"Don't try to run away from me again." A sultry whisper tickled my ear, sending cold shivers down my spine. I could feel his hands placing a tight grip on my shoulder, and then his arms squeezing tighter and tighter around my hips, like a snake circling their frozen, dumbstruck prey.
His breath grew heavier, making me feel as if the eyes of a monster were gazing upon me. "I don't know what I'd do without you by my side... you feel the same, right? Ah... perhaps I should break your legs to keep you from escaping my grasp. Then you'll never leave my side again..." His cheeks grew increasingly hot and his mouth spread into a wide, crazed smile.
Eliad watched the scene with a piercing gaze. His mouth was kept shut, and his eyebrows were tightly knit together—as if his self-restraint was on the brink of shattering. His usual polite and distant countenance seemed to disappear, his chilling stare glued onto Cyrus' arms touching my waist.
The large, shining horses and armor-donning knights soon attracted passerby attention. One of the knights whispered something to Eliad, and his expression grew all the more dark. He immediately lifted his arm and motioned to leave.
I tried to catch one last glimpse of the orphan, but he had long since vanished.
----
I returned to the manor with a sunken expression fixed on my face. The quiet, giddy mutterings of Cyrus through the ride were circling through my head, and I tried my best to shake them off.
The tall, pristine gates of the mansion opened grandly, with the gatemen bowing demurely, but the excitement of the servants upon my arrival was not something I could celebrate with them.
I was going to be told off tonight, huh.
On my birthday no less.
By my stinking parents.
I whimpered inwardly and steeled myself for the punishment to come.
As soon as I entered the manor, I was ushered by the guards up to my parent's bedroom. Two of them scurried forward and opened the doors hurriedly, and the rest stood behind me like a metal wall preventing me from escaping. Perhaps after my undetected breakout a few hours ago, they had learnt not to underestimate me. I humphed in silent pride.
"Remi. Sit." My mother sat on the edge of the bed, caressing something that seemed to be made of sculpted ice. Her command seemed absolute, and I meekly sat on the chair opposing her. The doors slammed shut as soon as I entered the room, and the atmosphere fell into a dreary silence.
I kept my head down and my arms tucked together, trying to minimize my presence as if that would do me any good. My mother continued to fiddle with the sculpture, paying my situation no mind. Her scowl deepened as minutes continued to roll by. Finally, I was the first one to break the strange ambience.
"Mother." My voice seemed to ring and the perturbing hush was broken. Mother's knife slid across the sculpture's skin and a thin crack surfaced, breaking the originally crystal-clear ice. She caressed the piece and the scar seemed to disappear. I watched, mesmerized, before her voice broke my trance.
"I've decided on sending you to Alsar."
"Mother!"
"Remi~ you know, if you can manage to create an air amulet with a fire attribute, I'm sure you'll fit in just fine with the young mages in the academy."
"I didn't-"
"Remi, I'm so proud of you~! You really have inherited my genes! You'll be leaving in a few months, when the new term starts."
"Please-"
"I was never angry about you escaping, Remi. You think I didn't see you jumping out that window? I am one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world, at the moment. And upon your arrival at the Magic Academy, I expect just as much from you."
"What-"
"Ah, this solves so much. I planned on sending Aileen as soon as she finished her training as an heir, so she can go with you."
"But-"
"Now remember, our countdom is in a very secure position, and I expect you to keep it that way by networking. By the end of the year, I expect you to be acquainted with the crown prince and other high noble children. I'll personally see to it that you will have opportunities to introduce yourself."
"How-"
"Now get back to your room. Rest assured, this time, you won't be able to escape."
----
The luggage thumped behind the seats, in sync with the small bumps of the unpaved roads. I watched the forest I was all too familiar with go by with indecipherable eyes. I had already resigned myself to my fate.
Alsar Academy. One of the most prestigious schools on the continent, where the wealthy and high status pigs send their kids. It was divided into three branches; Academia, Swordsmanship, and Sorcery.
I sighed in dismay. The glass fogged and Aileen reached over to draw a poop emoji on it. I didn't notice.
In fact, the reason why I was so adamant not to attend Alsar was not because of the curriculum, nor the fact that I would have to leave the manor. No, it was because Alsar was where the otome game was set up.
Yes, scenes of walking into capture targets changing after a shower ran rampant in school grounds. It was commonplace to find a capture target pinning Aileen against the wall, whispering into her ear, 'Don't talk to him again, or I'll really get jealous.' I grabbed my hair in utter vexation and felt a headache crashing in.
I didn't mind the blatant public displays of affection. The thing I did mind was the fact that Aileen's brother was never supposed to exist in the otome game. I could get away with staying in the shadows during Aileen's obscure childhood. But if I broke into the events and the settings of the game, interrupting the scenes of the characters, what would be the consequences! The best I could think of was the game forcefully correcting my existence and killing me through a natural disaster, or the capture targets seeing me as a nuisance to their relationship and murdering me themselves, but what if something far, far worse happens...!
I sunk farther and farther down into the seat. Aileen was peacefully sleeping on the other side of the couch, her head gently resting on the windowsill. I sighed and moved her onto my lap. A contented small smile spread on her face and she nuzzled closer into my stomach like a little bird.
I shook my head and clenched my fist. No. I will survive!
----
I can't survive.
I wilted onto the fabric-fitted armchair and watched the person in front of me with dead fish eyes.
How is it possible... I thought despairing. Perched in front of me, sipping a porcelain teacup with a relaxed expression, was Lucius, the crown prince of Vires.
Also known as capture target no. 5... the tsundere.