-Chapter 3-

“…You don’t like this?”

Kaiden’s black eyes stared intently at Lizen. Lizen’s tied hair had already unfastened and fell loosely. She gulped. She knew Daniel had always been handsome, however, she’d never taken a close look at him. But looking at him up close, she noticed his really deep eyes and his rather high nose bridge. If Daniel is feminine and pretty, Kaiden is really manly, with thick lines and good looks.

Even as Lizen was looking at him, his hands were fondling her breasts. He grasped them greedily, massaged them preciously and gently stroked the center of her chest.

“Ah!”

She had almost got up, but couldn’t move again because of his legs’ tight grip on her. This was something unimaginable coming from Kaiden, who only showed a cold side of himself every day and was immersed in studying or training. Besides, this was a classroom where they had their classes together every day. To do such a thing in a place like this! His two legs were tightly wrapped around hers. He swung her legs open.

“No!”

“Relax”

He placed his lips on her bare shoulder and spoke listlessly. Her legs stretched helplessly out of the chair and her skirt rose up her thighs. His hands slowly slipped into her skirt and up her thighs.

“N-Not there… Ah, please…”

[Rinnnnnnng! Wake up! Wake up!]

Lizen jerked wide awake and sat up. She realised what happened in her dream. Her face was hot as she blinked, unable to tell if it was a dream or reality. She was now in her bedroom and not the classroom. She hurriedly took off her pyjamas and checked her right shoulder. Her shoulder, where a scar should’ve been left behind by his lips in the dream, was white and smooth like a lie.

Everything was a dream.

“H-How…”

She was on the verge of crying as she pressed the alarm clock.

“How am I supposed to face Kaiden today…”

1. Crossroads

“You have till the end of next week to write down your choice of department from 1st to 3rd choice. Department assignments are announced on the 1st day of next month and the graduation ceremony is held on the 2nd. Next week is the comprehensive exam week, so study hard. That’s it.“

Hearing the teaching assistant’s words of guidance, Kaiden began slowly packing his books into his bag. Last night’s dream was so vivid that it remained as an afterimage all day. Since men were selected as royal talents at the age where they marry and have children, yet have to practice abstinence, it was natural to occasionally have dreams about women. However, it was the first time that such a specific and detailed person had appeared in his dreams. He had fixed his attention on the book, in an attempt to avoid eye-contact with the brown-haired girl in front of him.

How could Lizen Hakart appear in my dreams? And in this classroom, in this chair, we did something really embarrassing. As it was a dream, there was no way Kaiden had any real memories of what happened. When he opened his eyes, all he could remember was a very vivid dream. The dream was so realistic, that he snuck a peek at Lizen’s right shoulder at the cafeteria, but the mark that he made wasn’t there.

Lizen was a rather good girl with a pretty cute face and lively personality. A talented person competing against him for the top spot, but he hadn’t thought of her that way since they were rivals. Besides, he could easily tell that Lizen likes his best friend, Daniel. To some extent, Daniel knows about it as well, but there were so many women around him that he didn’t seem to care at all. Either way, his fiance had long been chosen.

“Lizen, Lizen. What are you going to pick?”

Of course, Lizen and Ashé were sitting in the front row. That’s because Ashé begged to sit near Daniel. Their conversation was being overheard without them even knowing.

“Your first choice is certainly the Bureau of Investigation. I don’t know about the top spot, but you’ll definitely get in. What are your 2nd and 3rd choices?”

”My 2nd choice is the Bureau of Information and 3rd is Medicine.”

“You’ll enter the Bureau of Investigation anyway, so it’s pointless, but you really aren’t going to put Herbology as one of your choices?”

At Royal High School, outstanding students receive additional education and are assigned to an institution of the Kingdom directly. Therefore, all the students of Royal Magic College now have to apply for the institution of their choice in order of their grades, but Lizen and Kaiden were 1st and 2nd place so they’d enter their first choice anyway.

“Even though you got such good grades for Herbology?”

“I don’t use it. I like to move my body. If I stay locked up doing research, I might go crazy like my aunt.”

He’d never thought that he’d be so conscious of her after seeing her in his dreams just once. Fortunately, there weren’t any strange encounters with Lizen. Usually, he would’ve met her once or twice while hanging with Daniel, but today, even if they sat in front of him, he had his eyes glued to his books.

“What about you Ashé… are you going to get married after graduation?”

“Well, of course. I just hope it’s not a royal family. I really want to go to the Bureau of Herbology. I just wish to live an ordinary life, doing what I want, in the nation I was born in.”

Ashé sighed and muttered. The fate of royals that aren’t in the line of succession is an arranged marriage. Daniel, who was sitting next to her, and rummaging through a book, was in the same situation. Although Daniel is the third prince and comes from the main line of descent, he cannot be considered as a possible successor to the throne. Ashé was in a worse situation for she had to marry off into another country.

The current King initially had a queen and two concubines. From the main line of descent, the children who were born from the Queen are the first prince, William, and the third prince, Daniel. Then, the Queen died, and Tessti, who was originally a concubine, rose up the ranks. Her son is the second prince, Reuben. And the daughter of the other concubine, who had been living quietly without much greed, is Ashé, who is the same age as Daniel.

Members of the Royal Family attend Royal High School and Royal Magic College like ordinary students for the sake of future networking and exchanges with the elites, but after graduation, they are to only be addressed as royal princes and princesses. They may be close friends now, but in half a year, they’ll only have a ruler-subject relationship.

William was almost certain to succeed the throne, for he is healthy, kind-hearted, the first-born son and of the main line of descent. Neither Daniel nor Ashé had any doubts regarding the fact that they were being used as diplomatic tools in their arranged marriage. Which is why even though Lizen looks at Daniel with those eyes, she can’t express her love for him.

Kaiden’s eyes turned towards Lizen’s right shoulder again. Compared to yesterday’s dream, it was white and smooth. He recalled the afterimage of last night, where his lips buried into her long fair neck, imparting a purple bruise, leaving a heavy feeling in his stomach.

“Kaiden, let’s go.”

Daniel tapped him and said.

“Ah, wait a minute. I just want to confirm one thing.”

He hesitated, busily flipping through his books. Next to him, Ashé and Lizen passed by. Looking at Lizen’s uniform skirt reminded him of when his right hand slipped into it, so he didn’t raise his head.

That evening, Lizen was studying in the library. The comprehensive exam was next week. Of course she would enter the Bureau of Investigation anyway, but she wanted to enter as the top scorer. Besides, her biggest competitor is Kaiden. He was boasting in the dream last night that she wouldn’t be able to beat him. He’ll have a harder time beating her this time, as she’d be able to use magic for their sparring match.

As she recalled her dream, her face reddened like that of a radish. Why did I have such a weird dream! As Kaiden thought it was a dream, he seemed to act unconsciously. What’s worse was that she had a vivid memory of Kaiden’s face which she couldn’t bear to see properly. Lizen tried to divert her attention to other matters but eventually failed to. She didn’t know if she was in her right mind. She just wanted to meet Daniel in a place other than reality.

Lizen liked Daniel not because he was a prince. Rather, she wished that he were an ordinary man and not a prince. Even if he didn’t enter the Royal College due to poor grades she would’ve still liked him. If she got into the institute of her choice, she would have a high salary, enough to support both their daily needs. But, the fiance of a prince had already been decided. Of course, even if he had never met his fiance, it was enough reason for her to hide her feelings for him. In principle, only the heirs of the royal family are allowed to marry a domestic woman. Having a lover in the country is also implied as an open rebellion against the throne.

She also knows that Daniel has no feelings for her. He is kind and friendly but it is just manners he bestows on all people as a prince. She never even had the desire to become a member of the Royal Family. it’s just that she hasn’t been able to calm down the feelings of her heart yet. She will be loyal to the Bureau of Investigation, an institution directly under the Royal Palace, and then she would be able to work for Daniel. She got up, her mind heavy with thoughts. She didn’t feel like studying anymore. It would be better to do some physical training.