Arthur thought that had ought to be the end of the discussion, but was pleasantly surprised, especially when Alfred's hand squeezed his in return. "So…there's a lotta stuff we should still go through, but where do you wanna start?"

He had to ask, anyway. "Are you sure I'm not taking too much of your time? It's late, and I'm certain that you have things to do."

"Hey, what did I say about you being like that? It's okay, swear." Alfred's right hand reached out, catching the glow of the light above, making Arthur unconsciously look. His thumb and index finger came together, before he stopped and drew back, looking away for a moment. "Whoops, it's too soon, isn't it? My bad."

Arthur tried to feign a weak smile in response but realised the corners of his lips wouldn't move upwards. Assuming he was about to pinch his cheek, or to even touch him at a place like that, the fluid motion had made him think that he found it that easy to tease someone like that. He couldn't help but blurt it out. "I suppose, but we haven't spent much time this week together compared with the others."

"'S just, you know…with the others doing that sort of stuff. Y'know." Alfred's eyes widened slightly as he spoke under his breath, and Arthur knew he didn't need to probe more.

"Oh. In that case, it's all right to…" Arthur's fingers went to his neck, hesitantly moving over his collarbones, stopping on his cheek, looking everywhere else but Alfred's face.

The others. He'd suspected it, but it had been his problem for his own feelings taking much more time to develop than the other Chosen, let alone Alfred, yet it didn't stop the tiny pang from pressing against his skin.

"Arthur…" Alfred spoke quietly, letting go of his hand as he moved closer. Arthur didn't even notice the fact that their shoes – Alfred's sneakers to his dress shoes – were pressing together, rather hung up on the loss of Alfred's warmth. He touched Arthur's wrist, but didn't do anything else. "Hey. You don't have to push yourself. I can tell you're not okay with it, so you don't have to force it, alright?"

"Yes, but at the same time, it is a competition. And you've given me so much already, yet I don't feel as if my feelings measure up to you or the others, so-" Arthur picked at his starched collar with his now empty hand. "There's pressure there. Quite a lot of it. And I understand there's historical precedence for removal."

"Hm? Whaddya mean by that?"

He couldn't help but snort at Alfred's ajar mouth. "Idiot, don't you-"

"You studied about this sort of thing in the holding facilities, right?" He tilted his head to one side, practically inviting Arthur to fill in the blanks. "I'm not entirely sure what'cha talking about in terms of historical pre…presi, uh-"

"Precedence. There's not much to it, other than the fact that there was a rule to have to at least send one person someone home weekly." It felt a lot less discerning to have Alfred's gaze on him when he knew what was actually coming out of his mouth.

"So what you're saying is, you know I won't do that?"

"I suppose. At the same time, though, I can't help but – what's so funny?" Arthur stopped once he heard Alfred snicker. "Alfred – no, Your Highness, that's-"

In a bold move, Alfred leaned over and pressed his thumb to the worry lines that had formed in Arthur's forehead. "You're worrying too much, Artie. You even said it yourself, we did away with the weekly elimination system when it caused a bunch of problems, right? I guess."

"Well, more specifically, it felt too rushed, and some royals felt they didn't have enough time, so they did away with it. It didn't stop Princess Frey from ending her Deciding in two hours, or King Ulst from finally choosing after thirty months, though judging from the way his reign went, it was a temporary buffer to sustain the peace, though that totally and completely ended very well."

Arthur looked to his side to realise Alfred was looking straight at him when he spoke. "Two hours, huh? I can't imagine something like that ending, as you said, very well. Not to mention thirty months, that's like. A year. And six months."

"Well," he snorted, "The king she ascended with used their people as human shields when the Joker-Ace child came to attack Hearts, so you're right. Not to mention the fact that the other king took forever to make any sort of decision, meaning that key decisions were delayed to the point of being no longer useful."

Alfred's gaze drooped, the handsome smile he was wearing going with it. "Oh."

Fates, I've done it again, Arthur cursed himself internally. Perhaps bringing up one of the worst conflicts in Cards history wasn't the most romantic of sentences to say on a date. Was it even a date? Even the simplest of things scattered in his mind when he was in Alfred's presence.

"That is…that is to say, you've already passed the three month mark, so I'm sure nothing'll happen."

Alfred perked up, though it was hard to see against the night. "You really think so?"

"Ace Matthew, Jack Yao and Joker Katya are very reasonable people, not to mention the other royals. I doubt you'd be allowed to unleash havoc like that."

"Hey! I have a lotta super strength, you know that!"

Snickering, Arthur turned to face him. "Are you trying to say that you'd beat up anyone who stands in your way of such a disastrous reign?"

"No, I…hmph," Alfred's expression dropped into a childish pout, coupled with overly puffed out cheeks – that was something Arthur had to laugh at. He did not find it cute, not at all – there was absolutely no chance of that occurring. "What's an awesome hero to do to get any kinda compliments, huh?"

"I wrote that letter, you twit. And meant every word." he said.

"And I read every word!"

"Did not."

"Did!"

Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowed. "Then there's no need to fish for compliments! There's enough to last you for a year from me."

Alfred wiped at his nose whilst saying something under his sleeve. Perhaps Arthur imagined it, but his cheeks had reddened under the streetlight, standing out amongst the dark blues and greens of the roses around them.

"Alfred? Is something the matter?"

"It's n-nothing. It's just, you know." he said, sounding incredibly unconvincing. Wiping again at his nose with his thumb, after all the basic etiquette lessons he'd had to endure during his holding facilities days, Arthur was handing him his handkerchief before he even realised the possible consequences of his actions.

"I don't."

"Uh…heh, what's the hankie about?" He talked about the handkerchief the same way Dylan, confusing Arthur more about his maturity, but it was more endearing than irritating. "It's yours – wait a sec, are you trying to help me out?"

It was Arthur's turn to feel the soupy warmth from the summer evening seep into his skin. "N-Not like I'm doing it specifically for you or anything, it's just, you know, er-"

Alfred leaned forward enough so he could see both his now clearly reddened cheeks, his blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. For a moment, one muddled thought connected to another in Arthur's mind, and he couldn't help but think how well suited the hue of his eyes were to the roses behind them.

"I don't," he teased, grinning. "Wanna go ahead and tell me?"

Oh, he's playing that sort of game. Putting down his hand in his lap along with the handkerchief, Arthur played along. He hated the thrill that ran through his system when he saw Alfred glance at it, the corners of his lips turning down. "Only if you tell me what you said earlier."

"Aw, come on!" One steely glare told Alfred that as much as he put on those puppy eyes, or hunched his shoulders in a way he felt was cute, that he wasn't budging on this one. "Fine. Fine. What I meant to say, is uh," he grew uncharacteristically quiet, sharply looking away from Arthur's lap, "I, uh…there's not enough nice things that could be said about me. To last me an entire year, cause that's super long!"

"Are you really that conceited?"

"No!" he cried at Arthur's affronted expression. "That's not what I meant, I…there's not enough, you know. Not…not from..."

"From?"

The last phrase was spoken in a mumble, but not to the point where Arthur couldn't hear it. Alfred looked up at him, the flush in his cheeks creeping up behind the frames of his glasses, his mouth wobbling before he spoke. "From – from you…"

And just like that, Arthur couldn't speak. He'd expected a taunt, perhaps. Maybe another joke. But to say something like that, practically saying that he still wanted his attention, still wanted him at all…

He'd felt the fear of his affection dwindling, of course. In those long gaps of time between finding sleep and getting it, and the long mealtimes that felt quiet without glimpsing Alfred's eyes across the table, not to mention being caught in a golden cage of his own fears, he'd felt it dip.

"You'd still want something like that from me?"

Alfred nodded, then all at once, he was closer, so much closer. The sides of their shoes touched again as he slid his fingers inbetween the small gaps that Arthur's fingers made on the cool metal of the bench. The gesture was so tiny that it managed to slip between the cracks between his walls, growing a gentle silence between them.

"Oh, there's no – you don't have to speak about it if you don't want to." Arthur waved away whatever he was saying like a puff of smoke and gave him light hearted shrug. He'd almost completely let his guard down, even without noticing, but at the same time, didn't even look at the bench. He didn't feel like he was ready to, even when he felt the heat from Alfred's hands seep inbetween his fingers.

When Alfred didn't respond after a few moments, he tried to lighten his tone to put him more at ease. "I'm not – no one's entitled to know what you're feeling except you."

Mumble, mumble.

"Pardon?"

He watched Alfred's eyes flicker from his sneakers to where their hands were essentially intertwined. "Yeah, for sure, thanks. But uh, what I meant was, uh. Y-You're still the only person I've wanted to kiss, Arthur," he admitted, bright red underneath the lights.

And just like that, Arthur fell overwhelmingly, pathetically, ridiculously in love all over again.

There was no way this was still happening. There was no way, not with how well everything had been going for the others and for Alfred, that he had only felt this way for him. And there was no way, even though they'd known each other for three months, even in a romantic contest, that he'd feel so magical when he was in the presence of one person.

"Really?" It came out more like a croak than a dignified question, which was still the least of his worries.

Alfred's smile fought through his visible embarrassment. "Yeah. That's not really heroic of me, is it?"

"You still have a dozen – wait, no, eleven. You have eleven people here, and you're still interested in me?"

Alfred nodded, his face giving nothing away except his happiness. There wasn't much to deflect or be sarcastic about there, so Arthur tried to keep on going.

"Yet we haven't spoken in a week, and we've had a disagreement…and you've surely seen the poll numbers, I'm not doing well at all in them, and you've been doing so well with the others, and-"

"Just because we've had a disagreement doesn't mean things aren't beyond saving, y'know."

"You say that as if you haven't irked off everyone your first day at a new place," Arthur started to say without humour, but then he remembered how Kiku had walked next to him and rectified it. "Well. Almost everyone. Their initial impression was enough to fend them off from being my friend for the rest of my years there."

Alfred's shoulders gave a jolt. "I guess, but that was when you were a kid. Things change, right? Then when you got here, you made new friends."

"It was rather fast."

"I mean," his usual speaking slowed down, "You said before that the thirty month king was super indecisive, and I'm already taking three months to get to twelve, right? I'm sure a lot of others have taken three months to narrow it down a lot more."

"I suppose, yes." Arthur had no idea where he was going with this.

"Point is, you don't need to be too worried about things going too fast. If things weren't to work out, y'know," he gave Arthur a sideways smile, "We wouldn't want to patch things up, right? Since as you said, it's too fast, so I could cut you off if I didn't really like you, like the other person I eliminated today."

The way he said it, his voice wavering for a moment, betrayed the fact that he hadn't been too happy to let him go regardless. Unable to help himself, he had to ask. "Is it all right if I ask further? Since it's been the talk of the palace since you returned."

Alfred looked surprised, though he couldn't understand that. "Oh – yeah, it's fine, might as well. Since the others pretty much demanded me when they came by my office. He was honest and said he didn't feel a spark and felt uncomfortable on the outside date. Since, you know. There's a lotta people with eyes on us no matter where."

"I see. The date did strictly go well though after that, yes?"

"Yeah, it was completely fine. He asked to see me after it in private, so it wasn't really on tape. They just filmed the part where he was coming outside of the office, and I had to explain a little." Alfred pushed back his fringe from where it was dangling into his eyes. "Nervous?"

"Of course. We've only spent time together alone – mostly alone, and only a little in front of cameras. Not to mention the fact that I'm not doing particularly well in popularity polls and such," Arthur confessed, "And I can't help but feel that my insistence on keeping everything private is part of the issue. I know you'd want a popular Chosen to be your queen, in the end. So I can't help but feel again, that I need to rectify that. If you continue to do well on your dates, and I don't cooperate, it would look poorly on you, and I wouldn't want to do that."

Alfred's soft expression hardened, though it wasn't out of anger. "So what do you propose we do? You have a lot of the brains between the two of us."

"Who's the one that plans all the outside dates?"

"It's not just me, you know! Everyone helps out a lot, from Matt – uh, Ace Matthew, Jack Yao, and Joker Katya. It's not just me doing all the work behind the scenes."

Arthur's fingers curled in on themselves as he pondered, but he didn't lift his hand from Alfred's. "Fair enough. Then…what about, then…"

He wracked his mind, full of years of history lessons. A few months before the Deciding had started, the facility had allowed the graduating students to loan as many public records of older Decidings as they'd liked as part of their preparation. The ones he'd watched were only to spend time with Kiku and to get out of the lessons he wasn't interested in, but they'd still watched more than twenty. Something that was convincing, but wasn't so out of character for both him or the prince that they'd feel uncomfortable doing it.

Then it came to him. "Alfred, what about, er – asking the camera crew to come along with our dates in the palace?"

Alfred blinked. "Huh? I mean, really?" he said.

"Yes," Arthur replied. "Well, first of all, we don't do anything other than talk and walk. Perhaps sit."

"Pff, you say it like it's a bad thing."

"I mean, compared to the cooking lessons, the sports you do with the others-"

"Artie, you're not…wanting to do sports together, are you?" Arthur hated how even his smirk was handsome.

"Oi, what's that snicker for? You idiot…"

"Kidding, kidding. But yeah, we can do something like that, I'll think of something and get back to you. My – my bad if you found it boring-"

"No, it's my fault that all we do is talk. There was that time you helped me with the books, and you did mention possibly going to see Butterscotch," he wanted to leave out the part about Alfred's mother to avoid bringing up more potentially unpleasant memories, "But you wanted to give me privacy for that, so that might not be a good idea."

"That turned out to be a smart decision, right? Where else are you okay with? Where's our usual haunt?"

Arthur's gaze lifted, taking in their surroundings for a moment. "Are the cameras allowed in the gardens?"

"I'm about to be the next King of Spades," Alfred exclaimed, his eyes sparkling, yet the glint in his eyes wasn't threatening. "And it's not like this is your room, so there's nothing wrong with it. Unless," he waggled his eyebrows, "You're hiding some sorta super dark secret that you just wanna tell me when we're here."

"Very funny, idiot, you've been watching too many films."

"I mean, I did go see a movie with Thomas on Monday." Arthur tried to ignore the tiny pang in his chest – he still didn't know what it meant and why it appeared every time he mentioned any other Chosen member. "Anyway, not important. The gardens sound like a good idea, compared to everywhere else we've spent time together."

"Besides," Arthur murmured, "Haven't we already gotten into enough trouble at the library? It would seem even more of a stunt if the cameras were pushed out before like that, but now we're actively working to get them with us. Not to mention the ball was a one time thing, and my room is off limits."

"You know, the summer solstice celebration's coming up in a month or so. We could get something working like that, I guess. It's, uh…not like I'd just wanna hold a ball for you or anything. H-Heh."

Arthur barely heard his own sharp intake of breath over the sound of his heart pounding. Does that mean you want to kiss me again? Hold me as close in the dark like you did that night? Have me in your arms in front of the other Chosen, in front of Spades, in front of the world?

He settled for elbowing Alfred, getting him a yelp for his troubles.

"Hey! But, uh, about the thing you were talking about…"

Arthur trailed off, not sure how he would react. By the way their eyes connected again, he was also thinking about their first kiss. And the one behind the curtains in the corridor, and in the side room during the party. It was much to ask, to bring their relationship forward when it had been hidden so desperately before, but now the Deciding had changed drastically within the space of three months.

"So are you saying, we won't get into any trouble when the cameras are around?" Alfred tilted his head playfully, the light reflecting gently off his glasses.

"Ha di ha, Your Highness," Arthur scoffed. "With you around, I'll always be worried about potential…potential danger. Coming from you, of course. Only from…only from you."

"Me?" Alfred sputtered in what sounded like mock indignation. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt you!"

You're not understanding what I'm hinting at, but there's no way I can say it out loud, that I want to do so many things with you, to you, but it's too soon, and I'm too frightened of my own feelings, let alone yours regarding me.

Arthur settled for a snicker. "I'm not sure, I may be able to protect myself from your excellent sword work if you do get the inkling to challenge me to a duel. Since you went to serve in the military, I'll be nothing in terms of combat."

"You don't need to, you have your magic, right? And hey, you remembered." Alfred's expression relaxed again, softening the light from the streetlamp casting onto his face. Arthur felt Alfred's fingertips push through the space between his fingers, encasing his hand in his warmer one. "That means a lot."

"Remembered?" he tried not to think of every inch of skin that was pressed against his, tried not to think about how close they were now sitting. "Everyone's, er, everyone who's studied history knows you're serving in the military-"

"My horse's name," Alfred said, and he smiled even wider. "Remember the first date? When you didn't remember? Then you just remembered it like that."

"Um…" Once again, Arthur was lost for words. He hadn't even thought of remembering something as trivial as that, and yet he'd done it regardless. "I, um, suppose."

"Was that…" Alfred leaned closer so that their hips were brushing against one another and their linked hands rested on his lap, "The magic you were talking about? In your letter?"

"Magic?" he asked, weakly. Great, now all strength I've been conserving for this moment is completely gone immediately, just by having him so close. Why is everything coming out as a question? Why are you such a dolt?

Alfred's head turned as he reached into his pocket, and for one heart stopping moment Arthur thought he was going to kiss him. Turning around, Alfred was taking out the letter he'd written, still pristinely folded, still as close, when he saw how Arthur's eyelids had willowed. Hunching his shoulders and tentatively leaning forward, his eyelids fluttered closed and his lips parted slightly before he seemed to think otherwise, and drew himself back upwards.

"Y-Yeah, you said, uh," Alfred quickly composed himself, and Arthur made himself focus on his voice to ward off the traitorous disappointment, "'thank you for giving me the magic of a first lo-'"

"Shh. Don't…don't say it out loud," Arthur hissed. His face was on fire, every single corner of his skin that was glued to the other felt like it was being set alight by the mild summer heat, and his throat felt like it had been scorched. "There's a reason I put it only in writing!"

"Aw, really? But you meant it, did you?"

"Don't…don't push it, idiot." Arthur muttered, careful to disguise his next words within the nightlife of the palace gardens. "If you're behaving as dangerously like this in the gardens, who knows how I'll ruin your reputation."

Alfred laughed, casting said treacherous magic to enchant Arthur once more. "Pff, all right, then." With the prince finally drawing backwards from him, he allowed himself to release a gasp that had been building in his throat for some time. Hoping it was the end of the interaction so he could lie in his bed and relive the colour of his blue eyes against the roses for the rest of the night, Arthur turned around only to see Alfred holding out a small blue rose. "Is giving you a flower dangerous?"

He couldn't do anything but stare. Something as small as the flower shouldn't have brought him, someone who prided himself on speaking eloquently, without words. "Are you simply gifting it to me?"

"Huh?" Alfred's frown was bewitching in its sweetness, "You're not okay with it? Then maybe a trade, you can give me your handkerchief," before Arthur could protest he'd reached over and replaced it with the blue rose, tucking his handkerchief into his casual shirt. "And then you can have the rose. It might not be as fancy as the others on their outside dates and stuff, but-"

With that, the surging of emotion that had been slowly built up over the past week, watching him go out with everyone else on their dates inside and outside, seemed to dissipate like sand. It didn't matter. It was exhausting enough to compare himself to everyone around them, but behind all of that was Alfred's love. That was something else he couldn't say, but as long as he know it himself, it was all right. Things would be all right between them.

Taking the rose, Arthur pressed the smooth stem to his heart, dislodging his green tie. He breathed in, and reached out for Alfred's open hand, wrapping his calloused fingers around his handkerchief. There was one thing he could confess at this point in time, though. "It's from you, and that's all that matters."

"It's good to see that everyone is here for our first joint lesson."

Today, Jack Yao was taking the lesson – Arthur had been told by his friends that a lady in waiting had been taking the introductory lessons, so everyone was completely alert when the royal was at the head of the room, in full garb, and carrying his famed sword. A whiteboard with pens was at the front, coupled with a training dummy like the ones in the sparring grounds.

"So, now everyone is caught up on the basics and the format of teaching I'll employ at your time here in the palace, it's time to start with the basics." Jack Yao reached down and unsheathed his famous scimitar to gasps, holding up the hilt for everyone to see. "As you all know, though Cards has been enjoying around a decade of unhindered peace, that might change at any given moment. The advent of rebellion has been simmering for some time. Though said rebellion is weak, as you have all seen how few and far between their actions are, it is the requirement that every single King, Queen, Jack and Ace must be prepared for warfare at every given moment."

Arthur leaned forward in his chair, no longer caring about the early morning and the way he'd gulped down his breakfast, barely able to wait for the lesson.

"So today, I'll be guiding you on one of the ways we existing royals protect this country. The existence of amplifiers for a few royals is common knowledge, yet not everyone is aware how they work, or the fact that every royal has one."

This caused a lot of chatter, even amongst the holding facility Chosen. Yes, they knew that for those royals who tended to wield magic, like Queen Lili and Jack Roderich, that they would have amplifiers to increase their magic output, but the fact that every royal had one?

"Very well, let's start with the basics. Who here can name me the members of the Primary Suit that rely most on magic?"

Arthur's hand raised, almost as if on cue. "Queen Lili of Diamonds, King Ivan and Jack Roderich of Clubs, and Jack Feliciano of Hearts. Not to mention the two Jokers, of course."

"Indeed." Was that a small nod from the Jack? "Plainly, from Sir Arthur's answer, Spades is indeed without a main magic user."

"What about Ace Matthew?" Clare asked.

"That's a fair question. It's not common for Aces to deploy magic; at least, not since the scorched-earth war. As the instigator of the war was the child of a Joker and an Ace, as well as a magic wielder, and Jokers have always used magic, Aces tend to stick to physical means of attack."

"So then, why does every royal have an amplifier?"

"Simply put," Jack Yao flicked his sword and oriented his stance towards the training dummy as if his blade was made out of feathers, "Instead of using magic to amplify the royal's latent power, we instead call on it to amplify the weapon itself. Watch."

Taking a steady step forward, his pace increased with every move until he was close enough to the training dummy. His fingers tightened on the sheath for a split second, the curved edges of the sword lit with a blue spark and he struck the dummy, sending a visible ripple from where it made contact.

Applause came from the other Chosen, and Arthur followed suit.

Not one to be egotistical, Jack Yao simply carried on. "Watch what happens when I don't utilise the power built in the amplifier." He repeated his action, only this time there were no blue sparks and much less of an impact. "Having the amplifiers means that we don't have to possess latent aptitude for magic or learn for years on how to wield it correctly, but still manage to harness a substantive amount of power through it."

"Can I ask where your amplifier is located, Your Highness?"

The Jack obliged with a nod. Propping up his scimitar, he turned it to the class so the inwards hilt was visible. Chairs creaked and the chatter quietened as everyone leaned in to see it. There didn't seem to be anything too obvious of an amplifier as Queen Lili's flower crown or the pink gem in King Ivan's staff, but as Arthur leaned closer, something emerged that looked a little different to anything else in the weapon.

"There's something on the side of the hilt," he said, gesturing to where the middle of the hilt dipped into a wavy pattern. "Is that where it's located, Your Highness?"

"Good guess, Sir Arthur," he replied. Pushing away his right sleeve, he placed his hand on the hilt, closed his eyes, then with a few blue sparks a golden comb fell into his palm. This garnered impressive sounds all around the room.

Transmutation magic – with a small item like that, it wouldn't be particularly difficult to perform, if I recall correctly, Arthur thought.

"It is, in fact, embedded in my sword by way of magic."

"Your Highness, what is it?"

"It's a sentimental comb, passed on to me by the last Jack, my mother." He turned it around in his hand, briefly letting the morning sun shine on the brilliant carvings on the comb – it was small enough to almost be completely engulfed by his hand. "When I ascended to the throne – well, when every Primary Suit royal ascends the throne, they're allowed to select an item. I chose this to honour her, as it had belonged to her before." His expression fell for a moment, before he quickly composed himself. "If you win the Deciding and become the Queen of Spades, you'll be able to select an item for yourself as well."

"Will it matter what kind of item it is whether or not we choose to use magic?" Avie asked.

"No, it won't have any bearing on it, the conversion of the item will just be slightly different."

The Jack allowed the Chosen to gawk at it for awhile longer, then everyone watched him re-embed it into his sword before getting their attention once more. "Unfortunately, that's all the time I have for you all today. For our next lesson in three days, I'd like you all to gather information on all the amplifiers that the other Primary Suit royals have. It's not classified information, so it won't be too hard to find."

Chatter erupted practically immediately after he'd finished speaking.

"Man, homework already? It's only been the second week…"

"I have no idea where to start – Marianne, there's no need to sulk, it's-"

"Okay, so there's the one Queen Lili wears – the flowers, Alfonso, right? Then it's…"

Arthur, on the other hand, knew half of them already by his magic lessons in the holding facilities, but was more than giddy to go researching in the library. Surely that history book that he'd checked out, among other things, would have information?

"I expect your full attention to be devoted to this task," the Jack said, "As your research skills are needed for the multitude of events you'll be going through and planning as Chosen."

In that moment, though, Arthur wasn't thinking about the phrase 'multitude of events', he was dreaming up a day in the library where he'd be able to both bury himself in knowledge and show his strong points, finally.