Chapter 221: Last Minute Dating Advice

Sylvie munched on her ice cream and groaned, “Ugh, this sucks!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t try to eat it like it’s a potato?” Poppy Skeller said wryly.

“Hm? No, not the ice cream. This stuff is amazing.” As if to prove her point, Sylvie bit off another large chunk of the cold dessert.

“Then what is it?” Poppy asked.

Sylvie grumbled something under her breath and moved onto the chocolate cake she had bought.

“You’ve been in a bad mood ever since this morning.” Poppy slammed the table and pointed at the rest of the restaurant, “This is already our fifth sweets shop!”

“I thought you liked sweets too?”

“I do, but unlike you, I don’t have an abyss for a stomach.” Poppy adjusted her glasses, “And I don’t really like eating while I’m being stared at.”

“Huh?” Sylvie glanced at the other customers.

Every single man, woman, and child at the store was staring at the dire hybrid and the orc.

“Why are they all looking at us like that?” Sylvie whispered awkwardly.

“They’re staring at you, not me. Maybe they’ve never seen a dire hybrid like you before.” Poppy shrugged, “Or, I don’t know, maybe they haven’t seen a person ever devour three entire cakes by herself, but hey, that’s just a random guess. Totally not plausible.”

“You’re being sarcastic aren’t you?”

“No? Me?” Poppy batted her eyelashes.

“I eat when I’m stressed, okay?” Sylvie frowned. “What’s the big deal?”

“Ugh,” Poppy glanced at Sylvie’s well-rounded curves and lean muscles. “Seeing as you have an incredible body despite your horrible eating habits, I should be asking you for your exercise routine. But I think there’s something more important we need to talk about. So, what’s going on?”

“...I got in trouble,” Sylvie muttered.

“Trouble? With whom?”

“Tauri.”

“Tauri Katag…? You got in trouble with the daughter of a Ruling House?” Poppy covered her face with her hands and groaned, “Please tell me they haven’t sent assassins after us.”

“Worse,” she grimaced. “She banned me from the sparring ring.”

Poppy blinked, “Pardon?”

Sylvie crossed her arms, “Tauri said I couldn’t enter the sparring ring anymore because I always get too aggressive, pssh, whatever that means. I mean come one, it’s a sparring ring, what are you supposed to do? Drink tea?”

Poppy sighed, “This has to do with Stryg doesn’t it?”

“I was this close to knocking his blue ass out of the ring. This close! But then Tauri called the fight off. She said it looked like we were both about to kill each other. Can you believe that nonsense!? Me? Die to that little drow? Are you kidding me!?”

“I forget, what’s your guys’ score right now?” Poppy asked calmly.

“18-19, he’s got one win on me. If Tauri wouldn’t have stopped the match I would have made it even,” Sylvie puffed her cheeks. “It’s not fair!”

“You really don’t like to lose, huh?”

“Why be a loser when you can be a winner? Now I’ll never get the chance to prove I’m the best fighter in class,” Sylvie grumbled.

“...You know they’re called sparring matches because they’re only practice, right?”

Sylvie stiffened, then burst into laughter, “You’re right! Why am I getting so stressed out? I’d beat Stryg in a real match no problem. No more holding back, just a solid easy win.”

“You don’t think Stryg is holding back too?” Poppy said skeptically.

“Meh, not as much as me I bet,” she grinned and flexed her bicep.

Poppy shook her head, “This is why no one’s asked you out to the dance yet. You’re too intimidating.”

Sylvie tilted her head to the side, “Me? Intimidating?”

Poppy looked at her as if she was on fire. “Are you kidding me? You're a drop-dead gorgeous giant! And a prodigy mage to boot! Everyone is intimidated by you.”

“Are you intimidated by me?” Sylvie asked curiously.

“No, but that’s because I know how silly you are.”

“I am not shillee,” she frowned.

Poppy smirked, “Yeah, it’s hard to take you seriously when you look like a chipmunk with all that cake in your mouth.”

Sylvie swallowed and licked her lips. “Better?”

“We’ll work on it,” Poppy said wryly. “Anyways, we have to work on a game plan for the dance.”

“What about you?”

“I already got a date. Today is about you.” Poppy rubbed her chin, “I would have thought Callum Veres would have asked you by now… You two have gone on several dates already, yeah?”

“He tried to kiss me last time,” she giggled.

“Tried?” Poppy raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we went to this fancy bar and we got super wasted on drow blood. He’s usually so shy, but when he got drunk he tried to kiss me.”

“Then what?”

“He couldn’t reach,” Sylvie laughed.

Poppy frowned, “But you do like him don’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess? This is all kind of new to me,” she blushed.

“So why didn’t you kiss him?”

“I wanted the moment to be right,” she shrugged.

“Oh sweet Lunae, she’s a romantic,” Poppy threw her arms up in mock disgust. “This, this right here, is why Callum hasn’t asked you to the dance yet. You gotta be more proactive.”

“I don’t plan on going to the dance.”

Poppy froze, “...What did you just say?”

“Yeah, I was never a fan of dancing. My dancing instructor used to hit me with a stick whenever I missed a step. I never really grew fond of dancing after that.”

“The Winter Ball isn’t just about dancing! It’s about having fun, expressing how you feel, and so much more! Ugh, I’m not gonna get into all the details right now. Just please, please, tell me you didn’t tell Callum you weren’t going.”

“...I didn’t tell Callum.”

“...You told him, didn’t you?”

“Yep. First one.”

“Gah, you’re killing me, Sylvie!” Poppy groaned loudly. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to get out of this place, go to the Scarlet Whisper and get you the sexiest dress we can find. If you’re going to stand out at the Ball anyway, you might as well stand out as the best.”

“But even if I were to go-”

“You are.”

“Wha-”

“No questions asked. You owe me this much.”

Sylvie played with her dark red hair and sighed, “Fine. But I still don’t have a date.”

“Oh sweet child, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” Poppy grinned.

~~~

Callum sat at the edge of a fountain in the academy’s gardens. Winter had already arrived in full, the grounds were covered in snow, and the fountain had already frozen over. No one wanted to be out in the cold weather. It seemed like the perfect place for some peace and quiet. Or so he thought.

A couple of 1st-year girls stood twenty paces away, giggling to themselves and trying to point at him discreetly, but utterly failing. He sighed to himself, pulled out a book from his satchel, and tried to read. Or at least pretend to read. His mind was elsewhere entirely.

He thought back on this morning’s encounter. He had gone to visit his older sister, Elise, the only sibling who actually gave a damn about him. Of everyone in that damn mansion, Elise had played the biggest part in raising him. She had taught him to read and write when everyone else had given up. She had carried him on his back when he broke his leg. She had tucked him into bed when he had nightmares as a child. And she had taught him that the only way to survive the Veres succession was to use others and kill their eldest sibling, Carmilla.

He never wanted to hurt his sister, Carmilla had never been mean to him, distant yes, but never mean. Of his four siblings, Carmilla was his second favorite, right behind Elise.

Things were different now. Today he had spoken to Elise…

~~~

“Bloody Bellum, it fucking makes sense,” Elise cursed.

“So you really think Regina killed my mom?” Callum swallowed.

Elise reached out and grabbed his hand, “I remember the day your mom said she was pregnant. I was only 7, but I remember. Dad looked so happy, he picked her up and spun her around in excitement. He didn’t see Regina’s face… The anger in her eyes.”

Callum clenched his jaw and tried to calm his breath. He worried his white mana would react to his boiling anger and lash out as a bright spell, hurting Elise.

“Dad didn’t have anything to gain by marrying your mother,” Elise said. “She wasn’t an aristocrat, she wasn’t from a wealthy merchant family, and she wasn’t a mage. She was human, she couldn’t even pass down the bloodline. Dad married her because he loved her. Regina couldn’t stand that.”

Callum recalled the countless times Regina had whispered snide remarks his way. She had always looked at him in disgust as if he was too ugly to lay eyes on. He had only been a child, but she made her abhorrence clear. The worst part was that he had believed he somehow deserved it.

“I am going to kill that fucking monster,” he seethed.

“I want to kill that bitch too, but Carmilla would die before letting anything happen to her mother,” Elise said.

“...What are you saying?”

“What I’ve always said, if we want to survive the succession of this House –the damn blight of this family– we need to kill Carmilla. She is the strongest and eldest of us. I can handle our older brother Feryd and our younger sister Ava, but I need your help to deal with Carmilla.”

“I don’t want to kill my sister or my other siblings,” he frowned.

“Carmilla wouldn’t hesitate to kill you if it meant securing the Veres throne.”

Callum stared into Elise’s eyes, “...Would you?”

He searched her crimson eyes, hoping desperately to not see a hint of malice.

“I’d never hurt you, Cal,” Elise said without hesitance. She squeezed his hand, “You’re the only person left in this family I care about. My mom’s gone too, remember? We only have each other, the moment we start doubting that is the moment the others kill us. Believe me, they’re just waiting for the chance. Even Ava is just biding her time.”

“I don’t want to kill Ava. Or Feryd, even if he is a dick.”

Elise laughed, “We won’t have to. Once Carmilla is dead I can assert my position over the throne. Feryd is loathed to admit it, but he knows I’m much stronger than him. Ava and Feryd will back down, especially with you at my back.”

“Is it really that simple?” he asked skeptically.

“Nothing about this is simple, but I’ll take care of the hard part. I always have, little brother. I just need to know I can count on you,” she said in a serious tone.

He nodded, “You can. Always.”

Elise stared at him in silence, she smiled, “Good. My plans are still in the making, but soon enough we will find our opening. Once Carmilla is dead, I will personally deliver Regina to you. You can kill her, torture her, whatever you like. After Regina’s gone, you can go back to that carefree school life you seem so fond of.”

“...Speaking about school, I should get back. I have classes this afternoon,” Callum kissed her cheek and stood up to leave.

Elise grabbed his arm, “Oh, and Cal. Remember not to get too close to those ‘friends’ of yours. You made those friends for a purpose, don’t forget that. Someday you may need to sacrifice them for our own survival.”

“...Right,” he whispered reluctantly.

~~~

Callum didn’t know what to tell Elise. How could he explain that he actually grew to care about his friends and he had no intention of sacrificing them? She’d think he wasn’t committed to the cause, to their own survival in the Veres succession.

He sighed, “What do I do… Cly? You were always the honorable one. What would you say if you were here now?” Callum laughed bitterly, “You’d probably call me a stupid coward… you’d be right.”

“Watcha doin?”

Callum looked up. Sylvie stood in front of him, she was bent over, her face inches from his own.

He felt his face grow hot in the frigid air, “S-Sylvie? H-hey, w-what are you…? Hi.”

“Hi.”

He glanced around the garden, “So, um, wha-”

“You’re coming with me to the Winter Ball?”

“Huh?”

Sylvie stepped back and shook her head. “No, that’s not how Poppy said it,” she muttered to herself. She cleared her throat and looked straight at Callum, “You are coming with me to the Winter Ball.”

“Um-”

“No questions. That’s final,” Sylvie nodded repeatedly.

Callum broke out in laughter, the anger and guilt suffocating him suddenly felt lighter. He smiled warmly, “Sounds good, I look forward to it.”

“Hehe,” Sylvie grinned.