One and a half weeks had passed since the attack on Avalyne Academy.

One and a half weeks since Amelia revealed herself to be a witch and Kaslavna had mounted a fierce offensive on our northern borders.

Surprisingly, the empire seemed fine on the surface, but everyone knew that turmoil was brewing. Avalyne Academy’s situation had somehow improved, but the campus grounds that once brimmed with hopeful students were now little more than a shelter for displaced knights who had yet to graduate.

With so many knights called to serve on the front lines, all classes had been canceled, however there seemed to be a sliver of hope still nestled in the ruined campus grounds. Thanks to Medrauta and Brigitte’s efforts, the knights managed to organize daily training sessions which helped maintain the knights’ morale and keep their mind off darker thoughts.

“Do you think they ever get tired of it?”

Viviane turned, regarding Rosaline with a curious gaze. “Hm? Whatever do you mean, Lady Rosaline?’

Rosaline gestured toward the knights who were busying themselves by whacking each other with blunted training swords. “Oh, you know... Doesn’t hitting each other with metal sticks get boring after a while? The knights could use a good tea party or two in my opinion.”

Viviane laughed. “I suppose it does sound quite dull if you put it that way, but there’s quite a bit of finesse that goes into all that ‘whacking’, Lady Rosaline. For example, look at Dame Loretta’s swordplay. Isn’t she moving just so fluidly?”

Rosaline squinted as she attempted to make out the movements of the knight that Viviane indicated. Despite her best attempts, she couldn’t make out anything more than a blur. “I must admit that she’s moving a tad too fast for me to see, Lady Viviane. Regrettably, I do not possess your impressive visual acuity, though... I can see she’s incredibly focused.”

Ah, right... Viviane nodded, remembering that she was only capable of keeping up with Loretta’s movements thanks to enhancing her physical abilities with ki. She’d gotten so used to doing it passively that it’d just become second nature for her now.

“Hm...” Viviane drummed her fingers against her thigh as she tried to think of another topic to segue into. The two noblewomen sat on a bench across from the training grounds.

Normally, they would be in the archives or in one of the staff offices assisting the remaining instructors with some clerical work. Thankfully, the archives hadn’t been damaged much during the attack, but there were still a large amount of documents that needed replacing or revising.

However, today was special in that the instructors had convened for some sort of meeting that only they were privy to, leaving Viviane and Rosaline completely free for the whole day. Naturally, Viviane had chosen to watch the training sessions that her knight had organized and Rosaline simply tagged along.

“Ah, right!” Viviane suddenly exclaimed as she remembered something while watching Medrauta spar with another knight. “Lady Rosaline, how is Dame Leticia doing? Medrauta would like to see her soon.”

“Ah...” Rosaline’s gaze dropped from Viviane’s. “...I’m afraid Lettie is still...”

“That’s okay!” Viviane hastily said. “I’ll let Medrauta know that Dame Leticia still isn’t feeling well. But... I certainly hope she feels better soon.”

Rosaline simply nodded in response. Though she did not speak, words were not necessary to convey the depths of her emotions to Viviane. Even a casual glance at Rosaline’s countenance revealed her immense worry to Viviane, and when Rosaline finally met Viviane’s eyes once more, the blonde noblewoman understood that no words could express Rosaline’s grief.

“Um...” Viviane hesitated, unsure of how she should transition into what she’d wanted to say before Rosaline’s mind became occupied by the concern that she felt for Leticia. “W-Well, actually... Medrauta has a gift for Dame Leticia that she would like to deliver personally...”

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Rosaline didn’t respond, but the fact that she still held Viviane’s gaze meant that there was still a chance for her next proposition, however slim.

“I was wondering if it would be alright if we went to visit her...?”

Still, Rosaline remained silent, her eyes clouding as if she were contemplating her answer.

“I-If not, it’s not a problem! We wouldn’t want to force her into something uncomfortable, ahaha...!”

“...No. You and Dame Medrauta should visit her.”

“Yeah, of course! We’re willing to wait—H-Huh!?”

Rosaline nodded as if affirming her next words to herself. Though her eyes still remained clouded, there was a flicker of resolve in them. “...I’m scared, Lady Viviane. I’m scared that at this rate, she might completely retreat into her shell... I’m not sure what her relationship with Amelia was, but it’s clear that they were quite close. The betrayal really shook her and lately, she’s even refusing to eat her meals...”

“I see...”

“W-What do I do, Viviane...?” Rosaline abruptly asked, her hands shooting out and grabbing Viviane by the shoulders. Though her voice was soft, her grip certainly wasn’t. Her normally composed face was twisted into an expression of desperation, and it was only now that Viviane noticed the dark circles under Rosaline’s periwinkle eyes. “I don’t know anymore...! We were going to get married, but then the war happened so fast and now... Now she’s barely even responding to me...!”

“C-Calm down, Lady Rosaline!” Viviane exclaimed. Despite her best attempts at soothing Rosaline’s sudden onset of panic, nothing seemed to work. It was clear that the pink-haired noblewoman’s suffering had been building up for quite a long time, and it was only now that she’d reached her breaking point.

Viviane didn’t know what the trigger had been, but it didn’t matter anymore. Rosaline was now sobbing and babbling incoherently, her tears staining Viviane’s yellow dress. A couple of the knights closest to the bench now looked in their direction with concerned gazes, and a few of them ran toward Medrauta in an effort to inform her of Viviane’s newfound plight.

Within a matter of seconds, the silver-haired knight was by her lady’s side. A frown touched Medrauta’s face as she regarded Viviane and Rosaline, shocked by the latter’s disheveled state. Rosaline had always been the quintessential noblewoman to most first-years at the academy, so seeing her in such a condition was slightly jarring even for the knight.

“What happened?”

Viviane shook her head worriedly. “I brought up visiting Leticia, and I thought it was going well, but...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes flickered toward the still-sobbing Rosaline. The sight itself was self-explanatory.

“...Right. Well, first of all, I’d like you to get off my girlfriend, Lady Rosaline.”

“G-Girlfriend!?” Viviane exclaimed, her cheeks reddening instantly. Though they had officially started dating weeks ago, the fact being mentioned still made her embarrassed enough that her heart skipped a beat.

Though Medrauta thought that Viviane’s outburst was rather cute, there were more important matters to take care of. She reached over, grabbing Rosaline by the back of her neck as if she were a cat and gently pried the noblewoman off Viviane. She was certain that moving someone in such a fashion was incredibly improper, but removing a crying noblewoman from Viviane’s chest wasn’t exactly something that Medrauta was overly familiar with.

“E-Eh...?” Rosaline looked up as she was forcibly removed from her place of solace, almost flinching as she was confronted with the intensity of Medrauta’s cold stare. She hadn’t even noticed the knight’s arrival until now.

“Lady Rosaline. Pardon me, but did you not think that it may have been unbecoming for a soon-to-be married woman to cry in the arms of someone who is not her lover?”

“I... I...” Rosaline hesitated, her vision blurred by her tears.

“M-Medrauta! She didn’t mean anything by it, and you know that!” Viviane chastised. “Besides, you know quite well what Lady Rosaline is going through right now! Should you not be a little more lenient?”

“That might be true, but shouldn’t it be Leticia’s chest that Lady Rosaline buries her face in?” Medrauta said as she knelt down and rested her head on Viviane’s bosom. “After all, these belong to me. Don’t you agree, Lady Rosaline?”

DSJKHSAJKFHSDUKGHAFAS!? Viviane’s brain promptly reduced itself to nothing more than a container of pure embarrassment, effectively turning her into a blushing mess that could do nothing but stare blankly ahead of herself until she could recover.

Rosaline couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of this lovey-dovey couple before her. Medrauta’s possessiveness and Viviane’s heartwarming reaction gave her strength and confidence that reminded Rosaline of her own relationship with Leticia. Right... If it’s them, they’ll surely be able to help Lettie out of her slump!

“Certainly, Dame Medrauta,” Rosaline said as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief that she produced from a small clutch bag. “I wouldn’t dare take what’s yours. So... Would it be alright for me to ask the two of you to aid me in getting back what’s mine?”

Viviane and Medrauta both exchanged a glance and a giggle before answering Rosaline in unison.

“Of course!”