“We can’t be having this any longer, Esmeralda.” 

I crossed my arms as I looked at Dame Eirlys, thoroughly confused. As far as I knew, I hadn’t done anything wrong. Hell, the imperial minister who had been nosing around ever since this morning hadn’t even glanced my way once!

Since she was a knight who even Medrauta respected, I held Dame Eirlys in pretty damn high regard, but I wasn’t gonna just let her start poppin’ off on me when I ain’t done shit.

“Havin’ what, Dame Eirlys? All I’ve been doin’ is spar with Leila, and I didn’t screw up any of my drills either.” Not that I even would. Like Medrauta always says, anyone who screws up on drills by this point ain’t a knight.

Dame Eirlys shook her head as if she were hurrying to clarify herself, and bitch she better. “I wasn’t talking about you,” she said as she jerked a thumb toward the bleachers. 

On one of the rows sat a silver-haired knight who looked more mopey than I would’ve thought possible. I stared at her for a few seconds, trying to catch her blank gaze. When I inevitably failed, I simply shrugged and turned back to Dame Eirlys.

“You and Melindra need to do something about Medrauta. Hell, I’ll even go bug Dame Julia just so we can borrow Brigitte for a day.”

“Uh... Sorry, what?” I squinted, not sure if I was even hearing her right. She wanted me and Melindra to do something about Medrauta? Talk about crazy! I can’t remember the last time Medrauta actually listened to either of us!

Well... I can, but it was for trivial shit, not the type of crap she’s gotten herself wrapped up in! I’d been hella worried about her during the past few weeks, ‘specially after she jumped in front of that crazy ass beam. Honestly, I’m not sure what the hell the Round Table’s doin’, ‘cause princess or not, that shit was way overkill.

I mean, she’s all healed up now thanks to Lady Ysolte, but Aluvsha be damned, she’s been staring off into space nonstop ever since she lost that crappy match against the princess. I guess she was a bit more focused two weeks ago during the match against those foreigners two weeks ago, but... Yeah. There ain’t no way I can do shit ‘bout how she’s been acting.

“Medrauta has been stuck in what seems to be a festering pit of lethargy, Esmeralda. She’s refrained from participating in any of the classes aside from tactics these past few weeks, and even in that class, all she does is say the most irritating things.”

Okay...? And what do you expect me to do about it? “Well, uh... Did you talk to her?”

“Yes,” Dame Eirlys replied in a tone that very obviously hinted at the great pains she was taking to conceal her annoyance. “Of course I did.”

I shrugged in response. Regardless of how annoyed she was getting at me, it’s not like I could actually do anything in the first place. “Well, if she won’t listen to you, she ain’t gonna listen to me, ma’am. She respects you a lot more than she does Melindra and I.”

“...Perhaps that may be so, but in the end, I am still a knight-instructor. I cannot connect with her in the same way that you and Melindra can.”

“I mean... It’s not as if we’ve been ignoring her. Melindra and I tried to cheer her up back when she was first discharged from the infirmary, but it’s like talkin’ to a goddamn brick wall. All she gives is one word answers, and she rejects all our invitations to hang out ‘cause she’d rather stare at walls.”

“Regardless, I’m sure your friendship will be able to pierce through any wall. Please give it another try, Esmeralda. If this keeps up, Medrauta is going to be behind with the curriculum, and she’s already on thin ice with the Round Table. I don’t want to see such a talented knight be held back.”

“Okay, bad example,” I shook my head. “Scrap the wall metaphor. Talkin’ to her right now’s pretty much the same as tryin’ to explain artillery trajectories to Melindra.”

Dame Eirlys raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t much better than her at that particular subject, you know?”

“Yeah? Well, unlike her, I can throw a spear pretty damn well, so I wager I could just throw, like, thirty spears in the time it takes for me to direct an artillery volley. It’s pretty much the same thing, right?”

“It’s not, and you know it.” Dame Eirlys sighed. “Anyway, you missed my point. You’ve known her longer than I do, and more personally as well. Could you and Melindra please just give it another try?”

I sighed. I knew it would be an exercise in futility, but since Dame Eirlys was so adamant, it would simply be disrespectful to keep rejecting her plea for help. “Alright, Dame Eirlys. I’ll see what we can do, but uh... I hope you’re not expectin’ results anytime soon ‘cause honestly, I’ve never even seen Medrauta get so damn depressed.”

“...Agreed. Normally, a knight would be honored to serve as the princess’ knight, but Medrauta seems far more upset about it than her two-hundred loss streak.”

“Well, yeah. She and Lady Viviane kinda had a thing.”

“Medrauta did? With a lady, no less?”

My eyes widened as my hands flew over my big fucking mouth. Ah shit.

“...Well, it’s not as if knights are forbidden from having relationships here at the academy. I just hope it won’t distract her from her duties too much, though... I suppose it’s already a bit too late for that, isn’t it?” Dame Eirlys sighed.

“Eh, I guess so. But y’know, y’don’t need to worry so much, Dame Eirlys. These sorts of things usually sort themselves out, don’t they? Anyway, if there’s nothin’ else, can I get back to my sparring session with Leila? She’s been waitin’ for a couple minutes already.”

Dame Eirlys nodded. “Of course. I’ll be dismissing everyone in ten minutes though, so hurry up with the match, yeah?”

“Will do, ma’am.” I gave her a quick perfunctory salute before making my way back to Leila, my sparring partner. 

She had straight blonde hair that hung down to her waist and shimmering green eyes that nearly matched my own in terms of beauty. In terms of skill, we were pretty evenly matched, but since her primary choice of weapon was a rapier whereas mine was a greatsword, she wasn’t exactly having the best time of her life.

“I’m sorry, Esme,” Leila said as I approached her. “I must’ve gotten you into trouble...”

I blinked, not even sure how she’d managed that particular conclusion. “Uh... What?”

“Dame Eirlys was scolding you about using a greatsword against me, wasn’t she? I should’ve picked a heavier weapon instead to accommodate you...”

“...The hell? Leila, are you good? I know you just transferred in from Sir Richard’s class, but Dame Eirlys ain’t like that. Ain’t nobody gonna accommodate you in the arena, so why the hell would we do it in class? That’d just make sparring useless.”

“O-Oh... Yeah, I guess you’re right, ahaha... Sir Richard’s class is just very focused on fairness, I suppose. But in that case, why did Dame Eirlys pull you away for so long?”

I shrugged. No harm in telling her when Medrauta wasn’t exactly making an effort to hide herself. Hell, she could’ve just skipped class entirely and the result would’ve been the same. Instead, she chose to park her fat ass on the bleachers and watch us spar for whatever reason.

And yeah, her ass is fuckin’ fat. Like I’m talkin’ MASSIVE. I got no clue what kinda loads she’s horsin’ around, but I gotta get myself on some of that, like damn... One of my biggest weaknesses is speed and explosive agility, so while I’m pretty big for a gal, I ain’t too quick compared to Medrauta.

Since she focuses on dashin’ around and shit, it kinda makes sense that her lower body’s strong as hell. I mean, look at her thighs. Damn, girl! One of these days, I oughta ask her what kinda training regimen she’s on ‘cause—

“Esme? Are you okay?” Leila asked.

“Oh! Sorry, ‘bout that, Leila! What’s up?”

Leila blinked, pausing for a second before giggling, presumably at my scatterbrained behavior. “You were staring off into space for quite a bit there. I was wondering what you were speaking about with Dame Eirlys, but if it’s private, then there’s no need to tell me.”

“Ah, no... My mind just kinda wandered off for a sec there, my bad,” I grinned. “We were just talkin’ ‘bout Medrauta. You just joined our class two days ago, so you wouldn’t know, but she wasn’t always like that.”

“Ah... I thought she was being made to sit out since she was so much stronger than everyone else...”

“Hell no,” I said with some measure of severity. “Is that the kind of dumb shit Sir Richard’s class gets up to?”

Leila averted her gaze. For a moment, it seemed as though she wasn’t going to answer me, but then her chin dipped slightly in a small nod.

I shook my head in disbelief. “No way.”

“Um... I’m not sure if gossiping about our instructors is very honorable, but that is indeed how he conducts his class.”

“That’s wack as hell and ain’t no knight in that class gonna improve. Everyone wants to spar against Medrauta here. She’s strong, and she’ll kick our ass, but every time we lose, we learn somethin’, y’know? She’ll attack from angles that you wouldn’t even imagine, and she’ll catch your mistakes way before you do. Plus, she doesn’t let all of it get to her head. She’s helpful and she’ll answer if you ask her for advice. It’s just... shit happened, and now she’s like this.”

“...I see. It must be because of what happened with Lady Viviane.”

“Uh... Yeah. Sounds like you know a bit about it.”

“Just a little,” Leila smiled. “I was there when Lady Sakura challenged one of the second-year knights in the training hall. We all thought she was just acting arrogantly at first, but it was really quite the sight...”

“The foreign lady who shoots like she’s possessed by Aluvsha himself, yeah? I would’ve loved to see it in person, but I heard the stories. Apparently Dame Krista’s taken to practicin’ somethin’ fierce now.”

Leila nodded. “I see her every time I go to the training hall now.”

“By the way, why’d Lady Sakura suddenly decide to challenge a knight, though? I mean, she’s a good shot, but you wouldn’t just do that as a noble if you were sane.”

“I think she wanted to show Lady Viviane something. It seems like Lady Sakura is helping Lady Viviane become strong enough to take Dame Medrauta back, though... I’m not sure how she’ll challenge the princess to a match now that she doesn’t have a knight anymore.”

“Maybe she’ll borrow Lady Sakura’s knight?” I suggested.

“May—Huh?” Leila stopped as her eyes widened in surprise, staring at something behind me. “Is that...?”

I frowned, turning to see Lady Viviane herself standing in the doorway of the classroom. The blonde-haired noblewoman looked nervous as she took a tentative step inside. The classroom was more similar to a training hall which was probably way different than what she was used to, and the air was still filled with the sound of clashing steel.

“Lady Viviane!” I called out to her after excusing myself from Leila’s side. “What’s up? Are you coming to visit Medrauta?” Please say yes, she’ll be over the moon!

Despite my wishes, Lady Viviane shook her head. “No. I’m here for something far more important than that.”

Her voice was filled with resolve, and despite the apprehension that still muddied her eyes, I could see a newfound light of strength and determination. This wasn’t the same Lady Viviane who kept getting pushed around so much by her peers anymore. Though Medrauta, Brigitte, Melindra, and I were more than aware of the way Lady Viviane was treated, we couldn’t exactly protect her in class.

None of our nobles shared the same classes as her, and though we tried our best to make sure that she wasn’t harassed whenever possible, it was inevitable that her classmates would still somehow manage ways to bully her. Honestly, it infuriated me not only as her friend, but as a knight, and I hoped that the new strength she’d discovered within herself would allow her to finally push back against the injustice that she faced.

“Somethin’ more important...?” I pursed my lips, trying to think of something more important than visiting Medrauta that warranted Lady Viviane’s visit here. I was stumped within the first three seconds. “Nope, can’t think of anything! What’s the answer, Lady Viviane?”

“I’m here to take her back,” Lady Viviane declared.

“Viviane!” Medrauta exclaimed before I could even reply. 

She dashed toward us with incredible speed, tearing off the emotionless mask that she’d worn for the last couple weeks. Her beautiful blue eyes glistened with tears that she struggled to hold back, and a quick glance at Lady Viviane told me that she was struggling with the same thing.

Medrauta practically rammed into Lady Viviane, embracing the delicate noblewoman with all her might. I nearly freaked out and readied myself to tear Medrauta off her the moment Lady Viviane began screaming in pain, but somehow, the lady was completely fine.

Rather, she actually managed to move and return Medrauta’s embrace. I glanced at Lady Viviane, inspecting her carefully. She looked a bit more muscular than before, but that was primarily due to the definition now present in her arms. She hadn’t actually gained much in terms of size, if at all, but she still managed to hold her ground in the face of Medrauta’s incredible strength.

Needless to say, it was more than impressive.

“...I missed you so much, Medrauta,” Viviane murmured into her knight’s chest.

“I missed you too, Viviane...”

I quickly averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks grow hot. I-Is this really something I’m allowed to watch? Actually, scratch that! Is this even something the two of you should be doing in public!?

Seeing as a bunch of knights were already staring, the answer was “clearly not.”

“Medrauta, there’s something important I need to ask you,” Lady Viviane began.

“Anything, my lady.”

“You haven’t sworn an oath to Her Imperial Highness yet, have you? In that case, please serve as my appointed champion for my match against her. Should you agree, we shall be fighting today, and the stake is your loyalty.”

“I would love for nothing more than to fight alongside you once more, Viviane.”

I sighed as the two drifted off into their own little world. Though she hated it, Viviane was forced to leave quickly afterwards to prepare for the match, but her departure hadn’t caused Medrauta’s motivation to wane. In fact, her absence only made the resolve in Medrauta’s eyes blaze even brighter.

“...Was that seriously all it took, Medrauta?” I asked.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘What?’ me! You were actin’ like a freakin’ zombie from the Mana Wastes for weeks, but now that you’ve tasted a mere morsel of Lady Viviane’s presence, you’re suddenly all energetic and lively again!”

“‘Tasted a morsel’? Why the fuck did you make that sound so perverted, Esme?”

“It ain’t perverted. You’re just thinking of it that way.”

“Hell no.”

“Hell yeah.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

Medrauta squinted at me, realizing that this wasn’t going to end. Instead of replying verbally, she chose to grab me by the waist and suplexed me into the ground.

“F-Fuck! What the hell, dumbass!? You wait right there, I’m gonna get your ass!”

Medrauta laughed for the first time in weeks. “I’d like to see you try!”

Even though I never managed to suplex her back, it seemed like the problem Dame Eirlys had entrusted to me had solved itself just as I’d predicted.

Hell yeah!