She opened the window and slipped back out, extending a hand to Carson. He stared at it, then slowly reached out and took it. Sylph’s spider legs shot back out of her back, latching onto the stone.

Carson’s eyes widened as she pulled him out the window and carried him down the side of the building. She set him down when they were on the ground, then started back toward her dorm. She’d already memorized Yui’s room as well, so she could take care of this whole debacle before the night was over.

“What kind of magic is that?” Carson whispered, jogging to keep up with her.

“No talking. I don’t want to get caught,” Sylph replied as they reached the girls’ dorm. She grabbed Carson by the back of his shirt and clambered up the wall. He gaped up at her, the protests dead before they could reach his lips.

Sylph passed her own room on the way up to the top row, where Yui lived. Even though there were several windows, the entire thing was just one large penthouse. She’d scouted it a day ago, just in case a scenario like this rose up.

She knocked on the window that she knew led into Yui’s bedroom. There were faint runes lining it on both sides that none of the other rooms had. It didn’t surprise Sylph that the princess had better defenses than everyone else, but it did mean that she didn’t dare just force her way into the room.

Sylph knocked on the window again, louder this time. Carson winced.

“Are you sure she’s here?” he hissed. “What if someone spots us? This feels very against the rules!”

“It’s her room. Now be quiet.”

A light flicked on in the room.

“It’s me,” Sylph hissed, not daring to raise her voice much. She was confident she could get away if someone spotted them, but it probably wouldn’t have been a good look if she abandoned Carson to a patrolling teacher. “Let me in.”

“Sylph?” Yui asked, her voice muffled and drowsy. The curtains in front of the window ruffled and there was a click as the princess unlatched the window. “What are you doing here at this time of night?”

Sylph slipped inside, dragging Conrad along with her. She set him down, retracting her legs and closing the window. “Bringing you a visitor.”

Yui gaped at her. The princess wore a silken nightdress that was only a few steps above being see-through. It was probably worth more than what most people made in a year, but it fit in perfectly with the rest of the extravagant room.

It was like the polar opposite of Carson’s lodgings. The bedroom itself was easily two times larger than his, with a huge, plush bed covered with comfy sheets and several stuffed animals – one of which wore a yellow, knitted cap.

Carson made a noise like a mouse that had just come face to face with a very hungry cat. He scrambled until his back bumped against the wall.

“Sylph?” Yui asked, her mouth hanging open. “Am I dreaming? What are you doing in my room with a random boy?”

“Fulfilling your request,” Sylph replied, pulling the curtain shut just in case someone had noticed the lights in the room turn on. “Here you go.”

“I – what?” Yui rubbed her eyes and gave Carson a double take. Her cheeks turned bright red and she sprinted into her closet. After several bumps, she emerged wearing a shirt and pants that also somehow managed to look ludicrously expensive despite being completely plain. “I can’t believe you.”

Carson still sat in the corner, stammering and mumbling words incoherently under his breath. Sylph pulled him to his feet and gestured to him. “Here.”

“Here what?” Yui hissed. “You dragged a boy into my room in the middle of the night? Are you actually insane?”

“I didn’t want to deal with your posse of guards,” Sylph replied. “You told me to find someone suitable. He said he couldn’t date someone without getting to know them, which made sense. So I brought him here. Problem solved.”

Yui stared at Sylph like she was turning into a monster. Then her eyes flicked to Carson. She cleared her throat, her cheeks still flushed a bright red.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think Sylph would kidnap someone for me.”

“Y-you’re the princess!” Carson said, desperately glancing around for any way out.

“So I am.” Yui sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She paused, then grabbed a hand mirror from a dresser and looked at her reflection. She groaned. “Seven Planes, it looks like I just got hit by a bolt of lightning. Sylph, couldn’t you have at least warned me before you brought someone? Look at me! I’m the princess! I can’t be seen like this.”

“Why not? You’re just a person in the end,” Sylph replied, squinting at Yui. “And if you’re going to date someone, don’t you think they’re going to see something like that? Seems like a stupid reason. Just skip the part where you dance around with all the stupid noble courting stuff and actually get to know each other.”

“That’s not how it’s done!” Yui snapped. “How would you like it if your first meeting with someone was when you were half-naked?”

“Well, Damien stripped me and stabbed me in the heart only a little while after we met,” Sylph said, glancing up and scratching her chin. “It was a little awkward, but he forgave me.”

“He forgave you?” Carson asked, finding his words and gaping at her. “What? How does that make any sense?”

“Don’t ask,” Yui said, throwing her hands up. “Sylph and Damien aren’t human. There’s something seriously wrong with both of them, so they’re perfect for each other.”

Carson froze. “Damien? Wait. Sylph – you were the winners of the tournament!”

“Yeah,” Sylph replied. “Does that matter?”

“I – you know what, I suppose it doesn’t,” Carson said, rubbing his forehead. “You’re terrifying.”

“She is,” Yui agreed, sharing a knowing glance with Carson. “If I had literally any other option, I would have gone with it. Unfortunately, I didn’t.”

“You’re welcome,” Sylph said dryly. “I’m glad you appreciate my efforts. I didn’t just waste several days pouring over which worthless noble was the best fit for you.”

“Why did you ask Sylph to do this?” Carson asked carefully, choosing each word like it might be his last. “I mean, you’re the princess, aren’t you? No offense. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Yui replied, flopping down on her bed with a sigh. “You can talk freely. It’s not like this can go much worse. I’ve got a group of people assigned by my mother that follows me around. If they discovered that I was trying to marry someone for any reason other than bettering the kingdom, it wouldn’t go well.”

Carson gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. That sounds really stressful.”

“It comes with the role,” Yui said with a shrug. “It works like that for all nobles, to a degree.”

“Not me,” Carson said, looking up at the ceiling. “My family couldn’t care less what I do. I can’t really try to court anyone here, though. My standing in my family is far too low, and no noble is going to want to marry into my family. I’m sorry for wasting both of your time.”

“He’s still a noble,” Sylph pointed out. “Carson is part of House Weinford, but he’s not a direct descendant.”

“I don’t understand how you came to me as the choice to match with the princess,” Carson muttered. “I’m barely a noble. I should have been the last place you looked.”

“You aren’t main branch?” Yui asked, cocking her head to the side. “And you still got into Kingsfront?”

“It occasionally happens. I scored well enough on the tests and my dad used some favors to get me in.”

“That’s still a fairly impressive achievement. You’ve been here since Year One, haven’t you?”

Carson nodded.

“There aren’t many people that can get into Kingsfront without transferring if they aren’t a direct line noble,” Yui said.

“See?” Sylph asked. “And he’s still technically a noble. That means it hits your requirements. Isn’t someone who earned their place a better choice than the guy that likes talking to his sword?”

“Is she always like this?” Carson asked Yui.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do something romantic before, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do something without putting her all into it. I guess I should have expected something like this,” Yui admitted. “But I really didn’t have much choice. I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”

“Well, it’s certainly been interesting,” Carson said carefully. “I didn’t think my life would ever lead to this particular sequence of events.”

“Neither did I,” Yui said. They both turned to look at Sylph.

“What?”

“She’s a lost cause,” Carson said.

“Completely lost,” Yui agreed. “She’s lucky that Damien is somehow just as dense as she is.”

Sylph rolled her eyes. “Well, you two have fun. My job is done.”

“Wait, what?” Carson asked.

Sylph unlatched the window. “It takes time to get to know someone, you know.”

“Sylph, stop!” Yui started for her, but Sylph had already slipped out the window. She snickered to herself as she slid down the wall and returned to her own room through the window, latching it behind her.

That was one problem solved. Now she could get back to training. If she didn’t, Damien was going to get too far ahead of her. Sylph grinned to herself and slipped into bed, settling in for a restful night of sleep. It was the only proper reward for a job well done, after all.

***

Sylph woke up the following morning with a sense of satisfaction that she hadn’t felt in a while. It took her a moment to realize that it was stemming from aiding Yui in her situation. In her years, she hadn’t been able to do much for anyone. She’d been completely focused on surviving.

The first person that she’d ever really done something selflessly for was Damien, and that was only after he’d helped her first. She nodded to herself.

Helping people feels pretty good. Once I’m stronger, I should do more of it.

Sylph went around her room, getting ready for the day before glancing outside. The sun was still just barely rising over the horizon, and she didn’t have any classes for at least a few hours.

I guess I should check on Yui. That would be the polite thing to do, right?

Sylph’s body rippled and faded as she activated her camouflage. She opened her window and climbed out, easily scaling the wall up to Yui’s room. The window was still open, so she pushed the curtains out of the way and poked her head in.

Yui and Carson were sitting on the princess’ bed, talking in low voices. Sylph went to drop her camouflage, then paused. If they were still talking to each other, that meant things might have been actually working out. Interrupting them probably wasn’t a good idea. After all, if they didn’t, there was a chance Yui would try to get her to find someone else. A grin flickered across her face, and she slipped back out the window, returning to her own room.

There was a lot of training she had to catch up on, after all. There was no point wasting any more time if she’d already accomplished the task Yui had given her. Sylph sat down on her bed and started to meditate, focusing on connecting with Human, her namesake companion. She was pretty confident they could still improve their connection and get a better Full Manifestation, and she planned to get it mastered by the time she next met Damien.

While Sylph started to practice, several floors up in Yui’s room, the princess and Carson were desperately trying to figure out a good way to get him back to his own lodgings without somehow informing everyone in the building that she’d had a nighttime visitor. If Sylph had been there, despite their growing panic about getting discovered, she would have seen the smiles on each of their faces.