chapter 24
The way his eyes sparkled with interest made Tislin uncomfortable. She avoided his gaze and pressed herself back against the chair.
“He’s not a bad person.”
“He’s not bad, but he doesn’t understand when you tell him to back off? If he’s stupid, that’s just as bad.”
He smiled lightly, and there was no real malice in his face, but Tislin flared up without meaning to.
What does he know to call him stupid?
No, it was natural that he didn’t know anything. And besides, this was someone who had kindly given up his time because she asked for help…
“It’s a bit complicated. And this isn’t a fun topic for me. Can we talk about something else?”
“Mutually enjoyable conversation.” That had been Eden’s condition from the beginning.
Eden Fontineer blinked as if he had been hit.
“Ah, that was the condition. Right. Then what should we talk about, dear cousin? I don’t think anything nice would come out of my mouth about that. The only common topic we probably have is the shared first-year classes, and I don’t want to talk about something that boring.”
“Then tell me about popular date spots near the school.”
“Hey. If you put it like that, I’ll sound like a total playboy.”
Well, wasn’t that basically true? He didn’t stop women who came, and didn’t stop women who left.
Every time Sierra saw him, the girl clinging to his arm was different. She used to almost breathe fire complaining that she didn’t know what those girls were thinking. Though that might have been because her own date had ended in disaster.
“Then how about good restaurants?”
That was just a softer way of asking about date spots, but Tislin had something to say about that too. She hadn’t dated, but she had gone around with friends.
Fortunately, their tastes matched quite well. Ermise in southern Cassidy and Fontineer in the far north of Manorca were in different administrative regions, but their food culture was similar. Both were also known for figs.
“Fig panna cotta? That’s just fig pudding with a fancy Manorcan name. Our cook makes that when he has nothing else to do. And figs are best in pie.”
“Someone who hasn’t tasted Fontineer’s figs might say that. Aren’t Ermise figs less sweet, so you have to bake them in the oven?”
They almost started arguing on their first meeting because of regional pride.
Tislin remembered having the exact same argument with Sierra in her first year and cleverly shifted their attention to a common enemy.
“Anyway, the figs sold in Viera taste like water.”
“I agree.”
Even though his tone was different, he seemed similar to Sierra in personality. Tislin found herself chatting like she would with a friend, swinging her ankle lightly.
Eden Fontineer wasn’t a bad conversation partner. He had good manners and knew how to keep a conversation interesting. At the same time, he could be slightly prickly, which made teasing him fun.
They were sitting along a busy path, but he never drew on her hand with wet fingers. Instead, he discreetly observed their surroundings and communicated mostly with words.
A week passed in a flash.
“But why! Isn’t there! Any rumor?!”
Tislin muttered helplessly from the sofa in Sierra’s dorm room. She didn’t even look at the figs and grapes on the table. They were probably Fontineer figs sent in bulk by the Marquis. Fake figs.
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, maybe his popularity is fake too. I just assumed he was popular because the girl next to him kept changing.”
Sierra lay stretched out on the sofa, tossing grapes into her mouth. If the Marquis of Fontineer saw his beloved granddaughter like this, he would probably faint.
“What’s the point if only we’re making noise? The Knight Department doesn’t even know.”
There were rumors—but only inside the Administration Department. People were making a fuss about how picky Tislin Ermise had finally chosen someone to date, and that someone happened to be Sierra’s cousin, whom she was always stuck to like a twin.
“Are you two actually dating and he’s just a smokescreen?”
She heard that too.
“Or maybe Tislin just has a thing for Fontineer blood.”
That too.
But outside the Administration Department, nothing much happened. A few girls rumored to be Eden’s exes would glare at her or greet her cheerfully. None of them were from the Knight Department.
“At this rate, your fiancé won’t even know. You’ll just look like a fool who wasted time dating a leftover.”
“He won’t know. He’s never cared about rumors… But there were so many Knight Department students passing by. How can this be? Not even a rumor that your cousin was dating someone who looks like this? Didn’t he hang out with girls from the Knight Department too? Why aren’t they showing up?”
They had even asked Kisha, who knew news from the Knight Department, but her fiancé didn’t know anything either. Instead, he scolded them for caring too much about rumors.
“Maybe he flirts with too many people, so it’s not even worth gossiping? A one-week date wasn’t rare for him.”
“He just became a second-year last month. If one-week dates are common, that means…”
“Promiscuous. Totally trash.”
Tislin had not gone that far.
If that was true, what did that make her—openly dating another man while having a fiancé? She decided not to ask. Sierra would probably tell her to live in a trash can.
“Anyway! I’ll try for one more week. If it doesn’t work, I’ll find another method.”
“You look more passionate about this than I’ve ever seen, Tis.”
Sierra lifted her head.
“What other method?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just grab a random guy in front of the Knight Department and crash lips with him.”
“Oh. I’ll come watch.”
“Sure.”
Tislin muttered half in resignation.
It was the tenth day.
Tislin deliberately chose a visible spot on the main road and even wore a jeweled hairpin. Small diamonds lined enamel butterfly wings, sparkling brightly in the sunlight.
“Isn’t it hard to see the pin under here? I wore it to stand out.”
The parasol Eden thoughtfully set up was the problem.
“If you don’t like it, sit in the sun.”
“No, it’s fine. Thanks.”
When she sat down, Eden handed her a cold drink as usual. When condensation ran down her hand, he even wiped it gently with a handkerchief.
“What? Is someone behind me?”
“Do I need someone watching to do this? Just sitting and chatting doesn’t seem effective.”
“Oh? Then keep doing it.”
Grumbling that she seemed more enthusiastic than him, Eden wiped her hand.
He didn’t wipe his own hand, saying, “It might be useful.” That signal had hardly been used in ten days. Tislin laughed at his unnecessary thoroughness.
As they chatted, the sun shifted, and shadows grew longer across the grass.
Eden told a joke that sounded like something Sierra would say and lightly drew a circle on the back of her hand.
“Knight Department students.”
Tislin jumped and hid her hand. He shot her a reproachful look.
“You promised.”
“I know. I just got startled.”
She lowered her hand under the table, clutching her skirt.
She wished she had eyes on the back of her head. She could sense many large men passing by, voices rumbling.
“Who’s there?”
“Hmm. I don’t recognize them. Probably freshmen.”
Her shoulders relaxed slightly.
“She’s easy to read,” Eden thought.
“Shall we get up?” he asked.
He didn’t mean to leave entirely. Tislin stood too.
“Yeah… what time is it? Show me your watch.”
“You ask every day. Just carry one.”
Still grumbling, he handed her his pocket watch.
While she checked the time, he glanced toward the road again. Now he saw familiar faces—second-years, third-years. Perfect timing.
“Here.”
He pocketed the watch and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, angling her face toward the main road.
He even flicked the dangling hairpin decoration.
“…What are you doing?”
“There’s no real mood today, but this much should be fine, right?”
She nodded uncertainly and glanced past his arm toward the Knight Department students.
I can’t see clearly.
Then—
It’s Damien.
She had only glimpsed him briefly, but the intense gaze that followed left no doubt.
Her back stiffened.
She thought he would pass by quickly, but the long, persistent stare remained.
“Wait.”
Flustered, she turned her head toward where she felt his gaze. Their faces came closer than expected, and Eden pulled back slightly, startled.
In ten days, Tislin had never initiated contact like this. She clearly wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. It had even hurt his pride a little. Why now?
“Why?”
“He’s here.”
“You didn’t even look properly—”
But when Eden turned, he saw.
Deep-set eyes were glaring at him—specifically at the arm around Tislin’s shoulder.
The gaze was so cold it felt like his hand might be cut off. For a magic swordsman like Sir Xsnov, it didn’t even seem impossible. Eden’s fingers curled slightly.
That’s him?
All the careless things he had said over the past days flashed through his mind. Useless guy. Stupid is bad…
Damn it.
“How long has he been here?”
“I don’t know. Maybe five minutes?”
That long?!
But Tislin didn’t notice his shock. She sighed and stepped away from him. Unless she staged a lip-crashing show, there wasn’t much more she could do.
She briefly considered holding hands, but seeing how stiff Eden looked like a wooden log, that seemed impossible.
You’re supposed to be a playboy. What’s wrong with you?
He looked unwell. She felt a little concerned and also worried their fake act might be exposed.
“That’s enough, right? He’s seen it. He must understand now.”
“He seems to understand…”
“Good. Thank you for spending ten days with me. I’ll treat you to a meal next time. Or we can go with Sierra if you’re uncomfortable.”
“Well, actually—”
But before he could stop her, Tislin lifted her skirt and crossed to the other side of the road without hesitation.
Left alone, Eden stared after her and slumped into his chair.
How can she just leave me alone in this situation?!
Is he still watching? Is he going to come talk to me?
When he looked up nervously, Damien Xsnov—who had been glaring from the roadside—was already gone.
