As Yuna walked out of the principal's office, she came face to face with the Crown Prince. His cold, judgmental eyes landed on her.
Yuna, too emotional and unwilling to show it, tightened her expression until it became even more blank than usual—her resting bitch face reaching new heights.
Other times, Alaric would have ignored her, but this time—of all times—he grabbed Yuna's arm to stop her.
Expressionless, Yuna turned her head and spat, "Can I help you?"
Alaric averted his gaze, looking to the side as he asked quietly, "The Empire… it's troublesome. What are your thoughts? What do you think should be done?"
Ahh~
How Yuna would have loved to wrench her arm away rudely and leave, instead of consoling this child of royalty and his poorly-hidden anxiety. At least—poorly hidden to her.
She had her own worries, her own struggles at the moment. She truly wished to leave.
But…
She looked at the boy before her, his expression still cold and aloof, yet unable to mask the weight pressing on him. A child born into high prestige, burdened with the crushing responsibility of one day becoming a monarch. Children should not carry such loads… but no one chooses the circumstances of their birth, do they?
Her master was about to undergo a trial that could cost her life. Maybe, in hopes of earning good karma for her master, Yuna would give this child some attention. Yes, just for that reason. Nothing more.
She parted her lips and said, "Humans are always stronger together, We are capable students, gifted with abilities. What do you think—if we, the class representatives, submit a letter of approval to leave the academy and assist the Empire in these troubled times? Action tends to speak louder than words and accomplishes much more."
That's what class representatives used to do when they wanted things done, right? Submitting letters. At least, that was how it was in her previous life.
This child didn't need soft consolations or empty reassurances.
Well, anyway, that's what she thought—because she can't read minds, duh. She just felt that Alaric wasn't the type who needed consolation, and besides, she was terrible at it. Maybe offering a result or a plan that could ease his anxiety would be better? If not, then she was out of options. This was as far as she was willing to chat with him for now.
Honestly, she just wanted to be alone and cry, you know.
Alaric turned his head back and looked at her. "I thought so too. When should we allot a time for the class representatives to meet?"
"You decide. I'm not using my brain juice for that."
Alaric's lips twitched ever so slightly before he gave a small nod.
...….
The Crown Prince was annoyingly efficient.
The very next day, he arranged a meeting for the class representatives.
The atmosphere around the table was… awkward, not gonna lie. Enyo wore her usual bored expression, Dane looked like he was here just for fun to see how things played out, and the Crown Prince sat broodingly in his seat, not even bothering to start the conversation. Bruh.
Normally, his little minions would do all the talking while he swooped in to assert authority. But with no minions present, the silence stretched. Honestly, Yuna kind of missed Caelum—that annoying fly at least kept things moving.
As the "bigger person"—well, not really. More like as the only adult in the room (screw that, by the way)—she figured she had to start the conversation. Did she actually have to? No. But the sooner this was done, the sooner she could leave. Dealing with young adults was exhausting. Help!
"Ehem, this meeting is called to discuss an important action. As you all know, the empire is in trouble as of late. Even though the light barrier still holds, we don't know how long it will last, and there are still many aftereffects that need to be handled, especially in remote areas. I don't know much." Yuna gestured vaguely toward the Crown Prince. "He uhh… you…"
She froze. She was used to calling him Crown Prince in her head but never actually used his name. And honestly? She kind of… forgot it. Oops. Her modern mindset didn't help—plus, they were still inside academy grounds, so she wasn't exactly afraid of just calling him by name. Crown Prince this, Crown Prince that.. yeah, No.
"Alaric," he corrected coolly, his tone dropping a degree colder.
"Ah, yes. Alaric. He'll explain what he wanted to propose."
Dane looked between them with clear interest at their dynamic.
"Your Highness, please do tell," he said politely.
Enyo, on the other hand, looked half-asleep with disinterest.
Alaric finally spoke. "I was wondering if we, as class representatives, should submit a letter of approval for some of us students to go out—and help the empire for at least a month."
"Going out???" That perked Enyo right up.
Alaric hummed in response.
"Let's do it! Let's do it—I'm sick of this place. I need a breather."
"Are we writing one letter, or should each of us submit separately?" Dane asked, now fully engaged.
Alaric turned to Yuna. "What do you think?"
"Just write one letter and we'll all sign it. I'm not cracking my head over formal wording, so you write it, Alaric. Just state that the students want to help or something. Also, we need to inform our classmates, whether they're willing to go or not. We're not deciding for them. You three can go around, ask your classmates, and jot down names of those willing versus not. If the letter gets approved, we'll take whoever actually wants to go."
With that, Yuna stood. "I'm going. Just send someone to get my signature once the letter's done."
"Send it to me too—Yuna, wait up, let's go together!" Dane called, hurrying after her.
"Pass mine along as well. Have a good day, Your Highness," Enyo added with a lazy curtsy before walking off.
Alaric remained silent, watching them leave, until the makeshift meeting room was empty.
And just like that, the first class representative meeting was adjourned—just as simply as it had started.
.
....
The celestial maiden stood beneath the unending downpour, ignoring the anxious pleas of the caretaker and knights around her.
Her gray eyes were fixed on the light barrier radiating from the Temple of Light.
"A deity in the making…" she whispered.
Her irises clouded over, fading into pure white as she began her reading. She followed the star-line of a deity, and soon blood trickled from her nose. Yet she paid it no mind.
"A deity who isn't even aware… ahh… a godhood that chose her—" she mumbled, before collapsing.
One must always pay a price for daring to peer into the path of a deity—whether before they ascend or after they become divine.
When the celestial maiden awoke, it was already the next day. She still remembered what she had read, but she could not fully interpret it, as if something blocked her comprehension. And yet… a faint smile curved her lips.
"Quite a benevolent god," she murmured. If not, fainting alone would not have been the punishment for such a reckless act.
According to her reading, the deity of the Temple of Light was tied to that ordinary star. The thought made the celestial maiden's heart stir with excitement. She was eager to meet that star herself even more.