As Inspector Aerel and Casey left the headmaster's office and began preparing for the incoming influx of officers and organising searches, a certain beta woke up in her hospital cot.
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[Rien's POV - 1 day until the autumn ball]
I woke up to light stabbing directly into my eyeball.
Again. (That's three days in a row, eueueueue)
"...ow."
I rolled onto my side, missed the edge of the cot entirely, and nearly ate the floor before catching myself on the frame. Whoever designed the hospital wing and its lighting apparently had a personal vendetta.
I blinked rapidly. It was still so bright…
After about thirty seconds of suffering, my vision stopped seeing dots. I pushed myself upright and picked up the grey package and leather strap that Aerel had left behind.
"Oh?"
The two pieces of leather were two holsters for mother's revolver—one a shoulder holster, the other a thigh holster. It was oddly considerate for someone who'd blackmailed me.
The grey package was my work jacket. It'd been dusted off and cleaned, and it was actually presentable now. The fabric had been smoothed out, the creases were gone, and even the itty-bitty scratches on the cuff from my neighbor's cat had been mended.
…How'd Inspector Aerel get into my room, though? She was constabulary, but wasn't breaking and entering someone's room still illegal?
"Sigh…"
I wrestled around for a bit with the shoulder holster, working the straps (shush, you degen) until it felt comfortable. It hung slightly above my waist. It took a bit longer than I'd like to admit.
*Chak!*
Eventually I slid mother's revolver into the holster, and it fit surprisingly well. With my work jacket on, it was pretty much impossible to tell I had a revolver tucked away.
Nice~
I picked up my messenger's bag from my bedside and slid the other holster into it. Maybe it'd be useful if I were wearing a longer dress or openly carrying or something.
…Hopefully I didn't look too strange wearing a jacket. Having an overcoat was common enough at the academy, though, so that was probably fine.
I squinted at the clock that was still ticking away on the wall, the gears turning one by one, rotating the hands around and around.
"...7 o'clock?"
I flicked my brown bangs out of my eyes and rubbed them. I woke up even earlier than yesterday.
Sigh. Truly tragic.
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The rest happened quickly. I sleepily signed out of the infirmary—to which the receptionist said to just check in again if I wasn't feeling well—and made it back to the beta dorms to shower. Then, I quickly dried off and headed back to the history building, once again finding Proctor Doe's room filled with curious miscellany that made it look like a museum had exploded inside of it.
A quick glance around the room told me that I was early again. This time, though, I took a seat further back.
Soon after, students began arriving at class. As the room began to fill, I noticed that the three strange students were… not there. That probably wasn't good. That was—
"Oh my god, that's her."
"The princess—"
"The princess is coming this way."
"Eeeeee~!"
"Wait, is she in this class?"
"Twenty bucks says I ask her out first."
"You're delusional."
"I'm a duke's son, you know—she'd want the alliance. Besides, we both know she isn't a direct lineage."
"Yeah? Keep dreaming."
"...Piss off."
I cringed as suddenly, noise hit me over the head like a bat.
A good portion of the front half of the room tilted toward the entrance like sunflowers desperate for daylight. I pulled out a notebook.
Honestly, I felt kinda grumpy this morning. Try waking up to hospital lights that don't dim, and I dare you not to feel even the slightest bit grumpy. At least I had a hot shower~
To kill time until class started, I picked a blank page and started scrawling little doodles and sketches on it.
Soon, there was a scratchy ink version of my neighbor's cat. Then a cartoon of Fritz, one of a seagull, a horse, a letter, my house… At some point, I'd unwittingly drawn a sketch of the faceless girl and the fountain and I quickly scratched it out before anyone saw.
"Hey princess, want to sit with us?"
"Your imperial highness, would you like to—"
"I'm such a fan, oh my god—"
"Would you like to do—"
As I drew I kept glancing up. Indeed the three strange students were… no longer there. No more three black-haired girls with pearly eyes and wet hair. An unsettling feeling pooled in the pit of my stomach. I idly spun my pen, eventually scribbling a small griffon, a sea serpent…
Fuck, I can't focus. The three girls that I was supposed to keep tabs on were not here. They could have just overslept, but something just felt off.
That was not good—
"Excuse me."
A soft, lyrical voice jolted me out of my stupor.
"Is the seat next to you taken?"
No one had approached my row since class had started.
"Nope," I said, still staring at my jumbled mess of a notebook. The page was filled with little sketches and doodles. It actually looked pretty similar to my regular journalist's pad. "Go for it."
There was a pause.
"Go for it…?" The voice echoed, faintly amused.
Mn! That tone sounded like a noble snob or someone important who felt I had hurt their high, precious, oh-so-important pride. I really hated these interactions...
I sighed internally and turned my head. "No, it isn't taken—"
I stopped.
Oh.
The speaker stood right beside my seat, her composed posture straight but relaxed. Of course, her uniform was immaculate. A dark blazer was fitted cleanly over her shapely frame paired with black stockings, differentiating her from the regular student.
Her long, straight hair was a deep navy with soft gradients, falling down her back like ink-dipped silk. A few strands framed her face, her bangs just grazing her lashes.
She was really pretty, sure, but I recognized her clear, deep aquamarine eyes from somewhere. As in, quite literally anywhere that had posters of the imperial family.
I recognized this specific alpha from the photos and… yeah, she was the person I was supposedly supposed to protect. I blinked slowly, gulped, then looked back at my notebook.
…Oops.
I'd just accidentally told the Second Imperial Princess to 'go for it'.
Kill me now...