Chapter: 288
A table made for rest near the training grounds of Soul Academy.
Sitting there were Arthur, the Third Prince of Soladin Kingdom, and Frey, the eldest daughter of the prestigious Kent family.
Up until the time they entered Soul Academy, they had only faced each other at several competitions, and there was no real relationship beyond that. However, as their first year at Soul Academy was nearing its end, seeing the two together wasn’t as awkward anymore.
There was a common denominator between them: Lucy Allen.
On one side was a person who was rolling on the ground to eventually defeat Lucy.
On the other side was someone who believed only Lucy could fill her gaps and was obsessed with her.
Though their motives differed, they both gathered around Lucy, which made Arthur and Frey quite comfortable with each other.
This comfort was particularly strong from Frey.
“Sloppy.”
Even though he was clearly of royal blood, as far from the throne as one could be, only she, aside from Lucy, could say such a thing to Arthur.
“…Oi. Frey Kent.”
“The sloppy person who couldn’t even speak properly and ran away.”
“Shut it while I’m being nice.”
It was rude and almost blasphemous teasing, but Arthur couldn’t bring himself to retort.
His recent behavior was, by his own assessment, nothing less than disgraceful.
…No. This isn’t just my fault. Lucy Allen must share a clear part of the blame.
What on earth happened over the weekend for a person to change so much!
In that short span of time, what did she experience to return with such beauty that one couldn’t help but be captivated?
Like that.
“Hah.”
For some reason, Arthur’s face flushed, and he swept his hand over his face, letting out a long sigh.
No matter how much he mumbled nonsense in his mind, the actions he took yesterday wouldn’t disappear.
By this point, one would typically take note of the person in front of them, but Frey did not.
How could she, who didn’t even understand her own feelings, care about someone else’s?
“A small girl who’s two heads shorter than you ran away in fear, huh?”
“…Who ran away in fear! That’s not it!”
“Then what is it?”
“I just think Lucy Allen…”
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Just! Keep it down! How many times do I have to say this!”
As Arthur’s thread of reason unraveled, veins popped on his neck.
“What’s with this? What have you been holding in? Is it that bad that I told you to follow orders in the dungeon?!”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t that mostly your fault too?! If you had just followed my orders properly!”
“But Third Prince’s orders are so sloppy and boring.”
“Dammit! You’re annoyingly bold!”
Even in his anger, Arthur realized he couldn’t win this verbal battle. As if struck with an epiphany, he messily ruffled his hair and then spoke up.
“Isn’t it true you’re sloppy too?”
“I?”
“You’re the one who ran away when Lucy Allen caught you wanting to be teased!”
“…”
Just a moment ago, Frey had been all confidence, but there was a limit to that. As Arthur nudged her sore spot, she immediately clamped her mouth shut.
“And yet you scolded yourself because you thought Lucy Allen wouldn’t acknowledge you! It’s absurd!”
“…I didn’t whine.”
“Ha! I asked what was wrong, and you became so dumbfounded that I wondered if something happened!”
“Enough.”
“The one trembling while speaking didn’t whine? Now, that’s amusing!”
“That’s enough. Or else I’ll ring a bell.”
The two of them glared at each other, veins popping in their eyes.
“Frey Kent.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s stop here.”
“Okay.”
As Arthur stepped back, the tension eased.
Perhaps due to the effort of shouting moments ago, Arthur leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the void, almost murmuring.
“I’ll return to the topic from yesterday.”
“Is that about the day the Third Prince ran away?”
“Are we going to start again?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Anyway, at that time, weren’t we discussing your concerns?”
The studies they had to do at Soul Academy, several assignments Lucy personally gave them, and the strategy for the dungeon.
Arthur, overwhelmed and busy with all of this, went out with Joy and Frey for this very reason.
To consult Frey about her worries. He had set aside the weekend to help her, as she had spent many dazed moments recently due to the incident with Lucy.
“That’s right.”
“After I left, you didn’t talk about that at all, right?”
“Right. We just walked around the academy streets with Lucy.”
“Anything peculiar?”
“The restaurants we went to were all delicious.”
“…Very on-brand for you.”
“Really? Thanks.”
“Compliments… Sigh. So we made no progress from our conversation yesterday, huh.”
Arthur rearranged his messy hair using wind magic and looked back at Frey.
“If I were to relay what I couldn’t finish saying yesterday, it’s that Lucy Allen probably won’t abandon you. She may have a rough tongue, but she’s not ill-natured. She considers you a friend, so she’ll likely stay by your side.”
“Me? A friend of Lucy’s?”
“Don’t you call it friendship when you’re always together, roaming around?”
“Friend.”
As Frey giggled warmly, Arthur let out a relaxed laugh.
In the past, when they met at competitions, he wasn’t sure if he could even call her human, but now she felt so… human.
Could this change also be something that Lucy Allen created?
“Therefore, my conclusion is that there’s no need for excessive worries.”
“There’s a ‘but?’”
“Even so, since you’ve known each other for a long time, let’s talk a little more.”
Knowing the past version of Frey, Arthur thought this change was a good one.
If you were to ask whom he felt closer to, obviously it was the latter.
Let’s accelerate this change a bit more. As long as she follows Lucy, they will have to interact longer.
“You mentioned that you didn’t know emotions before meeting Lucy Allen, right?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“And you also said that Lucy was the first to make you feel anger.”
“Exactly.”
“Then, until now, was the only emotion you felt anger?”
At Arthur’s question, Frey tilted her head.
Seems she didn’t understand the question. How could he explain it more clearly?
Ah, this will work.
“You described anger as a red color. So, I’m asking if there have been times when other colors filled your heart.”
“There have.”
Frey nodded without hesitation, remembering it wasn’t hard at all.
For her, heart colors were so rare; she could easily recall the times when she was filled with them.
“When Lucy called me an idiot, and when I was caught wanting to be teased. And…”
“That’s enough. Frey. From your perspective, which of those colors would you like to encounter more?”
“Colors?”
“Right. Colors must have hierarchies too. Just as you regarded things related to Lucy Allen as most important.”
Hearing Arthur’s question, Frey opened and closed her mouth repeatedly.
She couldn’t think of an answer right away.
Since she had always thought anything would be good as long as her heart was filled with color, she had never considered the hierarchy of colors.
Just then, as Frey furrowed her brow, trying to think deeply, footsteps could be heard approaching.
“How are you both? Doing well?”
The newcomer had the status to interrupt the conversation between a prince and the daughter of a noble count.
Joy Partlan.
The lady of the Partlan Ducal family greeted them with a perfectly polished bow.
“Sorry I’m late. I didn’t notice the sun had risen due to the curtains, and ended up falling asleep again?”
“I ran into Lady Allen on the way. The shy prince fell for her the moment he laid eyes on her.”
“Who fell for whom?!”
“Weren’t you supposed to? I thought it was the case.”
Arthur ground his teeth at Joy’s nonchalant words, who casually claimed to have become dopey due to Lucy’s teasing.
Lucy had teased her so much lately that she was becoming more and more shameless.
One would think she would pick up on the fact that her pigtails were immaculately styled. But, alas…
Normally, he would have scolded her, but today he decided to keep quiet.
There had to be a price to pay for being teased.
“I have some news that you two would find interesting! Lady Allen and Professor Karl will be having a duel!”
“The two of them?”
“Yeah. It seems Lady Allen requested it first. She wanted to test her full power.”
“A duel with a knight from the Allen family.”
That Karl was a knight from the Allen family was no secret.
Neither Lucy nor Karl cared to hide it, so anyone paying attention would know.
When asked who the strongest knights on the continent were, the Allen family’s knights were always mentioned. If Lucy Allen were to duel with them…
No matter how exceptional her talent might be, she wouldn’t win without giving it her all.
This was indeed a rare opportunity to witness her true power.
“Sounds interesting, right?”
“It was worth the wait. Thank you.”
Arthur expressed gratitude to Joy, who shrugged her shoulders, before turning his gaze back to Frey, still lost in thought.
“Frey Kent.”
“…Yes?”
“Come. This sight will help you find an answer.”
“What sight?”
“You weren’t listening, were you?”
As they walked, Frey stood up to follow Arthur.
“Sloppy folks. Are you not too slow?”
Following Joy’s lead, they arrived at the academy’s training room, which was specially rented.
Inside that space, where only those who requested it could enter, stood Lucy and Karl facing each other, but Arthur’s eyes only recognized Lucy.
Arthur still had no clue how exactly Lucy had transformed.
The only certain thing was that she had developed a captivating charm.
Whether attracted by her allure or envious of her beauty, anyone who caught sight of Lucy would find themselves unable to look away for a long time.
“…Hmm? Lucy Allen. Your armor doesn’t look too good. What happened?”
While observing Lucy closely, Arthur noticed her armor was in a state where it could break at any time.
It seemed there had been some patchwork done, but the armor itself had reached its limit. Any skilled blacksmith would recommend a new one.
“The pitiful prince has experienced something huge that you couldn’t even fathom. You’d be quite surprised if you heard about it.”
“What exactly happened?”
“Curious? Should I tell you?”
“I’d be thankful if you did.”
“Um. I’ve changed my mind. It’s a secret.”
“…What?”
Lucy giggled at Arthur, who raised an eyebrow.
“Puhahaha. Did you think I’d tell you? You were hoping to hear it, right? But it’s a secret. This is too early for a little guy like the pitiful prince.”
In the past, Arthur would have responded harshly, but today he could not.
Even though her actions were no different than usual, Arthur’s face turned red, and he fell silent.
“Sloppy.”
Frey, observing him, echoed the words she had once been scolded with in the dungeon, and Joy, who was standing next to her, hurriedly turned away and struggled to suppress her laughter.
Seeing the two’s reactions led to an even deeper flush on Arthur’s face, but the true source, Lucy, had long since lost interest in him.
“Hey, sloppy.”
“Are you ready, young lady?”
“Bring it on. I’ll make you crawl like a dog.”
“I’m looking forward to it!”
As Karl responded with a laugh, as soon as he took a step, Arthur lost sight of him.
…What?
Even though he hadn’t been focusing, this was…
Clang!
Arthur barely followed Karl’s movement after the first clash had already passed.
“Your sword’s too slow, huh? Maybe being an old dog means you recover slowly?”
“Haha! Young lady! If I’m an old dog, what are other knights?!”
Karl’s sword, blocked by Lucy’s shield, searched the air for its next path.
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