WINTER'S SWEET EMBRACE

Maelle stepped out of the girls’ dormitory with her chin held high and her posture radiating unshakeable dignity despite nearly dying last night.

Vincent walked half a step to the right behind her, looking relaxed in his casual clothes and his hands resting easily in his pockets.

Lastly, walking right next to her was petite Ava – with her thick-rimmed glasses resting on her nose, and a cheerful, springy bounce in her step.

As the trio crossed the main courtyard, the air was already filled with whispered rumors.

"... Did you hear what happened last night in the girls’ dorm?"

"... Yeah. I heard an angel was fighting a devil woman! You think they’re from Ebonspire?"

"... The devil, maybe? I never heard of any angel from Ebonspire. Heck, I’ve never heard of any angel from anywhere ever."

However, as the crowd’s eyes settled on the approaching group, the idle chatter quietened. Surprised looks came across the courtyard of students as they stepped out of the path to make way.

"...Wait... I know that girl. She’s in my class. Why is Ava walking behind her?"

"... Is the Disgraced Princess keeping that poor girl as a servant now?" another whispered. "And look at her Familiar... hold on. Isn’t he kind of cool looking?"

"... Urgh! Girl!"

"... What? It’s true, isn’t it? I mean... look at him. He’s undeniably handsome!"

"I guess..."

Unbothered by the stares, Ava was busily engaged in her own secret mission. Slowly, in hopes that he doesn’t catch on, she walked behind Vincent while scooting in as close as possible without tripping him.

Every time Maelle glanced away, Ava leaned in and took deep sniffs of his scent. Her cheeks flushed red behind her thick lenses as she and she let out quiet, ecstatic giggles that made the hair on the back of Vincent’s neck stand up.

Vincent would occasionally glance over his shoulder with a slightly weirded-out expression on his face but ultimately decided to let her be.

They soon reached the lecture hall for Imperial History, where the atmosphere was no less tense. Vincent took his usual spot against the back wall with his arms crossed. And as always, the surrounding rows of desks around Maelle remained completely empty like an invisible perimeter of social exile.

Except... not today.

Today, Ava slid into the desk right beside her.

Throughout the lecture, whenever the professor turned his back to write on the blackboard, Ava would lean over her notebook. She pretended to write notes, but her eyes were always locked onto Vincent at the back of the room whenever she got the chance.

She began mouthing shameless innuendos, silently gesturing with her finger and shaping her lips into suggestive shapes while winking at him.

Vincent quickly averted his gaze to study a poster on the wall out of embarrassment. Beside Ava, Maelle pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes in silent disappointment at her.

During mid-morning break, Maelle stood near the academy fountain, sipping a simple herbal tea she had purchased from a vending machine. Typically, she stood in solitude during breaks, however–

"Princess! Vincent!" Ava jogged up to them holding a paper bag.

Reaching inside, she pulled out two sweet rolls. With a timid, hopeful expression, she held one out to Maelle and the other toward Vincent. It was a genuine attempt to prove she was actually trying to be a friend.

"Here. They’re fresh from the cafeteria."

Before Vincent could reach out to take his roll, Ava suddenly stepped into his space, breaking off a small, fluffy piece and holding it directly up to his mouth with an adoring smile.

"Say ahhh~"

Out of habit, he leaned down and took a bite right off her fingers.

The second he swallowed it, his brain caught up with what he had just done, and he freaked out on the inside.

*Gasp* "Yay~"

’Oh crap! I didn’t mean to do that! It’s just... that’s literally how Mama feeds me every time we eat!’

In the surrounding area, watching students let out muffled shrieks.

"Is she... Is she feeding the Princess’s Familiar?! Has she completely lost her mind?!"

"She’s going to get executed!"

Ava, overly smitten by Vincent’s reaction, turned her attention straight to Maelle, who was watching the display with a blank, unreadable expression.

Ava broke off another piece of the sweet roll and offered it toward her face. "Your turn, Princess~ Take a bite~"

"You already gave me a sweet rolI... I am capable of feeding myself, Ava. I decline."

"Come on~ Just a little bite..." Ava insisted, slowly shoving the piece closer to her lips with relentless enthusiasm. "It’s really good. Please, Maelle~?"

Vincent watched silently from the side as Maelle stared at the persistent, dark-haired girl. For a split second, the cold, icy barrier in Maelle’s violet eyes subtly softened. She let out a quiet sigh, leaned forward, and took a small, polite bite from the roll.

"Hahaha! Yay~!"

Later that afternoon during Physical Education, the class gathered on the vast athletic field.

The instructor, a burly dog beastkin with a harsh demeanor, completely ignored Maelle.

He spent the entire period eagerly assisting other students and more specifically those of beast races, teaching them advanced combat maneuvers while leaving Maelle to stand silently by the track.

As Vincent watched the instructor from the sidelines, a pang of sharp annoyance rose in his chest.

’Man... it’s not just the students. Looks like the mistreatment here goes all the way up through the staff as well.’

"Come, Vincent," Maelle said quietly, stepping onto the track. "Let us run a lap. Standing still will only invite more unwanted glares."

"Right behind you."

Farther down the field, two delinquents, an elf and human boy, watched Maelle and Vincent approach the bend.

"Haha. Watch this. Let’s see how that Disgraced Princess looks when her uniform gets shredded to ribbons. I bet she’s hiding a killer body."

The elf channeled a whistling blade of compressed wind, deliberately aiming it to fly low across the grass straight toward Maelle.

Vincent sensed the incoming mana and raised his hand to block it, but before it could hit, Ava – who appeared out of nowhere – suddenly acted.

With the clumsy, helpless demeanor of an uncoordinated student, she let out a dramatic squeak and intentionally "tripped" over an invisible pebble on the track.

"Whoopsie!"

She threw her arm out as she tumbled, casually swatting the compressed wind blade out of the air with her bare hands. The spell dissipated into a harmless puff of breeze against her skin.

The two boys stared in utter shock as Ava scrambled to her feet. They trotted over, frowning in confusion. "Hey! What was that, girl?! How did you–"

"I’m sorry! I’m just so clumsy!"

As she spoke, she subtly unleashed a faint dose of succubus temptation pheromones directly into their faces.

The two boys blinked, their eyes suddenly glazing over with a hazy, unfocused pink hue.

"Haha. Gotta run~"

"Oh..." the elven boy’s cheeks turned red as he turned to his friend. "You... you have really nice eyes..."

"I... I was just thinking the same thing about you..."

Without another word, the two boys grabbed each other by the collars and began making out right in the middle of the field.

"PHAHAHAHA! Gayyyy!" Vincent stopped and burst out loud in an uncontrollable laughter.

Maelle stopped beside him, looking over at what he was laughing at.

The moment her eyes landed on the two boys passionately kissing on the grass, her face contorted into disgust. "Ugh! What in the world...?" She turned her sharp gaze toward the approaching Ava. "What did you just do to them?"

Ava adjusted her glasses, letting it reflect in the sun. "I just helped them find true love, Princess~"

A second later, the PE instructor noticed the commotion and stormed over, waving his wooden baton violently. "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING IN MY CLASS?! SEPARATE AT ONCE! TEN LAPS AROUND THE TRACK! YOU COULD’VE AT LEAST FOUND A ROOM!"

.......

Eventually, the final bell rang across the campus, signaling the end of the academic day.

As Maelle, Vincent, and Ava walked toward the front gates, their path was suddenly blocked by four students. They were a mix of shy, nerdy boys and girls wearing oversized glasses, clutching on books and decorative wooden staff props.

"W-We are members of the Literature Club!"

The club president – a pale, skinny boy whose knees were literally knocking together in fear – stepped forward and pointed a shaky finger at Maelle.

"H-Her Highness Princess Maelle!" the boy’s voice cracked horribly. "R-Release our club member at once! We know your terrible reputation! We know you’ve been forcing p-poor Ava to do your evil bidding!"

’What the fuuuck...’

The entire club, all four of them, genuinely believed that the cold, intimidating "Disgraced Princess" was bullying their timid, quiet club member. Using her as an errand girl or a meat shield against the rest of the school.

"Ava is a gentle soul!" a girl with pigtails sobbed from behind a book. "She writes delicate poetry about flowers! As well as birds and bees. She doesn’t belong around... around dangerous, evil people like you!"

Maelle stood there in stunned silence, her lips slightly parted as she stared at the trembling teenagers.

Before she could process the absurdity of the accusation to formulate a reply, Ava stepped forward. She grabbed the frame of her thick glasses, adjusted them, and let out a deeply annoyed sigh.

"What the hell are you guys babbling about?! Mind your own damn business!"

The Literature Club members flinched in horror.

Ava stepped right into the president’s space, sneering up at him. "I’m hanging out with Princess Maelle and Vincent now because they’re ten thousand times cooler than you nerds! Stop being so damn annoying or I’ll beat the crap out of all of you!"

Silence fell over the front gate. Their shyest, most timid, poetry writing club member had just spoken like a ruthless gangster.

"A-Ava..." tears welled up in the president’s eyes as his heart shattered into a million pieces. "You’ve... you’ve turned into a delinquent! The Evil Princess corrupted her soul! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

"""AIIEEEEE!"""

The four club members turned on their heels and sprinted away in a panic, weeping dramatically into their books as they fled down the back to the academy building.

The second they disappeared inside; Ava’s thug persona vanished. She snapped back to her blushing, needy self, turning to Vincent with big, sparkling hazel eyes.

"How’d I do, Vincent? Was I cool~?"

"Uh... I think you were a bit too harsh on them."

"Well... I am a devil after all~"

Maelle massaged her temples with both hands, muttering under her breath about the incomprehensible absurdity her life had devolved into since summoning her Familiar.

With the Literature Club scattered and the student body’s rumors now spiraling out of control, the three of them slipped out the front gates, leaving the Academy behind.

They turned down the winding city streets, heading straight toward the hidden sewer entrance to check on Gwen, Toby, and their prisoner, Lucianne – before making their final move on the Underground Black Market.