A gentle draft lifted the fine white curtains and blew onto Paley, relieving him from the heat of the summer as he lay back in bed, immersed in a book on naturally generated runestones. He folded the corner of the page and set the book down, reaching for the red gem he had found with Bacha two days prior. The most interesting thing about it was that it was stable; he'd kept it encased in thick rock until that morning. Rauba had gone to the library to see if she could find anything on transferring a runestone's spell to your mind - since to create a runestone you had to make the intention and pour mana into it, she thought maybe it could go the other way around.
A knock at the door interrupted Paley's observation of the runestone. He invited Madella in, followed by Dillie and her parents. Paley stood and shook Hiruyo's hand to greet them, "Mr. Li. You joining us for dinner?."
Dillie avoided eye contact.
"Is that an invitation?" Hiruyo's face lifted.
"Of course."
"We'd love to- wait, no, sorry. Paley... We're here to ask you for a favor."
Paley invited them to sit on the beds in the room as they explained their predicament. Quickly, he understood why Dillie was avoiding his eyes. The Garufard family, benefactors of many Dijinian families that escaped the Erian invasion, sent a proposal for their third son to get married to Dillie.
"May I ask why Dillie?"
Shun and Hiruyo shared a hesitant glance, "Paley, Madella. We trust you, so please don't reveal what I'm about to say to anyone." Shun began explaining the Li clan's history, tracing its origins to Tomoe Li, revered in Dijin as 'Kaze no Tachi', the unparalleled sword master of the last millennium. At that time, the continent of Hijia was plagued by war. The central royal family broke down due to internal conflict and revolutions in the outer states of Hijia. Dijin was the only country unaffected by the wars solely because of Tomoe's existence. She was not part of the military but her declaration that she would protect her home soil from invaders was enough of a deterrent. She began the Li clan, whose sole interest was the safety of Dijin and its people. Her direct descendants inherited her mastery of Air Magic and the sword.
"At some point, the lineage was muddied and the wider clan didn't know anymore where the direct lineage of Tomoe Li had gone... Until now."
"Ah, so you are directly related to Tomoe Li?" Paley pieced together.
"Not me," Hiruyo waved, "I'm just a humble flower shop owner."
"Me and Dillie have Tomoe's blood in our veins," Shun looked at Dillie pitifully, "I thought her power ended with me since I'm a Transformation Type, but when Dillie used the Wind Art, I realized it still lives on."
"So the Garufards want to marry her so they can have this power for themselves? I thought they were your benefactors."
"Unfortunately, most people help others in exchange for something," Hiruyo sighed.
"What do you say? Will you help us?"
"Dillie? You want to marry this guy?" Paley looked at her; she was no longer avoiding eye contact. Instead, she had a relieved and grateful smile.
"Never in a million years." She answered.
"So, what do you want me to do? I could sneak into their mansion at night and-" Paley paused his suggestion when he saw Madella raise an eyebrow.
"We have an idea," Suddenly Shun and Hiruyo's countenance turned mischievous.
"What is it?"
"Be Dillie's boyfriend."
The Garufard family, in light of their proposal to Dillie, was temporarily staying at a lodging near the border of Lusitra along with two other unrelated families. Finnick Garufard, the boy whose hand in marriage was proposed to Dillie, waited restlessly on the forecourt. His family regularly took business trips to Dijin, and this summer, their trip coincided with Dillie's family's week-long visit to their extended relatives.
Finnick wasn't a bad-looking fellow. He had just turned nineteen and only had one immediate physical flaw: his terrible posture. He held a picture in his hands of him and Dillie, taken in the summer, in which Dillie took up as little space as possible, her body angled away from him. A smile stuck to his face as he examined Dillie's face repeatedly.
The clattering and rattling of an approaching carriage drew his attention away. His eyes followed it closely, trying without success to catch a glimpse of the interior, as the carriage driver guided the horses drawing the carriage to the designated parking area and opened the doors for Dillie and her family to step out. Restless, he watched Shun and Hiruyo step out followed by a strange pale boy with the blackest hair he'd ever seen. His restless gaze turned to steel as Dillie's soft hand reached out for the boy to hold as she stepped down. On top of that, as he took in that Dillie was wearing unflattering common clothes, he began having second thoughts.
They thanked the driver, who nodded in reply and disappeared with the horses, taking them to a horse pen near the lodging. Finnick waited for Dillie to make eye contact but she never did, rather, her parents were the first to greet him. They spoke casually to him, further adding to his discomfort. He was polite, however, inviting them in to meet his family.
Finnick didn't want to do anything unimpressive to Dillie, but he couldn't hold himself back and put his foot out in the pale boy's path, who was the last to enter, hoping to trip him. Their feet definitely met and the boy should've tumbled forward pathetically, but instead, Finnick's foot wrenched backward and rammed into the door frame. It took him a moment to realise the pain, but he managed to hold back a cry, holding his foot and hyperventilating. He looked up, brimming with frustration at the gall of this boy who hadn't even slowed in his path, who treated him as though he was insignificant.
Finnick's mother, Lady Isolde Garufard had a charmless, grating laugh which always made Hiruyo regret making jokes around her.
"I missed your humor, Hiruyo," She rested one hand on his and wiped a tear with the other. Shun's expression was stone-cold at this. Contrastingly, Lord Alaric Garufard focused on having Dillie and Finnick get to know one another, asking open-ended questions on Finnick's behalf as the boy struggled to speak. The rest of the Garufard family, consisting of two daughters and two other sons, watched from seats surrounding the two large sofas that Dillie and her family sat on, opposing Finnick and his parents. Paley sat next to Dillie but was excluded from any discussion; they didn't even offer him snacks or tea.
Dillie's answers to most of the questions were concise. Until Finnick finally decided to form a proper sentence without slurring his words. Even when he spoke to her, she avoided his eyes. As is common for boys like Finnick, he thought this was a sign she found him attractive.
"What do you do in your free time, Dillie?" He paused before saying her name perhaps to sound profound or even seductive.
Dillie hesitated. During this silent moment, Paley unapologetically reached for Dillie's tea, which had gone cold now, and drank it in one go. The Garufards ignored this action and waited for Dillie's answer, which surprised them. "I hunt monsters," She said.
"I guess it's only natural. You are a descendant of the Kaze no Dachi," Lord Alaric Garufard said.
"Tachi," Shun corrected but quickly cringed with regret.
"Tachi, right. You know, Dillie, we could recommend you for a knight's training program. I have connections with some High Knights in Pluassa who could certainly get you into one of the top academies." Alaric Garufard explained. Paley watched Dillie; previously, it had been her dream to become a knight. "What do you say, Dillie? Finnick too is attending an academy; he wishes to become a mage."
Dillie couldn't answer; her head lowered as she waited in hopes of her parents saving her or maybe Pale. But, her parents, despite their resolution to reject the proposal, were struggling to cut in. The Garufards had saved them. Dillie's family used to live in a small town south of Kanazawa, the capital of Dijin. Had the Garufards not provided the funds and the means, they would not have been able to escape the Erian knights who had been dispatched to destroy anything pertaining to the Demon Cult.
Finally, the one they'd been ignoring had decided to speak.
"Dillie doesn't want to be a knight." Paley's voice lifted Dillie's head and she felt a wave of relief, "She also lied to you. She doesn't hunt monsters with me anymore. Her passion is painting... And she's my girlfriend."
The room fell silent. Dillie's chest tightened; she felt guilt and pain. He didn't mean those words. At first, she had been excited, getting to call him her boyfriend and act like it, but now, she figured: if his love was fake, it was worse than if it wasn't hers. The Garufards, however, were struck the hardest. Finnick, particularly, immediately directed his anger at Dillie, yelling. "Is that true?"
Dillie considered exposing their lie, even if it was at the cost of her family's well-being. How could she drag Paley into this? How could she force him to be someone he's not? She thought the tightness in her chest spread to the right side of her waist and she felt her body begin to burn up. But, it turned out to be Paley who had secured her by the waist and pulled her close.
"Here's proof," He moved Dillie's hair to reveal her cheek and kissed her. His boldness blew Hiruyo and Shun away. Finnick jumped to his feet and Lord Alaric Garufard raised his voice. "Who does this boy think he is!?"
To which Paley quickly answered, "My name is Paley. I'm an orphan; a commoner."
"I challenge you to a duel!" Finnick proclaimed.
"Finnick!" Alaric's agitation at Paley turned to anxiety at Finnick's declaration. "Take that back."
"Father. You know he can't." The first son of the house, Jorlan Garufard, spoke up; he was a Silver III knight.
"What a stupid little brother. You think you can beat him with all your slacking?" The eldest, a woman in her mid-twenties, Liora Garufard's forehead fell into her hand.
"What makes you think this commoner can beat me?"
"Think back on what he said." Jorlan made Finnick recall when Paley stated that Dillie didn't hunt with him anymore.
"I can reject your challenge if you're too scared." Paley shot through Finnick with his glare. Finnick had to be honest with himself. He was afraid, but if he let this boy get off scot-free, it would remain a stain in his mind.
"Son, I have a bad feeling about this. Take his mercy." Lord Alaric Garufard advised.
"Mercy!?" Lady Isolde Garufard objected, "Since when do we take mercy from the likes of him? Fight him Finnick. You have the blood of the nobility coursing through your veins. We have hundreds of mages and knights in our ancestry. You can beat him."
"Your mom's got more balls than you, Finnick," Paley further riled up his opponent. Hiruyo and Shun were frozen from the shock of Paley's dauntlessness. Dillie laughed.
'He's the same age as Dillie it seems, fifteen. If he's hunting monsters then it must be as an apprentice or a support or something. I can beat him. I have a strong Magic Type. I can beat him!' Finnick resolved himself, "Accept the challenge already!"
Paley unbuttoned his shirt and rolled up his sleeves, "Of course,"
"Idiot." Miranda, the youngest and the second daughter, sighed.