And now the two versions are posting in sync!
Festival Preparations/ Customer Service Nightmare
"For not being completely sold on the idea, you sure have a funny way of showing it, Leon," laughed Ray as he straightened his vest and tie.
I glanced around at the decor, pleased with what we'd been able to accomplish. We went with a simple seven-table layout and tastefully decorated as per the proper style of a Holfortian tea room. White table cloths, lace doilies, white porcelain tea sets, and sterling silver flatware helped complete the aesthetic, even though I'd have personally preferred a more traditional Japanese setting. Still, the other guys reminded me that I needed to have an accurate gauge of my reputation, so offending social sensibilities from the moment they walked in the room was not an ideal plan. On that note, I'd managed to get help from Danny, Ray, and Erik initially as expected, but then Clarice overheard me talking about it with Ray one morning and soon Livia, Angie, and Clarice were all insisting on helping with the cafe as well.
"This will reflect back on Belmont regardless of my own reputation at the moment," I replied as I smoothed out my suit jacket. "That alone is reason enough to put our best foot forward."
"Well, this is certainly… something…" laughed Danny.
"It's honestly exactly what I would have envisioned if someone told me that Leon was opening a cafe," agreed Liza. "A traditional Holfortian tea room, but add an Adventurer's flair to it."
Right, the suits of armor.
I'd acquiesced to every other stipulation that the group put on me, save for one that I would not yield or compromise on: Ten suits of Old World Infantry Armor armed with pump-action shotguns, positioned around the room in a way that balanced tactics and aesthetics. I'd already established my reputation as an "Adventurer First, Nobleman Second", so no one would be shocked by or even question my choice in decor. Which was good, as it would add an extra layer of security to the room.
The combat androids I'd had Luxion develop over the break were head and shoulders better than anything he had guarding his facility when I stormed it. By making them more humanoid in design, they were able to use the arms and armor that the Old Humans had left behind at his facility, which was an idea that Luxion begrudgingly admitted he'd failed to consider in his time alone. As a result, they were decidedly less resource-intensive to produce than previous models, and the vast stockpile of equipment that would otherwise gone unused was no longer gathering dust. Still, I couldn't exactly blame Luxion for not considering the option sooner. For an AI, Luxion was surprisingly sentimental, especially when it came to the Old Humans, so to use equipment originally intended for them was something too bold to even think about without an Old Human's "permission". I didn't have it in me to poke fun at him for it, as I found the whole situation oddly touching.
"Would have preferred to wear my armor, but I can understand wanting to match with Danny and Ray as Belmont Executives," I grumbled good-naturedly as I turned away from the door to face Liza directly.
Danny and Ray laughed as Liza rolled her eyes at me. We'd gone for three-piece suits instead of our regular school uniforms, with Danny wearing tan, Ray wearing a navy blue, and me in a charcoal gray. Erik would be wearing a black vest and slacks without a jacket since he wasn't a Belmont executive… well, yet anyway. Since our first etiquette class with Master Graves, the man had proven to be resourceful and dependable, and he was moving from "distant acquaintance" to "good friend" quite quickly. I honestly did need at least three more execs for Belmont, at least on paper, and Erik was one of the names I was considering.
At the moment, the man in question was out distributing the advertisement flyers across the Academy. Honestly, he'd managed to do so much of the legwork by himself that I honestly felt more than a little superfluous. Oddly, the one thing he had not had a hand in was the uniforms for the girls, as it was the one thing that Clarice, Angie, and Livia had unanimously insisted that I assist with. It was a fun outing all the same; even though the girls had been unable to try on any sample uniforms, spending time going through the catalog with them had been a rewarding experience all the same. In the end, we'd gone with an outfit that I'd found to be tasteful yet elegant, and the girls had seemed quite pleased with my choice. The uniforms had only been completed two days ago, so today was the last day to check the fit before the festival started. I hoped that they looked as good as they did in the catalog, since there wouldn't be an opportunity to change designs.
"Your armor is rather dashing, but I think there's plenty to be said for how you look in a proper suit," commented Angie from somewhere behind me, announcing the girls had arrived.
"I distinctly remember that armor taking your breath away when you first saw it, so I'd say it was a bit more than 'dashing'..." I teased before turning to greet the girls. "And while I know it's important to present a unified look for Belmont, I'm not especially comfortable being quite so exposed-"
I felt my mouth go dry as I caught sight of the three girls in the maid uniforms we'd picked out together. For a moment, I marveled at how the same maid outfit could give three different impressions when worn by three different women. Livia was the picture of innocent beauty, shuffling her feet with a shy smile that made my gut flip a few times. Angie, on the other hand, was poise and grace in her uniform, completely dignified as she stood at attention next to Livia. Clarice… well, perhaps it was because it was specifically towards me, but she was the definition of flirtatious and seductive-
Stop that! Stop picturing her asking to polish your "candlestick"! …No! Don't picture Angie and Livia instead-
I shook myself from my intrusive thoughts, which were becoming more common every day. A quick glance over at Ray saw him in an almost catatonic state, the poor sap. Danny, on the other hand, had immunity to the girls' combined charm from his fiancee on his arm. I silently cursed the lucky bastard as he and Liza took great amusement at my suffering. Without romance of my own, I found myself helpless to resist, and the girls knew it. For my own sanity, I needed to sort myself out sooner rather than later.
"...Well, good to know that the uniforms fit well…" I finally managed to cough out, pointedly ignoring Clarice's knowing grin.
"Really?" asked Angie with a lightly teasing smile. "I feel that they emphasize the bust far too much to be proper."
It took yet another Herculean effort to not glance down when Angie illustrated her point, and I swore I could see a pleased look in her eye as she could see me getting flustered. Honestly, this uniform covered more skin than that damn red dress, and yet I found myself being more easily seduced by it. While I acknowledged that all bust sizes had their charms, those of the more… buxom variety had a special place in my "Pantheon of Perfect Breasts", which was perfectly illustrated by the three women working me into a silent panic attack. Were this back during the game, I would have let my eyes drink in the sight before me without hesitation, but since I cared more for the girls than the breasts attached to them, I made a valiant effort to try and keep my glances infrequent and respectable… which was to say that I failed miserably. With every slightly longer than proper glance, the three of them seemed to flaunt themselves a little more prominently in order to garner further glances from me, deriving satisfaction with every flustered grunt. Ironically, it was Clarice who rescued me from my predicament, appearing to take mercy on me.
"I think it's perfectly tasteful," countered Clarice with a grin at my rapidly reddening face. "Not much different when we spent time in the Palace serving the Queen."
"You served as maids to the Queen?" asked Livia with a touch of wonder, her eyes sparkling in a way that was bad for my heart.
"Yes, as a part of our etiquette training prior to the Academy," explained Angie. "As Julius' fiance, I kept in close contact with the Queen after my time serving was complete. Even now the engagement has been broken, we still have exchanged a few letters. She actually expressed particular interest in meeting you, at some point."
"Me?!" squeaked Livia in alarm. "But I'm-"
"-You are Livia, a kind and beautiful young woman with extraordinary talent for magic and unending empathy and compassion," I interrupted without thinking. "Nothing less than that, and I will not hear otherwise. Not even from you, dearest Livia."
Livia tried to pout at me, but I could see her smile break through even as she blushed to the tips of her ears. I internally kicked myself for not keeping tighter control of my emotions. Marie was right: At this rate, I'd "Dense Anime Protagonist" my way into a relationship with all three of them before the month was out. And, as tempting as it was to let nature take its course, I needed to be responsible with their hearts. I needed to-
"Master Leon! I've finished putting up all the flyers as you commanded-" began Erik as he entered the room without preamble.
Erik's eyes bulged as he caught sight of the girls. Staggering forward utterly transfixed, the man took halting steps before stopping only a few feet before Livia. I figured he was about to say something stupid, so I moved to try and stop him, but in that instant he managed to exceed even my own expectations of foolishness.
"Please marry me, Lady Livia!" blurted Erik before he could stop himself.
Erik instantly slapped a hand to his mouth, far too late to stop the treacherous words from escaping. I could feel my pulse from somewhere behind my eyes, and I briefly wondered why my hand hurt before glancing down and catching sight of a brutally mangled silver teaspoon in my hand. No one else dared to say a word as everyone stood transfixed by the social trainwreck taking place. Finally, Erik found his voice.
"...I'm so sorry, Miss Livia, it just slipped out-" apologized Erik in a horrified whisper, not even daring to meet anyone's eye.
"I'm flattered, Erik, but I'm afraid that I cannot accept," interrupted Livia with a kind smile. "You are a wonderful man, but… if I might have a word in private to explain?"
"Oh… Of course," blinked Erik.
I watched in silence as Livia led Erik to the kitchen area of the cafe, trying to get my pulse to stop pounding in my ears. Well, if I'd had any doubts about my mother's words before the start of term, they sure as hell were gone now. I did genuinely like Erik, but hearing him propose to Livia on the spot made my insides turn to cold fire. Picturing someone bold enough to say something like that to Angie or Clarice gave the exact same feeling, so in that moment I decided to sit down with all three of them after the Festival and talk, regardless of what was going on with the Relics and Fanoss. Between Kurt's intentional attempt and Erik's unintentional one, it was clear that Livia would be surrounded by suitors this semester. There was only so long that anyone would reasonably refuse before saying "yes", but I had faith that I'd be able to speak with the three of them immediately following the festival.
"She's not entertained any of them, you know," commented Angie idly, breaking me from my thoughts.
"What do you mean?" I asked without thinking, realizing too late that I probably didn't want to know the answer.
"...Suitors," explained Angie carefully. "Offers to become a fully-recognized Mistress. Outright marriage proposals. In all honesty, they've irritated her greatly over the past few weeks, but most have backed down after her initial rejection."
I bit back a growl in my throat at the idea of Livia being harassed. I was self-aware enough to know that I was feeling jealousy when other men tried hitting on Livia, but I didn't want to become a jealous creep when I wasn't even in a relationship with any of the three girls. Sure, there were sparks of attraction between me and the girls now, but I sure as hell didn't want them to feel like I thought that I owned them or worse! Apparently my worry was crystal clear on my face, because Clarice stepped forward and leaned into me to break me from my thoughts.
"Don't you dare stop stepping in, Leon," whispered Clarice as she leaned in. "We'd have told you if it was a problem before now. Besides, for a girl to know that a man is willing to strike with the wrath of a thousand suns on her behalf if she gives the word? Well, it does things for a girl…"
"...What sort of things?" I asked without thinking.
"Well… about the same sort of things that you feel when I do this…" grinned Clarice as she pulled gently on my necktie, sending a jolt through me as my thoughts instantly fell to shambles.
"Behave yourself, Clarice," chided Angie in spite of the amused smile on her face, before she addressed me directly. "She isn't wrong, though. It is quite flattering to know that you would go so far on our behalf, Leon."
I simply nodded, not trusting myself enough to speak. Still, in spite of my silence, Angie and Clarice seemed to pick up on my thoughts instantly, smiling even as their cheeks flushed lightly. Livia and Erik finally emerged from the kitchen, drawing our attention away from the conversation.
"Thank you for your kind words and explanation, Lady Livia," bowed Erik, sincere warmth in his voice.
"Please Erik, I'm just 'Livia', as I'm certainly not a 'Lady'-" blushed Livia.
"Maybe not in rank, but you are the ideal of what a Lady should be in word and deed, as I'm sure Master Leon has told you many times before now," protested Erik firmly. "With that in mind, I know you'll be successful in what we discussed, but I wish you good fortune in your endeavor all the same."
Livia simply nodded and glanced away with a blush. Erik bowed once again before moving to address me with whatever status report he'd intended to give before being bewitched by Livia.
"...As I was saying, Master Leon, I've finished distributing the flyers, but while I was out there, I noticed that the Founding Heirs have opened up a cafe of their own just down the hall from us-" began Erik.
"Oh, so they got Ikeman Teppanyaki up and running alright?" I smiled, pleased that they'd been able to implement the ideas that I'd given them.
"...You were aware of it?" blinked Erik. "Are you not concerned that the competition will pull away from our efforts?"
"Trust me when I say that we're serving two very different things," I laughed. "They'll be more like a full restaurant rather than a cafe, the likes of which have not been seen for easily a thousand years, but it'll be much heavier fare than what we offer here, and furthermore we'll have a wider selection of tea available."
"...If you're certain," replied Erik hesitantly.
"Tell you what, Erik, why don't we all stop by there to grab lunch and you'll see what I mean?" I suggested with a grin. "Julius absolutely loves to utilize his new skills, and he made a point of telling me to stop by as soon as they were ready."
"...Well, if you insist, but I can't see how a restaurant would be so different from a cafe," frowned Erik.
"Fifty dia says that you'll change your opinion after lunch," I grinned.
"You're on."
"...You win," sighed Erik as he passed me fifty dia without blinking as he stared up at the ceiling.
"Honestly, Erik? Go ahead and keep it, because even knowing what was coming didn't prepare me for it," I replied with a rueful laugh.
"I'm pleased to hear you say that, Leon," laughed Julius as he artfully prepared another batch of fried rice for the group. "Truly, though, none of this would have been possible without your assistance, and I cannot thank you enough."
Honestly, while technically true that Julius would have never been able to pull this off as well as he had without my assistance, the man had done the hard part of all of this on his own. The instructional holograms I'd left for him at the end of last term as a consolation prize had clearly served him well, as he'd taken to using a teppan with well-practiced skill. Granted, he'd picked a lot of the flashier tricks from the American restaurant chain Benihana, but while it might be a little crass, it would be one hell of a money-earner for the restaurant.
There were five teppan stations for Julius to work his magic at while the other Heirs would serve as waiters and assist with prep-work.
"Your own efforts should not go unmentioned, Julius," commented Angie. "Without your dedication to your craft, no amount of equipment would have made this possible."
"...Thank you, Angelica," smiled Julius sincerely.
Following the Duel, Angie and Julius had developed a much better yet still very platonic friendship, which I was fine with. It was a little bit tense at times as old memories flared a little bit and the two of them tried to get used to the new side of the other, but they were managing fine. Clarice and Jilk, on the other hand, were decidedly less cordial, with Jilk even being a little bit concerned around Clarice. While I'd never gotten the whole story about what went down during their little talk, the fact that Jilk had a tendency to place objects… strategically in front of himself spoke volumes about what must have happened at some point during it.
"I'm sure Leon has some old relic somewhere that could stand in for Julius if need be," grinned Greg.
"You're not wrong, but we're saving that for when Jilk flies in the Airbike Race so you guys can watch in person," I laughed briefly.
"Still not sure why you didn't sign up for it," chuckled Greg. "I mean, sure Jilk beat you in the friendly race we had the other day, but you kept pace with him-"
I felt an intense gaze burn into the side of my head with every word from Greg, and I didn't dare look in Clarice's direction. Livia was giggling and Angie was clearly amused, so it couldn't be too terrible, but the intensity of Clarice's gaze felt like a furnace on the back of my neck. As a young noble, I was fully aware of how to fly an airbike, but I'd chosen to downplay my knowledge as an excuse to spend more time with Clarice initially. An excuse that, of course, had been totally unnecessary and now seemed to be causing more trouble than it was worth. I turned slowly to meet her gaze as her eyes gleamed like emeralds in firelight as she smiled at me dangerously.
"...I thought you didn't know how to fly an airbike, Leon…" commented Clarice sweetly.
"...I do believe I said that I wanted you to teach me to fly an airbike," I coughed nervously. "I never said that I was completely unfamiliar with the concept."
"Ah, but to keep pace with the best airbike pilot that I've ever known," countered Clarice, her smile unbroken as she approached slowly and deliberately. "Well…not exactly what I'd call 'unfamiliar' by any stretch of the imagination, no?"
"...A fair point," I conceded, retreating as Clarice prowled closer to me. "Still, I did still lose to him-"
"And you believed my instruction and insight would have given you that much of an edge as to win?" asked Clarice with a positively feral smile. "Flattering, but unlikely, dearest Leon…"
"...Perhaps it wasn't the activity that was of interest to me-" I mumbled as my back hit the wall, signaling an end to my flight.
"Oh, so the potential company with the activity was more of interest to you, then?" asked Clarice as her smile widened even more.
"...Something like that, yeah," I managed to force out.
"Well… I can't find fault in that," smiled Clarice with half-lidded eyes as she idly played with my necktie. "Still…Leon, darling? Do me a favor, going forward…"
Before I could say a word, Clarice had pulled me forward by my tie so that I was leaning into her quite intimately. She leaned over my left shoulder to whisper something to me, and it took all of my willpower to focus my attention on something other than her perfect curves pressing into me right over my thundering heartbeat.
"...If you ever want to go for a ride, just ask…" whispered Clarice, her hot breath sending a jolt down my spine as she playfully nipped my ear before dancing away.
I slowly slid down the wall, which ended up being for the best as my… reaction… to Clarice was more easily concealed in a sitting position. Livia was giggling at my misfortune, but I could see that her face was quite flushed by Clarice's little "show", as though she'd enjoyed it as much as I had. Angie was similarly flushed, but decidedly more composed than Livia in spite of the delicate laughs from behind her hand. The guys were giving me a mix of shit-eating grins and sympathetic looks. It was another minute before I could rise to my feet without shaming myself.
Damn… Clarice: 3. Leon: 0.
"...I'd apologize for getting you in trouble, but that might be the wrong sentiment," chuckled Greg.
"...I'll remember this when we start training, Greg…" I grumbled good-naturedly.
Everyone laughed as Greg visibly paled and tried to backtrack even as I reassured him that I was mostly joking. As I tucked into my meal, I felt like all the crazy situations were, for the most part, under control. Marie and I planned to move after the Saintess Relic in the Holfortian Dungeon shortly before the Midterm Trip, and there was nothing we could do to go after the Relic held by the Sky Pirates until approached by the Wayne family. I planned to train in earnest with the Heirs and Livia immediately following the festival, and the Bastards were right on schedule as reported by Alice last night.
The only situation that I felt was not well in hand was my relationship with the girls, and that was more for the fact that our mutual attraction to each other seemed to be deepening at an alarming rate, bringing the possibility of the situation coming to a head before I could talk to them about my origins. While Clarice seemed to be falling especially hard, the effect that they were having on my ever-fraying willpower was cataclysmic. Still, as long as I was able to sit down and talk with the girls after the festival, everything would be fine… Well, as long as my world-upending news didn't completely break them, but that was a matter for after the weekend. Besides, how crazy could the festival get?
"Your Majesty, was all of this really necessary?" asked Angelica with a sigh. "You hardly needed to arrive in common clothes if you wanted to visit the Academy."
Angelica frowned as she walked with Queen Mylene through the stalls of the festival as they made their way to the other side of campus. When she'd been summoned to the Student Council Office to address an "official matter", she'd not expected Her Majesty to be waiting for her in plain clothes. Granted, it was a welcome change to the monotony of a customerless cafe, such that Clarice had accompanied her. While she'd expected the foot traffic to be low, to have absolutely no customers after two hours was certainly unexpected, especially with the Belmont name attached to the cafe.
"Oh, perhaps not, but I wanted my visit to be rather low-profile, if possible," laughed Queen Mylene. "How else would I have been able to surprise this Marie girl to take her measure?"
"...And yet we're heading to Leon's tea room first, rather than Julius's restaurant…" observed Angelica dryly.
"...Very well, you've caught me," admitted Queen Mylene with a smile. "I'll admit that, among other things, I'd hoped to meet with the young Lord Bartfort so that I might observe him for myself. Between the rumors flying around the Capital, the stories I've heard from the two of you and the boys, and then my own brief observations from a distance after his Promotion Ceremony and Knighting, I have a rather complicated, if not contradictory, image of the man."
"Well, 'complicated' and 'contradictory' are certainly fair words to describe him," chuckled Clarice. "Still, he's one of the best men that I've ever known, as I'm sure you'll see when you meet him."
"I look forward to it," laughed Mylene.
As they reached the hallway that led to the cafe, Angelica frowned in apprehension. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly, but something felt… off. There should have been more students traversing this corridor. Even if the entire student body had agreed to a unilateral boycott of the cafe, there should have been students passing by the door in order to reach other attractions, but she couldn't recall a single passerby during the two hours prior to being summoned to the Student Council Office. A pair of large second year boys stood in their path, and Angelica recalled passing by these two exact boys on their way to the Office.
"This corridor has been closed off until further notice," stated one of the boys with an insincere smile. "You'll want to go around."
"We need to get to the Belmont Cafe-" began Angelica.
"You really don't, Miss, nor do you want to," chuckled the other boy darkly. "Best be on your way. Certainly wouldn't want anything to happen to you, would we?"
"And what exactly will you do to us?" growled Clarice.
"What 'we'll do to you'?!" exclaimed the first boy in mock horror. "Perish the thought! We'd never do anything to harm anyone! That being said, we can't be held responsible for what may happen at the Belmont Cafe. A degenerate runs that establishment, you know-"
"I'll show you 'degenerate', you mouth-breathing-" began Clarice, ready to rain vengeance but was suddenly left without a target in the next moment.
The boys suddenly began shaking violently after being struck with a pair of strange disk-shaped devices, as though being repeatedly struck by lightning. They collapsed into each other, twitching as they soiled themselves from loss of bladder control. A familiar silver orb flew around the corner as Luxion faded into view. Queen Mylene stared in shock at the Familiar as it addressed Angelica and Clarice.
"Mistress Angie, Mistress Clarice," greeted Luxion brightly, as if he had not just knocked two students unconscious with electrocution. "How fortunate that I've found you both so quickly. There's been an incident in the tea room, and Mistress Livia and Master Leon may need your support. Eleven hostiles, unarmed and limited to moderate harassment thus far. Still, we should hurry as the situation is liable to escalate."
"Did Leon only just send for us?!" asked Angelica in shock. "What about the Heirs?!"
"No Mistress, he did send Mister Arkin to the Heirs to enlist their aide-" began Luxion.
"Then he probably ran into hired muscle just like we did," mused Clarice. "He'll need your help more than we will, so go ahead and find him. We'll go help Leon."
"As you say," acknowledged Luxion. "Good Hunting, Mistresses."
The Familiar faded from view as it flew off to lend assistance to Ray. Before the Queen could ask any more, Angelica and Clarice were leading her by the hand to Leon's cafe. With Danny and Liza taking today to enjoy the festival, Erik distributing flyers, and Ray getting help from the Heirs, Leon and Livia were outnumbered, and whoever was behind this was at least somewhat organized. Angelica prayed they'd get there in time before there was irreversible damage.
As I felt the piping hot tea drip from my face, I remembered the one thing that I came to despise in my first life more than anything in the world. It was funny, in a way; I'd forgotten the horrors that I'd previously felt would be engraved on my soul for all eternity. All it had taken was thirteen years of separation of the unending purgatory- no, unending Hellfire- of that damnable position. But now, it had all come rushing back in an instant, the nightmare, the terror, the horror: customer service.
The Noble Bitch and her posse had invaded my tea room without so much as a greeting before making demands. Even as we proceeded to brew the tea flawlessly, we were bombarded with complaints that we were "too slow". I'd taken the lead so that none of the others would have to suffer this heinous waste of flesh, blood, and bone that claimed to be a woman, but I could feel Livia's mounting horror as she watched me be mistreated by this scum. We'd welcomed them in as they'd been our first customers, especially since the festival had been going for two hours to that point; I now suspected that they'd had a hand in turning others away, and I was coming to regret not slamming the door in their faces. Hopefully, either Lux or Ray would arrive soon with reinforcements.
"...Madam, that is the third cup of tea that you've insisted is too cold-" I began patiently.
"-You would think that you'd have figured it out after the first two times!" shrieked the Bitch. "Hurry up and make another!"
"...Very well," I deadpanned as I went to brew another pot of tea.
"I hope you don't expect us to pay for any of this!" barked the Harpy. "In fact, I think that you should compensate us for the treatment we have suffered at your incompetent hands…"
…Ah yes: the "Something For Nothing Gambit"; a timeless classic used against hapless customer service personnel from the moment that some idiot declared customers to be "always right". If I were some hapless student or even a low-level employee of Belmont, bound by the rules of propriety and preserving the company's reputation, I might be forced to capitulate to her demands or risk further incident and damage as she escalated to my "manager", potentially even ruining my career. It was a simple strategy, yet quite effective in most circumstances, but it carried two fatal flaws: Escalate too high and you make any effort of appeasement more of a liability than simply ending all association with you, and there was no path forward if you started off speaking with the highest "manager" you could...which this Bitch currently was. Still, if I could avoid Belmont taking a hit to its reputation and still maintain my ground, that would be more desirable, especially if I countered with a fair and measured response.
"...Alright, you have two options to choose from, Madam," I offered. "Option One: You may take this next pot of tea at its regular fair price, finish it within an hour, and leave, and I'll go ahead and wipe the slate for the rather costly damages you've incurred and let bygones be bygones. Option Two: You leave now without this pot of tea and pay absolutely nothing, and I'll still wipe the slate and let bygones be bygones."
"...Are you serious?" sneered the Bitch. "Do you have any idea who I am, worm?"
"No, and I should stress that my previous offers are limited-time offers…" I replied calmly.
"I am Stephanie Fou Offrey-" snarled the Bitch.
And as I tuned the rat-faced bitch out, suddenly it all made sense. Offrey had been engaged to Brad until he'd met Marie- well...perhaps "engaged" was putting it too strongly. Honestly, Brad's entire "playboy" act had been an attempt to shield himself from his fiancee as much as he could, and he'd been the first to break his engagement among the Five Heirs. Being the worst example of an Academy Bitch that I'd ever had the misfortune to meet, I presumed that she, like the rest of the school, had bet heavily against me and held me personally responsible for her losses. The lengths she'd gone to in order to try and take her revenge on me seemed a little out of proportion, but even considering what I knew, I decided that peace was never going to be an option. Time to have a bit of fun before it went nuclear...
"-Ah, yes, you're the reason that Brad pretended to be a womanizing playboy," I interrupted.
"...What did you say?" hissed Offrey.
"I'm afraid that I never had the misfortune of seeing your face previously, but you'll be delighted to know that your reputation precedes you," I continued on. "As it stands, I feel the man has grossly understated it when describing you, but I can't exactly blame him. Mere words would fail me as well if I were to attempt to describe the horror of your presence. As it is, I'm afraid that I would not last the full hour of the first offer, so that offer of compensation is hereby rescinded. Leave under your own power, pay nothing, and we'll let this be completely forgotten…although it might take three bottles of whiskey on my part-"
"You mongrel-" seethed Offrey.
"Tick tock, Miss Offrey, the offer is counting down," I mocked. "In just a moment, help is going to come storming through those doors, and then you'll have to accept my definition of 'compensation', which will be decidedly less generous to you."
"Do you have any idea how much money you cost us noble girls?!" shrieked Offrey. "I know girls who had to sell off their servants because-"
"Yes, yes, because of the debts they incurred from betting against me," I waved dismissively. "How horrible it must be for you to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions-"
"What's going on here?!" demanded Angie as she pushed through the doors.
Angie pushed through the doors like an angry goddess, her eyes blazing as I could feel myself react to her righteous fury. The biggest surprise was the presence of Queen Mylene, but it was certainly a welcome one. Reality was going to hit this Offrey bitch harder than a kilogram pineapple straight up the rectum, and I was eager to see it. When I turned back, I was disappointed to see that Offrey was in fact stupider than she looked, and so the implications for what had just happened had flown straight over her head.
"...These are your reinforcements? Two cuckqueans and a hag?" sneered Offrey. "Please… Angelica holds no power these days, so there is nothing to fear there. And as for the Atlee girl? How terrifying can she truly be if a little 'heartache' can send her down the spiral of a common slut-"
"I pity you for being incapable of understanding love and heartache, but you've said far too much here already!" snapped Livia, jumping in before I could slam the bitch to the floor. "Leave now, in peace, and I will make sure that no consequences follow. This is your final warning."
"Don't push your luck, commoner scum," sneered Offrey. "Do you think some insignificant mite like you has any right to speak to me like an equal? You must be drunk off the favoritism of this mob of disgraces. Do you fancy yourself a noble now, too? Do you really think 'Miss Angie' treating you like a cute little pet means you're on even footing with me?"
"You loathsome wretch-'' snarled Angie, but she stopped at Livia's hand.
"I know just how lopsided a matchup between us would be, Miss Awful-rey," countered Livia, holding her head proudly before her voice took on an icy edge. "Still, if you really think you stand a snowball's chance in Hell, then you may test that assumption at your convenience…"
…God, I really want to kiss Livia right now… Would everyone really be that bothered if I kiss her right now? It'll only take thirty seconds- Snap out of it, you moron-
"Commoners aren't even human, scholarship scum!" snarled Offrey. "Do you really not understand? Even your dearest Angie said to me once that 'Commoners are chattel'! The only reason no one's said anything to you is that you hide behind these cuckqueaned noble's daughters and this jumped-up upstart wannabe-knight! A wretch like you has only one place in a noble house; in the bedchamber as a marital aid-"
…No more. First Angie, then Clarice, and now Livia? No, this bitch is done…
"-I'm sorry, you must have gotten tea in my ear earlier," I interrupted the Offrey bitch with a placidity I did not feel. "I could have sworn that you implied that Livia was some kind of 'sexual outlet'…"
"What else could a commoner girl like her be but a toy or plaything?" sneered Offrey. "I'm sure you've had plenty of fun with her by this point, Bartfort-"
"That's what I thought you said, bitch," I interrupted again before raising my voice to speak clearly. "Execute Order Sixty-Six, Variant Alpha, and Standby Beta."
Immediately, the "suits of armor" that I had standing around the room sprang to life and leveled their shotguns at the Offrey Followers and opened fire. Non-lethal rounds struck each of the Followers and manservants, knocking them to the ground, to where my security robots instantly rushed them and took point blank aim. Angie, Livia, Clarice, and the Queen instantly covered their ears at the sudden gunfire. Offrey seemed ready to piss herself in fear, unable to summon up any of the indignation and arrogance that she'd had moments ago. For my part, I simply prepared a cup of Earl Grey for myself from the pot that I'd made for Offrey, took a sip with one hand as my other pointed my holdout pistol at the Offrey girl.
"...Please retake your seat, Miss Offrey," I ordered with a smile that did not reach my eyes.
"N-no, I-" began Offrey.
"Please… I insist…" I interrupted, making it clear that I would not accept any arguments as I refilled her cup of tea.
With shaking knees, Offrey sat down, glancing wildly at my security androids. I took a seat across from her, mentally preparing myself for the showmanship that I'd have to display. I wanted to leave an impression so that I'd only have to do this once, and as previously observed, Offrey was particularly stupid. I set my pistol down by my place setting as if it were a butter knife, taking my time with every action before addressing the bitch.
"...Tell me something, Miss Offrey…" I asked, taking a gingerbread man from the serving plate at the center of the table. "Are you naturally this stupid, or did you have to work at it?"
"...W-what?" trembled Offrey.
"Word of my fighting skill has permeated throughout the school by this point," I continued, my deathly smile still plastered on my face, placing the gingerbread man on my plate. "The very duel that you claim to have lost so much money on as a result of betting against my victory would be a perfect example. I'm assuming that you at least watched it, of course."
"W-well, I-"
"Another thing about that duel to consider, as a matter of fact," I interrupted again, picking up another gingerbread man to join its fellow on my plate before repeating the process again. "I challenged the five most important young men in the Kingdom without a second thought, a move that should have been political if not actual suicide. Surely, that must have crossed your mind…"
"I-I guess-"
"And of course, how can we forget the reason that I stepped up in the first place," I interrupted yet again, finally having a gingerbread man for every one of the Offrey girl's cronies, plus one for her. "I stepped up for the sake of Angie and Clarice, for their honor and their reputations. That was common knowledge across the entire school. Surely you must have at the very least heard that, Miss Offrey…"
"I-I mean-"
"So tell me, 'Lady' Offrey," I interrupted for a fourth time. "You come to my tea room with your little thugs, throw a pitiful little temper tantrum, throw my prized tea in my face, insult Angie and Clarice and mock their pain, and finally dehumanize dearest Livia, all within my presence. Did you honestly think any of that through? How did you honestly see this little play of yours going down?"
"I-"
"Did you think that you would be somehow able to overpower me with superior numbers?" I asked as I deliberately snapped the head off of a gingerbread man, letting the head drop to the table and roll a short distance before picking up another gingerbread man. "I keep myself as heavily armed as the school will allow and then some. Not a single one of you brought anything that could even remotely be used as a weapon. Do I need to spell out how stupid that was?"
"Well-"
"Or did you think that I wouldn't be prepared for such an action?" I asked again, continuing to deliberately snap the heads off of gingerbread men and allow them to roll away from me. "As you yourself are well aware, I've managed to piss off every single noble who bet against me, including you. In fact, I think that the Prince and his friends are the only ones that I've somehow avoided pissing off in this whole debacle, ironically enough. I would have to be completely brain-dead to assume that none of you would want some form of payback. Do I look brain-dead to you?"
"Um-"
"Perhaps you thought that I would not act for fear of the social repercussions of doing so?" I pressed, continuing my pointed gingerbread genocide as I watched the bitch flinch with every snap. "I challenged the Crown Prince himself to an Armor brawl in the arena without batting an eye. Did you honestly think that being an Earl's daughter would stop me in any way?"
Offrey said nothing at this point. The weight of her actions finally began to sink in. Livia was pouting at me, but she wasn't scolding me in disapproval. Angelica seemed to have attributed some sort of deeper meaning to my actions, and while she tried to look as though she wasn't, I could see that she was quite satisfied to see this bitch put down. Clarice didn't even try to hide it, grinning a rather feral grin at Offrey. The last gingerbread man met its fate, the head separating from the body with an audible snap, but this one I rolled toward Offrey herself, to which she visibly shuddered.
"Let me just go ahead and lay all cards on the table now," I continued. "My Security Androids always load non-lethal rounds for the first two shots. After that, they will fire a bird-shot round, then a standard buckshot round, and then a few White Phosphorus incendiary rounds."
I snapped my fingers, and with a single fluid motion, the droids racked the pumps on their shotguns, allowing the non-lethal rounds in their weapons to clatter ominously to the floor. Offrey flinched hard at the sound. I'm pretty sure one of the cronies on the floor had pissed themselves in fear. I took another slow sip, drawing it out for effect before speaking up.
"Allow me to be clear," I continued. "You are allowed to feel pissed at my victory. You are allowed to hate me with every fiber of your being. Hell, causing me moderate grief in my tea room is something that I'd even overlook. But the moment that you involved the women most dear to me, I'm afraid that you crossed a line that should never be crossed. There is only one reason why I've not told my droids to fire, and it sure as hell isn't the presence of Her Majesty."
"Wait, you said 'Her Majesty'!" gasped Offrey. "You can't mean-"
"Yeah, that would be Queen Mylene Holfort, the radiant and graceful woman that you called a 'hag', which I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even get into trouble for killing you if she actually wanted you put to death for that little comment," I smirked, picking up my pistol carefully. "No, the only reason why your heads are not the equivalent of smashed watermelons is that dearest Livia would be sad, even for you shitbirds. So…I think she deserves a thank-you and an apology, don't you?"
"...You wouldn't dare," growled Offrey, finally finding her nerve again. "For however much I hate you, even I'm forced to admit that your reputation marks you as a good man. Good men have too many rules…"
"Good men don't need rules…" I snorted before pulling the hammer back on my pistol, an ice-cold smile on my face. "Today is not the day to find out why I have so many…"
"...Thank you, Miss Olivia…" gritted out Offrey. "...Sorry…"
"Excellent," I grinned, motioning for my security androids to step aside. "Now, since your business here is concluded beyond a shadow of a doubt, get the fuck out of my tea room…"
Offrey sneered at me, trembling between rage and fear. "You'll pay for this, Bartfort…"
"Try it and I'll send you a bill for today," I shot back as I holstered my pistol. "And I think we've made it quite clear how I'd choose to settle unpaid debts, so go crawl back into your little hole, you fucking shrew."
Offrey tried to leave with dignity; she really honestly tried. However, the trembling in her motions as she stood from the table and staggered to the door betrayed her as she turned tail and fled from the room. Her Followers and their servants had no such compunctions, and so left in a disorganized full rout. Five worker drones suddenly sprang to life from the closet, moving to repair the damage the rabble had caused. I disengaged the hammer safely on my holdout pistol, seeing as Offrey was gone permanently, before turning to address the Queen.
"Forgive me for keeping you waiting, Your Majesty," I bowed to the Queen. "I apologize for having you witness something so unpleasant, but I'm afraid that trash is always unsightly. Hopefully, it hasn't put you off enjoying a pot of tea with us?"
"...I must admit that I was warned about your… peculiarities… but this is beyond even what I was expecting," admitted Mylene as she sat in the fresh chair that one of the androids brought out. "Certainly not quite so… bloodthirsty…"
"Let me assure you that despite my words, I had absolutely no intention of harming any one of them," I replied, picking up one of the fallen non-lethal shells and handing it to the Queen before racking the pump on one of the shotguns until it was empty, creating a small pile of shells identical to the one the Queen held. "As you can see, every single one of these rounds was a rubber bullet round that would not have killed them."
"...But then… Why all the theatrics?" asked Queen Mylene. "Why would you say such things?"
"To solve a future problem before it becomes a problem, I suspect," mused Angie. "By reacting so strongly here, any future attempt to cause him trouble will not be so direct and brazen, and the number of attempts will not be nearly as many either. As to the impact on his reputation… Well, most of the school already hates him for the money they lost betting against him in the first place, and Leon has never been one to care much about being popular. He would much rather intimidate his enemies into not fighting."
"All wonderfully deduced reasons, Angie," I smiled as I poured her cup of tea. "And I will be sure to cite them if anyone else asks why, but that's not the reason I did it."
"...Wait, then why-" asked Angie as she stared up at me in confusion.
"I mean, I told the bitch right to her face why," I smiled as I set the teapot down and knelt beside Angie. "She crossed the line when she said what she did about you and Livia and Clarice, so I felt an obligation to put the fear of the Gods in her."
Angie turned bright red at my words, but I could see that she was smiling in spite of her embarrassment. Livia frowned briefly at my use of coarse language, but she smiled warmly at the rest of my words. Clarice, for her part, gave Angie a knowing grin, to which Angie promised payback with a look of her own. Queen Mylene laughed gently behind her hand. I then cleared my throat and addressed the Queen directly.
"Before we begin, Your Majesty, if I might say something to Livia," I asked quickly, to which Queen Mylene nodded, and I took Livia's hand in mine and gave her a serious look. "Livia, you do know that bitch was just trying to hurt you, right? No one here thinks you are a pet or a plaything, least of all Angie."
"I know, Leon," smiled Livia before turning to Angie. "Angie, I think I know the answer to this, but did you really believe those things that girl said you did in the past?"
"...At one point, yes I did," admitted Angie, looking away in shame.
"But you don't think that way anymore, do you?" asked Livia seriously.
"No! Never! I could never-" exclaimed Angie before being silenced by Livia embracing her.
"Then you need to forgive yourself for the past, because you have grown beyond it," smiled Livia.
"...Okay," sighed Angie with a smile.
Clarice grinned before whispering something to the other ladies that I couldn't quite hear. The effect was immediate. Angie blushed crimson before smacking Clarice's arm, to which Clarice laughed heartily. Queen Mylene giggled behind her hand again, although she appeared to be blushing slightly as well. As for Livia, she was left her usual squeaking, blushing mess. I grinned at Clarice before pretending to scold her.
"Dearest Clarice, please stop breaking Dearest Livia," I chided teasingly. "We do need her to be mostly coherent right now…"
I then remembered far too late how well I'd fared in our recent flirting battles, and realized too late that I'd kicked a proverbial hornet's nest with the force of a kinetic bombardment. Furthermore, something about my actions with Offrey had been…pleasing… to Clarice, and I was about to suffer the consequences, be they glorious or tragic. Clarice got that dangerous smile again before sauntering over with a slight sway in her hips and leaning right next to my ear to the point where I could feel her hot breath on my neck as she spoke.
"Yes Daddy," whispered Clarice in a breathy voice. "I'll be a good girl for you…"
I could practically feel my brain overheat and go critical as my entire body burned. Clarice tried to hold up her seductive illusion for a moment or two longer, but eventually she cracked at my expression, descending into undignified cackles. Angie simply smirked at my glowing blush, shaking her head in amusement. Livia still loved to see me unseated as the "Master Flirt", and so grinned from ear to ear in spite of her own blush.
Well… Clarice: 4. Leon: 0…
"...Forgive me if I don't stand at the moment," I coughed briefly under my breath even as my face continued to burn a bright red while I motioned for my automatons to serve my guests. "Now, how may I help you, Your Majesty?"
"For one thing, I wanted to personally apologize for my son's behavior as I know that it caused you no small amount of grief," explained Queen Mylene as she took a seat at the table.
"Meh, it's all good," I shrugged. "I was more pissed at him and Jilk for the way they treated Angie and Clarice. Once I set the boys right, there was no further need to be pissed at them."
"I am extremely pleased to hear you say that, Lord Bartfort," smiled Queen Mylene. "I also wanted to thank you for the advice and guidance that you've provided to Julius as well. He's been happier than I've ever seen him, and he truly is quite gifted in the kitchen."
"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet, Your Majesty," I chuckled. "When you see what he's doing for the festival, just keep in mind that he only learned how to do most of those tricks in the last two weeks."
"Wait, tricks?" asked Queen Mylene blankly. "I thought he was cooking?"
"Oh, he is…" I chuckled. "You'll see when you go over there."
"I suppose that I will," conceded the Queen, still not understanding but letting the matter go for now. "...However, in spite of the good that you have done for my son, I do find myself rather frustrated with you, Lord Bartfort."
"...I'm sorry?" I apologized instinctively, not knowing where this was going. "...I haven't the faintest idea what for, but I'm sorry all the same?"
"Those damnable machines that you sent the boys and Roland!" explained Queen Mylene with a huff. "Roland may have been mostly useless when running the country before, but now he's spending every waking moment chasing after the damned 'White Rabbit' and their ever-increasing high score! And while him not touching any of the maids in over a month might initially seem to be a blessing, it certainly becomes less of a blessing when said maids sulk at me because they hold me personally responsible for the situation! And then Julius and his friends talking about such terrifying scenarios in that simulator! On top of all of that, the only reason that I haven't banned it from the Knight's Barracks is that it actually seems to be improving their skills! How am I supposed to react to such a cursed blessing?!"
"...Well, you could give it a try yourself?" I replied cheekily, to which the Queen gave me a rather flat look. "Alright, I am sorry for the unintended headaches they've caused you, but I promise that they're a necessary development, one that I want to discuss with you more in a one-on-one setting."
"Well, we may certainly discuss the matter more later. On that note, I was wondering if I might ask a favor of you, Lord Bartfort," replied Queen Mylene hesitantly, starting to blush. "You see, since I grew up in the neighboring country of Lepart, I never had the opportunity to attend the Academy for myself, and I… was wondering if I might… make memories here…"
I could see it in her eyes, the somber smile and dull ache in her eyes. Without a doubt, she'd meant it platonically on a conscious level, but I could recognize that loneliness, as I'd seen it before in my own eyes back during my first life: the feeling that you were no longer capable of believing in love, even if it came knocking on your door with the force of a battering ram, and yet still wishing for it all the same. It made my heart ache, but I couldn't betray Livia, Angie, and Clarice like that-
I glanced over at the girls to see them giving me very pointed looks, but… were they asking me to flirt with the Queen?! No, that couldn't be it- but they were asking for me to say something here; something that would help raise her self-esteem but not overly flirty was the goal, then. I supposed that I'd be able to work with that? Perhaps? I gave Angie a brief questioning look, which she thankfully understood.
"Your Majesty, are you asking for the same sort of experience that young women have at the Academy, down to the very last detail?" asked Angie with a smile and another brief pointed glance at me, answering my unasked question.
"I know it's silly, since I am an old woman, but the idea of enjoying the festival as a student would… no, it's a silly dream, please forget-" blushed Queen Mylene as she tried to backtrack, letting her insecurities take hold.
"Pfff, nonsense," I scoffed, waving my hand as I picked up on the cue that the girls were sending me. "It'll be a very simple matter to get a disguise for you. I bet that Lux could fetch a uniform in your size and you'd easily pass for a third-year upperclassman. In fact, you'd captivate the attention of every young man you passed."
"W-what?!" stammered the Queen. "Ridiculous! I'm old enough to be their mother-"
"-and you are radiant enough to be a Goddess," I interrupted with a grin, noting the approving nods that the girls were giving me. "The fact that you are a good person as well only amplifies your appeal. In fact, I can say with absolute confidence that any young man in this academy would jump at the chance of being your lover. Furthermore, I would be willing to bet that you'd receive no fewer than five declarations of love in as many hours if we went with that disguise."
"...This is the teasing that Angie warned me about, isn't it?" frowned Mylene, her expression darkening as though realizing something. "It has to be, since there's no way that you could mean that. Even still, it is nice to dream, if only for a little while…"
"Perhaps it is a little of the shameless flirting that exasperates Angie, but let me be clear about something: I do not make things up," I stated firmly, giving a pointed look to the rest of the girls present, to which all three of them blushed. "I mean everything that I say the moment that I say it."
"But to be the lover of a thirty-two year old married woman-" argued Mylene.
"There are only two things that stop me personally from asking for your hand in marriage right this instant, Mylene, and they certainly aren't your age or your marital status with the King himself," I laughed as I took Mylene's hand gently.
"...What two reasons could be more important than my age or my current marriage?" asked Mylene in utter bewilderment.
"Well, there's the fact that I wouldn't want to weird my friend Julius out by romancing his mother," I laughed. "More importantly, I think that you could do far better than a complete and total scoundrel."
"Are those really your only reasons for not seducing my mother?" asked Julius in amusement as he made his presence known. Apparently Ray had finally reached the restaurant to send for help.
"Julius! U-um… This isn't what it looks like!" stammered Mylene in embarrassment.
"You mean you weren't simply having tea with Leon and his friends when Leon made one of his ridiculously bold declarations to you?" replied Julius with a laugh. "Well, in regards to taking a lover, if he's who you desire-"
"No! That's exactly what happened! That's exactly what happened!" squeaked Mylene.
"Are you saying that you'd approve of such a hypothetical arrangement?" I grinned.
"I know you to be a good man, Leon, but I cannot say that I wouldn't have concerns," explained Julius with a pointed look in spite of his smile. "For example, what about the three remarkable young women at the table with you?"
"They can do far better than a scoundrel as well," I shot back as I stood up to greet Julius with a brotherly embrace, grasping his hand in a firm handshake before pulling him in and clapping him on the back with my free arm. "How's the restaurant going today?"
"Quite well, at least until we shut down to give you backup here," replied Julius, returning my grin before taking a more serious expression. "Is everyone alright? Ray seemed quite concerned when he entered the restaurant."
"Some bitch named Offrey tried to stir up trouble, but she got more than she bargained for when she tried to verbally abuse Livia," I shrugged as I took Julius to the side to talk.
"Brad's ex-fiance?" asked Julius in confusion before his expression turned dark. "...What did she do?"
"Besides calling your mother a 'hag' and mocking Angie and Clarice? She called Livia a 'pet' and a 'plaything'..." I spat before my expression turned into a feral grin. "I, of course, took exception to that…"
"I certainly hope you did," grinned Julius. "If Luxion has a record of it, I would love to see it later."
"We'll make an evening of it," I laughed. "Still, sorry that we got you to close down early for no reason."
"Think nothing of it, Leon," smiled Julius. "I was going to have us take a half day anyway since Mother was visiting."
"Of course. Did you want to spend time with her now, then?" I asked.
"If it's not too much trouble," replied Julius. "I would normally wait until later, but I do want to have Mother meet Marie, and I'm concerned that Marie will fall asleep soon if kept awake much longer."
"Marie's exhausted?" I asked in concern. "I didn't realize she was so involved with the operation of the restaurant, but I suppose that the popularity-"
"She's not," replied Julius grimly. "There's been some other project that Marie has been working on into the early hours of morning for; a journal, I think.
"Oh…" I frowned, knowing instantly what project it was keeping her up.
"...You know what it is?" asked Julius in surprise. "She wouldn't say a word about it to any of us other than it was 'to secure our future together'."
"Yes, and I'll have a word with her about it," I sighed. "Among other things, she's gathering information on the wretched creatures that claim to be her 'family' so that Luxion and I can come up with a plan to get her beyond their reach. I told her to spare no detail, but I didn't think she'd take that so literally."
"I would appreciate it if you would have a word with her," nodded Julius. "...We've heard mention that the Lafans are a vile lot, but we've agreed to not discuss the details for now as we'd be liable to spring into rash action, as I'm sure you'd understand."
"Of course, and if it ever does require such action, I promise you five will be the first to know," I replied with another grin before walking back to the table. "Mylene?"
"Y-yes?" stammered Mylene.
"Your son has requested your time for this afternoon, but I'd be more than happy to have tea with you again tomorrow and escort you around the rest of the festival, if you are able to accommodate such a bold request?" I asked.
"Y-yes, of course…" replied Mylene, beginning to relax.
"I would also like to offer my tea room as a place to disconnect from your stresses and woes going forward, if that's not too bold a suggestion?" I asked.
"...That sounds lovely…" smiled Mylene. "Until tomorrow, then."
And with that, mother and son took their leave from my tea room. Honestly, this meeting with Mylene had me utterly baffled as to Roland's previous mindset. I mean, honestly; how did you carry on with an endless stream of lovers when you had a woman like Mylene as your wife?! Still, Julius had been surprisingly insightful; the only real reason that I wouldn't pursue Mylene in earnest was because of the three girls sitting next to me right now. I did want to ease that heartache I saw in her eyes as much as I could, as a form of catharsis for my own first life's heartache. However, before I did that, I needed to clarify some ground rules first.
"...So, just so that I'm not misunderstanding and stepping over any lines, what I did to encourage the Queen just now was okay?" I asked.
"Yes Leon, that was fine," nodded Angie with a smile. "Thank you for speaking so kindly to her. After Julius told me what King Roland put her through, I'd hoped that you might speak with her so that she might feel a little less empty."
"Yeah, she's really had it rough, but she never said a word while we were her ladies-in-waiting," added Clarice. "On top of her running the kingdom single-handedly, she was a great mentor to me and Angie, so if you lifting her spirits a bit helps her, then that's fine with us."
I nodded at Clarice and Angie, their answers making sense, given what they'd gone through previously. One voice had remained silent in all of this, and it was the voice that I needed to hear from the most. Livia was frowning, but not in any sort of disapproval, but rather confusion. Upon noticing our expectant looks, Livia cleared her throat to weigh in.
"I'm not bothered by what you did, Leon, and I think it was quite sweet of you to help her, but…" explained Livia. "I'm mostly confused, because… why didn't you flirt with her more?"
"...Well, I'd say it's because you three are in my life," I replied simply, smiling even as I cursed myself for saying too much… or was it not enough?
The silence that followed was very pointed, yet oddly wasn't uncomfortable as the girls smiled back at my answer. Well, if it weren't for the fact that I was nervous about upending our friendship right before having to spend a day in close proximity with each other, I'd have taken the time to talk with them about everything right in that moment. Hell, I was still kicking myself for not taking the time to talk with them that night on the dance floor beneath the stars. Sadly, the thought only occurred to me in hindsight that Livia's question might have been the perfect opening to explain everything. Still, all I could do was stay as honest as I could with the things that I could talk about.
Speaking of which…
"...So I imagine that you may have overheard that I have been conversing with Marie privately since the end of last term," I stated bluntly as all the girls frowned suddenly. "This partnership is strictly business related. The specifics of which are too sensitive to disclose at this juncture, but it's sufficient to say that we're working to get her out from under the influence of her family."
"So what you suspected before the duel was true, then?" asked Clarice, her gaze softening. "She was fleeing the abuse of the Lafans?"
"That's oversimplifying it, but yes," I explained. "She didn't intend to fall in love with any of the Heirs at first, but emotions spiraled out of control. She wants to apologize to each of you, but she feels she needs to make things right first before she can look any of you in the eye."
"Well… That makes sense with what Julius told me in our talk," nodded Angie. "So she simply wanted to befriend them for their influence to shield herself from her family and their actions?"
"Basically," I replied. "In any case, we've been using some Old World tech to communicate, and in the spirit of being honest with you three, I wanted you to know."
"...I appreciate that, Leon," smiled Angie before giving me another look. "I assume we'll be afforded the same courtesy soon?"
"Well, if by 'soon' you mean 'now'," I chuckled as I passed out a few communication units, taking the opportunity so I could stop carrying them around. "They're voice-activated and they're uniquely coded to you and you alone, so they are incredibly secure. Just state the name of the person you wish to contact, and it will connect you to them."
"And these will work only while in the Academy?" asked Clarice with a pointed look. "Or would they work at longer distances?"
"I've been using these to keep updated on the 'Flying Circus' project that I know you've heard me mention a few times," I clarified, noting that Clarice would want to keep in contact with us even after her graduation from the Academy. "For now, I feel like a demonstration would be in order, and there's a few conversations that I feel are long-overdue: Marie Fou Lafan."
With my stating of Marie's name, a holographic screen appeared directly above my wrist-mounted device to show Marie frantically scribbling away at her journal. I could see heavy bags beneath her eyes. I winced at the sight, wondering if I'd laid expectations on too thick when we'd conversed previously, or if this was some form of self-imposed penance for her past actions.
"Leon, can this wait?" sighed Marie as she didn't even look up from the journal. "I'm trying to finish up the second pass-through of the Alzer journal, and then there's the Fanoss Embassy Records-"
"And that can wait for a week, Marie," I interrupted, firm but not unkind. "Your lovers have noticed that you're running yourself ragged, and you'll be no good to anyone if you don't let yourself rest."
Marie made to retort angrily, but froze as she caught sight of who stood nearby on my side. She squeaked and shut off the connection. Clarice cracked up at the smaller girl's reaction, while Livia giggled lightly. Angie smiled, but she raised an eyebrow at me. Clearly she'd picked up on some details that I would need to explain to her later, but at least she didn't suspect that I was cheating with Marie. I called Marie back and triggered the Answer Override function in the device to find that she'd hidden herself under the nearest tablecloth.
"I'm not ready yet!" squealed Marie. "I need to make things right before I can apologize!"
"The fact you intend to make things right speaks volumes, Miss Lafan," countered Angie before her tone softened. "Julius loves you and cares for you, and as much as I hate to admit it, you've been good for him as well. In order to continue being good for him, however, you must not spread yourself so thinly. I expect the woman who stole the love of my life from me to treat him far better than I ever could, else I shall seek retribution-"
"I would never treat any of my lovers poorly!" exclaimed Marie indignantly, forgetting her fear for the moment as she emerged from her hiding spot. "Not Greg, not Brad, not Chris, not Jilk, and certainly not Julius!"
"Good," nodded Angie. "See that you don't, and Clarice and I can certainly wait for whatever apology you intend to deliver. Now that Leon has requested that you take better care of yourself and your lovers, I would advise you to prepare yourself to meet your future mother-in-law."
"...The Queen is here at the Academy?" paled Marie.
"And on her way to the restaurant, as of about fifteen minutes ago," smiled Angie, knowing that it was a twenty minute walk to the Boys restaurant from our tea room.
With another squeak of fear, Marie disconnected from the call, no doubt panicking as she tried to prepare for her future mother-in-law's arrival.
"That was rather mean of you," I grinned. "Funny as hell, and certainly not undeserved, but definitely mean."
"At least I gave her a warning so she could conceivably prepare," smirked Angie.
"For whatever good that five minutes of preparation would do for her," I laughed. "Well, we've got a big day tomorrow, so let's go ahead and close up shop for the day."
Later that evening, I was shaving carefully with a straight razor when my comm unit beeped in an incoming call. I answered the call to be greeted by Angie in a tastefully modest silk dressing gown, a white night dress barely visible at the neckline. I could see her blush slightly at the sight of me in my sleeveless undershirt, but then nod approvingly as she noticed the armored plate carriers on the front and back of the garment, her adventurer sensibilities overriding any embarrassment. She waited until I set down the razor before speaking.
"My apologies, Leon," greeted Angie, still blushing at my partial state of undress. "I didn't mean to disturb you-"
"No apologies necessary," I replied as I cleaned the blade before turning my attention to the call. "Wouldn't have answered if I was bothered by it. I take it that you had more questions?"
"There's something you haven't told us," stated Angie evenly, without accusation.
"There's several things that I haven't told you all yet, but I assure you that I will tell you soon," I replied, actually meaning it.
"Fanoss, I can understand to a point, but what's going on in the Alzer Republic that Marie needs to make a journal for?" asked Angie with a frown.
"The Lafans were involved in a number of shady dealings for a long time, and there's something about the extinction of the Lespinasse Household of Alzer that seems to be… off…" I explained, having to depend on half-truths about the Lafans to explain how I came by the Game Knowledge Marie had provided. "These, in combination with the other problems that we've noted between Fanoss and Holfort make me concerned for the future to the point of working with Marie, in spite of everything that's happened."
"That's quite shrewd of you, politically speaking," nodded Angie with a chagrined look. "Being able to set aside personal feelings to accomplish goals has never been a strong suit of mine."
"Perhaps not, but you wouldn't be the lovely Angelica Rapha Redgrave that I've come to know these past few months," I countered with a warm smile. "Besides, if you can't stand by your convictions, what kind of person would you be?"
"...You're far too kind, Leon," blushed Angie.
"...Infuriatingly so?" I grinned.
"...Precisely…" replied Angie with a fond smile. "Thank you for your honesty, Leon, but I suppose I should let you get back to your previous tasks."
"Perhaps for the best," I laughed before giving a mischievous grin. "Unless you'd prefer to stay and watch?"
"Very funny, but I think I'll leave such activities to Clarice," laughed Angie as she rolled her eyes at me. "Have a good night, Leon."
"Sleep well, Angie," I smiled more sincerely. "Tomorrow should be an exciting day."
Honestly, I really needed to learn to shut my mouth…
So a couple of notable diversions from canon in this chapter: The takedown of Stephanie was a little bit more vindictive than it was in canon, but I figured that this Leon is a. much less willing to put up with shit from "noble bitches" and b. doesn't take kindly to those that would demean those he cares about. Furthermore, Leon didn't declare his undying love to the queen here, but I'd argue he did a decent job of getting her flustered even still.
To those who have suffered in Customer Service positions, I salute you all. May your patience be ever infinite.
Next chapter is coming along well, but I wouldn't expect it to be finished until somewhere between 1/19/24 and 1/26/24. Cheers to you all!