The Past Hurts

- Within the headmaster's office during Garrod and Patrick's conversation -

Garrod snuck a mischievous smirk from behind Patrick. The moment the headmaster glanced up to look at the knight, the sly grin vanished as if it were never there. His condescending expression was wiped clean until it was like a blank canvas. Garrod would much rather beat this prince to death and be captured and tortured rather than listen to the two of them converse meaninglessly. The thought danced around in his mind. He would rather go bald than listen to this.

"I'll excuse myself, Headmaster Oscar," the knight murmured. "I have appointments to attend to."

On second thought, his lady wouldn't appreciate seeing him bald when they reunite. He remembered how she liked to run her slender fingers through his raven hair, gently tussling the messy crop on his head. She would always smell fresh when she wrapped her arms around him, and the feeling of her skin touching his was always rejuvenating after a long day's work. The warmth soothed the demon blood that coursed through his veins. The little memory made his heart ache. The first thing Garrod planned to do was find her after he conquered Lotte. The empress of Lotte cannot possibly keep them apart.

"Yes, of course. Your work is exemplary, Sir Garrod. It was a pleasure to be in your presence," the headmaster nodded.

The mischievous prince spun around in his leather seat and smiled contemptuously. "Ahaha, that reminds me, lil' knight."

Garrod refrained from opening the door and turned around to face Patrick. He intently watched Patrick, only remaining because this man was Whitensen's first prince. Otherwise, he would pummel the egotistical bastard until there was nothing left of him. At this point, he was seriously considering throwing away all the reasoning that was left in his head and disintegrating the whole kingdom if it meant he'd keep Patrick away from the only lady he loves.

"You're no worse than I am with those wretched scarlet eyes of yours," Patrick taunted the esteemed knight, pointing his index finger at the ruby irises Garrod bestowed. "How many women have you seduced into your doing with that dangerous magic you have? Hmm? You're as much of a lowlife as everyone calls the daughter of the Carabell family. Except, she has money, and what do you have? You have nothing but the role of being the right-hand man of my little Delly. It's a shame!"

Garrod remained silent, trying to restrain the glow of his vermilion eyes. Instead, they blazed brighter, and the office rapidly filled with an influx of the intensity of the magic. The amused prince was momentarily blinded by them. Patrick threw his arms up to cover his eyes, only to realize the light didn't hurt his eyes but petrified him. Chills ran up and down his spine, and his heart rate began to increase, racing until his chest began to pulse in pain. He started breathing heavily as if he were sprinting away from a demon as fast as he could. The headmaster instantly swiped his hand, cutting the air in the room with his fingertips like a blade. The red glowing swiftly reduced to a dim, pink shimmer. Garrod rubbed his eyes from the irritation of the magic and bowed, his hand over his chest.

"I will leave now. Have a good day, your highness and Headmaster," Garrod monotonously stated, pretending as if he didn't suddenly emit a powerful aura.

However, as soon as Prince Patrick finishes speaking with the headmaster, Garrod would search and torture the prince in all ways possible for messing with his lady and saying such nonsense before a demon of his caliber. The princess of Lotte was doing military training in Leonard. He was only waiting until the time was right to go and find her. How he knew Prince Patrick met her was another matter.

At this point, Patrick was stuck in a state of shock, mortified by the aura that could have killed him. Then, he burst out laughing. It was maniacal and sounded more like he was sobbing.

"Wow, so that's what it feels to be slowly eaten away by the Red Demon," the prince remarked and continued chuckling, unaware of how the headmaster was highly concerned for his well-being.

Headmaster Oscar sighed exhaustedly. "Your Highness, his majesty has already prohibited you from going within one hundred meters of the academy grounds. We simply cannot allow you to continue loitering with our female students and getting into altercations with our male students. This goes especially for Miss Carabell. That young lady already has enough trouble going out for her. You're already aware of the restraining order that Duke Carabell issued."

The prince was still recovering from Garrod's magic, and he simply swiveled to the other side of his seat to gaze upon the headmaster.

"Trouble? That's hilarious. She wouldn't be having any issues if the board of education didn't suddenly want to have her kicked out," Patrick stated, shaking his hand at the headmaster. "Let's be realistic; none of you want her in this academy."

There was a moment of silence. For a split second, the spunky prince could have sworn the headmaster was itching to burst out in rage. Instead, the elderly man kept his composure and sat quietly at his desk.

"His Majesty ordered us to admit her, so we did. However, with the current circumstances and the recent turn of events, we have to consider expelling her. Although your father issued a royal order to let her in our prestigious academy, we have all the rights to re-evaluate a student's education when their behavior begins to harm and disrupt others."

"You're the only one to ever refer to the king as my father. It's so funny. It's always 'Oh, his majesty wishes to speak to you' or 'His Majesty orders you to do this' and blah blah blah. I'm sick and tired of it, y'know? Who are you to interfere with what I do with Elisabeth? You're not even my father," Patrick reminded the headmaster.

"I may not be your father, but I was your tutor. I have tutored generations of the Whitensen royal family. I have a long life as a mage. I advise you to stop with the nonsense you've been on about and focus on building a name for yourself. You are an intelligent man. Had you taken your work seriously, you could have achieved accomplishments beyond your peers."

Prince Patrick strung his arm around the back of the seat he sat in, leaning in a repulsive position. "Huh, you mean Delly? That kid couldn't give a single damn about his accomplishments. He's too hung up on the past."

The headmaster frowned at the prince's language, being familiar with its derogatory meaning.

"And it seems you're too caught up on your ancestors' past," the headmaster remarked.

The prince shifted in his seat. "Ah, I just want to leave now. You're an annoying old man."

Crack!

The headmaster broke the desk with the slam of his fists. The wooden furniture crumbled and incinerated into flames, and its ashes fluttered around the room. He threw a book towards Patrick, who quickly dodged the incoming object.

"That is enough, your highness! I won't tolerate such disrespect!"

- Elisabeth's perspective when she arrived at the Carabell Estate -

The moment my heel clicked the marble floor within the estate, it was the maids' cue to bow like robots executing their code. None of the servants looked pleased to see me and I couldn't tell whether they weren't happy to see me either. Their expressions were wiped clean. The ladies appeared brainwashed, all the light in their eyes gone. My heart felt heavy in my chest when I laid my eyes upon Teresa and Jillian among them.

It seems they went straight home after that incident. I should probably say something to lighten the serious mood.

"Ah, could you guys at least relax? I'm not planning on doing anything but staying in my room," I told them as politely as I could with a gentle smile.

"Yes, my lady," they chimed together in perfect unison.

My smile dulled when I heard their response. They cleared the way for me to walk through. An equal number of maids were on each side of me. Somehow, the silence was eerie and I could feel my heart starting to pulse rapidly. I hesitated in proceeding forward. My voice was caught in my throat.

I didn't think it'd be this...awkward.

Suddenly, Elisabeth's father appeared out of nowhere. He rapidly approached me and held his right hand up in the air when he reached me.

Slap!

With one strong strike, I fell to my knees and clutched the red mark on my face. The polished floor reflected Elisabeth's face before me. The duke's sleeves were strung up as he wore a vest over the undershirt. His hands were stained with ink and calloused from work. I could clearly see how his muscles were built and the large scars that decorated them. Despite how old he appeared, he was still fit. The maids rushed to clear the area.

"Honestly! What is it going to take for you to learn from your mistakes?! Do you think I am pleased to hear that you made a show of yourself with your maids at the dining hall?!" the duke's voice thundered.

I glared at him, the pain subsiding thanks to the adrenaline in my veins rushing. I clenched my fists.

"You're a duke, and look at you, making a show in front of all those maids because your daughter had an exchange between her own maids..." I told him boldly.

The statement made the veins on his muscular arms bulge. "Thanks to you, we had to replace our whole arsenal of maids! I kept two of them from the previous line-up, and now you've gone and caused a commotion at the academy with them!"

Caused a commotion? Does he even know what happened? He doesn't even know why I reacted that way!

"Hey...if you don't care about Elisa⎯me, why don't you act like it? Are you telling me you're trying to discipline your daughter while she is being discriminated against at the academy and treated like dirt? Don't you think that's the reason why something happened at the academy between me and your daughter's maids? You are a duke! If you cared, you would've⎯"

"You're not my daughter!" he interrupted, shouting the words vehemently.

A pounding headache overwhelmed me and I held my head. The man hesitated in his next action. His eyebrows furrowed and he leaned back while pushing his golden circular glasses up.

"If you were my daughter, you wouldn't be so ignorant and entitled. We are the Carabells, how can we possibly breed such a child?" he scoffed.

"Hm! Is that what you call having children? Breeding? It's no wonder Elisabeth became so messed up," I mumbled under my breath, but he didn't seem to hear me despite how close he was.

Rather, the duke was dazed and looked a bit concerned about something that buzzed in his mind. A silence hung in the thick atmosphere. I bit my lip as I awaited his next words anxiously. At last, he merely sighed and turned away.

"That's right. I don't care about you," he finally decided. "Go ahead to your room then. Mind you, the heir to the Carabell family is Allen. It will never be you, Elisabeth. Remember that."

The heir…? Elisabeth has a brother?

The duke's footsteps became softer until I realized I was left alone, kneeling on the cold marble. I shivered and choked on a sob.

Who thought I would be able to live like this?

The sound of the light tapping of heels grew in volume.

"My Lady, will you please stand up?" a soft voice asked me timidly.

I rubbed the tears to clear my sight. When I glanced up, I saw Jillian holding her small hand out. I reached out to grab her little sign of politeness, but she quickly withdrew the offer, letting my hand hover alone.

Oh, come on! All of you people in this world suck!