Days passed, and the festivities along the capital streets had reached new heights. Laughs and cheers filled the air, along with the scent of fresh pastries and delicacies — both sweet and savory — filled the air. It was so potent, yet so irresistibly aromatic, that the onlookers soon became customers.
Of course, a pair of prospecting swordsmen was no match either.
"Whoa! Hey, Rosalina! Look!" exclaimed a brown-headed young man to a nearby lady. "They've got quiche over at that stall over there!"
"Simmer down, Kain," she sighed. "You're drawing too much attention."
"Come on! We've gotta try it! Especially in the chilly winds of autumn, I bet it's gonna hit all the right spots!"
"W-wha...?! Kain!"
But her call fell on deaf ears, as Kain was already making his way over to the stall. She stayed behind for a moment, raising her hand to her face out of second-hand embarrassment when everyone stopped to stare at him.
"Isn't that... Kain Diadalin?" a woman asked her friend.
"It certainly looks like it," replied a man. "How strange. Whenever I see him during social gatherings and parties, he is as stoic as his old man. It was quite difficult to approach him."
"He's a first-year student at Rhodeia now, isn't he?"
"Indeed. Seeing him like this, he must be having a good time. That's good. A young man like him needs to live out his youth the best he can."
"Hoho~ I agree."
Rosalina, on the other hand, was less than impressed. He was well-known among nobles, and he represented Rhodeia as a student. Clumsiness and immaturity were out of the question for someone of his status.
Still, she couldn't help but smile. His joy was palpable, and the way he pranced away like a child was...
"Cute," she whispered without intending to.
The moment she realized what she had just said, her face lit up. There it was again. That... she didn't even know what to call it. Her chest tightened, her stomach stirred, and her eyes... she couldn't take them off of Kain, even as he was doing something as simple as ordering a plate of quiche.
"Hey, Rosalina!" he shouted from across the crowd. "What are you still doing back there?! Come on, you gotta try this!"
She bit her lips and squeezed the fabric around her chest, desperately attempting to suppress this intrusive feeling. One deep breath, then another.
At last, she approached the stall just as the lady behind the counter was handing Kain his quiche. He turned around, holding the plate in between them with a massive grin.
"Look at it! You can literally see the butter melting on top of it, the golden-brown crust around the edges, and the smell,"—he took a long, satiating whiff—"Ahh~ Now that's a perfectly baked quiche!"
Rosalina crossed her arms with a slight chuckle.
"You're really into this. I mean, who could've guessed that the stone-cold heir of House Diadalin could make a face like that. It's almost as if I'm looking at a completely different person."
"Is that really how it seems?" he scoffed.
"Ask any of our fellow nobles what they think of you, and they'll share the same exact sentiment. They call you a genius, one of the best prospecting swordsmen in the empire, and the way you look down on people makes them quiver in fear."
"Sheesh. That's a little intense."
"Are you saying those rumors are false?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. Although, I will admit that I'm kind of an asshole to people I just met, but it's not out of malice or anything. I'm just wary, is all. Never know who could stab you in the back for a little extra points. But, amid the cesspool of trickery and betrayal are a handful of trustworthy faces. Like Caelus. He and I got along almost immediately."
"Pfft, really? It seemed more like he was annoyed at you for just breathing."
Kain placed a hand over his delicate chest with a resounding, "Eh?! That's nonsense!"
"Sure, sure. And what about me, huh? How do you know I'm not like everyone else who could backstab you? I could just be waiting for the right moment."
"I doubt that. After all, I'm comfortable enough to drop my guard around you, and I don't do that for just anyone."
Again, Rosalina was left speechless, and Kain was none the wiser. He was simply admiring the plate of quiche as if it were his bride. Then, he forked up a piece, examined it carefully, and slipped it into his mouth.
His eyes widened like a child waking up to pristine white snow for the first time.
"Oh... Oh, yeah," he moaned, which freaked Rosalina out.
"Can you not?"
"What~? Can a man not express his joy at a perfectly baked piece of art?"
"Not in public, you absolute miscreant. You're drawing too much unnecessary attention, and I'm stuck being lumped in with the likes of you."
"Oh, boohoo. So, you get a little stain on your image cuz of me, but hey! Quiche!"
Rosalina stared at the buttery quiche, still sizzling and steaming. It was enticing, really, but she couldn't brush off his behavior. And just as she was about to shoot another retort, a sharp growl made its way out of her stomach — completely noticeable even among the chatter of the crowd.
Her face immediately lit up like a ripe tomato upon the empire's finest farmland. All the while, Kain slid into view, a massive grin stretching his cheeks apart.
"Rosalina~?" he sang. "What was that sound?"
"S-shut up, Kain..." she growled, though the redness of her face made it far less threatening than she intended.
"Say again? Couldn't hear you. Where in the world did that earthquake come from? I'm surprised no one else felt it. What a shame."
"I'm going to kill you."
Kain let out a wholehearted laugh straight from his belly, wiping a tear from his eyes. He turned to look at Rosalina with a smile so genuine that it caught her off guard.
"I don't think I've ever met anyone like you, Rosalina. Despite the stone-cold front you put up, you're actually quite pretty. Pretty funny, that is."
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Then, she suddenly threw her hand out as if demanding something.
"Quiche," she sternly muttered. "Now."
"I... u-uh..."
Fear overtook him in that moment, and without another word, he lifted his arm hesitantly before Rosalina snatched away the plate.
She forked up a small piece and took a bite, her lips enveloping the very metal that was touched by Kain's only a minute ago.
As for Kain himself, all he could do was stare in disbelief.
"Hmm..." Rosalina hummed, satisfied. "You were right. It does taste pretty good. Personally, I would've preferred a more... crispy texture. Still, it does its job of combating the autumn chill excellently."
She began walking away, leaving the petrified Diadalin, who was still in disbelief at two things. The first: she just ate off the same fork as him. And the second...
"H-hey! My quiche!" he exclaimed, bolting after her. "Give it back!"
"No," she replied flatly. "Go get another one."
"Eh?! But I waited in line for it! And I spent my own money!"
"You would take food from a delicate lady like me?"
"Delicate, my ass! And House Sigurdia is one of the four pillars of the empire, isn't it?! So my wealth is but crumbs compared to yours!"
"Wealth is still wealth. The Diadalin county is by no means poor. How dare you say such a thing when there are thousands of commoners who would dream of having your level of stability?"
"W-wha—?! That's a rather unreasonable jump, don't you think?! Come on, I'm hungry!"
"Ah~ Are you?"
Rosalina plucked yet another piece, but instead of taking it for herself, she pointed it at Kain. It was as if time froze in that moment. On one face was an amused smile, and on the other was the very definition of bewilderment.
"What are you waiting for?" Rosalina scoffed. "You're hungry, aren't you? Go on."
"T-this..." Kain mumbled.
He stared at the piece of quiche floating in front of him — golden, crispy, and still steaming. It looked flawlessly delectable, but what caught his attention more was the scarlet gaze hovering just behind it.
"Hmm... I guess you're not as hungry as you claim," she sighed. "Oh well. More for me."
"Tch... You're always weird, Rosalina, but today... you're extra weird."
"Hehe~ Am I? It might just be your imagination."
"At this point, your whole character is a figment of my imagination. Are you even real?"
"I'll bet you wish I weren't."
"Pfft, and what makes you think I do?"
"Call it... a lady's intuition."
"A lady? Did you already forget that you're a witch?"
"Is a witch not a lady?"
"Not you, that's for sure."
Rosalina let out a stifled laugh as she took the bite. It was the wrong place and the wrong time, but she felt it again.
That feeling.
It was a strange, fuzzy little thing in her chest. She didn't know what it was or what to think of it. But in that slight revelation, a small, almost unnoticeable cloud of red appeared on her cheeks.