It wasn’t strictly necessary to go as far as marriage.
An engagement would have been enough. There were ways to stretch out an engagement period almost indefinitely. She only needed to buy enough time to slip away from the grasp of the House of Philia. Of course, gathering evidence for her current situation was the priority.
“You’re beautiful when you smile, Brie.”
“Thank you.”
“I haven’t seen this smile much lately, so you look especially radiant today.”
Briseis was wearing her hair in a ponytail, just as Damian preferred. Personally, she liked her red hair down. The lack of pressure on her scalp made it easier to concentrate on her studies.
“A lady must always be tidy,” she replied, forcing a smile while glancing at Delilah, who had her hair flowing freely.
“Deli is a bit different. She is my lover, while you are my wife. The dignity expected of a Grand Duchess is different from her position.”
“Yes, I know.”
Briseis lapsed into silence, doing her best to hide the look of expected disappointment.
❖ ❖ ❖
When they arrived at the classroom, Delilah grabbed Damian’s hand.
“Demi, let’s sit in the front today.”
Briseis didn’t particularly want to be near him during class. However, to gather plenty of witnesses for her case, having the two of them sit together was ideal. Yet, for some reason, seeing Delilah smile so brightly while holding Damian’s hand sparked a strange impulse.
“Haven’t you sat with Miss Delilah enough lately?”
“That’s true.”
“Would it be difficult for you to sit with me today, Damian?”
At Briseis’s request, Damian beamed. “Not at all. Let’s sit in the front, in the spot you usually take.”
“Good.”
Briseis took her usual seat. Damian set his bag down beside her.
“What about me…?”
“Sit here, Miss Delilah,” Briseis said, pointing to the seat directly behind her.
“Yes, that’s a good spot,” Damian agreed. Delilah forced another bright smile and sat down.
Briseis looked straight at Damian and said, “It’s truly nice to sit together again.”
“It is. We sat together every day until our second year, didn’t we?” Damian reminisced, his face flushing with a smile.
He looked exactly the same as he always had. Briseis realized that she was the one who had changed. Looking at his old self no longer made her heart race. There was no fluttering of the heart, no nervous excitement. She was simply exhausted by the need to act this all out for the sake of evidence.
“I think your hair color would look better if it were a bit darker,” Damian remarked, tucking a stray hair behind Briseis’s ear. “Being red, it stands out far too much.”
“Do you dislike it standing out?”
“Yes. It’s clear that it isn’t only beautiful to my eyes.”
Despite his gentle tone, Briseis felt nothing.
Slide.
“What the…”
Calisten walked in, his face contorted in a grimace.
“Welcome, Cal.”
“That’s my seat. Move,” Calisten growled at Damian.
Damian instinctively clutched his side where his ribs had been injured. Ever since Calisten had pushed him down the stairs, his lower ribs ached every time they locked eyes.
“I am Brie’s husband, so the seat next to her belongs to me,” Damian said, trying to stand his ground. But meeting Calisten’s red eyes made his blood run cold.
Unfortunately, Damian had encountered Calisten on the battlefield before. Though they were allies, the image of Calisten fighting remained burned into his mind like a traumatic afterimage.
“Cal, sit in the back,” Briseis intervened.
“Why? Your side belongs to me.”
“Who said that? Just sit down and be quiet.”
Calisten glared savagely at Damian before turning to Delilah. “The seat behind Brie is mine. Move or go to the side.”
“I’ll move to the side,” Delilah chirped.
Thus, Delilah ended up directly behind Damian, and Calisten ended up directly behind Briseis.
❖ ❖ ❖
It was the third period, Basic Science. Class 1 was required to take all four branches of the subject, whereas Class 5 and below only chose two.
“Today in Basic Chemistry, we will learn about mass,” the professor announced.
Briseis was notoriously weak in science. She could handle mathematics, but science—especially physics—was a struggle. To her, physics and chemistry weren’t just about memorizing formulas; they felt like subjects where unpredictable variables constantly intruded. She focused with all her might, transcribing the lecture.
“Does anyone know why high-purity gold is not used to make swords?”
In every class, the student who provided the best answer was given a bonus point. Briseis, well-aware of this, raised her hand.
“Because high-purity gold is too soft and bends easily. Hardness is essential for a sword material.”
“Correct. Then, since gold cannot be used for swords, why do you think it remains so expensive?”
Briseis was caught off guard by a question she hadn’t prepared for.
“Because, unlike other minerals, gold cannot be created artificially,” she answered on pure instinct.
“Correct. Have you perhaps read the works of alchemists?”
“Yes.”
“Hahaha. Remarkable. That is exactly why alchemists failed repeatedly. Unlike other minerals, gold is a substance that we have yet to synthesize artificially.”
Relieved, Briseis noted down the exchange.
“Today, this gold will be the focus of your assignment.” The physics professor held up a spherical piece of gold. “Your task is to find the exact weight of these gold pieces of varying masses. However, you may not use a scale or measuring device.”
“Can we use balances and counterweights?”
“Yes, certainly.”
Briseis felt relieved at the basic nature of the task.
“Form groups of four for the discussion.”
Briseis and Damian turned their chairs to face Calisten and Delilah. Calisten looked at Briseis with a crooked expression, but his face softened when she gave him a small, knowing smile.
“Brie, are you happy sitting with someone other than me?”
“Of course. He’s my husband.”
Having visited Jeronis’s office with her yesterday, Calisten understood why she was acting this way. Still, seeing her sit with another man made him miserable. It galled him to see Damian touch her so casually, even if it was just an act. He himself treated her like something that would break if touched or vanish if breathed upon.
“Your Highness, have you already mastered Basic Science?” Delilah asked.
“Don’t. Speak to me. You’re a mere commoner,” Calisten warned.
Damian frowned. “Why are you being like that to Deli?”
“Oh, are you protecting her because she’s your mistress?”
“…No.” Damian was irritated by Calisten’s attitude, but the fear still lingered.
“That’s enough,” Briseis cut in. “We’re here to discuss the assignment, not to fight.”
Calisten immediately looked chastened, his shoulders drooping.
“Do you have a good idea, Cal?”
“Yeah, but I’ll only tell you.”
“Don’t bother. I think I already know the answer.”
Briseis looked at the balance and weights on the table. There was also a perfectly spherical bead—half stone and half gold, as if a gold-veined rock had been polished into a sphere.
“Professor! The gold keeps rolling, we can’t weigh it!”
“Can we change the stand?”
Other groups were already struggling with the same issue.
“Brie, how are we supposed to do this?” Cassius, who was in a nearby group, asked playfully. He had been eavesdropping while his own group tried desperately to stop their beads from rolling away.
“Student Briseis, have you already figured it out?” the professor asked, walking over to them.
“This beaker wasn’t given to us for no reason. We fill it with water, submerge the sphere, and then weigh the displaced water. Then, once the gold is separated, we submerge the stone alone and subtract its weight.”
“Hahaha. Correct. And how would you extract the gold?”
“By adding aqua regia to the alloy, heating and decomposing it to create a chloroauric acid solution, and then separating the gold.”
The class nodded as they listened to the exchange.
“There is nothing more to teach today. One bonus point to Student Briseis.”
“Thank you, professor.”
“Now, since Student Briseis has provided the theory, the other group members will conduct the experiment and submit the report.”
“Yes, professor.”
Calisten stared at Briseis with a strangely flushed face. He watched her with a crimson face before suddenly turning pale and clenching his fists. Even in the noisy classroom, Briseis could hear the friction of metal. When she met his eyes, she simply shook her head.
“Brie, it hurts so much.”
“Cas, could I have a word with you later?”
Briseis ignored Calisten and spoke to Cassius, who was standing nearby.
“Yes, certainly.”
He gave her a charming eye-smile and nodded, impressed by her insight. Briseis felt that because he was so flexible and kind, it might be a good idea to bring up the subject of a contract engagement with him.
She didn’t see the look on Calisten’s face at all.