In his letter, he explained Alicia’s circumstances, and he could already imagine his father frowning at his friend's behaviour. Duke Cassian was a bit obsessed with marriage. Dante didn’t exactly know how he married his mother; he only knew that he had to fight for it with his parents. Thanks to that, he never nagged his two sons about it. Looking at it from the side, even if he tried, one would completely ignore it, and the older would scold him twice as much.

  Ron had gone on a journey early in the morning, before Dante even woke up. He must have been desperate to know what was in the envelope, because the only thing Dante told him was that his father would surely tell him. Honestly, he didn’t want to deal with Ron so early after the revelation. Faye brought him green tea to bed for a little warming up, as she said. He would prefer coffee, but her: ‘It’s not good for your empty stomach,’ shut him up, even though he disagreed with her.

  That morning was unusually quiet; ghosts kept their distance, and only Veyra accompanied them during breakfast, swooning over Faye’s cooking. Rest must have been unsure if he was okay with their presence. Lady, on the other hand, was still nowhere to be found, but it was normal for her to disappear from time to time.

  The Florent’s carriage wasn’t really different than those Ron employed for him. Alicia had done just as she promised. She looked very energetic so early in the morning. He remembered her having a hard time, as her morning as a child involved grumpiness, but it must have changed now. As usual, she wore pants and a complete student uniform. She never broke a dress code. Next to her was Eric, who appeared as enthusiastic as she.

  She looked him over when he sat opposite her. “Faye, you did great hiding his dark circles.” She praised the girl, who Dante had to admit was great with make-up. Faye beamed proudly.

  “It’s not my fault, I have them. Those are father’s genes.” He groaned.

  “No, Darling. Those are not genes, just no one in your family knows what sleep is,” she may have been right. He liked staying up at night; Edward and Father probably worked till midnight. “You left your hair loose and put on more accessories. Good.” This time, she prised him, but more like she was prising the dog; he really pitied her future husband. But then again, she will choose a man who would like her attitude.

  “I guess you planned our entire day, don’t you?” She nodded while Eric covered his lips, hiding an amused smile.

  “Of course. During the long break, I’ll introduce you to my club. I’ll sit with you at the lectures we have together; I guessed that Blondy would invade my space if you were to sit with me and my group. You have to introduce me properly.” His face twisted a little at that. He wasn’t sure what bothered him more: Alicia’s perfect plan, or the thought of Kelit’s reaction to it. “Oh come now, no backing up!”

  “It’s not that…just…” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. Her ideas were completely reasonable, but he felt uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to expect of Kelit, especially lately, and now Alicia added only more chaos.

  “Don’t worry! I know what I’m doing.” She reassured him and put her hand on his knee. Surprisingly, he was completely alright with her being so close. He thought that it would be harder after so many years, but she just knew how to slide behind his walls, or maybe she always was there.

  He didn’t worry that she was walking into her own plan blind. She was a walking perfectionist; even her plan B had its own plan B. She managed to build herself a reputation not solely on her surname after all. The reputation of a Florent wouldn't be that good, especially among commoners and nobles that wasn’t active politically if it weren’t for her.

  He sighed. “I know.”

  “I know you know, but voicing it is like a confirmation.” It made him chuckle. “And I made a reservation at Dahlias for tomorrow evening. Faye won’t need to cook dinner after classes.” The girl’s smile rose upon hearing that. He nodded in acknowledgment.

  “I will have to pay for both of us?” he asked, already calculating how much of his allowance for this month he would lose, because he was too prideful to ask his father for more.

  “No, my treat…or rather father’s,” a laugh escaped her. Then she sighed. “You know his fortieth birthday is coming up. Mother said she’s going to hold a grand banquet. She says that those with zero at the end are very important. Like what she had done at her fifties, a year ago, when you coincidentally ‘broke’ both your legs.” Faye’s eyes widened when she mentioned her parents' age, and it appeared that she started doing calculations in her mind.

  “Yeah, I remember that one.” He chuckled uncomfortably.

  “This time there will be no avoiding it.” He nearly groaned; he hated gatherings like that. She chuckled when his face twisted. “I talked with her and our family’s lawyer about our plan yesterday. We don’t have to sign any papers; they will take care of it. I wanted to take Miss Raho's advice on the student council matter, but the talk ended on a topic of what present we should give to father.” She massaged her temples, as if the memories of it were enough to give her a headache. “That was also the reason why Miss Raho was my mother’s guest yesterday. That woman is mad! I mean my mother! She wanted to gift him divorce papers!”

  Now she was venting to him, but he could understand that, and he had to admit it wasn’t the worst feeling.

  “Thankfully, Miss Layer managed to talk her out of it. I was seeing stars in that moment. She said that they can write legal papers in which she will free father of the vows. I don’t even know if she didn’t just patent something totally new for the legal world, but she was so determined that she’s gonna make it happen.”

  “Well…” Dante had to hold his smile. “That’s just Aunt Ophelia’s style.” In the end, he chuckled, while Faye was just getting introduced in the Florent weird triangle by whispering to Eric.

  “And next weekend she wants to take us…yes, you too and Alera to buy her a dress for that occasion.” Alera in the dress sounded just like one of the world's miracles, but in that sentence was something even more astonishing, so he asked:

  “Why does she need me there?”

  “It probably reminds her of the shopping sprees she and your mother had. Or maybe she wants to recreate our childhood memories and put you in a dress once more.” She teased, which made him roll his eyes.

  “Wait?! Eighteen?!” Faye let out a gasp a little too loudly and quickly covered her mouth. She just heard at what age Cloude had Alicia. Eric covered his face and looked at the window, not to make fun of the girl’s red face.

  “Yes, that makes twelve years' difference between them; thankfully, they don’t argue.” Alicia continued the explanation without batting an eye.

  “But that’s…” Faye cut herself like she didn’t really know what she wanted to say, nor if it was appropriate.

  “A lot.” The young lady sighed. “That’s why I’m angry at him for that entire marriage of convenience. He learned nothing from his mistakes.” She looked at Faye, who was nearly tearing up now. “No...no, I’m not saying that him marrying my mother was a mistake...I mean, I do believe it was...but gods it’s complicated. But I’m fine, they both are too. They worked it out.” Her voice softened for a moment.

  “I’m sorry.” The young butler mumbled.

  “Don’t be. It’s not like it’s a secret.”

  Soon, the carriage stopped. Alicia gave everyone instructions on the order in which they were to step out. Eric first, then Faye, as it normally should be, then it was her turn, and finally Dante. She said that as the guest and fiancée of a future duke, it was the only appropriate thing to do.

  When his legs touched the ground, he realised that the students around him watched them as if it were some kind of exaggerated play. He offered his hand to Alicia, who took it and, bumping her shoulder with his, started leading the way to the lecture. She was smiling, ignoring his cold expression completely. In that moment, he wanted to call it off, but then Alicia would call him a Quiter, and it would be worse than those stares. He could hear most of the whispers that followed after them. It became even worse when they stepped inside the classroom.

  The students who were already there gawked at them. The only ones that weren’t so utterly shocked by their pairing were Alicia’s closest friends, the women from her group, who were just silently giving her approving looks. She must have confided them in her plan.

  She led him to his usual place at the back of the hall and took his seat next to the windowsill, which meant he was supposed to be squished between two ticking time bombs. Alicia was unpredictable when it came to her perfect planning and schemes, while Kelit...he was just unpredictable. Dante couldn't put his hand on why those two felt so similar when it comes to character, but maybe that was the sign that they would like each other.

  He watched as she unpacked her things and stored them neatly on the desk; even her pencils had their own designated place. He was so absorbed, trying to decipher why she would store her book alphabetically in her bag, that he didn’t realise that both Kelit and Peter appeared. The bullied man looked worse than he had yesterday, as if he hadn’t gotten enough sleep, and upon seeing Alicia, he quickly chose a new seat. The blond man didn’t share his idea; instead, he smiled sweetly, a little too sweetly.

  “Who’s that, Trouble?” When Dante looked at him, Alicia moved closer to him, putting her hand on his shoulder. Kelit’s smile twitched when the young lord didn’t toss her hand off.

  “You must be Kelit! It’s so nice to meet you! Go on, introduce me, Darling!” She said that nickname loudly enough for everyone present to hear. Kelit’s smile this time didn’t move; it became even sweeter, what Dante thought was impossible.

  “This is my fiancée, Lady Alicia.” He spoke with his usual cold and calm tone, trying to cover his nervousness. He didn’t even know why he was nervous. Could it be that he valued Kelit’s friendship, but also Alicia’s? But there was nothing to overthink; the entire arrangement was fake, and Kelit was not stupid enough to not catch on. Or maybe he was wrong. He started to doubt him when he saw that smile fall. It quickly appeared again, of course, but the brows stayed furrowed.

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  “Congratulations!” It sounded so fake that it could hurt. “Why didn’t I know about it?” That question was directed more at himself than Dante.

  “We are childhood friends! And you probably realised that my Darling is pretty closed off.” Though she was giggling, she had put an accent on ‘childhood friends’, like she was trying to spite the blond man. Kelit took a seat next to Dante, gripping it a little too hard, so that his knuckles whitened.

  “It’s such a delight to meet you, Lady Flower.” Dante was sure he mispronounced the surname on purpose and that Alicia caught onto it as quickly as he did, but she giggled this time, amused, not just for show.

  “Oh, it’s pronounced, Florent, not Flower, Sunshine!” Dante had to fight his facial muscles not to laugh at that. It was a perfect nickname for Kelit, who laughed like he was reading from a book:

  “Ha, ha, ha, I’m so sorry…Lady Flower.” He wasn’t sorry at all.

  After that, their spat ended, and long quiet followed. It was suffocating for Dante. He genuinely believed that these two would get along well. He was proven wrong too abruptly and too quickly. Kelit looked totally out of it the entire lecture, like he was not only contemplating how to kick Alicia out of their space but also his whole life. He wasn’t listening to the class, nor was he looking at Dante; he found interest in the desk, tapping his fingers on its surface and frowning the entire time.

  Alicia, in comparison to him, was a perfect student and bother to Dante at the same time. Every time she stopped writing something, she was either taking his hand into hers or correcting something in his attire. It bothered him only because each move she made made other students and even the professor snatch their attention to them.

  When the lecture ended, Kelit took his arm, trying to drag him away to talk in private; he probably wanted to discuss their findings from yesterday. Alicia was too quick for his plan to work as she grabbed Dante’s other arm and leaned close.

  “Fiancee priorities, Sunshine! He will see you at the diplomatic major, as you forget about your own.” She winked at him. In that moment, Dante could hear Kelit’s jaw bones cracking because of how hard he clutched them. On the surface, he was still smiling, and he let go of the young lord’s arm. As quickly as he had done that, Alicia dragged Dante out, whispering to his ear: “We have ten minutes to walk around, lovey-dovey. We must take advantage of the shock when it’s still fresh.”

  He walked into Bernadette’s lecture late because Alicia was as stubborn as her father. She set her mind on him walking her to practice, and he had no say in it. Thankfully, as a busy woman, Bernadette always was, she discussed something with her club and didn’t realise he was off the clock.

  Kelit waited in their usual row. He either calmed down or was happy Alicia wasn’t there. Although something about his looks was wrong. His hair was neatly brushed behind his ears, and his shirt was buttoned all the way. It wasn’t that it didn’t suit him, quite the opposite, but it was new.

  “What took you so long?” He asked, a slight irritation betrayed him.

  “Alicia…”

  “Never mind, I don’t want to hear it.” The blond man cut him off. “Those dragons, did you learn something? I tried to find something, but to no avail.”

  “Only that they came from the world between this and the Afterlife,” he answered, not getting into how he learned that. “And they’re already gone.”

  “Shame.” Kelit didn’t even look discouraged by that. Dante eyed him for a moment. “What? Learning takes time, and there is nothing about those creatures in the books we have access to.” The young lord had to admit that he sounded like a real nerd right now. “I wanted to look into other cultures, like you told me to. I decided to start with Andar...I don’t know any other…” He whispered that last part, and Dante couldn't quite put his hand on what he said. “Do you know any books in normal language, not their?”

  The young lord nodded his head and decided to write him the titles of the books on paper. During it, they were both quiet, but it was that type that was on the verge of being uncomfortable. It was obvious that Kelit wanted to address something, but he couldn't bring himself to voice it or didn’t know how.

  “That Alicia’s person is she really..?” He tried, but Bernadette’s cheery voice cut him off.

  “Oh, my, my Mr Dante, you won’t believe what I’ve heard! People are saying that you and Miss Alicia are engaged!” Her eccentric side showed up again; he wasn’t sure if it was a quirk of every retired diplomat, but at that time, he wanted to dig himself a grave or go coffin shopping. Being watched was one thing; being called out was another, eternally.

  “Yes, that is true.” He answered, not adding any details. In the corner of his eyes, he saw that Kelit was gripping his pen.

  “Can I ask how long?” She didn’t let go of the topic, and the way she phrased that question was strange, or to put it mildly, too perspective to say the least. She would do well as a lawyer.

  “Since we were children.” When she chuckled, he just knew, it wasn’t what she asked.

  “Then we will deal with divorce law and what problems in diplomatic situations it can cause today!” She clasped her hands, which made the hall chuckle quietly, not wanting to offend Dante, who only sighed. Bernadette moved on with her subjects, but attention was divided between her and the new gossip. She knew very well that not every student listened, and she didn’t stop their talks.

  “They make a cute couple. A cold prince, who is only gentle toward his love, and a perfect, lovable girl. It’s like a romance story!” The three women in a row behind Kelit and Dante whispered, not realising that from the highest row, even a whisper can be heard.

  “Yeah, but honestly, I shipped the cold prince with the cheerful gold puppy. Poor Kelit.” Dante was dumbfounded by what he just heard. He and who? It was so ridiculous...but still more likely to happen than his wedding to Alicia. His attention was, however, quickly snatched by half of the pen that Kelit held, which just flew into the air, while the rest was in pieces all over his notebook. Only magic could have done that.

  “Oh, Mr Kelit, that was some quick mana shattering.” Bernadette prised him, as if he hadn’t just disturbed the lecture. “Have you considered working as a legal assistant? They have to be proficient in that, with how many documents need to be disposed of.” It sounded like a joke, and it defused the tension and snatched the attention back from Kelit to her eccentrics.

  Only Dante was still focused on the man who was visibly irritated at himself and tried to bury the fragments of the pen under his notebook. Mana shattering wasn’t easy; it took a lot of concentration, and it was mostly used to break other spells, not things. So doing this as Kelt did only supported Dante’s thesis that this man is not who he let on. He didn’t comment; magic wasn’t his domain to meddle in. He just lent him one of his own pens, as the blond man had only one with him. He really didn’t pay much attention to the lectures, other than the diplomatics that still weren’t even his major.

  He took Dante’s pen and stayed quiet for the lecture, scribing notes to Bernadette’s teaching. He really did like her subjects. Right after this lecture, their group had another two hours with her, so she decided not to take breaks but give them half an hour of open questions. Free talk, she used to call it. Her lectures may have looked unorganised, random even, but she had a plan for everything, and she was the only one who managed to teach Dante things that weren’t already in books.

  “So, Ma’am Bernadette, I’ve heard that Mist City is opening for diplomats this winter. Is that true?”Asked someone from the front row. In the corner of Dante’s eye, Kelit perked up a little.

  “It is. My father’s a trade owner, they’ve already opened themselves for international trade, and when he was there, he heard that they’re going to take diplomats.” Answered the girl who was earlier gossiping with her friends, the one who rooted for Kelit.

  “I see you chose a fine topic. So what do you know about Mist City?” Bernadette took a seat at her desk, listening.

  “Not much, honestly. They were isolated for so long that we only knew rumours, and most of them are either exaggerated or disturbing.” The group agreed, waiting for their teacher to continue.

  “Do you think that decision to open up was a correct one?” Of course, she would make her students sweat before actually answering the question.

  “It’s a hard question, ma’am. I think it was correct, but I may be biased as my father’s business grew on it. But from the point of view of international trade, it couldn't be better.” The young woman was quicker than the young man, who quickly rose to opposition:

  “But from a political point of view, it’s bad. From what I’ve heard it was issued by Miracle Sage, we know nothing about him, not even what he looks like. And if the Mist City were to align with any country, it would be a political disaster, after all, it’s a country within a country.” Kelit breathed in very deeply, which made Dante snatch his attention to him for a split second.

  “It will be a disaster only if they want to align; they’ve always stayed unpolitical, even before closing off from the rest of the world. Opening up is good for the people, international trade will give them better living standards, and getting diplomatic visits will open them up to cultures and languages. We know very little about Miracle Sage, but he isn’t the only one who rules there. We know nothing about the rest of the sages too, but honestly, I can’t imagine them being politicians.” Dante decided to join this discussion, as this was a subject that interested him. Everyone looked at him, like he had just grown another head. He usually stayed quiet for the discussion to flow, because everyone seemed to forget their tongues when he joined. The man who started the topic for a moment looked like he had just gotten through a cold, but in the end, he must have decided that if Dante is engaged, he can’t be as bad as gossip says.

  “It’s true that if they stay out of politics and don’t align with any country, it won’t be as disastrous as it could be, but it will still make a stir politically.”

  “Yes, but I still agree with Lord Crimson. We have people to deal with those situations. I trust Duke Obsidian will make the best out of the situation. She is very capable when it comes to international law.” The girl took Dante’s side, but it was clear that she didn’t do that because she wanted his attention. Could a mare engagement really solve most of his social problems?

  “Whatever your opinion about Duke Obsidian may be, Miss Anna and Mr Dante are right. We, as normal people of the country, have nothing to fear. Opening Mist City was a correct decision, although it was brought up badly. That’s why Mr James is also right. Those changes were brought up too abruptly, and we don’t know the exact reasoning of the sages, but it also brings me to another question. Do any of you know why Miracle Sage is called Miracle?” Bernadette looked happy that her students were so attentive in the discussion.

  “Because he’s powerful, duh.” Guessed someone from the back row, which made the class chuckle. Kelit let go of the pen and hid his hands under the desk.

  “That he is, but if he were actually to perform any miracle, don’t you think we all would have heard about it?” Bernadette too chuckled, but she pointed out a hole in that reasoning. “One of my very dear students is going to be sent to Mist City this winter. She asked me to help her gather the information. One of the things we learned is that the title Miracle came not from his mana, which he surely has a lot of, but it indicates the meaning of the world. A miracle is something that everyone thinks is unachievable. Everyone in Mist City thought that it couldn’t be changed in any way; he is the one who reinforced its structure. Now most of the sages are young, brilliant with a new perspective, and we see their changing effects with our own eyes too. The sages, as Mr Dante said, are not politicians but strong and innovative mages; the same goes for the Miracle Sage.” For a moment, the room was quiet, everyone absorbed the new knowledge, and the professor looked proud of herself.

  “I still prefer the powerful explanation.” The same voice yet again made the room laugh.

  The discussion quickly died, and an actual lecture followed. Kelit took out his hands from under the desk to write his notes. His posture was stiff, his expression blank, and Dante spotted little scratches on the back of his left hand. It looked like the man had just dug his fingernails into his own skin, hard enough to leave a mark. Honestly, it made Dante worry. The blond man wasn’t his usual self for a few days when he thought about it.

  “Kelit, is everything alright?” At first, he didn’t seem to hear Dante’s question, and then he only nodded his head. He didn’t believe him of course, if he did he would be stupid, but he also didn’t push him further. Dante just looked at him with quiet worry.