Hearing his question, Gloria couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation. With a sigh, she said, "Do you actually know who I am at all? Well, I've never told you my full name before. I'm Gloria Morin Greti. Since my mother's family is also quite a prominent one, I took on her surname too. But really, it's nothing out of the ordinary."
"Just as she said, she's not part of your family. She's the daughter of Earl Eregard," someone chimed in.
"Nice to meet you," Valentino attempted to stand up and offer a polite bow. However, he was severely injured, his right arm fractured and encased in a plaster cast. Leaning on his left hand for support, he managed to struggle to his feet, but he swayed unsteadily and was on the verge of collapsing back onto the seat. Aurelio quickly reached out to steady him, preventing him from falling.
"There's no need for such formalities," Gloria smiled and gracefully returned the greeting. "Please, sit down and rest."
"Oh, right. I just remembered," Aurelio said as he removed his backpack and rummaged through it before pulling out a pair of glasses. "Your spare glasses. I brought them for you."
"You deliberately held off until now to take them out, didn't you?" Valentino asked, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance.
"Yup," Aurelio replied matter-of-factly.
Valentino shot him another reproachful look and extended his left hand to ask for the glasses. Ordinarily, Aurelio wouldn't have handed them over so readily, but he knew better than to toy with an injured person. So, he placed the glasses gently into Valentino's outstretched palm.
Valentino wasted no time putting on the glasses, and instantly, the world around him came back into sharp focus. After carefully observing the female knight, he inquired, "May I be so bold as to ask, who is your mother?"
Aurelio thought to himself, "I knew this moment of tracing family connections was bound to come."
Gloria didn't seem to mind answering the question. After they'd compared their family lineages, Valentino said, "You're the granddaughter of my grandfather's cousin... So, that makes you my cousin? We're..."
Aurelio thought, "Well, you've certainly worked that out precisely. You should be grateful she's not several generations your senior."
Valentino then tilted his head up, took another look at the female knight, estimated her age, and said, "I suppose we're cousins? Is it okay if I call you by your first name?"
Aurelio shook his head vigorously and said, "Cousins? You might want to think that through a bit more carefully."
"Did I get the generations wrong?"
"No, your family's kinship is so convoluted. Besides you, who could possibly sort out the generations clearly? I mean, you're only twenty years old this year."
"I not only know I'm twenty this year, but I also know I'll be twenty-one next year. Quite the revelation, isn't it?" Valentino quipped.
"If you want to age two years in one year, that's your prerogative, I guess," Aurelio retorted.
Gloria smiled bashfully and then revealed her age, saying, "I'm already twenty-two years old."
"Twenty-two? Seriously?" Valentino's eyes widened in astonishment, his mouth gaping open. He studied the female knight's face closely, finding it hard to believe that such a youthful, girlish visage belonged to a woman in her twenties.
"Of course, it's true," Gloria affirmed.
"I really didn't expect it. You look so... youthful," Valentino said, still looking rather surprised.
Aurelio shrugged helplessly, thinking to himself, "Having no general knowledge can be such a drawback." Valentino was a die-hard bookworm, with his interests firmly fixed on medical and alchemy books, and he had little knowledge about other aspects. So, it wasn't all that surprising that he was unaware of the age regulations within the knight order.
However, at that moment, an idea crossed Aurelio's mind. He turned his head to gaze at the female knight, wondering, "But... does the daughter of the regiment commander really have to abide by these regulations? Could it be that her father deliberately had her lie about her age? Is it possible that she's actually only sixteen or seventeen?"
Gloria smiled at Valentino and said, "A bit surprised, are you? Don't treat me like a child just because I look young. And even though I'm a bit older, you can feel free to call me by my first name."
"Alright, then you can call me Valentino too," Valentino replied.
Aurelio turned his attention back to Valentino. He put aside his thoughts about the female knight's age and felt a sense of relief wash over him. At least his closest friend was right here in front of him, having escaped any permanent harm.
Valentino lifted his uninjured left arm and gestured for Aurelio to come closer. "I've got something to say. Come nearer."
Aurelio nodded impassively and moved a bit closer as requested. "What is it?"
"Red or green, which color do you prefer?"
"What a silly question," Aurelio grumbled.
"Red Viviana..."
Before Valentino could finish his sentence, Aurelio shot him a fierce glare and interrupted him angrily, "Shut up! Your books are so heavy. Take them away, now!" With that, he spun around, took off his backpack again, and began pulling out the books with strange inscriptions on their covers, one by one. He stacked them into a pile and slapped them down onto the floor mat.
"I was just joking... Don't be so mad," Valentino said with an awkward smile. "But thanks for bringing these books for me. Just leave them here for me."
"I thought I was going to have to burn them for you," Aurelio said.
"No need for that," Valentino played along with the joke. He rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand and added with a chuckle, "These are precious ancient books. Even if I were to die, they'd have to be sent back to the academy."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it. You can count on me," Aurelio assured him.
"Thanks, I'll leave it in your hands then." Valentino smiled, closed his eyes, held his breath, and then remained perfectly still, pretending to be dead. He held the pose for about half a minute, but Aurelio didn't react at all. Valentino opened his eyes, smiled helplessly, and redirected his question to the female knight. "How exactly did you two meet?"
"Nothing particularly remarkable happened," Aurelio said as he turned his head to look at the female knight, who was a short distance away. Standing in front of her was another woman, also clad in similar armor, clearly another female knight. The two of them were chatting and occasionally sharing a laugh.
Aurelio leaned in closer to Valentino and whispered, "She's just the one who saved my life. I'll tell you the whole story when I get the chance."
"Anyway, you're really lucky! You always seem to run into beautiful girls," Valentino teased. "I think you're really happy when you're with her."
"Am I?" Aurelio pursed his lips, unconvinced.
"You're talking more than usual. What did she do to you?"
"Hardly," Aurelio replied. "She just treated my wounds after I passed out. That's all there is to it."
"So that's it. You just want to repay her? So, if we forget about all that, you still prefer Viviana?" Valentino pressed on, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Just shut up," Aurelio snapped.
Valentino grinned, his face lit up with the satisfaction of a successful tease. But when he tried to raise his right arm to make a certain gesture, he accidentally pulled on his injured part. With a sharp "ouch" and a pained groan, his expression contorted.
"Serves you right," Aurelio muttered.
Just then, Gloria walked back over to the two of them. "I'm leaving," she announced, her eyes still fixed on Aurelio.
Aurelio understood her unspoken message. "I won't forget. I'll get in touch with you once it's all planned out," he said softly.
Gloria nodded gently, then placed her right hand on her left shoulder and gave a thumbs-up. The Serenians always used this gesture to mean "it's settled."
Aurelio didn't say anything in response but simply returned the same gesture.
"What did you two agree on?" Valentino asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Nothing," Aurelio shook his head. "We were just showing the third person here that our right hands are still mobile," he joked.
"Get lost!" Valentino retorted.
Aurelio shrugged and said, "Alright, I'm out of here. You take care of your old books and dodgy potions yourself!" As he spoke, he opened his backpack and began taking out those items one by one.