“Why do I have the gut feeling if I continue sticking with you, I’ll find myself being thrust unwittingly into such situations?”

“If you envisioned yourself dying peacefully of old age in bed surrounded by your loved ones, then I guess, yeah, you shouldn’t follow me down this path I’m heading.”

“You fucking liar.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“If the Razors really are coming thirty years from now, such a future doesn’t exist for any of us.”

“Does this mean you believe my words?”

“Not so much your words, but more based on the scenes you had telepathically forced onto me.” says the older female student sourly.

Hearing her annoyed voice, the boy grimaces. It seems the older female student is still nursing a grudge, being at the receiving end of the horrifying and disturbing images from the boy’s pasts. Of course this event happened three days ago when they officially met outside the Academy’s horse stable for the first time.

**************************************

“Knowing about what you’re going through actually made me feel better about myself. I could almost find it in my heart to forgive you for the mind assault that you forced onto to me three days ago.”

“I’m glad to hear that. No, wait, what do you mean almost?”

“Don’t you know that an angry woman who has been pacified can still be vindictive?”

“I’m a man. Usually when there’s an angry woman standing in front of me, I have no idea how I got myself in that situation in the first place.”

“Well, saying sorry is usually the first step to take if you want to get out of such situation.”

“Is it really effective? Saying sorry, I mean.”

“No, it’s not. But it’s usually a good start.”

“Then in order to commemorate the start of a healthy relationship between us, I would like to say how sorry I am for showing you such unsightly sights outside the stable three days ago.”

“There you go again, lying through your fucking teeth.’

“…”

“No, you’re not sorry. Not one fucking bit.”

**************************************

The waitress formerly known as Susan smoothly glides towards the side where Sulis is seated and sits beside her. There is no longer any trace of the bright and bubbly waitress who had taken the boy’s food order earlier. All that is left is a serene and dignified noble lady. But all that calmness still couldn’t hide the hint of playfulness hiding in the corners of her eyes.

“Tell me honestly, without using your so-called powers, could you have figured it out?”

“Yes, there were several obvious mistakes that were made if one was inclined to notice.”

“Oh? Please enlightened me as to what they were.”

“Well among the major ones, you entered this private booth earlier without waiting for permission to be given. That one set off some glaring alarm bells right from the start.”

“Damn, foiled at the first step.”

“The second one was when you attempted to leave after taking our orders.”

“It was when I failed to take away Sulis’ plate, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“I knew I missed something!”

“Even though fake Mistress Anatol, or should I say Sulis here, had only eaten half her food, she had placed her napkin on the table to indicate that she was done. Furthermore, she had put her knife and fork in a cross position on the plate, which is a clear sign as any that she had finished her meal.”

“I’ve been drilled several times during my childhood about dining etiquette. Why of why didn’t my knowledge carried forward to when I was being a waitress…”

“No.”

“Hmmm?”

“You weren’t being a waitress. You were only playing one.”

“Guess merely imitating what I have seen isn’t good enough.”

“Maybe skipping waiter school isn’t the best of ideas after all. Wait, is there even a school for waiters?”

“Most of them learn by experience and are taught by the various establishments where they are employed. Many higher end restaurants require their wait staff to have a number of years of experience before offering them a position so I guess you could say waiters and servers work their way up with on the job training.”

“Well thank the gods then that you’re the owner of this fine dining establishment. You could just go ahead and hire yourself to become a waitress and avoid all those pesky steps.”

“Nepotism at its finest. I could even give myself a generous starting wage too while I’m at it.”

“Don’t forget to include your fellow co-workers as well.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.”

“.....”

“Don’t look at me like that. Their salaries are several times what they would normally get at any other restaurant. Plus life insurance, paid sick leave and vacation pay.”

“Don’t forget dental.”

“Can’t have my employees greeting customers with crooked teeth now, can we?”

“Anyway, it all goes back to that old adage, a mediocre meal can be saved great service, but mediocre service can ruin even a great meal.”

“That was really good. Do you know where that saying came from?”

“Probably from a waiter who felt undervalued.”

“I’ve heard of a similar adage as well.”

“Oh? Please share it with me then.”

“Wisdom is never on the menu. You have to own the restaurant.”

“That was really deep. Where did that saying come from?”

“Probably from a down-to-earth restaurant owner.”

“.....”

“What?”

“It was you…”

“How did you know? No, wait. It was the ‘down-to-earth’ part that gave me away, wasn’t it?”

“Anyway, aside from those two major mistakes, there were some minor errors as well.”

“Such as?”

“Well, for starters, the uniform you were wearing earlier.”

“But it was made in the same tailor shop like all the rest of them.”

“Yes. But with a much higher quality and with greater care.”

“Clothes make the man after all. And I like to dress how I feel.”

“Like a million gold coins?”

“Nope. Pretty. Other than the issue with the uniform, what else tipped you that something was wrong?”

“The fact that Delyth here and fake Mistress Anatol over there didn’t bat an eyelid at the errors you made while serving us speaks volume on who you truly are.”

“Like I’ve said, nepotism does has it perks. There’s no one higher than me who could reprimand me.”

“And last but not least, the minor mistake that unravels it all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“What does that mean?”

“Your daughter Delyth and your bodyguard Sulis look nothing alike.”

“Really? Most people we had pulled the same trick before didn’t even notice. Some even said that they look like twins.”

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all. And really, they’re both extremely gorgeous. Plus, with a veil covering up half of your body-double’s face, it’s really pretty hard to tell. But their attractiveness lies at the opposite end of each spectrum.”

“Meaning?”

“If I have to put it in simpler terms, Sulis’ beauty is like looking up a mountain. Majestic, Pristine, Stunning, these are the few limited words that come to the minds of mere mortals if they were asked to describe your bodyguard.”

“And how would you define her?”

“I would have relied on the three rules of mountaineering.”

“Which is?”

“It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks. And it’s always harder than it looks.”

“…..”

“And as for Delyth, her beauty is like a frozen lake. It glistened in the sun and gives the illusion of soft clouds. But make no mistake, if you accidently fall in, you have little to no hope of getting out.

“And what about my beauty?”

“Well yours is like the ocean, a mirror reflecting the world. A man can look up and see the mountain top but it’s hard to judge how deep the ocean is. With enough luck, skill and preparation, most people can successfully climb up and down a mountain. But I know none who can make the journey to the bottom of the ocean and return safely”

“Oh my, you have a way with words. Are you sure you’re studying to be a knight instead of a poet? It’s not too late to change careers you know? I can be your patron and sponsor you.” Susan the real Mistress Anatol blushes.

“Really? I might take you up on your offer one day if this whole being-a-Knight-of-Enahel thing doesn’t work out.” smiles the boy. Nearly there, he thinks, a few more nudges and I can successfully seal the deal and get her to support to me taking over Ouro-

“He’s talking about breast sizes.”

“What?”

“Don’t mind Delyth, Mistress Anatol. Your daughter is just suffering from a severe case of citrus allergy. It has poisoned the poor girl’s mind and making her sprout nonsense.”

“All this talk about mountains and lakes and oceans, he’s just pointing out in a round-about way that Sulis’ chest is bigger than both of us. We have the same body type, remember?”

“…..”

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, it’s what he said earlier.” reminds Delyth as she cuts a portion of the smoked salmon in front of her and puts it in her mouth using a fork.

The boy grimaces. Looks like the third year student is still holding a grudge even though he had sincerely apologize for his past action.