Chapter 23

“You’re slouching again, Audrey.” I quickly fixed my posture at Aunt Bella’s words and held back a frustrated sigh. It’s been a week since Lydia and I returned to the castle, and I was in a very different position than last time. It only took one dinner together for the queen to decide my etiquette lessons with Mr. Tressum had been insufficient.

“If you want society to take your relationship with my daughter seriously, you need to stand firm with more than a sword.” She had said, and I readily agreed, unaware of how strict proper etiquette would be.

“Noblewomen sure have it rough…” I spoke mentally to my goddess as I sipped quietly at my tea.

“You’re one of them, remember?” She said with a laugh before suddenly going quiet.

“Audrey.” The sickly-sweet voice sent a shiver down my spine, drawing my attention back to reality. The queen sat, posed with a teacup and a more intimidating than pleasant smile. “From now on, I’m banning mental communication with your goddess during my lessons.” I broke into a cold sweat at the pressure she exuded, and I even felt Aurora hesitate.

“I-I understand, Auntie.” How did she know? I managed to say. My response seemed to satisfy her as her expression lightened up.

“Now, as much as I love that you call me that, You’ll need to address me properly in public. At least until things become more… official.” She said with a wink, and I felt my face heat up.

“Of course, Your Majesty.”

“Then let’s continue.”

***

Almost two hours later, I was finally released from the demon queen’s grasp.

“That was rough,” Aurora commented dryly in my head, and I nodded with exhaustion. Adhering to Aunt Bella’s demands, my goddess had stayed quiet the whole time.

“It really was…” I said back while walking to Lydia’s study. I didn’t even know she had one when I was her attendant, but I’ve spent considerable time with her there since we returned. When I finally arrived, I nodded at the knights standing to either side of the door and entered.

“That’s all for the report. I’ll keep you updated if anything changes.” A bespectacled man told Lydia as she sat at her desk with some paperwork. “It seems the divine guardian has arrived.” I jumped with a start as he announced my arrival. His back is to the door… How did he know it was me?

Lydia looked around the man, and a beautiful smile broke onto her face as our eyes met. I waved awkwardly as I walked across the room, giving the man a passing glance as I moved to stand beside my girlfriend.

“My apologies. I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything,” I said.

“Of course not. We were just wrapping up here.” Lydia said as she rubbed her eyes. “But this is a good chance. You two haven’t met, right?” She gestured at the man, who was waiting quietly. “Audrey, this is Simon. Like Leah, he’s been my attendant since I was little. He was also with me the day we found you.”

My eyes widened, and I quickly turned to him and bowed. “Thank you for taking care of me,” I said, and when I raised my head to look at him, his brown eyes were scrutinizing.

“I’m not the one to thank, Lady Guardian. I objected to Her Highness picking you up.” His gaze bore into me. “It was pure chance that things turned out the way they did. Make sure you conduct yourself in a way that won’t bring shame to the kindness the royal family has shown you, hm?” he pushed the rim of his glasses up as he spoke.

“That's enough, Simon,” Lydia said with a sigh. “Seriously, you don’t have to be so uptight.” She took my hand and turned to me. “He’s incredibly reliable, but takes his role a little too… Earnestly.” She said with a lop-sided smile.

“I fail to see the fault in my attitude, Your Highness,” Simon said, his expression unchanging. “I’ve been babysitting—” He cleared his throat, which was quite amusing since he didn’t bother to change his tone or expression. “I mean, attending you for over a decade. I might be able to relax more if you weren’t so carefree.”

My girlfriend stood up angrily and pointed at him. “How dare you speak like that! I’ll make you clean all the washrooms!”

“I’ll accept any punishment you give, Your Highness. Just let me report all your secret escapades into town to the crown prince first.” Leah entered from a side room with a tea tray and sighed in disappointment as the princess argued with her attendant. She made her way over to me after placing the tray on the desk.

“They’re at it again, huh?” she said with a wry smile.

“Are they usually like this? I can’t tell if they get along or not…” I said, holding back a laugh as Lydia started to lose the fight.

“Simon is like me in that we both see my lady as family and would happily protect her with our lives. They’ve only talked through letters for the last year, so he’s likely making up for that time by being a bit cheeky.” Finally, Lydia sat back down in a huff, her face red.

“I’ll let it slide, just this once!” She said before her angry facade broke, and she let out a cute laugh. “It’s good to have you back, Simon.”

The man bowed, but I saw his lips twitch into a small smile. “It’s good to be attending you again, my lady.” It seemed a resolution had been reached, but I was still bothered by what Simon had said earlier, so I stepped up to face him.

“Lady Guardian?” he asked quizzically as I grabbed his hand.

“Lydia means more to me than anything else in this world, and the royal family has become what my own family couldn’t, excluding my sister, of course…” I stared into his eyes, doing everything I could to convey my feelings. “I would die before letting anything happen to them.” I put every ounce of conviction I had into those words, and the room fell silent.

“No, Audrey.” I turned as Lydia broke the silence and couldn’t help but notice how flushed her face was. “We will protect those we care about without sacrificing anyone’s life.”

“You’re an earnest one, aren’t you?” Simon said, laying his other hand over mine. “I apologize, for I didn’t mean to doubt your intentions. Let’s do our best to keep that tom-boy princess out of trouble.”

“Of course, I look forward to working with you,” I said as we shook hands. Then I heard quick steps behind me and a flash of gold as Lydia separated our hands forcefully. “First of all, stop holding my girlfriend's hands like that! Second, I am the epitome of grace! Since when am I a tom-boy?!” She asked, and her question was met with another deafening silence, and after a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh. “And did you agree with him, Audrey? At least I’m not a battle junkie!”

Another argument started, but it wasn’t one fueled by anger. A while later, once we all settled down again, I noticed somebody was missing.

“Where is Lucia?” I asked since I’d been in the study for over an hour and hadn’t even glimpsed her yet.

“Probably out training with the other knights. She asked to take a step back from her duties as my knight for a while.” Lydia said with a tilt of her head. “That girl’s been fired up since we returned. I wonder if she’s still bothered by her performance against the assassin…”

“She can hardly be blamed for that. It was her first time seeing actual combat, right?” I asked. “And it was against an opponent that was near impossible to hit with physical attacks… From what I understand, she did all she could…”

“Yes, but frustration with oneself is often illogical. Lucia understands why she lost but can’t accept it. I just hope she doesn’t push herself too hard.” Lydia’s voice was laced with concern as she spoke.

She must feel as I did when I learned of my limits… I balled my fists in determination. “Then we should support her with everything we have!”

“Of course we will. She’s my attendant, after all.” Lydia said with a grin. “Should we go observe their training?”

A chance to see what training is like for the royal knights? “I want to go!” I said excitedly. Just because I could no longer grow with the sword didn’t mean I stopped swinging them around.

The four of us left the study, with the two attendants trailing behind Lydia and me. “Do you think they’ll let me spar with them?” I asked my girlfriend as we walked through the decorated castle hall.

A smile graced Lydia’s face at my question. “They might, but I won’t.” She said, shooting me down.

“But why not?” I asked in disappointment.

“Because it wouldn't be good for morale if a random teenager came through and trounced all the newbies.”

“How so? I always get fired up when I lose…” I said. Doesn’t everyone think that way? And I heard Aurora scoff at my thought.

Her beautiful blonde hair bounced a little as she shook her head in exasperation. “Just be a good girl and listen to me.”

“Don’t treat me like a child!” I pouted but quickly forgot my complaint as we arrived at a balcony overseeing the training grounds. Excited, I ran up to the railing and looked out to see a whole battalion of knights sparing in various pairs.

“She says as she acts like one.” I heard Lydia mumble behind me but graciously ignored it. I knew there were female knights, Lucia being an obvious example, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the men didn’t vastly outnumber them.

Lydia soon stood beside me, and we scanned the field until we saw our girl. Lydia spotted her first, so she had to point her out to me.

“Lucia is over there…” she trailed off. Apparently, she is sparring with my brother.” When I finally found the knight, she was indeed sparring against Prince Abel. I watched as their blades clashed together. At first glance, it seemed Lucia was holding her own against the prince, but the longer we observed, the more I saw that she was steadily losing steam.

“On a side note. It seems the knights train with real blades… Why didn’t I?” I complained to my goddess instead of Lydia, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized something. “Wait… I’ve never even held a real sword!”

“A wise decision from those around you, I think.” I brushed off Aurora’s rude comment and turned to Lydia with resolve.

“I want to spar with someone!” I want to fight with a real weapon!

She turned to me with a frown. “Didn’t we just discuss this?”

“You said it would be a problem if I fought the newer knights, right? Can’t I at least spar with Lucia?” My hopes were dashed as we watched Lucia’s sword fly from her grasp. She thanked the prince for the match before sitting on the sidelines with a towel to catch her breath.

“She seems pretty exhausted,” Lydia commented, and I clenched my jaw while looking for someone else. My eyes landed on Prince Abel, and Lydia followed my gaze. “Absolutely not. It would hardly be a fair match.” Before I could say that was fine by me, she sighed and spoke again. “You can spar with me since you want to do it so badly.”

My eyes lit up at the idea. We had sparred with magic before, but I’d never seen her fight with a sword. Not even during the tournament, since we had been fighting in separate categories.

“That sounds like fun! I bet you’re pretty skilled with a blade, right?” I asked.

She gave me a wry smile. “I’m not nearly as good as my brother, but I did win the academy tournament, remember?”

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“That’s true! Can we spar now, then?” I asked as I turned to leave the balcony, but Lydia grabbed my sleeve and stopped me.

“You want to spar in dresses?”

I looked down, remembering that, yes, I was indeed in a formal gown since I had my lessons with the queen every day. Lydia also wore similar attire. That would be an interesting challenge, however…

“I recommend not saying that aloud, especially to your princess over there,” Aurora said, exasperated, and I nodded at my goddess’s sage advice.

“Right… We should change then!” I ignored the bemused looks from Leah and Simon and led my girlfriend by the hand back into the castle.

***

Why did I suggest this again? I thought to myself as I watched Audrey do some warmup stretches. We returned to our rooms to change into appropriate training clothes: a simple cloth shirt and leather pants. We both had our hair tied into a ponytail and as I looked at my girlfriend, I had to admit that simplicity had its own attractiveness…

“The things you do for love, right? My lady?” Leah spoke from behind me. Luckily, the knights had left the field already, with only the usual suspects lingering to watch our spar.

“You seem to enjoy being wrapped around Audrey’s finger, at least,” Abel added, and I shot both of them a glare.

“Do you not have duties to attend to, Brother?” I asked, knowing full well it didn’t matter if he did.

“Of course I do, but this seems much more entertaining.” That’s what I expected…

I clicked my tongue at his reply but decided it wasn’t worth the energy to argue. Turning back to face Audrey, it seemed she was ready to start. I raised my sword, signaling that I was also ready, and we moved toward each other after a short countdown from Leah.

Our blades clashed together as we blocked and countered each other. After a few minutes, it became clear: We were evenly matched. I may have had the advantage in experience since I had been training since I was little, but the truth was I didn’t enjoy swordplay that much and hadn’t kept up with it over the last year or so.

It was an even playing field, coupled with Audrey’s divinity reinforcing her body and adaptability. However, I’m still able to improve if I wish to. Audrey can’t say the same. I blocked an overhead swing, letting it slide down my blade until our hilts were locked. We were now face to face, and I was nearly blinded by my girlfriend's radiant smile. Her deep blue eyes were practically sparkling with joy.

“You know, this is the first time I’ve faced an opponent I actually stand a chance against.” She said happily. Her expression melted away all my reservations about sparring with her, and I returned a soft smile.

“Then I’ll do my best to make it worth your while!” I released the pressure I was holding on our weapons, and we both jumped backward. It was my suggestion to begin with… I should follow through! I had been on the defensive until now but switched tactics and lunged forward. While the swords the knights trained with were real, the blades were dulled to prevent injury. The training field also had a barrier, much like the ones used at the academy, but it was geared toward physical attacks.

With that in mind, I let loose on my girlfriend. I knew I wouldn’t win a contest of strength, so I focused on maintaining a constant barrage of quick swipes and stabs. It was the same strategy I employed against Isaac during the tournament, just without the anger.

Unlike Isaac, however, Audrey wasn’t able to perfectly predict my attacks, and I managed to tag her a couple of times. None of my hits were decisive enough to end the match, but it was nice to know I wasn’t totally out of form. I’ll end it with this one!

I slashed at her from the right side, and as her blade stopped mine, I lunged forward, using her sword as a guide rail to stab right at her head. Her eyes went wide at the attack, but she didn’t stop moving. Instead of trying to block or dodge backward, she ducked forward, causing the tip of my blade to catch only a few errant strands of red hair. Not good! I felt her shoulder dig into my stomach, and my feet left the ground. I tumbled over her back as she straightened up again, and a moment later, I was looking up at the sky as my girlfriend hovered her blade over my neck.

We stared at each other for a moment before I conceded. “I lost,” I said simply and accepted her helping hand to stand up.

“Are you okay?” Audrey asked. Concern filled her eyes as she began to inspect me, and I waved her worry off with a smile.

“I’m not so fragile that a little fall would hurt me.” I brushed the dirt off myself as we walked back to the spectators.

“Good job, you two. That was a good match!” Abel said with a massive grin. “I’m impressed you were able to win, Audrey.”

“It was just luck. I’m sure I wouldn’t have stood a chance if Lydia was in peak condition.” Audrey said, and I grimaced as Abel turned to me.

“Are you saying she wasn’t keeping up with her training at the academy?”

“I-I had a lot on my plate, alright? Between student council and keeping an eye on Audrey…” I already had an excuse for when my family discovered I had slacked on my swordsmanship. It’s a valid reason as well, surely they won’t take issue—

“You just didn’t want to do it, right? You’ve always preferred magic practice, after all.” And he saw right through me.

“Magic is more interesting! Not to mention more fun!” I defended hastily, accidentally revealing my true feelings.

“Really? I love doing both.” My girlfriend chimed in with a cute head tilt. Adorable, but not helping!

“I’ll make sure to inform Mother,” Abel said, and I shrunk back in fear.

“L-Let’s not be hasty.” If Mother found out, she’d force me to make up for all the training I didn’t do this last year…

My brother had an infuriating smirk on his face as he pretended to get lost in thought. “Give me your dessert at dinner, and I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Why? You can just ask the staff for extra…”

“Why would I do that when I can take yours?” Ah, I get it. He wants to die. I held my hand out, and a red flame appeared over it. I made a point of slowly turning the fire white and glowered at my brother.

“How about I just burn you to a crisp, dear brother?”

He didn’t falter at my threat. “I’d make it to Mother first. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” I glared at him a moment longer before I sighed heavily and extinguished my magic.

“Fine.”

Later that night at dinner, I understood why my brother would make such a deal: My favorite pudding was on the menu for dessert. Maybe I should burn him to ash… I’m sure Mother would understand. I shook the dark thoughts out of my head and handed him my dish while fighting back tears. I’m a woman of my word… Goodbye, delicious pudding…

Luckily, the staff took pity on me during this exchange and brought me another serving of dessert, which I happily ate.

“What did we just watch?” Father asked, confused. But I was too engrossed in pudding to answer, so Audrey explained as best she could. What a good girlfriend! But after Audrey was done, Mother seemed to be eyeing Abel and me in disappointment.

“Where did we go wrong?”

***

My lessons with Aunt Bella lasted until noon every morning. While that first week had been incredibly daunting, I was now getting used to the strenuous routine.

“Keep your back straight,” Aunt Bella instructed as she watched me walk around the room with a stack of books on my head. I felt ridiculous doing this exercise. I understand the goal, but there has to be a better way to go about it!

I didn’t dare say anything to the demon queen, though, as I followed her orders. Even Aurora was still respecting the queen’s request not to interrupt me during the lesson, and it was honestly kind of lonely not hearing her voice for hours on end.

But it’s all for a purpose! Now that I have a goal, I’ll do everything possible to hit it! I hadn’t known before, but Lydia's yearly birthday celebration was one of the social season’s opening events. But this year was special: Lydia was turning eighteen and would become a full-fledged adult. The whole castle was in madness, preparing an extravagant celebration for her, and Aunt Bella said I could only attend if I met her expectations.

It would be a public affair with many nobles in attendance, so I had to present myself in a way that wouldn’t embarrass Lydia and her family. Since the big day was only a week away, I didn’t have much time.

“That was passable. Now, onto the next.” Aunt Bella said, freeing me from the books on my head. The hours passed by quickly as I focused on the tasks I was given, and even though I was getting used to it, that didn’t make it any less exhausting. Luckily, I had a phenomenal teacher; she was very patient and clearly showed me how to correct my mistakes.

However, that didn’t stop me from complaining at the end of every day. I had spent the day being critiqued on everything from my words to how I held a teacup.

“I didn’t even know it was possible to hold a cup too hard!” I whined into Lydia’s lap, where I lay. She had finished her work early, so we decided to relax in her room for the rest of the evening. Lydia sat on the comfortable sofa, reading a book while listening to me rant. Her free hand ran gently through my hair, only leaving me to flip a page.

“Being a noble isn’t easy.” Her green eyes flicked to me with a smile. “Well, I should specify that being a good noble isn’t, at least.”

I raised a hand toward the ceiling and fell into thought. “It’s hard to imagine I should’ve had this life from the beginning…” In a perfect world, one where my mother had managed to fulfill her dreams… would we have still been nobles?

“Your mother wanted to be an adventurer… You never would’ve come into existence had things gone differently.” Aurora said in my mind.

“Good point. But still, it hurts my heart to know how much she suffered. I can at least give her peace in my dreams.” There was no verbal response from my goddess, but I could sense her swirling emotions. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

“You didn’t, my guardian. It’s a pleasant sentiment.”

Lydia was watching me intently when I finally refocused on my surroundings.

“Done talking to your goddess?” She asked.

“I am. But I’ve meant to ask… how exactly can you tell when I’m talking to her?” It was something I’d been wondering about for a while, even more so since Aunt Bella also figured it out.

“Your gaze gets really distant like you’re looking at something far away. Plus, your eyes actually turn silver.” I shot up at that.

“W-What?” I talk to Aurora all the time! Is that why the other students were so weird around me? Because of my randomly changing eye color?

My girlfriend laughed at my panic and pulled my head back onto her lap. “Relax. It’s very subtle. I only noticed because we spend so much time together.” After the assassination attempt, Lydia told me about my appearance when I used my power. I wanted to see it for myself, but something in me was terrified of losing control again.

I blacked out last time. What if something worse happened the next time I drew on that amount of power? Again, I sensed my goddess’s emotions through our bond, but it felt almost… fearful this time.

I shook my head. “Let me up; I want to see a mirror.” I requested, but Lydia refused. Instead, Leah brought me a hand mirror, which I held above me as I faced the ceiling. I directed my thoughts through my bond with Aurora but focused on the mirror instead of getting lost in thought like I usually did.

Slowly, I saw a thin cloud of silver bloom around my pupils, but it didn’t spread further. It makes sense; mental communication uses a minimal amount of stella. Lydia wasn’t lying; it was unnoticeable unless you were really looking for it.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I put the mirror on the table. “Thank goodness. I’d be sad if I had to watch when I talked to her.” Now I know, at least.

The room fell into a peaceful silence, the only sound being the occasional flipping of Lydia’s book. The shadows in the room slowly stretched as the setting sun illuminated the window, then disappeared. At some point, I drifted to sleep with my head on my girlfriend's lap.

“Alright, get up, Audrey. It’s time for bed.” Lydia’s voice broke me from my nap, and I groaned.

“Don’t want to,” I said, wrapping my arms around her back. She tapped my shoulder and spoke again.

“Don’t be like that. It will be more comfortable in bed for both of us.” I reluctantly let her go and sat up slowly. As we changed into our nightclothes, Lydia turned to me.

“I love that you’re working so hard for my birthday, but it’s not a big deal if you don’t attend the public celebration. We usually have a more intimate gathering with only friends and family afterward.”

“But I want to stand beside you, always,” I said simply. She came up to me and placed a hand on my cheek.

“Then I believe in you.” She leaned in closer, and I saw Leah turn away as Lydia’s lips met mine. We stayed like that for an embarrassingly long time. We haven’t had much time to be alone together since returning to the castle. Even before that, with all the preparation for graduation. When we finally parted, we were both out of breath and flushed.

After a few moments to cool down, she spoke as we climbed into her bed. “Speaking of birthdays, when is yours? It has to be coming up, right?” I paused in thought as I tried to recall. I hadn’t celebrated my birthday since my mother died. Nobody at the mansion cared other than Sasha. But not even my sister knew when it was, despite all her questioning.

“Um… I think it would’ve been around when we started at the academy?”

“Wait, you’re saying it’s already passed?” I could hear the sadness in her voice as she fully understood what I said. “You don’t know your own birthday?”

“N-No… The last time I celebrated it, my mother was still alive. Everything past that blurs together…” I scratched my cheek awkwardly. It’s not like I cared anyway. I never believed my birth was something to be celebrated.

“I’ll tell you next year when the time rolls around—”

“Unacceptable.” Her stern tone caught me off guard, and I stared at her. She looked down, and her bangs covered her eyes so I couldn’t see her expression. “Truly and utterly unacceptable.”

“It’s fine, really—” Her hand shot out and covered my mouth.

“Don’t you dare say that!” When my girlfriend finally looked at me, her eyes were brimming with tears. “You’re important to me. I’m so glad you were born and are here with me. And I want to celebrate that with you for as long as possible!” Her heartfelt words hit the same chord in me as my mother’s letter, and I began to cry. It’s been so long since someone told me that…

“My family feels the same way. We all want to do that for you.” She wrapped me in a hug until I calmed down. At least Leah hadn’t seen me like this since she had retired to her room already. Why am I always crying when I’m with her? I thought to myself with a smile.

***

“But you really don’t know the specific day?” I asked Audrey after she calmed down and we settled for bed.

“I remember the general time of year? Is that not enough?” Another thing to hate Duke Rose for, I suppose.

Of course it isn’t… But you don’t have to worry about it too much. I’ll figure something out.”

“If you so say so, but I don’t want to add to your already hectic schedule.” Her concern for me was cute, but all I was going to do was check House Rose’s family registry. It should have her birthday listed, even if the Duke were ashamed of her.

“I won’t, don’t worry.” Sleep took Audrey quickly after that. No surprise, the lessons with Mother are quite exhausting… But my mind was racing with thoughts on how to throw my girlfriend the best birthday celebration ever.

I’m the person she chose, and I’ll do everything I can to make up for all the pain she’s been through. When sleep finally came for me, I was already formulating the best birthday celebration possible for her. She’s naive to think I would wait almost half a year.

After all… Audrey is most beautiful when she’s smiling, and I love being the person who makes that happen.