The Useless Prince Is A Gangster

A few minutes later…

Erin spilled it all—the rules, the conditions, the crazy stakes of the bet—with a calm face for the entire time. All the noise of the cafeteria around them seemed to fade, turning into a muffled, distant sound.

Eislinde's group was totally silent. Her short assistant just sat there, mouth a little open, eyes wide. She looked completely frozen out, maybe even a little scared.

Eislinde herself didn't move at first.

Then, slowly, a smile started to form on her lips. But it wasn't her normal, chill, cunning smile.

This was something new.

Her eyes lit up with wild excitement.

She leaned forward over the table, her voice dropping to a curious murmur. "Miss Dranemount, are you actually out of your mind?"

Across from her, the girl with the white hair just tilted her head.

"Could be."

Then Eslinde laughed, an actual honest laugh that came straight out of her heart. She slapped a hand over her mouth like she was trying to stop it.

The people around her stared, completely confused. They had never, ever seen the Ice Queen laugh like that, though.

"Okay," Eislinde said, once the laughter had settled into amused breaths.

"Okay, fine. You've got a deal. I accept the bet. All of it. No backing out." She locked her bright blue eyes onto Erin's calm violet ones. "You get what you're doing, right? You're dead serious about this?"

Erin stood up from her chair and looked down at Eislinde, her quiet smile turned into a knowing one.

"You'll see when it's all over."

♢♢♢♢♢♢♢♢

At the Bronze Competitors table…

Rin ate her breakfast with total focus; her fork stabbed a fluffy pile of scrambled eggs and brought them to her mouth. She closed her pink eyes for a second, letting out a happy little hum.

"Leo," she said, her mouth still full, "you have to try this. It's like they baked actual clouds and poured butter all over them."

Leo, leaning back in his chair beside her, took a forkful. His red eyes softened. "Not bad," he said. "But if you keep feeding me, I'll be too full to cheer you on."

Across the old wooden table, Mori slumped in his seat. Annalena and Joel sat next to him.

Annalena twisting her napkin into a tight rope, Joel staring at his toast. The air around them felt heavy, thick with the ticking clock counting down to their fights.

Mori broke the silence first, looking at Rin. "How are you this chill?" he asked, his voice tight with stress. He pointed a thumb toward the tournament grounds outside the window, where flags flapped in the wind.

"Your first fight is in two hours. Against that Silver jerk. You're acting like we're about to go on a picnic."

Rin lowered her fork and looked at him, her head tilted with real confusion.

"Scared? Of what?"

Mori threw his hands up. "The fight! The whole damn tournament!"

She blinked at him, then let out a warm, quiet laugh.

"Mori, I'm strong. I don't have anything to prove to Lightning Boy. Or to anyone."

The table went quiet. Even Leo paused. Rin just shrugged and stabbed the sausage, taking a big bite.

"But... what if we lose?" Annalena looked down at her plate. "If I go out there and... and just fail? All our training will be for nothing. A total waste."

Rin's easy smile vanished, and she put her fork down. Her pink eyes locked onto Annalena's, steady and serious. "A waste? So what?"

Annalena's mouth opened and closed. Joel leaned forward, his forehead wrinkled. "Hold on—so what? Rin, that's... that's crazy—"

"No, listen."

She looked at all of them.

"Leo didn't make you train at dawn because he wants a trophy. He told you to fight. Fight like being Bronze means something. Like you've got nothing to lose."

She picked her fork back up, spinning it like a tiny wand before pointing it at each of them.

"So go out there and do that. Swing with everything you've got. Try to win? Absolutely. But if you don't..." She shrugged as she took another bite of sausage. "Then make them work for it. Make the Silvers and Golds feel what an underdog can do. Because if you walk off that arena knowing you gave it everything?"

"Then nothing was wasted. Not a single swing."

Leo watched her quietly, the small smile on his face saying more than words ever could. Pride, sure—but something else, too. The quiet wonder of a man who had loved this same fiery spirit in another life and now saw it burning even brighter.

Annalena swallowed hard; she looked like she might finally laugh or cry. But before she could—

Arms wrapped around Rin's shoulders from behind, pulling her back into a sudden, tight hug.

"That's my amazing senior for you!" a bright, clear voice chirped right in her ear.

"What a pep talk—I'm so pumped now! Go Bronze!"

Erin Dranemount grinned down at them all, her silver-white ponytail swinging, her violet eyes sparkling with pure excitement.

She'd appeared out of nowhere.

The whole table froze.

Rin went stiff, her fork hanging in her hand.

The hug was friendly, almost sweet—but coming from Erin, it felt wrong.

"Erin, let go."

Erin let go and slid into the empty seat next to Rin with a happy little wiggle. She immediately waved at a server walking by.

"Hi! Can I get the spiced honey pancakes, the goldberry stuff on top, and a fizzy pear drink? Just put it all on Leonhardt's bill, thanks!" she announced, her voice way too bright and loud.

Rin rubbed the back of her neck where Erin had hugged her, giving her a sideways glare. "Why are you even over here?" she asked, her tone completely flat.

"To support my favorite senior, duh!" Erin chirped.

Rin just stared at her for a long time before turning back to her own food. She stabbed a piece of sausage with a little extra force.

Erin's bright violet eyes then moved over to Joel, Annalena, and Mori, who were all still gaping at her. Her grin got bigger.

"Well? You heard what she said, right? Stop sitting here being all nervous. Just go out and fight."

Joel managed to speak first, letting out a weak, shaky laugh. "Easy for you to say. You're, like, the super-genius of the whole academy. You got a free pass straight to the big rounds."

Erin waved her hand. "Obviously I did. But I didn't just wake up a genius one day, you know."

It was a perfect lie.

A minute later, her order arrived, and she started eating with the same happy, messy energy as Rin. After a few bites, Rin glanced over, and her eyebrows drew together.

There were crumbs. A little smear of shiny goldberry jam at the corner of Erin's mouth.

Rin let out a sigh. It was the sound of someone who was both annoyed and weirdly fond at the same time. She picked up a clean napkin from the table.

"Seriously, come on, Aria," she muttered, her voice soft but scolding. "Can't you eat like a normal person?"

Both Leo and Erin froze dead still.

Their eyes flew wide open, staring at Rin with the exact same look of total shock.

Rin, having no idea she'd just dropped a bomb, simply reached over. With a careful, almost gentle touch, she used the napkin to wipe the crumbs and the jam off Erin's mouth.

"There," she said, dropping the napkin. "Try not to wear your food next time, little genius."