The shop was about half the size of their room at the dormitory. The wood planks of the floor were so polished that they could almost serve as a mirror. Extravagant pieces of jewelry were arranged on glass displays.

Deon held an intricate gold ring in the air, the encrusted gemstones glistening under the light. “It’s perfect.”

“It costs eight platinum crowns,” Jon noted the obscenely high price tag on the velvet-lined display.

“So what?” his roommate asked with a nonchalance that Jon couldn’t help being angry about.

Making one gold centarii per night helping with his professors’ research, it would take Jon more than two years to accumulate that amount of money. Meanwhile, Deon was about to spend it on a single gift for that girlfriend/lover/whatever of his. A waste of his money and also a waste of Jon’s time.

After the incident in the bedroom, Jon made sure to tell his other roommates about it. Aeron gave it little mind, too upset with the classes to care about anything else. Nevil seemed to be somewhat annoyed about it, but chose the non-confrontational path and said nothing. As for Bella, who technically wasn’t their roommate but still part of the group, she was more surprised that Deon hadn’t done it before.

“I also want a necklace to go with it,” he told the shopkeeper, a woman in a form-fitting dress that left little to the imagination, no doubt to attract men with more money than sense. Deon, for instance. He might very well be looking to impress both the woman and Elina with his purchases.

The shopkeeper turned around and walked towards a glass display on the wall, making a show of swaying her hips as she walked. She returned with a necklace on each hand. “We have this beautiful necklace with a gold chain and a ruby pendant.” She held the chain against her neck so that the pendant fell on her cleavage. “In turn, we also have this sapphire that was once a gift from the old Duke Olsandre to one of his mistresses.” She repeated the process of displaying her own assets along with the product so to entice Deon. “Are they to your lordship’s liking?”

“Yes, they are certainly beautiful,” eyes glued to the woman’s breasts.

“I’m glad to hear it. The ruby necklace is going for seven-and-a-half crowns while the sapphire is going for just five. But if my lord would buy them both, I’d be willing to discount the half a crown.”

Just the fact that Deon was considering it was already too much for Jon. He walked out of the shop. Immediately to its left was a bakery where Nevil and Bella had entered in search of snacks. The prices alone dissuaded Jon from even entering. Five gold centarii was way too much to spend on a sweet roll, but the rich sure loved to spend their money.

As always, the academy shops were way too expensive for him. So instead, Jon crossed the street and sat beside Aeron to wait for the rest of the group.

Unlike when they first met, his roommate now had dark circles under his eyes and a frown on his face. He really wasn’t handling the classes well. “So, are you going to tell me why the sudden interest in coming out with us? I figured you’d be studying at the library like always.”

I wish. After what happened in history class, Jon decided it best not to go out alone for the time being. As shown by Deon, the academy guards would rather not go against the nobles. So if Garrel suddenly decided to attack him, he would have only himself to depend on. But it was better to keep this fact to himself. “You guys were right, I’ve been working too much. That’s why I decided to take a day off to relax.”

“And that has nothing to do with what happened yesterday at history class?”

The question caught Jon off-guard. “How do you even know about it?”

“Elina told Deon, and he told me,” Aeron said with a shrug. “It’s not your fault. That professor is the one at fault, and also the academy for even allowing something like this to happen. It’s like every day there’s a new reason to dislike this place. Just like the slap you had to receive at the accolade. It wasn’t a dubbing, that was just so that the lowborns don’t forget who really gives the orders.”

“It is what it is,” Jon answered, having no problem about the slap. The way he saw it, it was a small price to pay for a chance to accomplish his goal. The real problem was getting hit without gaining anything from it. “But I’ve got to say, you must be one of the few people who hate being here.”

“I guess so. Before enrolling, I thought there was nothing worse than living in the same castle as my father’s wife. How naive of me. All of these classes will be driving me mad sooner or later. You too if you don’t take care. Or maybe you already are, and that’s how you’re able to train and study so much.”

“Well, everyone says that halfbreeds are supposedly unhinged, so maybe you’re right.” Jon chuckled and Aeron did too. “I wish I had some sort of advice to offer, but it would likely just be me telling you to work harder.”

“Yeah, that’s the last thing I need right now. But you did give me an idea,” Aeron said as Deon walked out from the shop carrying three jewel boxes. “What I really need is to start relaxing, and who better to help than the master of lazing around?”

“Deon? The only solution he knows of is finding a wet hole to fill.”

“And maybe that’s exactly what I’ve been doing wrong. Or rather, I haven’t been doing.”

“What haven’t you been doing?” Deon asked as he walked over to them.

“That’s an issue for later. More importantly, I told Jon that we’ll help him in case that nobleman tries anything.”

“Did you?” Aeron’s face broke into a large smile. “Don’t worry Jon, that asshole will be staying far away if he knows what’s good for him. If not, it’ll be one against five.”

It might very well be the first time Jon was glad to have Deon as a roommate. “Thanks.” He looked down at the jewel boxes Deon was carrying. “When are you going to give that to Elina?”

“Tomorrow. Maybe the day after. She’s going to love the sapphire necklace I bought for her.”

“Wait, just the sapphire? What about the ring and the ruby?”

“Oh, those are for Joenne, Elina’s roommate. I’ve been trying to give her a good tumble ever since I saw her at the First Feast. If these jewels don’t work, then I don’t know what will.”