Mary's smile remained fixed in place, but I noticed the way her fingers curled slightly against her teacup, the tension in her posture—almost imperceptible but there.
Had I said something strange?
She cleared her throat, and the brightness returned to her voice, though now there was an edge to it, something that wasn't quite as smooth as before.
"You must be very confident, Elara," she said, her head tilting ever so slightly, her golden curls shimmering in the afternoon sun.
I blinked. "Confident?"
"Yes," she continued, her voice lilting. "To sit here alone every day as though you don't care at all. I suppose that's what makes you so… unique."
"Unique?" I repeated. "That's kind of you to say."
Mary's fingers tapped against the porcelain of her teacup, a rhythm that didn't quite match the lazy grace of our conversation. "I only meant that someone like you—so different—must find it difficult to fit in with the rest of us."
Something about the way she said different made me pause.
Still, I smiled. "Well, I suppose I've always been a bit separate from others. My position, my summon—it makes things complicated."
Mary hummed. "Yes, I can imagine. A Diamond-grade summoner in a kingdom like ours. A bit of an… outlier, don't you think?"
My stomach twisted just slightly.
There was something else in her voice now, something less subtle than before.
"An outlier?" I repeated carefully.
She leaned in slightly, her emerald eyes gleaming. "You don't find it strange? That you were born into a family that was already powerful, only for fate to grant you this?" Her voice dipped lower, her words slower. "As if you were meant to be something more than the rest of us?"
Her friends giggled behind her, eyes glinting like polished knives.
Something clicked then.
Oh.
She wasn't being friendly.
I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed before. Maybe I had wanted to believe she was reaching out because I had no one else. Maybe I had been too caught up in the hope of something new.
But now, hearing the way she spoke, the way her words pressed against my ribs like sharpened glass, I realized—this had never been kindness.
This had been a performance.
Mary wasn't trying to befriend me. She was trying to make me feel small.
I wasn't sure what to say.
For the first time, I felt something close to embarrassment at my own obliviousness.
Mary's lips curled upward as though she could see the realization dawning on me, as though she had won.
But before I could formulate a response, a new voice cut through the garden's warmth.
"Mary," a smooth, amused drawl came from behind me. "If you lean any closer, Elara's going to think you have a crush on her."
Mary stiffened instantly.
I turned my head slightly and caught sight of Gail Kilt, standing just behind me with that same ever-present smirk on his face, arms lazily crossed over his chest. His dark hair was tousled, and his sharp eyes held an easy sort of amusement, though I could see the way they flicked toward Mary with something colder beneath.
Mary's lips pressed into a thin line. "Gail."
He lifted a hand in a lazy wave. "Fancy seeing you here. I'd have thought you'd be off somewhere more important, doing more important things with your important people."
Her jaw tightened. "I was just having a conversation with Elara."
"A conversation," Gail repeated, nodding thoughtfully. "Right. And I'm sure that conversation was as pleasant as it seemed from a distance."
Mary's friends exchanged uncertain glances.
Gail shifted slightly, stepping closer to me, the movement subtle but obvious enough to show where he stood.
Mary huffed lightly, smoothing her hands over her dress. "Well, I was planning to invite Elara to our table for lunch. But I suppose if she prefers other company…"
Gail's smirk widened. "Oh, don't worry. She's already got plans."
I blinked, glancing at him in confusion.
I did?
Mary's gaze flickered between us before she let out a soft laugh, her mask slipping smoothly back into place. "Of course," she said, stepping back. "It was just a friendly offer."
"Naturally," Gail said easily. "So friendly."
Mary shot him one last look before turning on her heel, her friends following in perfect formation.
I exhaled a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.
Gail, meanwhile, dropped onto the bench beside me, stretching his arms along the back of it like he had all the time in the world.
"That was painful to watch," he said.
I frowned. "You were watching?"
"Obviously," he said, tilting his head toward me. "It was entertaining."
I scowled. "I don't see how my humiliation is entertaining."
His smirk softened, just slightly. "You weren't humiliated, Elara. You just… didn't see it for what it was at first."
I folded my arms. "I should have."
"Maybe," he shrugged, "but that's what makes you you. You're not like them. You don't think in daggers."
I bit my lip. "But I should be able to see them when they're pointed at me."
Gail was silent for a moment, watching me with something unreadable in his dark eyes. Then, without warning, he reached out and flicked my forehead.
"Ow!" I said, rubbing the spot. "What was that for?"
"For thinking too hard," he said, grinning. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Mary plays the long game. She wants something. That's why she's paying attention to you now. You just have to be careful."
"I know she wants power," I said quietly, my fingers curling into the fabric of my skirt. "I just hoped it wasn't enough to make her disregard me completely."
Gail let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. "You dream too much, Lady Elara. Mary plays the long game, remember? People like her don't disregard others. They put them where they belong—whether that means beneath them or beside them, depending on their use."
I exhaled through my nose, feeling the weight of his words settle in my chest.
"And why," he continued, tilting his head with a lazy smirk, "didn't you summon Aria to deal with her? Your summon is nothing if not… blunt."
I shot him a glare. "She's a twelve-year-old girl."
"She's a Prime Eterna," he corrected, raising an eyebrow. "You could have let her glare at Mary for five seconds, and she'd have run off with her tail between her legs."
I shook my head. "I won't use Aria like that. She's my summon, not a shield."
Gail let out an amused huff. "Well, at least you have that much sense."
Silence stretched between us for a moment, broken only by the distant murmur of students in the garden. I still felt the lingering pressure of Mary's words, like an itch beneath my skin, but I pushed it away.
"So," I said at last, tilting my head toward him, "why did you step in?"
Gail blinked, then smirked. "What, you think I go around rescuing damsels in distress?"
"That is your reputation," I pointed out dryly.
He laughed, leaning back against the bench with an easy, careless grace. "Just because I'm a playboy, as you so delicately put it, doesn't mean I'm trying to take every girl to bed. Mary and I don't exactly get along, and she doesn't like you. So, really, all I did was annoy her. It was just an added bonus that you happened to benefit from it."
I watched him, trying to decide if that was the truth or just another convenient excuse.
It was hard to tell with Gail Kilt.
Still, I nodded. "That makes sense."
He hummed, studying me with that same lazy amusement before shifting forward slightly.
"Anyway," he said, voice light but deliberate, "I did have something else I wanted to ask you."
I raised an eyebrow, waiting.
Then, with a smirk that sent a strange flutter through my chest, he leaned in just a fraction closer.
"Will you be my date to the Founder's Banquet?"