This chapter is sponsored by Robin. Thank you for your support!
“You’re using me as an excuse—Wait, you say it’s not your nature?”
But he’s doing it well, though? When I opened my eyes in surprise, Edgar picked up Christa Edwards’s quill, which was rolling on the floor, and said…
“That’s my brother’s character. I’ve been living by imitating him my whole life so any changes in me wouldn’t be out of the ordinary.”
“That’s truly a talent for becoming a king.”
I was amazed. That was a sarcastic remark. I knew kings had a duty to produce outstanding heirs and that mating with as many different people as possible was encouraged, but it didn’t reflect well on me. In that sense, Edgar Ramos was far better than his brother.
“He’s good at it, unlike me.”
Edgar Ramos’s wheat-colored head seemed to hold a different standard than Ariel Dalton’s. He muttered bitterly and grabbed Christa Edwards’ quill pen, breaking it.
***
Until the monitor for recording the patient’s condition finally diagnosed my illness as “faking illness,” various happenings came and went in the hospital room. Among them, the most surprising was Professor Houston. I never dreamed that he would not only not applaud my injury but also show concern by coming and checking on my condition.
I was so moved that I resolved to focus a little more on my future classes in magic science. Well, it would have been if it hadn’t been for homeworks and brief tests protruding from the sleeve of Professor Houston’s robe.
Professor Humphreys came to see me only once. It was to inquire about the whole incident. I racked my brain all night long, making excuses I had barely concocted. What we did wasn’t a fight; it was a ‘fainting game,’ and as for his face being covered in blood, I wasn’t sure, but perhaps he accidentally hit something in a hurry. After hearing that, she adjusted her glasses and gave me an exasperated look.
“Villard violated the restriction on going outside. The barrier was broken,” Professor Humphreys suddenly said before leaving the hospital room without receiving any good information. “Did he come to see you by any chance?” I shook my head, tightening my grip on Kyle’s pocket watch in my clenched fist. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she sighed heavily and didn’t speak further.
Brianna Mosley and Briz—the nickname I used when referring to Liz and Brennan—visited the hospital room several times a day for three days, sometimes even multiple times a day, to update me on the various events at the Academy.
I was surprised to learn that Keran Illestia had suddenly begun making advances toward Rosemary Blossom as if possessed by something. It was because I remembered Kyle shouting, “I can fix Keran Illestia,” just before losing consciousness.
His drastic change seemed to be due to being “fixed.” If so, has he been in a broken state all this time?
I also met Clay and Edgar Ramos, whose aptitude was more for jumping over windows than playing with girls. Exchanging silly jokes with Edgar wasn’t a bad choice to soothe boredom. Actually, it was pretty good. I felt it even in the practice magic tool storage room; our sense of humor was quite similar.
The candy rolling around on the bedside console became eight. On the day I was discharged from the hospital, I stroked the wonderful baby dragon’s nose a lot. Then, I tucked a note saying “Thank you” into the sharpest claw among his claws.
The whimsical poet Kelly Ramirez knocked on the door of the hospital room in a hurry. She said she was busy writing a song to congratulate me on my recovery and wish me good health. She followed me from the hospital room to the dorms, strumming her banjo. I was very embarrassed, but seeing her sincerity, I said nothing.
I ran into Marquis Bolton, who was always late, in front of my dorm. When I told him I had lost my get-well gift, he pulled out the same book and gave it to me. Kelly broke into an impromptu song about how much of an asshole he was the second he was out of sight.
Meanwhile, Keran Illestia and Kyle Villard were nowhere to be found. Kyle’s restrictions on going out were lifted on the day Professor Humphreys visited, and Keran didn’t have any restrictions in the first place, yet they remained that way. I was stunned, since I had considered them people I was closer with, especially Kyle, than Professor Houston. I was sad and angry.
So, as soon as Kelly finished her performance, I barged into Kyle’s room. His roommate, Jose Soto, greeted me instead. Then he said Kyle wasn’t in the room because he was at Griffon Cricket practice.
He decides to practice something he has never done in his life exactly at the same time of my visit? In my opinion, that was a blatant lie. So, I threatened Soto that if he did not tell me the truth, I would make him spew rotten sardines out of his ass, like Christa Edwards (Edwards still managed to write an article with her delusion. Also, at the end of it, she wrote how I threatened her with the ‘magic to spew up sardines’.).
Terrified, Soto confessed that Kyle had issued him an action protocol in case Ariel Dalton invaded him. I was more fired up than before, but I turned around anyway. If Kyle didn’t want to see me for whatever reason, then fine!
***
“Ariel, there’s your tent. Why don’t you say hi?”
On the way to catch up on missed classes, Brianna whispered in my ear. I turned my head in the direction she pointed and saw a tent set up, encouraging votes for the king and queen candidates of the banquet.
There were occasional small fights. They must have been Rosemary Blossom and Anais O’Brien’s followers. The two groups were known to have a bad relationship.
It was nothing special, really. It happens like this every May. That is, until I spotted a tent with my name on it. The slogan roughly written on it caught my attention: “Vote for Ariel Dalton: René Levesque of Fitzsimmons.”
René Levesque was a hero from the mythical era, the one who resisted the temptation of the beautiful incubus and instead beheaded him, leading the Holy War to victory. The most famous painting depicting her, <René Levesque Beheading her Incubus>, was copied and painted on a cloth-covered wooden board with me replacing René and holding the incubus’ head.
There was a hole in the part where the incubus’ head should have been. I guess it was for students to put their faces in to pretend to be the incubus I had beheaded. Edgar Ramos’ head was currently stuck on it. I headed for the tent without delay.
“Kendra Bradley, I knew it was you.”
“Well, doing this earns us volunteer points and activity fees, senior.”
Inside the tent, Kendra and other female juniors were huddled together. As if regretting what she blurted out, she added.
“And because we genuinely like you, senior.”
“It’s late, Kendra. They must’ve not accepted you at Jaden Spencer’s tent.
“How did you know?”
Kendra stuck her tongue out at my guess.
“But the drawing turned out well, right? Mia has been a total art geek since freshman year.”
Kendra boasted so much about it, even though it wasn’t she who drew it. Anyway, I still praised her since Mia Peterson’s talent was indeed impressive. It caused quite a sensation; even Edgar Ramos himself peered into the hole. It seems like a lot happened while I was away.
***
One of my regrets, when I thought Florence Belle’s world was an afterlife, was not keeping my promise to Jaden Spencer. So I finished my day and went to the Griffon Kennel. Jaden dodged Luisa’s tail, which was aimed at him, and pulled a crumpled and torn piece of paper from his pocket.
“I got it.”
“Why do you still have it?”
I crossed my arms in frustration. It was the thank-you note I sent to Clay before I was discharged from the hospital, with an explanation of “chasse” among the 86 easy-to-follow steps and a very ugly drawing of Kyle on the back. It was literally a scrap of paper. Anyway, I was quite annoyed because it reminded me of Kyle, who didn’t come to see me even after his restriction was lifted.
“Because you… gave it to me?”
Jaden was silent for a moment, then spoke up. He sounded unsure of himself.
“You can throw it away.”
I said kindly. Jaden Spencer, whom I had observed since the beginning of the month banquet, was so kind and diligent that he was practically begging to be deceived. I knew I had to partner with him for this year’s Joke Month Banquet’s “Gag Gift Exchange.”
True to the adjective “gag,” all useless gifts were allowed at the gift exchange. So, it was crucial to choose the right person to exchange gifts with. By the way, last year I received a pretty glass bottle with a handful of sand from Kyle, which turned out to be pixie feces.
Even though I clearly said he could throw it away, Jaden neatly folded it again and put it in the pocket of his jacket. His kindness went to the extent of being a disease.
I stroked Louisa’s beak, suppressing the clicking of my tongue. Because of Kyle, I had often touched Layla, so I had become somewhat skilled at handling griffons. Louisa rested her head on my shoulder.
“I don’t think she hates people, so why does she only act that way with you?”
“Nevertheless, she’s on her best behavior today.”
Jaden was quickly disheartened. He took advantage of the opportunity when I was distracting Louisa and tried to touch her wing but got pecked.
“What do Professor Hooper and Professor Monaghan say?”
“Professor Hooper has never seen a case like Louisa. And Professor Monaghan… He wasn’t very interested in griffons.”
“Why? Don’t griffons have dicks?”
I muttered, and he looked horrified.
“T-That… word, don’t use it!”
“What? dick?”
He vigorously nodded his head. It was a rare sight to see him flustered.
“My God, Jaden Spencer! Are you blushing right now?”
T/N: Hello~ First of all, sorry for not updating last week, I got caught up with something. To Robin who sponsored the extra chapters, I’m really sorry and I hope you enjoy these chapters^^ Thank you again for your support! Also, there will be no update again next week cuz I’ll be a bit busy at that time. I’ll be back hopefully next next week!
You can now sponsor an extra chapter by buying me a Ko-fi! 2 Ko-fi= 1extra chapter.
