CHAPTER 44: MORNING GATHERING GONE SIDEWAYS

Early in the morning, Ard ran to the female dormitories. He waited by the door, hoping Pyria, or Patricia, would come out soon. While waiting, he saw Eva exit the special dormitory for princesses and nobles, walking past him.

"Hey, Eva," Ard said, greeting her.

Eva turned to look at Ard. Her face, which had been rigid and cold, immediately became bright and cheerful, even though she didn’t smile. Eva immediately turned back and walked over to Ard.

"What are you doing in front of the girls’ dorms, Ard?" Eva asked.

"I’m waiting for Pyria. I have something I need to talk to her about... and you also," Ard replied.

"About what?" Eva asked, curious.

"Hmm... I was the one who opened the Demon God’s Seal 1,000 years ago," Ard answered.

"Huh," Eva immediately gasped. She stared at Ard, whose face looked serious but also slightly scared, as if he still clearly remembered the dream from last night. Eva fell silent, saying nothing. The two of them just turned to see some male students passing on the road toward the school building and some female students leaving the girls’ dorms, walking past them.

"Okay, you’re throwing something heavy at me first thing this morning. So, what do you mean? How can you say something like that?" Eva asked.

"After we meet Pyria, or Patricia, I’ll tell you everything, but I don’t want to talk about it here at the academy. I want the three of us to go to the city and find a comfortable place to talk," Ard replied.

"Hmm... okay. That means you, me, and Patricia are skipping class today," Eva countered firmly, though she looked highly interested in Ard’s suggestion and was working hard to hide it.

"Yep, exactly right," Ard replied.

"Hey, why are you guys here?" a girl’s voice asked.

Ard and Eva turned to look toward the girls’ dorm. They saw Alicia, Milia, and Rosalind standing next to them. Suddenly, "Slap," someone grabbed Ard’s shoulder. Ard turned to see Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin behind him.

"You’re still here, bro? You said you were leaving first, I thought you were already inside," Geoffrey said.

"Haaah... something like that," Ard replied weakly.

"What’s going on here? Why is everyone gathering?" Ainsley asked, adjusting his glasses.

"We just came down, and when we stepped out, we saw Ard and Eva right by the door," Milia replied.

"Hmm... is that so," Irwin muttered.

Rosalind looked right and left, seemingly searching for Beatrice, who still hadn’t come out of the special royal and noble girls’ dorm. Then she turned to look at Eva.

"Princess Eva, have you seen Princess Beatrice?" Rosalind asked.

"She’s still sleeping. I knocked on her door, but she didn’t open it and didn’t answer," Eva replied briefly.

"Oh dear... alright, please wait for me here for a moment, okay? I’ll go wake her up," Rosalind countered.

Without further delay, Rosalind immediately headed toward the special royal and noble girls’ dorm. Geoffrey put his arm around Ard next to him.

"What did you dream about last night, bro? Why does your face look like you saw a dead person in front of you?" Geoffrey asked.

Eva immediately turned to look at Ard next to her, giving him a knowing look when their eyes met.

"Nothing important. You guys go on ahead. We’ll catch up later," Ard said.

"Since we met up, let’s just walk together, my prince," Alicia said, linking her arm with Ard’s.

Alicia turned to look at Eva next to Ard and "Bleh," she stuck out her tongue at Eva, which made Eva glare sharply and force a smile, even though a vein was popping on her forehead. Eva and Alicia immediately stared at each other. Ard, feeling the tension between them rising, immediately pulled his arm free from Alicia’s grasp and placed his hands on both their shoulders.

"Alright, alright, don’t fight first thing in the morning. My grandmother said it’s bad luck to fight this early," Ard said, though he himself was confused about whose grandmother had said that.

"Huh," Eva immediately turned her face away to avoid Alicia’s gaze, while Alicia just smiled, mocking her. "Swoop," Milia suddenly stepped forward and embraced Ard from the front, surprising Ard because Milia’s face was now extremely close to his, plus her chest was pressed against his, clearly felt on Ard’s chest.

"O-oi, Milia," Ard stammered.

"Come on, let’s go in together. Just pretend you came here to pick me up," Milia said.

Milia then gave a subtle sneer to Eva and Alicia with a mocking smile. "Creak," veins started popping on Alicia’s face as she stared fiercely at Milia, though she forced herself to laugh. Veins also grew more prominent on Eva’s face as she turned her head away but occasionally glanced at Milia with a sharp look.

"Oi... what the heck is going on here?" Ard asked.

Watching the antics of Alicia and Milia in front of them, Geoffrey, Ainsley—who adjusted his glasses—and Irwin shook their heads.

"They’re starting again," the three muttered in unison in their respective minds.

"Hey, why are you all here?"

A girl’s voice broke the tense atmosphere and lowered the tension. Everyone immediately turned toward the sound. Milia released her embrace. They saw Patricia standing in front of the girls’ dorm door, her face confused because she saw all her classmates gathered in front of the girls’ dorm.

"Finally, you’re out," Ard muttered.

"Uh... you were waiting for me?" Patricia asked, confused. But suddenly, Patricia took a step back, shocked and scared. "What... why are you all looking at me like that? What did I do wrong?" she asked, bewildered.

The reason was that Alicia, Milia, and Eva were staring at Patricia with sharp looks, like wolves that had spotted their prey and were ready to pounce. This time, Ard, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin shook their heads, seeing Patricia now surrounded by Eva, Alicia, and Milia, with a frightened face and backing away. Shortly after, "Yawn," Beatrice, who was being dragged by Rosalind, yawned widely, her eyes still half-closed, and her hands rubbing her eyes. She saw Ard standing among the other friends.

Without saying anything, she immediately released Rosalind’s hand that was holding her and stumbled toward Ard. "Thud," she immediately fell into Ard’s arms and "Zzz... zzz... zzz," fell asleep on Ard’s chest.

"Hey... Beatrice, wake up," Ard said, holding Beatrice’s shoulders.

Ard immediately felt a murderous aura near him. Slowly, he glanced to the side. It turned out that Eva, Alicia, Milia, and now Rosalind, were all staring intently at him or Beatrice. Patricia was now helpless, having been dealt with by Alicia, Milia, and Eva. Meanwhile, Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin turned away.

"Later, bro, we’re heading off," Geoffrey said.

"Yep, enjoy yourself," Ainsley added.

"Good luck, friend," Irwin added with a serious face and a thumbs-up.

"Oi... don’t you guys just leave! You’re terrible friends," Ard yelled at his three friends who walked away without looking back, leaving him. "Aaah... oh well. I’ll just ask Eva and Pyria to talk after class... there’s no way it’s going to happen now," Ard muttered internally, seeing Beatrice sleeping comfortably on his chest, even smiling in her sleep, while Eva, Alicia, Milia, and Rosalind stared at him or Beatrice as if they wanted to kill one or the other.