BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Stop banging on my door!" Linnie yelled, reaching for the doorknob.
Suddenly, the door burst open, knocking him off his feet.
"What the hell—what's the matter with you now!?" He scowled at the lady standing in his doorway.
"Yuck, your face disgusts me. Haven't you ever taken a bath, or are you no better than a filthy animal?"
"You—!"
Linnie thought back to what Alwyn had told him. It was the first time his teacher had spoken with such... sternness. He had given the boy his first real taste of responsibility as the 'first apprentice.'
So, he closed his eyes and sighed. Calming himself wasn't something Linnie was exactly used to, but he'd have to make it work.
"Oh, Linnie, ha, hi. Funny seeing you here!" Liora said, peeking around from behind Marielle.
'This is my room, how's it funny seeing me here!? No, no... calm. Calm.'
Linnie calmly stood up and put on a smile meant for the oppressive young lady standing in front of him.
"What do you want?" he said through his tight smile.
"What I want? Did no one ever teach you how to speak? That's not how you address a lady, mongrel pig."
'What the hell is wrong with this girl!? She's so mean! 'Did anyone teach me'? Did anyone teach her!? No—calm. Yes, what's it matter to me if she speaks rudely to me, anyway?'
"Ehem, sorry about that." He gritted his teeth. "What... uh, b-brings you here?"
'That's how nobles speak to each other, right?'
Out of the corner of his eye, Linnie saw Liora holding out a thumbs up and nodding her head. She was mouthing "Good, good."
"Hmph. We're going out to see the festival, are we not? Why aren't you dressed?"
"Oh, right!" He forced a cheery tone. "I won't be long. You two can just wait for me at the door."
"...You dare?"
'...???' He winced.
"Aha, sorry?" he asked.
"You dare make a lady wait for you? At the door? Tch, at least make sure to bring the cat. Right, right, you tried to hide it from me, but that didn't work. No, a simpleton like you would never be able to keep a secret from me. The cat stays outside from now on, alright? Now, don't make us wait long," she said.
Then, she let out a short... huff? A laugh? it didn't really sound like one, but, it's definitely what she intended it to be.
And that made Linnie's eye twitch.
"Y-you..."
"Hm? Were you going to say something?"
Liora was shaking her head frantically.
"No... nothing." He grinned unnaturally. "I'll be right there. Lady, too."
Marielle left, not even closing the door behind her. When Linnie tried, though, it wouldn't click shut.
'She broke my door! This... this is going to be hard.'
Linnie resisted the urge to scream, and instead exerted his frustration on a pillow, punching and kicking and pulling at it.
Dealing with the noble wasn't only for Alwyn's sake—in his hopes for his apprentices to have a good, manageable relationship with each other—but was also for Linnie's.
Obviously, the boy didn't see it that way, but it was by no accident. Alwyn in his years as a wizard had met and had to 'deal' with many nobles just like the young lady.
Most wizards did, actually, since their duties often had to do with the regional governments.
Many of them, though, were at least from larger cities. Even Liora had grown up in a duke's manor, be it as a slave.
Linnie, however, had grown up in complete isolation in a small rural town, where the closest thing to a noble was the owner of the local merchant guild.
A man that he had never even seen in person.
He was completely unprepared for the world of deceit and beration that would come from such people. Sure, he'd heard of them, and how terrible they were.
But he would never let someone like that walk all over him. He was sure of that. Except, sometimes, that's exactly what you need to do to get what you want.
"Lady... I want to kill her. What do you think?" he said, putting on his robes.
It wasn't any easier or faster a process than the first time, earlier that day.
"Meow."
"It's just a joke! Tch, if you were a big lion or something, I'm sure you'd have no problem eating everyone in this entire place."
"Meow!?"
"You don't have to pretend. You're just an animal. No one cares if you hurt people."
"Meow..."
"Whatever. You're annoying sometimes."
He finally put on his hat and scooped her up, moving to the door. Then, last second, he had an idea. Taking off his hat, he stuffed a pillow inside it.
"You're tired, right?"
"Meow."
"You're tired! Get in and go to sleep!"
"Meow!"
"Hey! It's only for a few hours!"
Lady hissed, jumping from off his shoulder and into the hat.
'At least she went in. She better not claw at my head randomly!'
When he arrived at the front door, the three others were standing there in silence.
Liora was biting her fingernail, looking around until, to her relief, she saw Linnie. A smile lit up on her face, which quickly dropped when Marielle clicked her tongue.
Even The Prince flinched.
"Ah, so you finally made it!" she said with sarcastic praise, as if he was a dog. "Good job, that wasn't long at all. Well, let's go, friends!"
She, surprisingly, pushed open the large doors herself. Standing outside were four guards waiting there. They would be escorting the four kids on their outing.
"Where is the carriage?" she asked.
"Sorry, my lady. No carriages are available at the moment."
"What? Why would my personal carriage be in use right now?"
"I'm not sure, my lady."
"What part of 'personal' is unclear? Belen? Belen! Where is that useless old servant?"
"Belen hasn't shown up to work in six days, my lady. We sent someone to check on him, but there was no response."
"Belen doesn't live here? Since when?"
"Since always, my lady. He just commutes early in the morning."
"...Oh. Tch, he was a fool, anyway. Who cares if he ran off. Whatever, let's go, then."
She clapped twice, and the eight of them started on their way. Linnie felt a little cramped having to travel with the four guards, but at least they wouldn't get into any trouble.
He glanced nervously at the four men, all clad in shiny, silver armor. An emblem of blue, gold, and silver sat on each of their breasts.
A coat of arms. Linnie had never seen one, but they were known even to country bumpkins like him. They were the symbols that, to the common people, defined nobles from peasants.
'I'd like one of those things... when I get old and have kids, I'll have them all wear it, to show off. Yeah, that'd be cool.'
"What're you looking at?" Liora asked.
"Uh, nothing."