Chapter 648: Chapter 648 - Taming the Fifth Year - Multiwalled Fortress - 3

The following days established a strange but not unpleasant pattern.

The three girls appeared in private places, generally in Aldric’s classroom instead of their respective tutor classes, for the "social practice sessions". Aldric had insisted that Ren dedicate at least one daily hour to this, and Ren, genuinely thinking it was part of his noble education, had accepted.

But the sessions rarely were what he anticipated.

Ren began noticing patterns. Small things that initially seemed innocent but that, when accumulated, created a strange sensation. Like pieces of a puzzle he couldn’t quite see the full picture of.

Cassia had the habit of touching his arm when she asked a question. Only briefly, only a light touch, but consistent. Her fingers would rest on his forearm for just a moment, warm through the fabric of his sleeve, always when making a point or seeking his attention.

Seraphina positioned herself always so he had to look at her directly when speaking, her clear blue eyes maintaining eye contact that lasted one second longer than normal. Not aggressive, not challenging, but intense in a way that made awareness of her presence impossible to ignore.

Jeannette laughed at his jokes, even the ones that weren’t particularly funny, with a warmth that seemed designed to make him feel intelligent and entertaining. Her laughter had this quality of genuine delight that made him want to be funnier, more interesting, better.

Individually, they were small gestures. Together... Ren wasn’t sure what to think.

’Social practice sure is more complex than I thought.’

♢♢♢♢

And things got more complicated.

Well... The one who complicated things in his mind now was Larissa.

Larissa, who lately was acting... different.

It started subtly. Small changes that Ren almost didn’t notice at first. Things so minor they could be dismissed as imagination or coincidence.

During their practice sessions, Larissa began finding excuses to touch his hand when correcting his posture. "Your wrist needs to be straighter," she’d say, her fingers adjusting the angle with touches that lasted a second longer than necessary. Her skin was always warm, her grip gentle but firm, and Ren found himself hyperaware of each contact.

The corrections became more frequent. More unnecessary... redundant, perhaps? Though Ren couldn’t be sure. Maybe he was just that bad at this.

When they walked together between classes, she positioned herself closer than usual. Not invasively close, but enough that Ren was hyperconscious of her presence. Close enough that he could smell the subtle scent of perfume that always seemed to cling to her hair. Close enough that their shoulders would occasionally brush, sending small jolts of awareness through him that he tried to ignore.

And there were moments where Larissa would open her mouth as if to say something important, only to close it and change topics abruptly. Her expression would shift, something vulnerable flashing across her features before being buried under her usual composed mask.

"Are you okay?" Ren asked her one day after she’d stopped mid-sentence for the third time. They were in one of the private study rooms.

"Yes," Larissa responded too quickly, her voice slightly higher than normal. "Just... thinking."

"About what?"

"Things," was the cryptic response. She looked away, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her book in a rare display of nervous energy.

Ren frowned, concerned. Larissa was almost never evasive with him. Never uncertain. She usually was the one with confident answers lately.

"Larissa, if something’s wrong, you can tell me," he said gently.

She looked at him then, really looked at him, with an intensity that made his breath stop. Her eyes held something he couldn’t name, something that made the room suddenly feel smaller, warmer.

"I know," she said softly. Then, quieter, almost to herself: "That’s the problem."

"What?"

"Nothing." She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Let’s continue with the posture practice."

But the strange moments kept happening.

The strange thing was that Ren started noticing similarities.

The way Larissa found excuses to touch him during practice... was similar to how Cassia touched his arm. The same duration of contact. The same warmth. The same awareness it created.

The way Larissa positioned herself closer lately... reminded him of how Seraphina always made sure to be in his line of sight. Always there, always present, impossible to ignore.

The way Larissa seemed to seek his approval, his attention... wasn’t so different from how Jeannette laughed at his silly jokes. That same quality of wanting him to notice, to appreciate, to... something.

It was as if Larissa was... trying to teach him ’social practice’? But that didn’t make sense.

Larissa was his friend and a royal, therefore superior. Weren’t the lessons supposed to be about interacting with someone unknown of lower rank? Shouldn’t she maybe use Maria to teach him that?

The thought circled in his mind, creating confusion that he couldn’t quite resolve. Nothing fit together properly. Every explanation felt incomplete.

The layers kept accumulating...

♢♢♢♢

Ren noticed the changes gradually during the next week.

The groups of girls that before pursued him through the hallways had diminished dramatically. Not disappeared completely, but the difference was notable. Where before there had been five or six different groups waiting for him at various points of the day, now maybe he encountered one or two.

And the girls that remained seemed... different.

More refined.

Their tunics showed emblems from houses that even Ren, with his limited knowledge of noble genealogies, recognized as important. Names that came up in his territorial management lessons with Arturo. Families with real power, real influence.

’Strange,’ he thought while evading a small group near the library. ’Maybe Aldric’s girls are very efficient... or maybe they already got bored of not being able to catch me and only the elite are hard to beat with my level of ’social practice’.’

He couldn’t know for certain that Cassia, Seraphina and Jeannette had indeed spoken with Aldric, convincing him that Ren had expressed "annoyance" with attention from "low-profile houses". That only families of a certain level should continue. That it was a matter of "appropriate standards for someone of his position".

Aldric and Baelthon had readjusted the plan according to what they thought were Ren’s unexpected "refined tastes".

So only the highest houses had permission now to continue their pursuits. The others were quietly told to back off.

Ren simply saw less harassment and silently thanked whatever forces had made it stop.

And strangely, this generated a certain appreciation in him for the three girls. Maybe their "lessons" about handling unwanted attention were really working. Maybe he was projecting something different that discouraged less serious pursuers.

’Social practice does work,’ he concluded naively.

♢♢♢♢

The problem arose three days later during lunch.

Ren was seated with the girls at their usual table in the Platinum student dining hall. Luna, Larissa and Liora occupied their usual positions, Larissa’s silver mineral fairy the size of a child materializing occasionally to steal bites of food with tiny, delicate hands.

The atmosphere had been comfortable, familiar. Ren was in the middle of explaining something about his latest crystallization experiments when Liora interrupted.

"Ren," Liora said suddenly, her eyes studying him with curiosity that had sharp edges beneath its casual surface, "I’ve noticed you’ve been going to see Aldric more lately."

Ren nodded while chewing, swallowing before responding. "Yes, the new practice sessions."

"I thought you’d go less," Liora continued, her tone casual but her eyes still sharp. "Larissa is covering your complete noble protocol curriculum. You don’t need Aldric for that anymore."

"It’s not for protocols," Ren explained, taking another bite of his meal. "It’s for ’social practice’."

Larissa’s fork stopped halfway to her mouth. The utensil hung suspended in air, forgotten.

Luna looked at him with expression that Ren couldn’t interpret.

Mayo, who was nearby trying to steal the highest quality food that didn’t correspond to her, became completely immobile. Her hand froze mid-reach.

"Social practice?" Larissa repeated slowly, finally lowering her fork. Her voice was carefully neutral, but Ren could hear something beneath it. Something tight and strained.

"Yes," Ren confirmed, not noticing the growing tensions around the table. Not seeing how Luna’s hands had clenched or how Larissa’s fairy had stopped mid-flight. "Aldric brought three girls from other academies to help me better handle uncomfortable social situations. You know, like all those groups that were chasing me."

The silence that followed was dense.

The entire table seemed to have stopped breathing. Even the ambient noise of the dining hall faded, or maybe Ren just stopped hearing it over the sudden pressure of attention focused on him.

"Three girls?" Liora said, her voice dangerously low. Her eyes were beginning to show a violet gleam, power leaking through her control. "What three girls?"

"From other academies," Luna added, her hands tightening slightly around her cup. Small cracks appeared in the new porcelain under the pressure again. "What academies?"

"Uh..." Ren tried to remember, confused by the sudden intensity. Had he said something wrong? "Seraphina is Starweaver but from Aldric’s region. Cassia is Ashenway but from the western branch. And Jeannette is from Goldcrest territory, Blackwood family."

Larissa had gone pale. "Blackwood as in those who supported the traitors, Astor’s family? And families that have been detractors of the Ashenways and Starweavers for generations?"

"Is Jeannette related to Astor? The one with the Blue Rhino who was Klein’s follower?" Ren blinked, connections forming that should have been obvious before. "She didn’t mention that..."

"Of course she didn’t mention it, I’m sure the others didn’t mention being enemies of our families either," Liora murmured, her eyes narrowed. Her fire manifested fully, crackling with angry energy. "Ren, what exactly are these girls doing with you?"