The silver glimmer eventually died out, revealing the bow once again. The only difference in the bow’s image this time was the grip. It had somehow remolded itself to better fit Fantasia’s left hand, a sign Hughesin knew marked her as the one chosen by Vindrhorn. Until her death, the mark and its allegiance would remain unchanged.

“Well. Permit me to extend my heart-felt congratulations to the new master of Vindrhorn, milady.” Hughesin smiled, though it was hard to miss the melancholic expression on his face and voice.

Meaning Elric noticed it as well, though he misinterpreted it as the duke being unwilling to hand over Vindrhorn. What person in their right mind would hand over a priceless heirloom to an outsider? Hurriedly, he presented the bow back to Hughesin with as much decorum as he could muster.

“A thousand pardon, milord. I never imagined something like this occurring, nor did I ever wish to lay claim to your ancestral heirloom…”

“If the bow has chosen you as its master, then it is yours. Rather than be left as a commemoration piece, why not let it be used for its true purpose?” Replied Hughesin.

“But I lack the strength to even use it.”

“You needn’t worry, I’ll teach you in the art. I am after all a patient and experienced teacher.” The opportunity to get even closer to Fantasia was immediately snatched up by Hughesin the moment he saw it. Perhaps time would present to him more opportunities for him to get closer.

Elric had no reason to refuse such an invitation. He desperately wanted to be taken away from the grueling days of etiquette and manner lessons to please the dames and noblewomen in charge. It had seemed, the past few days, that the ducal house of Hughesin had turned into a public ground for gossip and social interaction with how many people came and went. A major headache was how the majority of those visitors would come straight for him, something Elric hoped wouldn’t be a constant repeat.

After a hefty period of consideration, Elric finally agreed to be taught by Hughesin. It’d be the perfect excuse for him to skip out on the other lessons. He was also keenly interested on the branch of archery Hughesin would be teaching him. As descendant of a hero known for their mastery of archery, Hughesin’s lineage surely would have some special characteristics in the art. As an archer himself, Elric was deeply curious about what ancient archery had that made it superior over contemporary archery.

On the other side, Hughesin was pleased to see Fantasia finally accept his assistance. He did well to hide it from showing on his face so he could make a gentlemanly gesture. “I will go make the arrangements, then. I must be elsewhere now, milady. Be well and at ease.”

Placing Vindrhorn in the open palms of Fantasia, Hughesin gave her a curt salute before returning to his own quarters.

That left Elric alone in the hall. Originally, he planned on putting back the bow and arrows behind the portrait. But after some careful reconsideration, Elric decided to bring them back to his own room.

Once back in his room, Elric began to search all over the room for a suitable place to store his newest possessions. Eventually, the sideboard that contained all of Hughesin’s art was picked. It was the only one big enough to hold Vindrhorn, but he’d have to empty the sideboard first. Even the large horn made from a dragon fang was tossed aside so the bow could be stored safely inside. Elric didn’t care about Hughesin’s artworks or how much the dragon horn was worth, but they looked much better thrown out the window than in the sideboard.

Perfectly content, but tired, Elric fell back onto his bed. A soothing slumber came to him quickly for the first time since he first arrived at the ducal estate.

But no matter how good a night’s sleep was, it was only temporary.

A groggy Elric awoke later to a bright and sunny late morning, his room already staffed with his four handmaids. On the other side of the bed was the smiling face of Saludy. Farther away in a corner was the Countess and two other noblewomen.

Elric had nearly fainted at the sight of them all in his room, but he grew alert when he saw the faint smile on Merlise’s lips and her stare toward the pile next to the sideboard. He knew not what the smile meant, but it couldn’t have been good for him.

To make the matter worse, but Elric could see now Hughesin gesturing at his art, though he knew little of what those gestures meant. Combined with the glances Saludy was giving to the other noblewomen, Elric knew another misunderstanding had somehow happened yet again.

If regret was a meal, then Elric could eat no more. He grew scarlet and groaned inwardly to himself; how could making a minor mess possibly cause any trouble?

Unfortunately for him, the reddening of his face was mistaken as a blush and further confirmed the noblewomens’ suspicions.

The majority of the people left the room following Elric’s awakening, though the handmaid in charge of his daily life remained in the room to speak with him. “Oh you and your carelessness,” she giggled in a whisper to him. “Do you still not understand the situation you’re in? Don’t you know any other woman would’ve been forced to marry the Duke if they did even half the deeds you have? Not even Sir Kebrilio nor His Majesty would be of any assistance. Heehee, maybe you should prepare yourself for a married life with the Duke.”

Elric fell back onto his bed, powerless, for the second time today. He didn’t even object when his four handmaids pulled him from his bed and began to dress him in a beautiful dress with all sorts of elaborate accessories added on such as an invaluable earring (given to him the day prior by a member of royalty). Nor did he wince when they began to tighten his waist with cloth.

Soon enough and Elric was completely tidied up from head to toe and brought out from his room. Many people were already waiting downstairs for their appearance, though Elric could no longer care to even smile. Expressionlessly, he tried his best to walk down the stairs as calmly as he could, but the crowd only further misunderstood the reasoning behind his silence.

Fortunately, Hughesin had somehow managed to get the Duchess’ approval to shorten the Elric’s etiquette lessons by half. The other half of the day would be up to Hughesin so he could teach Elric his ancestral art of archery. The Duchess would never understand why a young noblewoman would ever need to be proficient in archery, but the woman didn’t plan on asking Hughesin the reason any time soon.

※※※

Because of the shortened lesson time, Elric ended up being forced to go through the same amount of lesson topics in half the normal time. It was a grueling experience that made Elric feel even more exhausted than usual; even breathing felt like an arduous task to him.

His fatigue lasted even during the noon meal. All sorts of scrumptious delicacies were placed in front of him to eat, but Elric couldn’t even find the energy in himself to be excited about it. It took all it had for him to force down a few bites so that he’d have some energy for later. He’d never last the afternoon on an empty stomach.

The scarce amounts of food Elric was eating was noted with a secretive smile from both Saludy and Merlise. This result was something planned, in truth. The eating habits of Fantasia was known to the former and was found to be the sole point of contention Saludy had with the young girl. That was why, after careful consideration, she decided to have Fantasia’s handmaids tighten her waist by two buttons to suppress the appetite while also further highlighting the accents of the feminine body. This method was something of a secret to Saludy, one she was only willing to consult with the Duchess and a select few other noblewomen. But in the end, everyone agreed that Fantasia would have to suffer in the meanwhile for the sake of the future.