Reginsleif and Laevia found themselves facing Lunaria and Kaze. A solemn mood filled the air as both pair of lovers sat in silent opposing each other, a deafening mood of terror reigning over the atmosphere.
"Where to begin?" Reginslef asked the young couple. "I can understand if you're angry-"
"Skip all the details, that isn't important," Lunaria cut off her father curtly, arms crossed with a slight sulk. "What I want to know is what will happen to Kaze because of this."
"Right," Reginsleif nodded. "Honestly, nothing has changed. Kaze still has to return to Czech."
"Why?!" Lunaria roared, standing up as she did so. "Haven't we already established that the students were fine with us dating?!!"
"Control your tone, Lunaria," Laevia warned her daughter with a mild smile. "Regardless of how angry you feel, you're talking to your father."
"NOW you want to talk about respect, mother?" Lunaria growled softly. "Where was that so-called respect of yours when you and father decided to go on with this plan?"
"Lunaria."
"If you decided to do something like test the crowd, I suppose we could have just walked out in the open and see the way the crowd react rather than telling them beforehand-"
"Lunaria!"
"She's right, Laevia. We should have told her about this."
"B-But, dear…"
Laevia stammered when her husband seemed to agree with Lunaria's argument. Surely, this was meant to be biased against them as it was easy for Lunaria to be angry with them, but Reginsleif was easily accepting that outcome. It slightly baffled Laevia, who was of the opinion that they had valid reasons to explain to Lunaria regarding their decision to make the whole thing a secret. Could it be that Reginsleif was regretting it a little?
"Reginsleif-sama, Laevia-sama, sorry for the way Lunaria acted. Earlier, she had already said she would have a 'peaceful talk' with you two and I assumed I needn't intervene," Kaze apologised in Lunaria's stead. "But I have to admit that I resonate with Lunaria. May we know why this option was taken when the letter from Sir Ethan only came so much later?"
"Firstly, thank you for your polite tone Kaze. I was just getting a headache from dealing with Lunaria," Laevia giggled, causing Lunaria to pout even more that her mother favoured Kaze's way of asking, which was natural since no one liked getting screamed at. "I was about to say that we should explain that, if not for my daughter's screaming."
"Hmph," Lunaria pouted and gave Kaze a painful nudge against his side. "Meanie."
"O-Ouch, Lunaria," Kaze sweatdropped, rubbing the side of his stomach where she nudged him. "Why are you angry at me now?"
"There is no simpler way to explain the reason for choosing to let you and Lunaria fall under a sort of monitoring system than it simply being something I chose to do for insurance purposes," Reginsleif talked after chuckling at his daughter's antics. "Well, turned out I was right when a letter came from Sir Ethan. After the devil incident, we managed to resolve a portion of the issue behind the scene through ways of compensation and letter exchange. As you two would know, everything seemed to be going alright up until the point Kaze's group was invited to Aravel in private."
"Did something happen while we were gone?" Kaze asked.
"Not so much that something happened, but more of a decision being made. As you know, the media must have made the devils the enemy, as they should," Reginsleif noted to Kaze. "But have you considered the reason why they would go to great lengths to simply establish a threat? Why couldn't it end with the devils being blamed and moving on from there?"
"Wasn't it established before that they wanted to shift the blame away since the public wasn't satisfied with the reason given?" Kaze felt a little confused by the Emperor's question. "I remember the explanation being something about how a quarter of damages was caused by Lunaria, so they felt that it would be better to break ties with Aravel as some felt the attack would not have happened if Lunaria didn't show up at Czech."
"I believe that's just a convenient excuse, if you ask me," Reginsleif dismissed that theory with a snort. "How many times have I seen excuses like such being used for political gains? You simply have to bend any issue or story enough that it makes it sound convincing enough to fool people into believing it. Logically speaking, it is stupid to blame the victim who acted innocently as the true culprit was the instigator, being the devils. It's like shooting the messenger who delivered the message… in a rather brutal way, so the messenger isn't exactly clean either."
"Eh?"
"Point is, we think that there is someone who is plotting behind the scenes in a meticulous way that all the events would lead to the destruction of either our nations or for something bigger. Sir Ethan concluded that he also agreed with this possibility, as it had already been guessed early on that the devil attack was arranged with some inside help."
When Reginsleif revealed this, Kaze had a sudden flashback to when he heard about this theory for the first time. Now that it had resurfaced, it sort of confirmed that there was indeed too many coincidences and weird things that led up to the development of their current situation. To find the culprit as well as prove this was beyond a simple hypothesis was the hard part.
Their talk continued for a short period more, mainly clarifying about their future actions and what to do from now on. For now, the plan hadn't changed that they would brief the others over Kaze leaving Aravel without Lunaria as it was what they had decided upon. Today's reaction from the students and teachers definitely influenced things to change, but nothing can be said when everything had just developed. There needed to be a confirmation after discussion on what steps could be taken from here on with the Council, who were all on board in helping Kaze and guaranteeing his safety in a foreign nation.
The two couples then left the room after reaching a mutual agreement on what to and not to reveal during dinner, which they were going to have now. Once they reached the dining room, where everyone was already waiting, the announcement was delivered in a serious manner while food was getting served. Sure enough, this was enough to dampen the excitement everyone had after completing five days at the academy. Good news followed by bad news was the worst feeling ever, but it was a necessary thing to do for everyone to know the extent of the situation back at their hometown.
While it had severely affected everyone's mood, it wasn't enough to dismiss a merry dinner together with the royals of Aravel. The topic quickly shifted as dinner progressed, allowing everyone to temporarily put any thoughts they had about Lunaria staying in Aravel on the backburner, leaving it for another time to privately discuss with her.
The next day, the group came together to talk about their plans from now on after breakfast. It was necessary to make such arrangements now that their lives had been affected, one way or another. This wasn't just limited to Kaze and Lunaria, but every single one of them.
"So, have you all processed what my father said the night before?" Lunaria was the first to ask the group once they had settled in at the shared common room.
"Pretty sure all of us are equally concerned about that issue to the point of thinking about it all night," Yuuji answered with a weak laugh. "Lunaria, is there really no other way to have you come to Tristania or have Kaze stay in Aravel?"
"Wait, are you saying that you are okay if I don't return to Czech?" Kaze stopped his friend with a slightly surprised look on his face.
"I mean, if you're asking us to choose between having you be with us but unable to be with Lunaria, or have you be with Lunaria but away from us, I would rather the latter," Chris shrugged as though the option was a no-brainer. "Personally, I don't want a dragonkin princess tearing up the city again when she finds out her human boyfriend is locked up in a dungeon somewhere."
"Now that's a bit too cruel, Chris," Noel giggled at his words. "But I agree with the sentiment. If you stay with Lunaria and get engaged properly, you will be able to obtain a royalty status that will enable you to travel freely between nations. I think sacrificing your time in Czech, a place that has obviously got some grudge against you, is not worth it compared to the returns you would gain in Aravel."
"Honestly speaking, it feels like we have been converted into citizens of Aravel over the past 2 weeks," Irene admitted. "Everything about this place, while having a few downsides that I haven't gotten accustomed to as a city girl, is near perfect. Kaze, you should stay."
"If you're worried about us, don't worry," Albert gave him a solid pat on the shoulder. "I think it would be us worrying more if you returned. Sir Ethan must have tried his best to prevent something from happening, knowing him."
"So, is there no chance of you staying here?" Mitsui asked Kaze, wanting to know if that really was the case. "Unless that is absolutely so, as claimed by the Emperor, then we have no choice but to stop you from leaving Aravel."
After seeing how adamant their decisions were, Kaze could feel his jaw dropping to the floor out of pure shock and admiration. The group had collectively made a decision themselves, each placing emphasis on his safety and wellbeing more so than risking it like he and Lunaria did. If this wasn't the sort of 'trust' that Lunaria was looking for when she decided to leave Kaze in the hands of Czech, then there could be no where else where 'trust' was found.
Kaze glanced at Lunaria for her reaction, only to see her with quite the surprised look too. Both of them certainly didn't expect such a united front from the group, thinking it would be more of a longer and complicated argument to develop between them. For their answers to be this solid, it almost felt like the obvious choice was to stay in Aravel, and it certainly was the choice that Kaze and Lunaria wanted for themselves.
"… I can't do that. If this gets out, you all will be known as collaborators or something worse," Kaze shook his head. "At this point, we don't know how wide the culprit's influence is or if there is something else going on that we aren't aware of. Whatever the reason, it is sure to jeopardize the relation of Aravel and Czech further."
"Then let it be," Mitsui smirked. "Who cares about what the nation wants? Fuck the nation, fuck the people: Aravel apologised and gave compensations, shouldn't that be enough? Plus, we all know that the true culprit who lured the dragon out of the hiding was the devils. It was also the attack that annihilated the devil in the end, effectively killing it. So it could be said that Lunaria killed a devil, and they still want to blame it on her?"
"Mitsui, please be a little less harsh with your words. You are related to royalty after all," Yuuji addressed his cousin politely before looking at Kaze. "So there you have it: our opinion."
"Next time, try to consider just accepting the fact that the dragonkins treat you better than some of the humans would," Irene shrugged. "It's the truth that even I can agree with after staying here for two weeks. It is hard to believe that the dragonkins are this kind."
"Believe me, there was a time before everyone became this understanding," Lunaria sighed upon hearing Irene's statement. "Tough times change people. When you have a small community, it is often easier to regulate how people act compared to a big nation like Tristania. With that said, I can bring our collective statement to father and see if anything can change. For the time being, Kaze will be departing with everyone here in two days. Any objections thus far will be brought in for discussion as well."
With that said, Lunaria got up and left the room, presumably to report their findings to her parents. This left her friends sitting together in silent, feeling puzzled and worried for Lunaria. Even after getting a solid conclusion, it was still likely that Kaze will have to return to Czech if things didn't go the way they want it to go.
Kaze excused himself from the group after some time together and headed off to find Lunaria. Since she left half an hour ago, Lunaria still hadn't returned to find him. This made him a little worried, even though he knew that she must be busy discussing this issue with her parents, which prompted him to leave in search of his girlfriend.
"Kaze?"
"Ah, Lunaea."
Lunaea came out of the library and encountered Kaze looking left and right, obviously searching for Lunaria. Dressed in her lab coat, Lunaea looked to be in the midst of a research when she met Kaze.
"I-Is something wrong?"
"I'm looking for Lunaria. She said she would leave to talk with your parents about the decision our group made."
"Well… b-based on my senses, I can tell that Lunaria-nee is indeed with father in the office… D-Do you want me to accompany you there?"
"Could you? That would be amazing."
"M-Mm… this is nothing…"
Together, Lunaea guided Kaze down the familiar palace halls up till the Emperor's workplace. Sure enough, the moment Kaze got closer, he could hear the faint muffled talking coming from the room.
"Ah…"
"Lunaea?"
Kaze looked down at Lunaea, who suddenly stopped herself from walking once she reached the front of the door.
"S-Sorry… I don't think we should interrupt them."
"Uhh, how did you know that?"
"Lunaria-nee sensed us… and telepathically told me to not intervene."
"… Did she?"
At Lunaea's words, Kaze had a crestfallen look on his face. He completely understood Lunaria's intentions of not wanting him to enter when she was trying to have a private talk with her father, but what that made him upset was the fact that Lunaria's way of phrasing her words made it sound like they were at a disagreement. For Lunaria to try so hard to bargain with her father must show how much she didn't want him to leave, even if it wasn't obvious at first glance.
"… Shall we go?"
Lunaea, despite her petite size that caused her height to barely reach Kaze's shoulder, reached out her hand to his and gently led him away from the room. As a sister, she understood that Lunaria must be hard at work trying not to disappoint Kaze with the outcome. It would be severely pressuring on her if Kaze just walked in and disturbed them, something she wanted to avoid which could possibly impact her convincing.
She led him back to the library where she previously was at. Not far from the entrance was a table filled with books of sorts, piling up on both the table and the floor that a small space was made for accessing in and out the table. Lunaea whipped her finger in the air and a chair floated over, setting down gently next to hers so Kaze could sit.
"Sorry Lunaea, I just…" Kaze muttered as they walked. "I was hopeful, to say the least, that I wouldn't have to return after all the support recently."
"I think everyone feels that way, Kaze," Lunaea answered once they sat down. "Nobody feels happy to see all of you leave. Not even father and mother."
"… That being said, why did you take me here?" Kaze quizzically asked her. "Is there something you want to show me?"
"O-Oh, no. I just wanted to take you away when my brain multitasked and directed me back to the library where I was researching," Lunaea stammered. "I didn't think about that… You can leave if you want."
"That's fine, I could help you if you need," Kaze chuckled, feeling that it was just like Lunaea to be a little absent-minded. "It serves as a great distractor from me thinking about Lunaria all the time."
"Are… you sure? You could look for Lunatea-nee or Lucentia-nee as I'm sure they would appreciate it if you spent more time with them," Lunaea gave him a side glance. "I don't know if it's entertaining being around me compared to the rest of my sisters."
"I have been talking a bit with Lucentia during our down period, and Lunatea has already been training with me daily. I think you and Luniel deserve much more attention if we truly are leaving soon," Kaze shook his head. "Especially since you admit yourself you 'aren't entertaining', meaning that there are still things I could find out about being with you."
"… I can see what Lunaria-nee meant about you being a 'lady killer'."
"Eh?"
Kaze blinked at Lunaea's subtle statement. With a light blush now covering her cheeks from the effects of his words, Lunaea lifted a book to cover her face from him.
With there now being a silent wall between the two, Lunaea quickly got into her work while Kaze just sat next to her and looked around blankly. He tried picking up one of the random books that she had around her, but they were either too difficult to understand or too complicated to read due to the language of writing. This caused him to feel a little left out and awkward from doing nothing other than being by Lunaea's side, who was being productive with her time.
"Um… Lunaea?"
"Yes?"
"Do you have anything I could do? I want to help you…"
"I don't think you understand magic engineering though?"
"Like, maybe to look for something or find certain phrases? Anything at all."
"… Then… maybe you can help me put back these books and look for some material I may require…"
"That would work. I just have to carry books, right? That can keep me occupied."
Half an hour later, Kaze began to regret his earlier words.
He certainly bit off more than he could chew. Considering how many books there were around Lunaea, someone who concentrated so hard that she forgot about everything else, what Kaze didn't factor in was how vast the palace library was. Not only was there a huge selection of books of different topics that rivalled Leiscatie Academy's library, but the tidying part was also incredibly difficult because of how many subjects the books were titled. Wanting to find a way to keep each book and how they were recognised based on title or subject was a near nightmare, especially when there was a constant influx of requests from Lunaea.
Before he knew it, Kaze was drenched in sweat and arms sore from carrying heaps of heavy volumes of books all around. It was amazing how there was minimal dust from all these books, meaning that the maids in the palace must have been cleaning them on a constant basis. On one hand, it showed how much the Emperor and Empress cared for their collection of books from generations on end; on the other hand, it had also proven how many maids the palace had for them to be able to employ a few towards tidying the massive library.
One of the hard parts about tidying the library was due to its vast size, especially with the high shelves against the wall. For dragonkins, who had wings to fly, it wasn't that hard to take books up and down. Kaze struggled with this a lot, especially when all he had was a ladder and his very unstable balance. There were multiple times he nearly dropped a book off the shelf when trying to return it back in, but everything worked out in the end. It was times like this where he felt the need to have wings of his own to reach high places effortlessly.
2 hours passed between Kaze putting and taking books and short breaks. It was only then that Lunaea looked up from her work again and sighed, setting aside her pen.
"Time for lunch," Lunaea muttered, glancing at a rather exhausted Kaze by her side. "Good work cleaning up my mess."
"It… was… nothing…" Kaze wheezed as he downed a huge glass of water. "I'm going… to shower…"
"And here I thought you would be stronger because you train. Perhaps I was wrong?" Lunaea covered her mouth with one hand to hide her giggle from making a rather cruel remark.
"Y-You know carrying books around constantly is different from sword training, right? I don't lift weights," Kaze sweatdropped, feeling slightly hurt by her comment. "Chris or Albert would probably fit the bill better."
"Ah, wait."
Before Kaze could waltz out the library, Lunaea stopped him. Turning around to see what she wanted, he was met with her giving him a gentle kiss on the lips.
"A-A reward, for helping me," Lunaea blushed. "S-Sorry."
She then rushed out of the library with her books, leaving Kaze alone to ponder what the heck just happened. A smile then appeared on his face after knowing that this was Lunaea's way of showing her appreciation, at the same time also signalling that she was perhaps falling for him in a different way than Lunaria.
"… Luna."
Kaze widened his eyes after realizing how much time had actually passed since he was supposed to be waiting for Lunaria. This prompted him to rush to the Emperor's office to check and see whether their talk had finished.
When he arrived, all he was greeted with was the sight of Laevia tidying up her husband's desk.
"L-Laevia-sama?"
"Kaze, can I help you?"
"Yes. Where is…?"
"Lunaria's in her room."
With a gentle smile floating across her face, Laevia told him the words he needed to hear. There was a hint of guilt mixed in with that reassuring smile of hers, a sign that did not entertain Kaze at all. He simply gave the Empress a quick bow and rushed over to their shared room.
"Lunaria!!"
The moment Kaze burst through the room, he found Lunaria sitting by herself at the side of her bed with a blank look on her face. The whites of her eyes looked slightly bloodshot, prove that she had been crying one point or another. This was accompanied with a downward tilt of her head that barely made her face visible, her back hunched over and her fingers twitching ever so often.
In her hands were what looked to be a letter crumpled so badly, the official seal of Czech was barely recognisable. Fresh tear stains were noticeable the moment Kaze got close to her, feeling worried for her current state of mind. It didn't help that he noticed long red scratch marks etched on both sides of her arms, another sign of her taking out her frustration on herself by clawing her arms over and over again. The only good thing about her right now was that she was still responsive to Kaze.
"K-K-Kaze…" Lunaria gurgled, her voice coming out hoarse and muffled. "I…."
Kaze didn't hesitate to pull her into a tight hug. The absolute defeat state of hers was so heart-wrenching, he felt like crying from just looking at her. He had never seen Lunaria look so torn before, especially since he was absent in a period of her life where she went through an even worse suffering than the one she had right now. Even her usually silky-smooth hair was frazzled and loss its glow.
"Luna… what happened?" Kaze tried his best to keep his tone under control and asked her. "Were you able to talk peacefully with your father?"
Lunaria only responded with silence. Looking back down once again, she held up the letter with trembling hands for him to read. Kaze accepted the letter and smoothened the creases to see its content. The first few lines were merely formalities towards the Emperor, leading on to the main part that was responsible to turning Lunaria into such a helpless state.
"Upon further review, the matter of Kaze had gotten out of hand and has reached the public's ears," Kaze recited the letter out loud, his hand trembling the more he continued. "We have tried our very best to keep this matter contained and given multiple reasonable explanations, but it was inevitable that it would reach the school's ears. Aldwolf was very cooperative and agreed to comply with our request, but there was only so much he could do as the principal before the school's board of executives. And hereby, it has been considered…"
The last part of the sentence caused Kaze's heart to drop.
"… that Kaze would hereby be withdrawn from Czech's First Institute, along with his study records be abolished."
A deadly silence filled the room once again, this time accompanied only by Lunaria's weeping.