“Was it REALLY necessary to stir up your lackeys to the point they start fist fights in school?”

Camilla rubbed the bridge of her nose, embarrassed, “I didn’t think they’d take things that far...”

“If they’re that crazy, they might really hurt Bethany. Could you live with yourself if something really happened to her?”

“...no…”

“I thought so.” Albert sighed. “I wish she hadn’t agreed to this stupid plan. She might really get hurt because of it.”

Camilla propped her hand under her chin and grinned, “So protective!”

“Shove off!” He glared at her, but his ears had turned red despite himself.

“Don’t be like that.” She said while adding more sugar to her already overly sweetened coffee. They were in a recently opened cafe that was away from the Academy, and thus away from the nosy students.

Albert shuttered at the sight, “How can you drink that sugar-sludge?”

“I don’t want to hear that from a cookie fanatic.”

While Camilla was turning her coffee white with all the sugar, there was a pile of cookies in front of Albert. For every sip of coffee, which he drank black, he ate a cookie.

He had few indulgences, cookies were one of them.

“Anyway, when are you going to start with the “real” bullying?”

“Soon.” She sipped her coffee and smacked her lips, ignoring noble etiquette completely. “I told you before, this has to go down in front of the whole school and the Winter Ball is the best time for that.”

“That’s in 6 months isn’t it?”

“Yep. In another week or two I’ll get together with Bethany and we’ll start planning the “real” bullying.” She looked thoughtful, “But we won’t start until about 3 months before the ball.”

“Is that a good idea?” Albert brow wrinkled, “Ever since you turned 16, the Dean’s been forcing you to help with the prep for that. You know he’ll volun-force you again this year.”

She made an annoyed face, “It’ll be a tight squeeze but I’ve been planning this a long time so it should be fine.”

“That’s true…” Albert muttered, his eyes unfocusing as he sipped his bitter coffee and immediately put a cookie in his mouth.

They both drank and ate silently for several minutes. It was a peaceful kind of quiet, without any sense of anticipation or nervousness.

It was exactly like two friends enjoying each other’s company.

“You know…”

“Hm?”

Albert cleared his throat, “Bethany is… is actually a really good girl.”

“That so?”

“She’s a lot smarter than I am.”

This caused Camilla to raise her eyebrows in surprise. Albert worked like a dog to be the best, getting his acknowledgement was really something.

“At first I just thought… well, she’s cute enough and seems kind, plus she’s intelligent so I can hold conversations with her…” He fiddled with the handle of his coffee cup, “..but after spending time with her, I realized she’s…”

“Amazing?” Camilla supplied with a wide grin.

Albert, who usually kept an passively friendly expression on his face, suddenly looked very soft, his eyes practically gushing with affection.

“...yeah.”

“Then she’s perfect for you.” Camilla lips curved up in amusement. “Two amazing people getting together. Like God planned it himself.”

Albert pursed his lips, his earlier soft expression gone.

“You’re amazing too.”

“Eh, I’m alright. Compared to you two…” She shrugged. “I can’t compete in test scores or horseback riding or dancing—”

“That’s because you hate dancing and don’t even try!”

“Heh!” She didn’t bother denying it.

“Your scores aren’t bad though, you’re always in the top 10.”

“I say, don’t coddle me. I’m EXACTLY at 10, every time.” She snorted and then laughed, “Well, my point is I’m not amazing. At best I might be called excellent. And if you’re talking about personality, I’m definitely no good.”

Albert’s face cramped and he didn’t deny it. She was bossy and domineering, doing things how she liked and often not considering the feelings of those around her. But everyone had flaws and she had her good points.

What really made her “no good” to him was how she’d caused his feelings of love for her to wither into nothing. He had worked hard for years to get her approval and only this year, at 18, that he figured out he’d never get it. She’d never accept him as her real fiance. It would only be a friend.

He’d silently cried in his bed all night when the reality finally sunk in. At first he felt like he’d wasted his life and resented Camilla for her callous indifference. But as the night wore on, he realized all he’d gained from liking her was a stellar reputation and the admiration of adults and peers alike. As for the heartbreak… she’d told him from the beginning she’d never be his, it was his own fault for hoping.

The next day he straightened himself up, made sure none of his sorrow showed on his face, and went about his day just like always. No one seemed to notice anything was off. He felt relieved and irritated that people he thought he was close to, couldn’t tell he’d been crying all night. But at the same time he didn’t want to be questioned so it was also good they didn’t notice. Over all, he was an emotional mess.

Then he met Bethany, just like always, after classes ended. He’d been taking her home regularly for two years. This was the final action of the day. Afterward, he could finally go to his room and continue staring at the ceiling for hours in solitary misery.

When they got near her dorm building she stopped and asked him if he was alright. Despite the time they’d been together, he hadn’t felt particularly close to her. He always made sure to keep his “perfect Prince” facade on while she was around. It was a surprise that she’d noticed.

The person he hadn’t expected to see, had seen.

His heart was touched.

From that point on, he began paying real attention to Bethany. He always thought she was a good person, but when he looked at her properly, he discovered she was sweet, kind, generous, funny, smart… and the list went on.

The heart that had been thoroughly broken, mended again. And what had originally been unwilling participation became something real.

He really did like Bethany.

“Well, enough about me. When are you going to tell Bethany you love her?”

He froze.

“W-w-w-w-what?”

“Don’t w-w-w-what me. She agreed to help us cancel our engagement, but as for being queen…. She never actually agreed to that.”

“No, but didn’t she? When we first explained it to her, she very clearly said yes.”

Camilla raised an index finger and shook it. “No, no. Think back carefully. What she agreed to was helping us break out engagement and then pretending to be your new lover afterward. That is not the same as her agreeing to marry you.”

Albert thought back and realized she was right. His whole face paled noticeably. If his relationship with Bethany ended up like Camilla, he might just go to the mountains and become a monk!

“Why did she agree if it wasn’t to be queen!?”

“You silly man, isn’t it because she felt bad for us?”

“But that’s—”

Camilla rubbed her chin, “It’s her one flaw you know. She’s got too much compassion. When you nab her, you’ll have to compensate by being ruthless. Do you think you can do it?”

“Don’t talk like it’s a definite thing she’ll say yes!”

She blinked in surprise at his lack of confidence.

“Isn’t it a definite thing?”

“You didn’t—” He blurted out and wanted to smack himself.

Covering his face, he didn’t dare look at the young lady across from him. Though they didn’t say it, they both understood he’d tried winning her over all these years. That it had failed left him embarrassed to this day.

He heard her sigh and he peeked through his fingers.

“Oh stop that.” She grabbed his hands and pinned them down onto the table. “I’m not angry about it.”

He squinted at her, unbelieving. Previously if he even breathed that he was trying to win her over, she’d turn into a demon incarnate.

“I’m really not.” She rubbed the back of her neck, looking uncomfortable. “In fact, I’m sorry if I left a scar by constantly rejecting you.”

“You… you’re sorry? I didn’t know you felt regret...”

“...do you want me to punch you?”

“I mean, thank you for apologizing.”

“That’s better.” She smirked and then looked a little sad. “I only got angry because I wanted to make it clear we couldn’t be together. If I was gentle or tried to play it down, you might get your hopes up.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, just because I’m an impossible catch,” He rolled his eyes at her phrasing, “doesn’t mean other women will be the same. In fact, I think Bethany would be fairly easy to win over. She already likes you as a person, it’ll just take a little push in the right direction to get things going. Maybe some kind of misundersta— oh yes, like the one we’re making right now.”

“What?” Albert looked at her in confusion.

“I just saw Bethany peeking at us through the window. I rather suspect she thinks we’re on a date. She looked awwwwwful upset for someone who doesn’t have any interest in you.”

“But she knows we’re just friends!”

Camilla raised an eyebrow, “Does she though?”

He stood up immediately, grabbed his suitcase and said as he was leaving, “I’ll talk to you later!”

Camilla watched as he ran past the window and chuckled.

“Your welcome, Miss Heroine.”