Chapter 105: What if?
Violet tipped her head back and gulped down the liquid from the small glass, her eyes widening in immediate, sparkling delight.
"Oh, wow... this is actually super tasty!" she gasped, looking across the table at Alice. "It’s super sugary, really bubbly, and it leaves this funny little stinging sensation right on the tip of my tongue!"
The two girls were sitting in a corner of the academy cafeteria enjoying an early breakfast. The gold-haired Saintess puffed out her chest and grinned with triumphant pride.
"Of course it is! I brewed it myself," Alice declared proudly, resting her chin in her hands. "Even Prince Theo gave it a glowing review when he tried a sample yesterday."
Violet took a small bite of her fluffy pancake, giving her best friend a sly, teasing look. "My, my... a Saintess-in-training, the future Crown Princess, and yet you’re still obsessively making sugary beverage experiments in your spare time? When do you find the energy?"
Alice huffed, pouting as her cheeks flushed a light pink. "First of all, brewing juices is a proud family tradition of mine that will never die! And second of all..." She pointed a finger sternly at Violet. "Prince Theo and I are strictly acquaintances! There is zero business going on between us!"
"Riiight, riiight... whatever you say, Your Royal Highness," Violet giggled, taking another small zbite.
Alice let out a soft, affectionate sigh, resting her cheek against her palm as she watched her purple-haired best friend eat. The Saintes smiled in nostalgia. Violet really did look like a content, fully domesticated kitten right now, unlike a hollow shell she used to be a few weeks ago.
Alice still vividly remembered the very first day they met as young children. It was right after Alice’s holy powers had first manifested, and the church had brought her to Count Lavenza’s estate to see if she could cure a cursed young girl.
Back then, Violet’s purple eyes had been completely dull, devoid of any light or life, ruined by two agonizing years of forced isolation and fear. To see her sitting here now, eating pancakes and laughing in a public cafeteria, felt like a literal miracle.
Suddenly, Violet’s chewing slowed down. Her expression shifted into one of intense focus, her brow furrowing tightly as if she had just stumbled upon an unsolvable paradox.
A bright red spread across Violet’s face, instantly traveling all the way to the tips of her ears. She dropped her gaze to her lap, her fingers twisting and rubbing her skirt together as her words stumbled over one another.
"I-I... I want to ask a hypothetical question!" Violet stammered out, nervous. "A purely... strictly... hypothetical academic scenario! Okay?!"
Alice giggled at her best friend’s flustered state, taking a sip of her juice. "Alright, alright. I’m listening. Ask away, my adorable little girl."
Violet’s purple eyes darted wildly around the cafeteria, ensuring no eavesdropping students were within earshot. She leaned across the table and lowered her voice to a desperate whisper.
"What if... hypothetically... you end up liking a guy?" Violet blurted out, her hands trembling slightly. "And... and he’s an absurdly good guy! He helps you with your most impossible problems, he’s always there when you need him, and he treats you so kindly... But...!"
Violet paused, swallowing hard as her face flushed even deeper.
Alice started smiling, thinking:
’Aww... Violet finally likes someone.’
"But... what if he also has... multiple girlfriends?" she squeaked out, hiding her burning face behind her hands. "Would you... could someone... still fall in love with him anyway?!"
Clang!
The juice glass slipped right through Alice’s fingers, shattering her holy composure in a single split second. The blonde girl froze entirely, her mouth hanging open as she stared at the blushing purple-haired cutie in disbelief.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Violet?!"
The sudden, explosive swear echoed across the grand cafeteria. Every single head snapped in their direction. Dozens of noble students turned in complete shock—staring wide-eyed at the holy, angelic Saintess candidate currently using sailor language at top volume.
"Wait... did Lady Alice just say the F-word?"
"No way, the Saintess-to-be would never... right?"
"Is she... possessed?"
Violet’s face somehow turned an even darker shade of red. Panicking, she threw herself over the table, frantically waving her hands at the whispering crowd with a bright, wildly strained customer-service smile.
"N-Nothing to see here, everyone! Haha!" Violet squeaked out. "Just an academic theater exercise! Lady Alice was demonstrating a villain’s dialogue for our upcoming presentation! Please, carry on with your breakfasts!"
Seeing her top-tier performance, the surrounding students actually bought the absurd explanation, nodding in relief and returning to their meals.
Violet turned back to the blonde Saintess. "Alice! Please mind your language! You’re going to be a Saintess!"
"Fuck my language!" Alice hissed, leaning over the table her golden eyes were practically bulging. "Who is he, Violet?! Who is the scheming, silver-tongued, multi-girlfriend-having womanizer who managed to corrupt my sweet, innocent girl’s brain?!"
***
Meanwhile, across the campus in the quiet, private office of Professor Norelia, suddenly, Eren sneezed violently.
"Achoo!"
Norelia, sitting comfortably in her leather chair, didn’t even look up from the paperwork. But she gave a mischievous smile "Did sleeping out under the cold night air with your fiancée finally catch up to you in the form of a cold?"
Eren chuckled. "Unlikely, Miss Norelia. I think someone out there is simply talking about me... or more likely, cursing me with great passion."
"Probably both," Norelia added.
Eren merely shrugged. "Either way, let’s focus on this first. You read the blueprint for our next release?"
Norelia’s red eyes narrowed as she flipped through the papers and circuit diagrams. "This architecture... it’s remarkably different and harder than anything we built till now. It might take months to finish this,only if everything goes right."
"I know, Miss Norelia. And I intend to officially register the patent and manufacture it under your direct academic supervision."
The petite scholar raised a brown eyebrow, looking up at him over the edge of the paper. "Why the sudden push for public academic accreditation? You usually prefer keeping your technological breakthroughs entirely off the grid."
"Consider it for official business," Eren explained with a confident smirk.
Norelia sighed, though the subtle, pleased curve of her lips betrayed her satisfaction. "Fine. I’ll oversee the official registration process."
Eren smiled in relief.
Then his blue eyes glinted with a sudden, dangerously playful light. "Tell me... are you giving the lecture scheduled for this afternoon?"
Norelia blinked, adjusting her petite posture. "Of course I do. Teaching is technically my primary occupation here, as much as I’d rather nap or read books."
"Excellent," Eren purred softly, pulling out a small, wrapped gift box tied with a ribbon, and placing it directly onto her desk. "In that case... I prepared a little midday thrill specifically for you."