The library was crowded when Lucas and Celeste got there.
Apparently, a lot of other first year students hadn't gotten the memo that they'd have to study by themselves and we're now scrambling in panic, trying to cram as much knowledge into their heads as possible.
Lucas spotted Lydia and Marie seated in the same spot they had studied at before along with another girl who looked vaguely familiar.
As he got closer, Lucas realized that the girl was someone he knew.
In fact, it was someone he had thought about befriending before throwing away the thought as unlikely right now.
It was Charlotte Nabados.
She had soft chestnut-brown hair that fell in loose curls to the middle of her back and often slipped forward to hide her face.
Her bangs were uneven and her eyes were a deep gray-blue, framed by long lashes that lowered whenever someone looked her way.
Her skin was pale and smooth and her lips were small and pink with the corners always slightly pressed together as if she wanted to speak but changed her mind.
A thin gold chain rested against her collarbone with a pendant that was small enough to miss if you weren't looking closely.
Lucas began to remember her backstory.
Charlotte was born into House Nabados, a minor noble family whose influence had been waning for three generations.
Her father, Lord Matthias Nabados, was a proud but pragmatic man who, for a noble, didn't have much but doted on his daughter.
She had been a painfully shy child who preferred the company of books to people growing up and was so quiet that even the servants that were supposed to look after her forgot she was there.
Charlotte had virtually no aptitude for offensive magic, transmutation, or most common spell forms.
But her defensive magic was extraordinary...no, it was once-in-a-lifetime level. Only a few mages could match her talent.
She could layer barriers, maintain shields for hours without tiring, and in later parts of the game gained the ability to instinctively sense incoming threats before they materialized.
She was an all in all worthy addition to any team she was a part of.
Lydia spotted Lucas and waved when she saw him, then her expression became somewhat shocked and confused when she noticed Celeste trailing behind him.
"You've finally arrived." She said when he arrived at the table.
"You talk like you've been here a long time. Didn't Combat Class just end?" Lucas said.
"I may or may not have skipped Combat Class." Lydia said, shyly.
"What!?" Lucas replied in shock.
Lydia Astrolome wasn't nicknamed "The Professor" by the game's fandom for no reason. Other than her knowledge, a major reason was that she had never missed a single class in her life.
Granted, most students, including Lydia and even Lucas himself were homeschooled until the ages of 16 or 17 but that didn't make it any less impressive.
"Why are you so shocked. The class was probably just formalities anyways." Lydia said with her brow raised.
"Well, it was but..." Lucas said.
"But what?"
"Well..ah... you're Lydia Astrolome. You don't miss classes." Lucas said.
"That's exactly what I said!" Marie said, laughing.
"Is that all you guys view me as...a bookworm!?" Lydia said, stomping her foot angrily.
"No! No! No! Not at all." Lucss and Marie said in unison.
Lydia's frown grew deeper, "You guys are terrible liars."
"It's not like we were late by much anyways." Celeste said with a dark look.
It was clear she wasn't too pleased with Lucas's attention not being on her.
"And who are you?" Marie said.
She gave Celeste a look that made it obvious she wasn't a fan of her behavior and Celeste retaliated with a defiant stare.
Sensing the tension, Lydia cleared her throat and said, "This is Celeste Slevan, she-"
"Is Lucas' fiancee." Celeste said, cutting off Lydia.
"What!?" Marie and Lydia said at the same time.
"Lucas, is this true?" Lydia asked.
"Of course it is, I proposed to him at lunch." Celeste said.
"I never said yes to your proposal, Celeste." Lucas said.
"But you didn't say no either." Celeste winked at him.
This bit-
"Over in Jazhad, not saying no means yes."
She continued.
What kind of twisted logic is that!
"You're from Jazhad, Celeste?" Marie asked in surprise.
"No, not at all. I'm from Noclies but I was studying in Jazhad before this." Celeste said.
"Why go so far just to learn, when the academy is right here?" Marie asked.
"I don't know, my father said something about a Goldship or a Goldshore. I wasn't really paying attention at the time." Celeste replied.
"You.... you're one of the Goldshore hostages?" Lydia said, astonished.
"Goldshore what now?" Lucas said.
He hadn't heard of any such thing.
"You don't know!" Lydia said.
Lucas shook his head.
"I guess we missed that part in our last session. After the treaty of Gold, in order to prevent anyone from going back on their word. Jazhad and Noclies agreed that each generation, they would send five children of high status to each other's academy to serve as some sort of political hostages." Lydia said.
"You mean?"
"That war may be coming." Lydia said with a thousand yard stare
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Hold on now. It CANNOT be that serious." Marie said.
"I agree. Or my father would have been a crazy man to agree to transfer me without hesitation." Celeste said.
"I don't think anyone who wants to live would deny any of your requests." Lucas whispered under his breath.
"I heard that." Celeste said.
"You did !?" Lucas said.
"Nope. But I do now know you were saying something bad about me." Celeste said with a smile.
This damned girl!
Turning back to Lydia, Celeste said, "Besides, I had my brother Kevin sent there in my place."
She has a brother? He was never mentioned in the original game at all. It's obvious Marquis Slevan has a favorite.
"I think my cousin Liam, the third prince, also goes there. It's usually the last child that gets sent to Jazhad but all Leyla had to do was say no and Liam was halfway across the continent before he realized what had happened." Marie said, laughing.
It was strange to see her happy about something related to the Royal Family when she always felt bad for being merely a distant relative.
And the king obviously has his favorites as well.
A thought suddenly hit Lucas.
Wait, if Celeste went to school in Jazhad, what the hell was she doing in Lerastad last night? And why the hell was she in an alleyway.
He hadn't thought about it before since Celeste had left school due to the Legion's invasion by the time she was introduced to the story so he had just assumed she went to the Lerastad Royal Academy like everyone else.
Lydia let out a sigh of relief, "As long as everything is good and there is no threat of war, I guess we should begin our study session."
A hand went up and a timid voice said, "B... before we begin. Please may I go to the bathroom?"