Everyone's expression darkened. He hadn't meant it that way, but Dignity+ had done its job, ensuring he came across as insufferable.
Caelum's friends shifted in their seats, bristling with irritation. Despite the tension, Caelum remained calm."
That's all right," Caelum said, his tone level. "I understand your position."
Seraphine and the others exchanged dubious looks, clearly unhappy, but they said nothing further.
Eclipse swallowed hard, feeling their disdain like a prickling sensation under his skin.
"You can ask, Eclipse," Caelum said, gesturing for him to continue.
Eclipse's heart hammered in his chest as he took a deep breath.
This was his only chance.
He had to approach it carefully.
"What weapon are you using as your primary?"
Caelum raised his hands, displaying calloused fingers.
"A greatsword," he replied.
Eclipse nodded, mentally noting that Caelum's choice aligned with a specific route in the game.
"Do you have a magic pendant? Perhaps one that was given to you?"
In response, Caelum reached up, pulling a silver chain from around his neck.
A small pendant with an emerald center hung from it.
"It was a gift from my old teacher," he said simply.
A surge of relief swept through Eclipse.
This confirmed a few things, but one final question remained, and he had to be delicate.
As he opened his mouth, his Dignity+ trait seized his words again, twisting them in the most offensive way possible.
"Did you kill the kid?"
Caelum's companions stiffened.
Seraphine's face twisted with anger, and Finnian's hand drifted toward his sword.
Even the surrounding tables had fallen silent, the eyes of students and bystanders all fixed on Eclipse and the Hero's group.
"You… arrogant noble!" one of Caelum's friends hissed, glaring at Eclipse.
But Caelum held up a hand, silencing them.
He turned to Eclipse, his expression unreadable, but his eyes betrayed a hint of pain.
"No," he said quietly, after a long pause. "I couldn't save her."
The weight of Caelum's words hung in the air, and Eclipse's stomach twisted with unexpected guilt.
He'd meant to simply gather information, but he could tell this had been a sore subject for Caelum and his friends.
They exchanged solemn looks, Seraphine's anger melting into sadness, while Finnian looked down, his face shadowed.
Eclipse managed a small nod. "That's all I needed to know."
He turned to leave, his mind whirling with relief that he'd made it out of the encounter with his head intact.
But as he moved away, a girl carrying a tray of food bumped into him, and the contents of her tray splattered across his pristine blue suit.
Greasy stew and mashed potatoes smeared down the front of his jacket.
The girl gasped.
She was Tessa, with sunny blonde hair and piercing yellow eyes, her face now a mask of horror.
She was a commoner training to be a paladin, and worse, she was clumsy—a flaw Eclipse couldn't afford to tolerate.
For a moment, she stared down at the mess on Eclipse's suit, her mouth opening and closing as if struggling to find words of apology.
Her gaze traveled from the smear of food on his jacket to his eyes, a hint of panic in her own.
She'd just ruined the clothes of a noble, and a particularly notorious one at that.
Eclipse, meanwhile, was fighting against every instinct—and his cursed Dignity+ trait—to keep from saying something disastrous.
But the words came out anyway.
"Fuck off, bitch."
The cafeteria went silent.
Tessa's eyes widened, but Eclipse had already turned on his heel, storming away from the table without a backward glance.
All of them thought the infamous Eclipse would spout insults after insult, but all that arrogant did was say some strange word no one could understand...
Even Tessa was conflicted what they meant...
Everyone, that is, except for one member of Caelum's group, an elf with ears tapering to delicate points and a knowing smile.
She leaned back, watching the infamous Eclipse Warbringer with renewed interest.