The sun was high, and the smell of a variety of foods was flooding the air along with the sounds of people chatting and laughing. We had a nice atmosphere that made the food taste even better.
"I can´t believe the prince is eating with those demons..."
"Who are those lowly nobles? How dare they eat with the council?"
"They must have tricked the prince! Surely they used a cursed artifact or their vile magic!"
Or at least that was the case when you weren´t focused on the surroundings.
People were gossiping about us in some indiscreet manner. Some of them even stared at us without mercy. I was able to feel their jealousy and disgust as their grim faces showed me their thoughts.
Well, I was already expecting that... And I´m sure Nicholas and the others are aware too...
Eating with the prince and the council was not just a thing I wanted to do as friends, but also as a message to the whole academy.
We can stay close to the prince when you can´t.
That´s what Isabella and I were telling the students by doing this. We were making sure from the first day that our relationship with the prince and the council was close enough to eat with them during breaks.
To show them that we have their approval. That way, even if we are irregulars, people will now think twice before doing anything reckless to us.
"But, those two were pretty awesome in the fight with Dominus..."
"And that irregular spared his life... So maybe he´s not that bad?"
That´s more I like it...
To be honest, the twins and the other two coming with us were just an extra. It´s not like I don´t feel comfortable around them, but their friendship was not completely necessary for my purposes. As long as they had a good impression of us and spread the word it would be enough.
The more people come to like Isabella and the irregular population the easier will be for me to become an intimate person with Verónica. The only reason for me to stay so passive in my approaches to her is due to our difference in reputation and status.
If I dare to express my love for her in public while I´m just a noble by name the consequences will be catastrophic for both Verónica and the branch that adopted me.
Not only that, I would be putting even more pressure on the irregulars that live in the kingdom.
I´m sure that people will still reject our existence for a while now but with the support of the prince and the charisma of the heroine, I´m sure that I can change that fact within a couple of years.
Now that I have the attention of the population I must act and show what we are made of. That means excelling in every subject and event that this school has to offer. Including combat.
Dominique was the kind of character that would stay in the shadows to protect and serve Verónica, but that´s also exactly the reason why he never got to tell her his feelings and lost her to that mad scientist.
He never did something to improve his image and became conformist to his position, not only that, but his unfriendly approach to the heroine excluded him from the benefits of being an irregular when the prince had chosen one of us to become his queen.
But I won´t make the same mistakes. Even if the original story keeps changing, as long as the original events still happen, I can lead our future to a brighter end.
I´m determined to do so, no matter the price...
**
"Fwaaaaaa! That was so much fun! We got to make so many new friends!"
Isabella had a smile from ear to ear when she talked, I also let go of a chuckle.
"Yhea, it was a nice thing to do, we should repeat it when we have the chance"
"Yes!"
Isabella, Jasmine, and I were walking through the hallways to our next class. We separated from the others since some had different places to be. It didn´t really matter because, in the end, we would eventually see each other again in the classroom. However, having time to discuss things between ourselves was also good.
"Isabella, what do you think It´ll happen from now on?"
"What do you mean?"
"We are irregulars that just ate a meal with a bunch of powerful nobles and the council, don´t you think that´s weird?"
"... Now that you mention it... Yhea... It was a strange scenario..."
Her smile vanished and a serious expression remained.
"As always, you are very slow to catch up on things, miss Isabella"
"Oh, shut it! I was just very happy!"
Jasmine didn´t miss the chance to make a fool out of Isabella. I didn´t know when, but they had become quite closer in a short time.
"Listen, Miss Isabella, right now you are in a nice place, but you can´t get too comfy, you are still irregulars that are forced to wear that awful bandana, so as long as you have them, you can never be completely safe"
"Urgh... It bothers me... But you´re right... I´ll be more careful from now on"
"It´s not a bad thing to feel happy about our current situation Isabella, but Jasmine has a point. Don´t forget that we just fought a noble not too long ago, and now that we shared a table with the prince, I´m sure that more than one person is not going to stay silent"
When I said that, Isabella looked around. The students were looking at us with curiosity and malice divided into the groups gathered amongst the academy.
She then got closer to my side and whispered: "Do you think someone is going to attack us?"
"I wouldn´t call it a fact, but it is quite probable. There´s also the situation with our new friends, they might get targeted by the students"
"Then we have to do something!"
"And we will, at its due time. For now, let´s wait and see what happens. If we precipitate ourselves and start picking on random people we will just cause trouble for everyone"
Isabella let go of a long sigh to become free of her preoccupations.
"You always think through everything Dominique, it´s amazing"
I placed my hand on her shoulder.
"In time you will do it too. And the things I say are not always correct, I also commit mistakes sometimes, so don´t throw away your feelings, Isabella, they are the representation of your kindness"
She gave me an expression of gratitude and placed her hand on mine.
"I still have a lot to learn... So can I ask you a favor?"
"Of course"
"Will you stay with me until I can manage things like you do?"
"Heh, are you sure? That might take a while"
She stopped and turned to me while holding her pinky finger to my face.
"It´s a promise!"
For a moment I stayed paralyzed, but after a couple of seconds, I regained consciousness and enrolled my finger with hers.
"A promise it is"
She showed me another of her typical smiles, the ones that would make you fall in love with her.
But I already have Verónica...
So they are useless against me...
"What do you think we should do while we wait?"
"Well, we will become the new disciplinary committee but the announcement won´t happen until next month, and our practices in the wild lands are right about the corner, so I suggest making as much achievement as possible"
"That way we can obtain a better opinion from people! And our friends won´t be an easy target for bullies!"
"Indeed"
"All right! Let´s do our best, Dominique!"
Isabella´s eyes sparkled with a new fire as we resumed our walk, I was going to move at her side but Jasmine suddenly pulled me back.
"Have you forgotten what I told you about being too nice?"
She had a serious face and a lecturing voice. It was easy to tell that she was not happy.
"... I haven´t... Was that not good?"
"Not good? The girl basically confessed to you and you said yes, so what do you think?"
Was that a confession?... Seriously? She wasn´t asking me for help?
"Oh don´t give me that blank expression master, you can´t tell me you didn´t notice such an obvious approach"
"..."
"You are so going to regret this later..."
I felt my body temperature drop as I displayed what just happened in my mind. Also, the blushing cheeks of the people around us gave me a good hint of what I just had agreed to do.
... Oh fuck...
"It´s quite impressive how someone so smart can be so dumb at the same time"
"... Give me a good punch in the face every time I do something like this again..."
"Fufu~. As you wish~"
I really need to study more about these things...