Edgar made a small heart with his spoon in the soft foam that covered the coffee.
“Look at this. I drew it well.”
“Then what do you think of Kaitlyn the Great?”
“Professor Baldwin was out of luck. Our class had a lot of students from Illestia, especially. “
He broke the sugar cube I handed him in half and then cut it in half again. Then he threw the sugar, which had become smaller than a fingernail, into his cup. The amount of sugar in my cup was exactly eight times more than that.
“Don’t you think it’s too much?”
“What?”
“The theology of Illestia. According to them, our fate is sealed from the day we are born, and we can’t escape it no matter how hard we try.”
“Well… yeah.”
Perhaps because Edgar was the speaker, it sounded like a lament over his misfortune. The fate of living as his brother’s sword. Knowing that Edgar has another role to play besides that— As Rosemary Blossom’s counterpart—I kept my mouth shut.
I too, have struggled enough, but in the end, still failed to make any difference in the hell I had fallen into. In any case, Rosemary Blossom managed to win the heart of Keran, who initially rejected her, so Kaitlyn’s claim could be considered as something close to the truth.
Before the silence grew longer, fortunately, a quick-witted bard appeared. He wore a brimmed hat and smiled mischievously, apparently tired of disturbing the chess table.
“Are you from Nadon?”
“You knew right away, shall I sing you a nostalgic song?”
The bard’s dark complexion and angular facial bones made Edgar guess his homeland. When Edgar handed over a gold coin, he sang as if he had been waiting for it. It was about the story of a prince who fell in love with a desert dancer.
‘The prince here is Bryce’s great-grandfather,’ Edgar leaned over and whispered. Then he sang along to a part of the song, his voice crude and without finesse but quite pleasing to the ear.
‘You said your tone deaf?’ I whispered back.
‘Wow, is that a compliment?’ Edgar laughed as if he were genuinely happy. Then he handed the bard another gold coin.
“Do you have a more interesting song?”
“All the popular songs are pretty much the same.”
The bard’s tongue was as smooth as if it were coated with oil.
“But if you wish, I can compose something on the spot.”
Soon, a melody flowed from his hands on the lute, but the lyrics layered on top of it made me feel uncomfortable, as if I had swallowed a cactus.
“Our prince has a heart hotter than the scorching sand!”
As if proving that popular songs were all the same, the subject of the “more interesting song” was also about a prince’s love. However, this time, the object of his affection was not a desert warrior but a flower-like commoner girl
“The fragrance of flowers cannot be absent on the hero’s journey. Oh, gladly he offered honey wine to the setting sun.”
Unlike the ‘less entertaining song,’ it didn’t deal with the beauty of love. Instead, it was a mockery of how the prince had become a fool because of it. It was an obvious mockery. I was afraid that Edgar would lose his temper and burn down the coffee shop.
Contrary to my expectations, Edgar Ramos didn’t burn down the coffee shop. Nor did he interrupt the bard’s song. Instead, he bared his teeth and smiled when the song ended.
That is if you can call it a smile. In my eyes, it resembled the expression of a ferocious beast just about to tear apart its prey’s neck, but anyway, his eyes and mouth were curved, fitting the literal definition of a smile.
“Excellent song, indeed.”
The youngest prince of Nadon, Duke Ramos, clapped twice and then pulled out a slender pouch from his waist. He flipped it open and, to everyone’s surprise, an enormous amount of gold coins spilled out. The table was soon covered in a heap of gold coins.
The never-ending cascade of gold coins attracted the attention of those sitting in the coffee shop with its loud clatter and glimmer. Even the Dwarven scholar and the student from Illestia, who were clutching each other’s collars, looked at us. I was reminded that I had been taught that the Nadon royal family was the richest on the continent.
“It’s so splendid that I don’t want anyone else to hear it.”
Although his tone was calm, I felt that he was making a threat. Sensing this, the quick-witted bard seemed to realize who Edgar was and what he wanted. He lowered his head so deeply that he looked like a man whose head had been eaten by his hat, then took his share and disappeared quickly.
***
“Wanna see something good?”
After leaving the coffee shop and walking endlessly down the winding road, Edgar Ramos spoke up. It was a line so cheesy that it was unbelievable that it came from the mouth of the man who was a known playboy in the academy. I glared at him fiercely.
“I don’t know if you’re aware, but no one follows anyone who talks like that. You sound like a fucking pervert.”
“Wow?”
Edgar opened his mouth in shock. Certainly, there were moments like this where I believe when he told me such things were not his nature.
“Anyway, what’s this ‘something good?”
“Have you ever tried teleportation without a magic circle?”
I shook my head proudly. He overestimated Milua, the Mana Wasteland.
“If Milua had wizards of that caliber, the royal family would be the first to know.”
“Oh right, your king would already have done something to piss off our Highness if that’s the case.”
Even the Illestians knew that there was hostility between the Milua royal family and the Nadon royal family. More than the irreverence of his speech, I was more concerned that Edgar had addressed his father with a rather sarcastic title.
“Anyway, you haven’t. No wonder I’m getting excited. You’re gonna experience something for the first time in your life, and you’re going to do it with me.”
“Hey, now you really sound like a pervert.”
I rolled my eyes briefly, and he spread his arms wide toward me. Then he snapped his fingertips. I was in disbelief.
“What are you up to again?”
“Teleportation magic is originally designed for one person, so the range is quite narrow. Just imagine two people sitting on one chair. What should we do?”
“How can I trust you?”
“I know it sounds like bullshit, but if you have any doubts, you can ask Professor Cunningham later.”
He shamelessly shrugged. It seemed like he wasn’t lying, but still, I couldn’t help but hesitate. I had lived a very respectable academy life, but now I’m in someone’s arms out of nowhere, and it’s not because we’re dancing.
“Are you coming, or should I come to you instead?”
One of the qualities that a member of the student council must have is a lack of patience. Pushed by the threatening urge, I reluctantly approached, and Edgar Ramos reached out his arm and pulled me closer by my waist. When our chests touched, I could feel our heartbeats harmoniously blending.
Feeling like I was about to lose my balance, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his back. Soon, a strange sensation enveloped my body along with the vibrating sound of mana mingling with the surrounding air.
‘It will be more exciting than a magic circle ride.’ Edgar whispered as I felt like being sucked into a dark, damp, water-hole-like place. ‘I’ll apologize in advance.’
Is there any point in apologizing after intentionally causing trouble, you bastard?
I realized one good thing about teleportation without a magic circle. It allowed me to witness Edgar Ramos in a pitiful state.
“Hey, you are the one who cast the spell, so why are you in a mess?”
“Ugh, um, I forgot the reason why I didn’t use this much.”
Dalton was a coastal town so as a merchant’s daughter, I had boarded a ship before I even took my first steps. That’s the reason I can handle motion sickness pretty well. Teleportation sickness is not much different.
The prince of the desert country, on the other hand, was not used to it. His complexion was far from healthy. While observing Edgar, who struggled to lean against a tall rock and spit out water, I suddenly realized something.
“Edgar Ramos.”
“What— Why the last name?”
“Couldn’t you have just teleported last time?”
“Oh.”
Well-shaped lips curled up. He had an expression like an imp that was caught after playing a very mean prank.
“Would you believe me if I said I couldn’t use it then?”
“No.”
“Right. I just wanted to talk to you back then.”
Edgar’s complexion was still pale as he swept a hand through his disheveled, wheat-colored hair. He seemed even more tired than before as if he were expecting to receive criticism or scolding from me.
“I told you. I’m the best impersonator of Bryce in the world. Even our siblings can’t tell the difference. But you do.”
That’s because your siblings don’t care, while I have been seeing the two of them for a long time. But if you think about it, these siblings tried to kill each other, meaning they aren’t indifferent to each other after all.
“Can no one really tell the difference? I mean, not even your parents?”
“Our Highness doesn’t have the time to look after his 9 children. Her Highness, Queen Rosemary, I’m not sure. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her. What’s certain is you and our nanny can. But that nanny is dead. Oh, and Villard can differentiate us too.”
“Kyle?”
“That’s right, your childhood friend. It’s interesting, isn’t it? Is there something special in Milua?”
Kyle is in the same situation as me. He must have seen the twins for an awfully long time.
“What about Rosemary Blossom?”
There was another person who couldn’t be left out at Fitzsimons Academy.
“She, um… She can too.”
He sounded unsure. I also felt his dislike for Blossom. I had occasionally felt that way before, but it had never been as clear as this time.
“You don’t like Blossom.”
“You heard it at the coffee shop. Bryce has already become a national idiot, to the point of becoming the protagonist of the song a bard composed. No one wants an idiot to ascend to the throne.”
Edgar grumbled as he kicked a stone with his foot.
“And she’s suspicious. Suspiciously pretty, suspiciously nice, suspiciously flirty. Not to mention, she’s a ‘Rosemary,’ too… But we didn’t come all the way here to talk about that, so can’t you focus only on me when we’re together?”
“All right. Shall we go back to the beginning and talk about the poor girl who became the subject of a scandalous rumor stemming from Edgar-Bastard-Ramos’ greed?”
“I took full responsibility and fixed that, didn’t I?”
No wonder! I stamped my foot in exasperation.
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