Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 40 ❆ New Plans

Erenol, as expected, only continued sobbing.

"At least don't cry, eat, and gasp at the same time. Do you want to die?"

She swallowed the food in her mouth and resumed eating. However, following my scolding, she finally slowed down into nibbles rather than chomps.

"Don't think too much of it..." I said. "This just brings us back to the plan we had from the very beginning."

She looked at me this time, eyes red and swollen. "Whacchu mwean?" she mumbled, bits and pieces of half-chewed fruits spilling out of her lips.

"Damn, don't talk when—disgusting." I sighed. "I'm talking about Dragoon Academy."

They were all silent.

"Dragoon Academy is state-run," Mistress Veronika said with a grave tone. "If your identities are discovered, it'll be troublesome. It's one of the reasons why we didn't want you to continue...The Temple is a more trustworthy choice for your education. They are not easily swayed by the political climate and are very protective of their disciples."

"No...Evy is right," Erenol said. "Education and training is not the only thing I'm gunning for. Remember what Sir Laksa said before?"

"If you become a Paladin..." I trailed off.

"I won't have to marry anyone," she said. "And I can at least be strong enough to defend myself...not like back then, when I can't even protect mum. So even if they find out who I am, I still have control over my own life!"

I looked at both Mistress Kora and Mistress Veronika, who were exchanging glances with one another. Erenol followed my line of sight and also gazed at the two, her eyes pleading.

"Will it not be possible?" she asked.

"It's possible..." Veronika said. "But there are many complications to this so it will take a while to arrange to make it safe enough for you to go. We'll have to make compromises...and you might have to disguise yourself."

"Disguise myself?" Erenol repeated.

"Change your gender," mistress told her.

Erenol's jaw dropped.

"If there's one thing I realized during my time, it's going to be less troublesome if you come in as a boy rather than be honest about your sex outright. People may think it's novel and upright if you enter as a girl, but you will be targeted a lot. It will make your life ten times harder. It'll be better if you play it low-key...not to mention your identity as princess of Venerya," Mistress Veronika told her. "If you're found out, we'll also be tracked, and there's no telling what those people will do when they find us. It'll be much safer like this."

"How can I be...like a boy?" she asked. "I don't know how to act like one!"

"You don't need to act," I said. "You were not very feminine to begin with. Although, yeah, occasionally you may be."

She glared at me.

"It's not a problem!" Mistress Kora exclaimed. "Are you forgetting me? I'm the master of both sides of the coin! You cannot look for an expert better than me!"

I jutted out my bottom lip thoughtfully as I nodded. Mistress Kora made a lot of sense. He was the gender-bending god. He controlled both sides of the same coin fluidly, whichever side he was feeling for the day. I do admit we had the perfect lineup to execute this ridiculous plan. The chances of us succeeding were actually very high. It was much better than leaving things as they were.

"Losing that fight may have really happened for a reason," Mistress Veronika said.

"Are you not disappointed with me?" Erenol asked, tears gathering once more in her eyes.