of my braided hair got disheveled. I swatted away his hand as fiercely as Lilu did when hunting. Kyle took my hand and positioned me to his left, standing between me and Maverick.
“Why did Maverick come?”
“My father’s back is having problems again. You liked that I was here, right, Ariel?”
“Please stop, brother!”
Kyle shook his head in disgust. When he was with Maverick, Kyle acted more mature than usual. It was because Maverick does not act his age.
We sat under an awning in the square. Kirkpatrick was selling lemonade where Brennan’s magic lock stand had once been.
Brennan and Kyle emptied two chests full of magic locks in less than five days and filled it with gold coins. Brennan put it to good use, borrowing the most romantic magic ship for his proposal. The magic ship would decorate the skies of Fitzsimmons on the final night of the Love Month Banquet.
It felt good to see a friend happy. I remembered Brennan, who put his forehead on the floor to show how thankful he was.
During his first year, he behaved more aristocratically than anyone else, perhaps because of his inferiority complex about his origins. He was the Brennan Stokes, who was ashamed to even bend down to tie his shoelaces. How could love have turned him completely upside down? I was curious. I was also envious.
Kirkpatrick sighed after losing a scuffle with Kyle over him buying two glasses of lemonade that seemed like three. I gulped down the lemonade Kyle had brought, imagining that his father and Miss Proctor would be in that relationship by now. The sourness and sweetness made my lips straighten.
“Liz!”
“No, I told you, I don’t want to!”
Suddenly, a scream was heard from somewhere. Kyle, Maverick, me, and even Kirkpatrick look at one place. Brennan Stokes’ girlfriend, Elizabeth McCarthy, was there. She was with her parents.
“I told you, I have a boyfriend!”
“Could it be that the ‘boyfriend’ you’re talking about is that petty baron?”
“Don’t call Brennan a ‘petty baron’!”
Liz screamed, almost popping all the veins in her neck. Countess McCarthy covered her mouth with her handkerchief and looked around her, then shut her eyes tightly when she realized that many eyes were on them. The count must have been very angry, his face reddened.
“Ah, she must be the second daughter of Count McCarthy.”
“You know her, Maverick?”
“There are rumors that that lady and Daryl Cowan are getting engaged. You know, the son of the Marquis of Cowan, who is a civil servant.”
“What? Engagement?”
“Engagement?”
When we answered at the same time, Maverick was greatly surprised.
“Well, can’t she?”
“No way! Liz and Brennan dated for four years!”
“What does dating at the academy have to do with marriage? Besides, he seems to be a ‘petty baron’, from what I heard.”
“First, Brennan is a close friend of Ari and I, so even though you’re my older brother, I hope you won’t call him that. Second, he is going to propose to Elizabeth soon.”
Kyle folded his fingers and put on a straight face. And so did I. Maverick scratched his ear in embarrassment.
“I’m not sure if that marriage proposal will work out. I don’t know if you guys know, but the McCarthy family’s situation is not going well these days.”
“Why?”
“Last year was such a bad year for them. So the count has no choice but to borrow money with a high-interest rate, but he was not able to pay it. Well, the only place to get money is from the estate, but Count McCarthy isn’t willing to have it taken away.”
“So?”
“What do you think? The dowry of the Marquess of Cowan is the best option for the McCarthys. Besides, Darryl Cowan is not a playboy. He is not bad-tempered, and he’s old enough. He’s not just a good candidate, but the best out there. I heard he fell in love with her at first sight? Just like you did to me.”
“You…”
I waved my fist menacingly, but Maverick swiftly dodged it. Kyle then wrapped his hand around my fist and said.
“I understand what you mean, but can they get engaged even if Elizabeth refuses like that?”
“How long can she refuse? It’s not like she doesn’t know that aristocratic marriages don’t just happen because of emotions. Not only her family but also the lives of the people of the territory are at stake, and if she ignores it, she doesn’t deserve to be called a noble.”
Maverick shrugged his shoulders. What he said had a point, so Kyle and I got extremely serious. The free atmosphere of Fitzsimmons made it possible to have more diverse and close exchanges by eliminating the sense of distance felt from each other’s titles, making them forget their duties as nobles.
The conversation now turned to Brennan Stokes. We had in-depth discussions about where Brennan might be, whether he had heard the news, and if he hadn’t, how to tell him less painfully.
Also, since we are wizards, why is there no such thing as a magic spell to solve all problems?
***
Since ancient times, the closest magic spell to solving all problems is money, and the next best solution to money is physical and mental stability. And I knew a surefire way to keep Elizabeth McCarthy physically and mentally stable. It was simply girls’ time!
I drew a little invitation letter in Liz’s monster biology textbook, inviting her to an all-night salon* in our room. The dress code was pajamas, and no one was allowed to bring anyone, including pets (Lilu gets jealous easily and would go mad if another animal attracted more attention than she did).
*(Salon is a socialite culture in Western Europe in the early modern era. It was an exchange event centered on literature and art hosted by a noble host at his residence.)
Also, every attendee had to buy at least one type of snack from the snack stand. I wrote “Four Elements Potato Chips” three times next to “For example”. It’s a snack that expresses the four elements as spicy, salty, and sweet. That’s right, it’s just those three elements, but the shamelessness of keeping the concept by filling the bag with more ‘air’ than the snack caught my taste, so I’ve been obsessed with it for a while now.
Liz nodded her head slightly. The corners of her eyes were completely swollen, and I felt bad. According to what I overheard, Kyle, who had entered the auxiliary magic room wearing an odd wig, had Brennan almost scared out of his wits.
I left Brennan for Kyle to deal with and consulted Brianna-smart-Mosley. Bree at first said that as long as her mother sent a few letters to “Duck”, Count McCarthy would have a golden egg for him to extinguish their urgent need (“Duck” is Bree’s nickname for his father).
In my opinion, that wasn’t an efficient method. Even as a friend, Bree was not from Milua, and we’re not sure how the help they will receive from foreign nobles will look to the Milua royal family. Besides, there was a possibility that Briana’s existence would become known to Illestia. If the ‘duck’s’ belly was split open, she would never get a golden egg.
Having said that, she suggested an alternative. ‘Then there’s only one thing we can do for her.’ After exchanging meaningful glances, I invited Liz to our own all-night salon. Art was an integral part of the salon, so Kelly Ramirez, the best fifth-grade bard, was invited.
Kelly, who excelled in the arts and making barriers, wore her nightgown and drew magic circles around the corners of the room while carrying her banjo. She said it would act as a sound barrier, keeping our merriment and secrets from leaking out.
A small barrier was placed on the table between Bree’s and my bed. It was a measure for a greedy cat who only eats everything humans eat. Lilu constantly threw herself at the sweets we had laid on the table, but she couldn’t help but fall to the floor without knowing why. Stupid and cute, Lilu.
“I hate cats, but I think they’re kind of cute.”
Bree whispered after finally giving in to the evil cat, Lilu’s charms. I smiled heartily as I broke a potato chip covered in chocolate, representing soil, one of the four elements, with my front teeth.
“The more stupid animals and men are, the cuter they are,” said Kelly solemnly. Then, she started singing his own song, saying it was a tribute to Casey and praising the muscular idiot. Norman Casey and Kelly Ramirez briefly dated in the third grade, but the news said they broke up because Casey, a controlling partner, couldn’t stand the free spirited Kelly.
But the reality was a little different. Kelly said that her feelings for him disappeared when she saw Casey write down “hope for the future” as “hope for the funeral”.
“You’re graduating soon. Have you already found a good funeral home, Oh Norman?”
“Oh, Norman~”
Liz and I managed to harmonize with the famous lines in Kelly’s song. Bree, sobbing from the laughter, could only sing along to the last three syllables.
After Kelly’s passionate singing, thunderous applause continued. Then there was silence. After hearing the sound of eating sweets and the sound of Lilu’s claws touching the barrier, Elizabeth spoke up.
“You’re lucky, Ariel.”
The voice was very melancholy.
“No one will stop you and Kyle from getting married.”
“Why would I marry him?”
“Right, the two of them are nothing like that. They just went into the same bathtub.”
I slapped Bree’s forearm as she casually brought out words that could cause misunderstandings. Because my hands are quite spicy, my palm formed a red mark on her white forearms. Kelly giggled, pointing at it.
You can now sponsor an extra chapter by buying me a Ko-fi! 2 Ko-fi= 1extra chapter.
