The train departed San Paulette for Chatenham City in the early hours of the morning. Leomaris took the window seat, Hazel beside him with his suitcase held firmly in hand. Across from them sat Raine and Ren.
"The Duchess is very scary. She said only a word or two, yet I couldn’t help but obey. If only the church had someone like her at the helm." Ren threw it out there, angling for Raine’s attention. Silence was all she got.
She continued...
"She said the Duke would be visiting you, Raine... what do you think? Aren’t you nervous?"
Those words finally landed on Raine. Her expression remained flat, but when she spoke, the hesitation was plain.
"I don’t know... I’m not part of their family yet, but it seems like they’re already treating me like one."
"I know, right? She said she’s expecting great things from you, so you have to pass your entrance exam."
Leomaris barely caught their words, but the thought lingered all the same. Had they forgotten they were sitting in the presence of the Duchess’s son?
Not that he could blame them. His mother wasn’t just mysterious, she was terrifying. She’d seen them off to the academy with a few words. But nothing unsettled Leomaris quite like the smile she’d given him on the way out.
When Rosemary spoke, Leomaris lifted his slightly bowed head just enough to catch a glimpse of her. She smiled softly, again. Her position ensured none of them could see that warm and yet dangerous smile but Leomaris, which left him feeling as though she’d meant for him to see it.
The thought alone still sent chills down Leomaris’s spine. But it was the words she’d said after that smile that had been lingering in his mind.
Godfrey would be coming over. Both he and Rosay would be at the academy by then, and Rosemary had been explicit. She expected great things. And she was positive Godfrey would expect the same.
It meant one thing in Leomaris’s head. His achievements at the academy would be compared against those of his sister Rosay. But villains didn’t measure worth through academics, he was certain of that. It would still matter, just not in the way most would think.
Suffering was the Runerth family’s currency, and they were always after more of it. Rosay was already a respected figure at the academy in her third year. Beyond that, she ran an underground drug business quietly overseen by her butler while she handled the academic side of things.
’If she were in my world, she’d probably already be a multimillionaire by now.’
It was an unfair comparison, in his opinion. He had a plan, though, not that he could call it that until he’d actually been to the academy.
’According to the novel, Godfrey earned his title as a duke after fighting alongside his friend King Alastair II in the Revolutionary War nearly thirty years ago. He was rewarded with more than sixty percent of the land in San Paulette, enough to practically own the city.
But the truth is far darker... Godfrey was the one who started the war. He used it to sell weapons and forge alliances. His underground empire alone would make him a billionaire, perhaps even a multibillionaire.’
A deep exhale. He believed that was what they expected of him, after all, Rosay had done something similar in the novel.
’I’m still confused. How am I supposed to start a war in less than a month? Even Rosay spent three years achieving that.’
His mind was wandering when Ren, who’d had her eyes on the dazed Leomaris for well over a minute, finally spoke.
"Thinking too much won’t do you any good, young master. Perhaps you should cheer up a little... I can bring you some snacks if you wish."
She flashed him a grin so broad it should have been enough to set the skies alight.
Leomaris smiled back. He’d known she was cheerful, but after a few days of it, he’d come to understand exactly why Raine always kept her close.
Ren reached into Raine’s luggage and pulled out a few snacks, handing Leomaris a handful before turning to Hazel.
Hazel, however, hesitated. It wasn’t opposition, it was the burning rage written across Raine’s face that made her rethink.
"Uhm... I don’t think Lady Raine would be very happy about you sharing her snacks..."
Ren shrugged it off. "She’ll be fine. She took her medication this morning, and snacks aren’t allowed for her. We’re the ones who are hungry, aren’t we? Her sweet tooth will have to wait."
The expression on Raine’s face had Hazel gritting her teeth, as if it were about to swallow her whole. Even so, she took the snack regardless.
Raine’s expression darkened before she caught herself. "I don’t necessarily have a sweet tooth," she said. "I just eat them because I have to."
"Yeah... the first thing she tasted after birth wasn’t milk, but sweetness. They say it’s a sign of being chosen by a Divine Entity." Ren added.
The glance Leomaris and Hazel exchanged was tense. Leomaris was caught off guard, the novel had said nothing of this about Raine. Even so, he knew exactly why she was looking at him.
"Her situation is similar to yours, isn’t it?"
Hazel motioned positively.
"I have a similar situation... but mine has nothing to do with sweets. I can’t go into details, but I hope you understand."
Raine’s mouth parted slightly, her expression caught somewhere between shock and relief.
"I thought I was alone."
"No, this actually happens quite often. It occurs when you’re born near a grimoire that matches your compatibility." Leomaris added.
"Haha," Ren laughed. "I knew my lady was unique."
The conversation grew, mostly between Raine, Ren, and Hazel. Raine even went as far as pulling out her grimoire to show them, its silver and golden shell marked with sacred prints.
It solidified his thoughts. The original story had been far more distorted than he’d anticipated. In Arcane Mercenary, Raine had gotten her grimoire at the academy, not from the Church of Change.
’She only appeared in the story once she became relevant to the plot, around a hundred Chapters in, and about two months into the academy. The author never stated it directly, but Raine mentioned it during a sentimental conversation with Lucius regarding her grimoire.’
The original Leomaris’s involvement in Lucius’s parents’ death remained clear in his mind. That meant, unless Raine had lied to Lucius somewhere in the novel, subtle things had already shifted from what he knew.
None of that changed anything, though. He still had to outplay his sister at the academy somehow and put together a better résumé for Godfrey’s visit.