Holy hell, was this hard. But I rather like how it turned out.

Anyway, thanks for the commentary. It really keeps me going.

"Can I confess something? I really, really hate this game." Alan allowed a smile at the out-of-place comment he was making. He moved a pawn before continuing "It's so boring. And people like to pretend it's such a big deal to be good at it."

For his part, Nicol tasted his tea before checking the board. Thinking really hard about what his first movement should be like. The random pawn he moved looked more like he shrugged off and randomly moved a piece instead of a well-thought out move.

"It's so pretentious too." Alan continued "Like, Gerald always says I should be able to discern a person's nature from the way they play or whatever. But… Like, it's a game. Just calm down."

"Agreed." Nicol answered after the prince's movement. And without missing a beat he made his own "Especially at the beginning."

"Yeah. What's so fun about moving pieces in a straight line anyway?" Alan scoffed, doing exactly what he just criticized.

"It's just that we don't know how to play." Nicol moved another pawn. This continued for a while until both sides had pawns just standing in front of one another.

Mary Hunt simply listed off moves that could have gotten either of them the initiative in her mind, but remained silent as the two teenagers stared at the idiotic formation they had made.

It was evident neither of them was interested in the game at all, but they still went through the motions of playing. Pretending to be deep in thought while the staff prepared the things necessary for the prince to practice the piano.

"Don't you agree, Mary?" The prince placed his hand under his chin and the other one crossed over his body, keeping the first hand in place while crossing his legs to mimic a perfect position that screamed 'I am deep in thought' from kilometers away.

Yeah, the game was pretentious.

"I haven't played much." Mary confessed "I can sort of see the charm, though. It's a good way to exercise the mind, or so father says."

"Hmmmm…"

She wanted to add an underhanded comment about the older Ascart's approach at the game but resisted. He was a guest of the prince, as much as Mary herself was. The atmosphere in that huge place Alan called his house was totally different from the Claes state. So she would behave accordingly.

"Alan-sama. The preparations are complete." One of the maids bowed to them, and the two teens stood up so fast they actually startled her a bit.

"Oh, thank goodness." Alan's relief was so apparent even Mary herself shared it a bit. It was just painful watching them like that, let alone listening to them complaining about it "Sorry for the wait. Let's get to business."

Listening to the prince play was… Something else entirely. The notes twisted and turned Mary's feelings without much trouble, conveying the message Alan devised for each. Whether he had a theme first, or the name of the song came last, they perfectly complemented each other every time. And Mary couldn't help be moved every time the prince invited her to listen to him practice.

It was honestly among the top things Mary loved to do, up there with seeing Katarina-sama and working in the garden. That is, while Katarina-sama and Nicol-sama were relatively distant.

She had known Nicol Ascart as a separate entity. Away from Katarina-sama's circle of acquaintances which only was ever brought up when the young Sophia mentioned him during conversation. Mary listened to her, or to Katarina-sama confirming she met the boy and tried to talk to him about something but failed miserably.

He was a very withdrawn person, or so Mary heard. She actually formally met him in one of the princes' tea parties and was quickly reminded of her sisters.

"I have heard a lot about you!"

"Is that so? I don't know who you are."

"Let's get along, Nicol-sama~."

"Aren't you acting too chummy? We just met, y'know?"

"Katarina-sama said you were pretty nice."

"I don't know this Katarina-sama you speak of, she must have lied to you."

The poor kids that approached got immediately turned down and brutally given the cold shoulder, in what was probably the clearest example of what happens when a kid doesn't take their manners lessons seriously. Mary knew full well his reply to her greeting was a fat lie, and yet all it did was piss her off a lot more.

That was probably the intention too. Which just made things worse.

At that moment, Mary Hunt decided she really disliked Nicol Ascart. And would never have anything to do with him for as long as she lived.

Of course, it turned out Katarina-sama apparently adored him dearly. So her resolution of cutting ties with the ill-mannered noble got dumped into the trash and burned with blue fire. But Mary wouldn't give up so easily. With confidence and style, Mary would make it evident she wanted nothing to do with him and maybe Katarina-sama would see reason in the process.

Then, Mary's fiance also took an interest in the boy. So the lady's composure started taking damage when they inevitably met and had to go through the required pleasantries.

"So you are prince Alan's fiancée."

"Yes, we have met before."

"Is that so? Must have been in passing only."

His aloofness was the same as ever, though the feigned ignorance was new. And to be fair, not knowing who someone was would normally be a show of weakness. Even at a tender age, Mary had been raised to be a proper lady. So, to her this conversation should have ended with her stepping on the older boy's reputation.

"Nicol-sama wasn't aware of who prince Alan is engaged to? Do house affairs weigh so heavily on Nicol-sama that has no time to get in touch with what lies outside of his household? What a pitiful situation to be in."

"Yeah."

What did he mean 'yeah'?! Mary put a lot of effort in mixing pleasantries and venomous comments there! He could at least look a bit shaken! A twitch of an eyebrow would be enough! What was wrong with this fool?!

"A-Ah… Well, you have my sympathy."

The raven haired teen didn't warm up to Alan either, that was later. But Mary soon realized Alan liked him for a reason similar to why he got along with Katarina: They put his brother in an awkward spot.

"I could do this when I was six."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. Maybe I could coach you, if that's alright?"

"It's very much not alright. I'm not interested."

Maybe it was because Nicol was a year older, but Mary soon realized he saw everyone around him as little brats. His behavior didn't sting so much because he was being rude. But because he treated the princes, and Mary herself, as if he was an adult and knew better than them.

That didn't go so well with prince Gerald, but to Mary it just showed her a way to regain her self-confidence around the older boy. Katarina-sama had been too supportive for Mary to allow herself to be put down like that by some ill-mannered kid.

"Ah, Nicol-sama. Did Alan invite you as well?"

"Yes."

"Very well, I will be in your care for today."

"...Yes. Please take care of me as well."

It took every fiber of her being not to laugh then and there.

The boy that rudely shot down everyone, that started having a reputation that eclipsed the rumors about his sister, and whose cold mask broke even some of the adult's composure with his glare… Defeated by mere politeness.

No wonder Katarina-sama loved to be around him and the little Sophia showered the teen with praises: Mary soon figured out how to get away with almost anything around the guy.

He was a pushover, all bark and no bite.

He still found ways to irk Mary when she overstepped his boundaries. But not a year later Mary had grown used to their dynamic. She would shoot down his attempt to be rude and make him flustered. Then she would back off and they would agree to a cease of fire, interacting to the bare minimum since the boy didn't want to be embarrassed, and the girl didn't leave her home to be picked on outside as well.

And to Mary, this peace agreement was important. Because it didn't take long for the young lady to realize just how unfairly beautiful a flustered Nicol Ascart was.

"Nicol-sama don't be shy~. Come here."

"Get away from me!"

The blush extending from his face to his ears was akin to a perfectly iced cake for dessert. It complimented the loss of that horrible furrowed eyebrows sort of expression he always wore. To the point Mary could see even Katarina-sama's heart skipping a beat when she finally broke through with her antics.

It was so unfair. No one should be allowed to make spring come with just their face alone. Not even Mary's best attempts at showing her good side to Katarina-sama got as much of a reaction as that guy's face did.

It was as if he came straight out of one of those romance novels Katarina-sama and Sophia enjoyed so much.

Mary didn't know a lot about these things. But given how the two girls talked about the subject, Mary suspected that sort of character was really popular. And that her dear Katarina-sama might actually end up liking that side of him a lot.

Then they enrolled in the academy, and Maria Campbell became the center of the lady's attention. The blonde got selected for the student council along with most of the group and Katarina-sama tagged along.

A year of difference in their age and the usual disinterest in all things that made sense separated the older Ascart from Katarina-sama. At least enough for Mary to stop worrying about them meeting while she wasn't looking. It was actually prince Gerald that was the one that got such an advantage from enrolling in the academy. As Katarina-sama's fiancé, he had every right to spend time alone with her. And although Keith got in the way as much as he could, in the end Mary had to team up with him to ensure the prince didn't get ahead of them right under their noses.

"Hunt."

"Nicol-sama."

The academy was a change of paradigm. A different battlefield entirely.

Mary would meet the older Ascart alone for the first time in the academy. It was such a bizarre occurrence she hadn't realized it could happen at all. And that flustered her a bit.

She didn't like feeling like that.

"How surprising meeting you here. You look rather lively."

"...Yeah."

This was unknown territory for him as well. He lost his bark, or most of it at least. Or perhaps he didn't feel like being so uncourteous with her with no one around? After all, Nicol Ascart's common sense was all forms of messed up like that. Mary had come to expect the unexpected with him, and from how he avoided looking at her, he didn't like that.

How cute. Like a cat that claws at its master but nonetheless is powerless to stop them from petting them, and giving them treats. Or was this what Katarina-sama meant with this 'tsundere' thing she talked about? Mary could see the appeal, alright. She knew his weakness, and his masculinity demanded it be covered and protected. He didn't want anyone to have power over him, and his way of pushing people away only made people like Katarina-sama circumvent his defenses all the more easily.

"I've heard a lot of talking about it, but it's something else seeing it for myself. No matter what everyone says, that look suits Nicol-sama splendidly."

The cease fire was not so useful anymore, since Mary could have his flustered self all for herself like this. While she thought of ways of getting to him wasn't her hobby by any stretch of the word, Mary would honestly not let an opportunity to see his face bloom with emotion if she could help it.

Even in public, Mary could not fault Katarina-sama from getting excited whenever Nicol Ascart showed his tender side. It was fortunate this didn't happen often, and much more that his weird behavior started changing as classes rolled.

Was he changing? Would he grow different? Tougher to crack? Mary didn't want that. She wouldn't know what new weapon he would have to seduce Katarina-sama. She needed to figure out, and to see that it was not pointed in Katarina-sama's direction.

Nicol-sama was cunning, after all. Mary feared he had figured out he could just make her thoughts stop when he turned shy towards prince Gerald after their spar. But that didn't seem to be the case.

Fortunately. Mary started suspecting there was something going on with him and Maria. But she couldn't quite figure out what.

He would find ways to get out of sight whenever the blonde showed up, and although they barely interacted it was obvious she was in his good grace. There were no ill-manners towards the blonde commoner. No comments about anything she did, or how Katarina-sama clung to her so much.

Perhaps… Perhaps he liked Maria? He was strange enough Mary could see him avoiding the target of his feelings. And he was too much a softie to push Katarina-sama aside.

That would make sense, right? In the way Nicol Ascart almost never made sense.

It sounded ridiculous, but it was because it sounded ridiculous that Mary considered it a solid theory.

So when Maria got ahead to go find Katarina-sama, Mary half-expected to see the blonde finding Nicol-sama first. But instead it was Mary who found him and no one else.

"Hunt?" His face was scratched a bit, and his usual clothes were so messy they looked rather awful.

However his rather refreshed expression made it work. Mary cursed under her breath the unfairness of being attractive.

"Nicol-sama. Have you seen Katarina-sama? Or Maria for that matter?" Mary looked away from the raven haired noble's hair and tried seeing if someone was behind him instead.

"No." He answered a bit too quickly "What am I? Claes' babysitter?"

"Well, you seem to be eager to punish her whenever you are with her, so…" Mary looked away, a bit of a smile creeping on her face while she let the implications hang in the air.

"What a disgusting smile you have there. Are you sure you are a lady?" Nicol-sama tried to throw the awkwardness right back at her. But Mary was more or less prepared.

"It's not like I'm imagining you punishing Katarina-sama or anything." Mary smugly replied "I know Nicol-sama is an uncourt individual, but I didn't expect what my mental picture of him to be true. Truly scandalous."

Her words got him to roll his eyes. A pity, really. Mary would have really enjoyed seeing him blush instead of looking annoyed.

"Oh, no. Are you in Claes place then? In that mental picture of yours?" His tone was flippant, as if anyone else was talking about his ill-manners.

She wasn't, of course. The idea was as ridiculous as he made it sound.

His eyes focused on hers, though. And Mary knew he saw something before she could argue back because that evil grin of him made an appearance.

"Or maybe you're in my place? Is Hunt-sama into that sort of thing? I fear for Claes' safety now."

Wha! How could he?! What could Mary come up with?

The situation was no good. Mary's embarrassment threatened to explode as heat on her face, and she didn't know how to dodge that accusation.

She kept eye contact out of habit. Trying her best to keep her ground as much as possible. Because Mary knew any ground she gave him would simply make her lose a lot more. His way of arguing was removed from common sense, but not uneffective.

...Which was perfect for Mary's situation.

"So what if I am? Does Nicol-sama have any problems with it?" Mary puffed her chest, trying to make herself look bigger. Or maybe more self-assured than she was. The blush on her face didn't help her feel secure about her move, but Nicol-sama's again expressionless self did.

"If that's so, then you should just give up." He answered seriously. His eyebrows furrowed and his voice all business instead of annoyance for once.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice had become devoid of emotion as well, but more out of surprise than anything "Surely is nothing Nicol-sama has to stick his nose into, right?"

"No." He confirmed "But…"

"But what? Explain yourself clearly, please."

Nicol-sama looked away. The wind of the evening moved his hair a bit, and sent a few stray leaves to dance in the air while he kept quiet.

When he looked at her again, his eyes were full of determination.

"If you feel that way towards Claes, then you should state your intentions clearly or give up." He stated, iron in his voice unlike Mary had heard coming from him before "If you really, honestly want to pursue a relationship with her you have to be honest about it. Claes is dense, so dancing around the subject will only make it not happen at all. Not taking into account her own feelings towards you."

Mary was stunned. That level of frankness reminded her of his brutal honesty, but this time it wasn't turned at her to hurt.

Sure, it stung. But his eyes were focused on her, and her alone. He was neither saying these things to hurt her nor to get her to back off. And although Mary didn't want to hear them anymore, she couldn't come up with something to make him stop.

"I've had a lot of time to think." He confessed "And… It hurts. It hurts a lot knowing someone you have feelings for does not reciprocate them. But… But in the end, if I had to choose between staying in the dark, hopeful that it might eventually happen and being certain that it never was and never would… I will always choose the latter."

He sighed, his breath irregular. Mary hadn't realized, but the expression lines from so much frowning and the somewhat unkempt appearance…

Why did he look so tired? So defeated?

"You might be afraid to change Claes' feelings. But respect your own a bit too. You are the one that will live with them, after all." He looked at the ceiling, as if the answer to the question of like, the universe and everything resided there.

"How long have you thought about this?" Mary whispered, more stunned than anything still.

A smirk creeped its way onto his face, he didn't return to looking like a rufian "A whole lifetime and then some."