The folded napkins in the shape of swans complemented the simple wooden table painted in rustic colors. The pillars supporting the canopy were decorated with flowers, which were more lively than the gilded and jeweled ones.
A candle was placed in the middle of the table. In the center of the table was a candle, which turned out to be a magic item shaped like a candle. The flame-shaped glass was colored reddish and contained a luminous enchantment to create the lighting effect. Among them, the higher-quality ones were designed to shake like real flames in response to external stimuli, which made them more realistic.
Bolton, who was born in Illestia and uses divine power to provide light when he needed it, seemed to have never encountered such sophisticated magic lighting.
I stifled a laugh as Bolton timidly extended his index finger to touch the glass flame, only to retract it immediately in surprise. Then, with small sound of me clearing of my throat, I drew his attention as he fixed his glasses as if he were shy.
“What did I say about what you should order? Just because it tastes good to you..?”
“Does not mean it tastes good for anyone else. Just ask.”
“Good. What about the bill?”
“Never show.”
“What if Blossom wants to open her wallet?”
“I’ll make sure to have paid more than half beforehand, so she won’t find out.”
He’s a smart kid, so he learns quickly. I smiled heartily, dipping the sliced bread in chocolate that Bolton didn’t even order.
The drink we ordered came out soon after. Bolton’s was fig juice, mine was milk with lots of butterscotch syrup. As I took a sip, the sweet flavor lingered on my tongue and palate, making me feel quite content. I hummed a tune and unfolded the napkin.
The napkin \became a white square and no longer looked like a swan. Feeling a bit melancholic, I told Bolton about it, who responded with a question about whether I had depression. I showed him the cost of an insensitive remark by leaving fingerprints on his eyeglasses on the pretext of removing crumbs that weren’t there.
The dishes arrived as Bolton huffed and wiped his spectacles. It was a veal tenderloin steak marinated in red wine and bay leaves to bring out the flavor. The waiter’s forearm, which set the plate on the table, was quite dark and muscular.
Something was suspicious, and it felt familiar. When I looked up, red eyes stared right through me. It was Edgar Ramos.
“What are you two doing here?”
Ramos sat next to Bolton and put his arms around him as if it were his original seat. Bolton looked disgusted and tried to move away from him. I was the first to open my mouth, as Bolton seemed to be contemplating for a moment which of the identical twins he should curse at.
“Is the situation with the Nadon royal family not going well lately, Ramos?”
“No, I even took a bath with gold coins yesterday. I just asked for the plate that was going to your table.”
“You took a bath in gold coins?”
“As if that’s even possible. Just cut the meat.”
I put a knife into Bolton’s grip and gave him a scolding. Then Bolton muttered something and began cutting the steak. As befits a knight considered to be the strongest in the country, he cut the steak with grace.
Ramos couldn’t help but wonder how Bolton and I ended up spending the weekend together. Inquiring persistently, I pointed to the steak-cutting show presented by the holy knight of Illestia and asked what he thought was happening. Ramos hit his chest in frustration.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
I decided to make up some nonsense. If I were to explain why I was sitting face-to-face with Bolton at a nice restaurant, I had to mention his one-sided love.
Everyone in the academy knew that Bolton was giving special treatment to Rosemary Blossom, as he was usually an annoying jerk to all students.
However, they would not know how blindly he was infatuated enough to read the “Today’s Love Spot” section of the Fitzsimons Times, bowing his head to ask anyone for a love guide, and collecting promotional flyers scattered on Finnigan Street to find a restaurant with flower decorations on the canopy.
Anyway, it was not reasonable for me to talk about his feelings because he didn’t reveal himself. Eventually, Ramos seemed to give up on getting meaningful information from me after he pulled away from Bolton. Instead, Ramos picked up the butterscotch milk, which I barely drank.
Half of the drink disappeared after his Adam’s apple went up and down exactly twice. Have you ever seen a robbery like this? I became angry in an instant.
“Hey, don’t steal other people’s food and go back to your place!”
“I don’t want to sit in there.”
Ramos groaned. His chin pointed toward the table, not far from us. Bolton and I turned to where Ramos was pointing, and then I saw the wheat-colored back of Nadon’s head, which was slightly tidier than his brother’s.
Even from a distance, the flushed back of the neck and the rounded cheekbones could be seen. He looked really elated. Then it was obvious who was sitting in front of Nadon. The tragedy of the pale yellow dress had been reenacted!
I looked sideways as Bolton dropped his knife with a dumbfounded look. Poor child.
Either way, Ramos, who wasn’t aware of what was happening, started to do some mischief by grabbing and eating the steak Bolton had cut into pieces.
“There was a good coffee house in the alley across the street. Shall we go there next time, Ariel?”
The way he talks is so brazen that I had to think for a while about whether we had an appointment to meet without my knowledge.
“Did I make an appointment with you? Did I even allow you to call me by my name?”
“No, we’re making it now. And it’s good to call each other comfortably. Do as you like. If you don’t like Edgar, you can call me Ed or Ned. But I want you to avoid ‘Eddie’. It’s a nickname my brothers use when they treat me like an idiot.”
“Okay, ‘Eddie’.”
My chronic illness, stubbornness, immediately betrayed his expectations.
“Damn it, I shouldn’t have told you. Well, it doesn’t sound bad to hear it in your voice. So, are you going?”
“Your treat?”
“It would be an honor for me if I could, Miss Dalton.”
He skillfully touched my fingertips and made a smacking sound. As I felt my stomach twist, I picked up a fork and poked the asparagus served as a steak garnish.
Memories of intense and, at the same time, terrible first love made me a person who didn’t easily misunderstand things, but he was confusing. If he hadn’t been the playboy who had been featured in the Fitzsimmons Times all his years at the academy, I would have fallen for him a long time ago.
***
“Have you talked to your father? About the mine.”
On the way to the Monster biology class, Bree started talking. I looked at Kyle, who caught up with me as he had business at the annex. I think Kyle was aware that our fifth year was being repeated and had plans related to it, so he might not be happy to know that I helped Elizabeth McCarthy by changing the future.
“They told me to stop talking nonsense and study. I knew they would say that.”
Liz replied. She looked pretty calm even when her last breakthrough was closed. Having been close to Liz for almost 10 years, I had seen enough of her passionate side, and I knew very well that she couldn’t be so calm without some ulterior motive.
So I asked.
“What are you going to do now?”
“I checked, and I think I can buy that land with the money Brennen and I saved up.”
“Really? No matter how remote it is, it wouldn’t be an easy price if it was Marquis Ziegler’s territory.”
“I’m going to use my tuition for the second semester.”
Bree let out a gasp at Liz’s very calm tone. I also couldn’t hide my surprise. Is she planning to drop out of the academy before graduation? All of a sudden, I realized how much weight Liz was putting on her love.
I was the person who threw the letter of withdrawal in the first semester of the 5th grade. Back then, waking up in Fitzsimmons every morning was painful, and I was ready to sell my soul to the devil if that means I could escape.
“If you invest now, you will see results by summer vacation. If it goes as Ariel said, you’ll return home in glory.”
“What mine? What did Ari say?”
Kyle interrupted. His tone was playful as always, but his expression was firm. I had a hunch he had a clue about what I had done.
That was natural. There was nothing there except for the black crystal mineral, and it was a land that no information guild was paying attention to at this point in time. In addition, the magic tower’s security was so thorough that even the owner of the tower could not access data related to ongoing research. I carefully chose my words to make amends, but my roommate’s feather-like lips spoke first.
“There is a mountain that Marquis Ziegler has put up for sale, and she said that if we built a mine there, it would be a big hit.”
Green eyes pierced me. The corners of Kyle’s mouth were raised as usual, but there was no smile in his eyes. It felt like time had stopped. It was a little scary.
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed my wrist painfully. ‘Let’s talk,’ said Kyle anxiously. I was led to the back of the annex by him without resistance. It was the place where Jaden Spencer played with Lilu with Clay, his baby dragon, on his shoulder.
In fact, the result would have been no different if I had resisted. His momentum was so strong, and there was rare violence in it. I could be sure the handprints would be left on my wrist, held by him.
“How far do you remember?”
After confirming that there were no watching eyes, Kyle asked.
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