"Kordia!? Prince Kassin?!"
Kordia flinched as Lapins identified her in front of what must have been half the Montmorency court in her retinue.
Even if Kordia knew none of them, the reactions to her na alone were enough to tell her that they knew of her.
"Lapins... I can explain-"
"You eloped and you didn’t tell ?!"
What?
It took a second for the realization of her situation to catch up to her.
Here she was, with her fiance, walking out of a church.
"Oh! How romantic!" "I wish my fiance would take away like that." "Did we miss the wedding?"
The tittering of Lapins’ vapid retinue managed to snap Kordia out of the pure shock of being discovered so quickly. "W-we aren’t married!"
"Yet," Kassin interjected.
"Oh. Right. You must have just gotten here," Lapins blushed. "You’re still in your travel clothes after all."
The green-haired and winged angel eyed Lapins and Kordia back and forth before finally adding his piece. "Well now that you’re all caught up, let’s get this tour over with."
"We should get going..." Kordia took one step before Lapins stepped in her way.
"Please, co with us. I have so many questions. You’re a guest in my kingdom now."
Kordia held back the slight whine in her throat. She liked Lapins. A lot. They’d dated, but it wasn’t supposed to be serious. "Lapins..."
"I insist," Lapins said firmly.
Kordia swallowed and looked at Lapins’ guards. Then at the Mother Preserver. Then at rcy. Aside from rcy, there were a few ard myriadfolk and two Elevated, both giants. The priestess was likely a healer. And then of course there was rcy, and unlike most people, Kordia actually knew why she was so freakishly strong...
One hour later, Kordia and Kassin were standing behind the Mother Preserver as she droned on about a scene depicted in stained glass. Sothing from a few thousand years ago when Eyko was said to have manifested in Thera, teaching how to ta the jungle without harming the trees.
Because angels were involved, Jassiel was actually paying attention, which is why it seed appropriate that Lapins chose that mont to tug Kordia and Kassin a few steps away for so private conversation. After shooing away those mbers of her entourage that tried to follow, that is.
"Why did you leave the Academy?" she whispered as soon as it seed safe to.
"It’s complicated," Kordia whispered back. "Why are you here instead of at the Academy?"
"I got summoned ho because you two vanished! Lumin hid it for two weeks before soone broke ranks, and I had to take a ship because Heaven seized direct control of all teleportation circles after the last Ghostheart attack." Lapins paused for breath. "And you still haven’t answered my question."
"I said it’s complicated... we can’t talk about it in front of... such a large group," Kordia didn’t want to hint that it was the angel’s presence she was uncomfortable with.
"Fine," Lapins turned and cleared her throat loudly. "Mother Preserver, pardon the interruption, but do you happen to know where the toilet room is?"
"Why yes, there’s one just downstairs at the end of the hall," the sagely woman, who had the ageless face of a century mage under her habit, replied.
"Everyone please stay and enjoy the tour. We’ll be right back," Lapins added, before turning on her heel and grabbing Kordia by the wrist.
Kordia had just a mont to hear Jassiel mutter "Disgusting habit..." before she was whisked away downstairs.
The mont they were in the bathroom, Lapins pushed Kordia up against the wall and kissed her.
"I’m so glad you’re alright," she said as soon as she ca up for breath.
"I’m glad you’re alright too," Kordia blushed and looked aside, only to have her face diverted back into another kiss. Right as the door burst open and Kassin saw them, rcy briefly visible behind him like a stalker before the door closed.
"I thought you said you two weren’t serious," he adjusted his shirt.
"You told him about us?!" Lapins stepped back with a furious blush on her face.
"I wasn’t about to keep secrets from my future husband," Kordia said. "Besides, weren’t you the one who said secret lovers were the spice of life?"
"Secret lovers, Kordia. I’m starting to think those rumors about you were true."
"What rumors?" Kassin asked.
"The ones about dating Kir at the sa ti I was dating Rain," Kordia said with an exasperated sigh.
"Rain’s your half-angel ex, right?" Kassin asked.
"He’s not my ex!" Kordia protested.
"Wait, so you’re in contact with Rain and you’re with Kassin at the sa ti? What does that make ?"
"I’m not in contact with Rain! Nobody’s my ex!" Kordia held her head. Is this what Kir feels like all the ti, trying to explain our relationships to people?
He’d been doing a lot of it lately. Partly because he seed to want to be honest all the ti and partly because he felt doing so would help protect everyone from whatever demonic drama occurred. And as things in the camps settled, things had gotten dramatic at tis. Kordia had been at the front lines treating dueling demonic captains who fought to show off who was stronger.
He could have just sent them back to Norneau - had offered it - but Kordia wanted to stay and because she wanted to stay, Kassin wanted to stay. And then there was Encke, who expressed her utter disdain for Norneau’s curriculum if she could infiltrate so easily without at least the teachers questioning the precision with which she avoided failure.
"... Let explain, please. Kassin, you already know all this, so would you mind running interference at the door?"
"Alright," Kassin, exiting before he leaned on the wall next to the door, with rcy staring at him. "Is she allowed to be here?"
"rcy’s allowed to know anything I am," Lapins said, before rcy closed the door. "Running interference?" she looked at Kordia.
"It’s sothing Kir says," Kordia sighed. "Sports or sothing. It’ll be easier for to explain if you don’t interrupt with questions all the ti."
"You an said, right?" an eyebrow of Lapins’ rose.
"That’s where things start to get complicated..." Kordia sighed at being instantly defied. Lapins probably didn’t even know she was doing it. She just took charge when she felt comfortable, and that was sothing Kordia liked and envied... "The thing is... Kir is alive."
*
The better part of an hour later, Lapins was staring at Kordia, mouth agape, while Kassin held a strategic hand over his mouth, masking his emotions.
"I think... that’s all I can say for now," Kordia concluded. "We should get back to the others before people start to suspect."
"Wait wait wait wait wait!" Lapins spluttered. "Why- When did... How?!"
"How what?" Kordia fidgeted, her tails flicking with tension.
"How have you managed to put up with all this?! Nevermind the fact that you’ve been keeping secrets from the whole ti before now, how have you not gone insane?!"
"It hasn’t been easy..." Kordia answered as Lapins started pacing. "But... It’s also nice. Kir and I, and Amarena and everyone who knows... We’ve looked out for each other. I wanted to tell you, but the ti just... never seed right."
"So of course you told the fiance you’d barely t first," Lapins scoffed. "You’re a criminal, by the way. You know that, right? The artist behind those mana comics-"
"Manga," Kordia corrected.
"Whatever. There’s a five-bar orichalcum bounty on your head in Amrita, and a ten-bar bounty on Kir" Lapins pulled down on her own face with a hand. "Bloody Hell, Kordia, I had to sit through dinner with bounty-hunting nobles who thought you were operating out of the port!"
"Please don’t turn us in. I promise we’re just here to deliver a ssage. We’ll be out of your hair and back to Norneau in no ti..." Kordia sighed again. "If you never want to see again, I’ll understand-"
"Oh no!" Lapins snapped. "You’re not getting out of things that easy. Give the ssage."
Reaching into her storage, Kordia extracted Kir’s scroll and handed it to Lapins.
Lapins skimd it quickly, then checked the back. "Is that all?"
"That’s it. That’s all he’s asking for. It’s the exact sa ssage that we tried to send before..."
"Jassiel killed that ssenger, but he never ntioned a letter... Or rather..." She shoved the scroll into her storage and tapped her chin. "You’ve given a lot to think about..."
Kordia was wondering what she was going to tell Kir when she reported in over the radio. She’d kept the device secret from Lapins, but that didn’t an she wouldn’t be vulnerable to inspection -
A set of knocks issued from outside the door, and rcy peeked in.
"Is Jassiel coming?" Lapins asked.
rcy nodded.
As soon as Lapins exited, Jassiel raised his voice. "There you are! I was beginning to think you found the tour as boring as I did."
Kordia caught the slight twitch on her hopefully-still-girlfriend’s face as she regarded the angel. "I’ve been through it before... besides, I needed to catch up with Kordia. It’s been a month or so more since we last saw each other..."
"Well, I’m ready to go back to the palace. I hope the ball you’re throwing tomorrow is more exciting than this place," Jassiel smirked, his eyes roaming over to Kassin’s ears like he was staring at soone’s pet.
"Ball?" Kordia asked, giving Lapins a look that asked how she hadn’t gone insane from dealing with this jerk.
"I know you planned to leave soon, but you two really must co," Lapins replied, putting on a diplomatic smile. "I insist."
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