Page 14 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate? (Dealing With Fate #1)
“You know, ‘Bea’ sounds kind of like ‘baby’, so from now on I’ll call you baby girl,” Claude announced like it was a perfectly normal thing to say. Dahlia held in a laugh, but I heard that.
“You will not,” I growled, but that only made Claude grin wider.
“Is she always this feisty?” he asked Elias.
“She’s usually very sweet, actually,” Elias indulged him, and a sense of betrayal flickered through me. “If you’re on her good side, at least. We used to play around in our garden; we’d have picnics, and she’d personally make the sandwiches or sweets and even feed me.”
He was talking about his memories of OG Bea. Eli smiled at me, as if letting me in on a little secret.
The secret was I never did those things because I was a bratty little girl. Fun, but bratty.
Claude’s impressed look turned Eli’s smile into a mischievous one. That bastard. My brain was right!
Our conversation was cut short when our professor for this class walked in. It shouldn’t have surprised me that it would be Professor Strom, with how my circumstances liked to fuck with me, but it did anyway. I was also reminded I still had one of his coats that I should return soon.
He took a cursory glance over the class, but when his eyes landed on me, he lingered, before continuing to the remainder of the students. Dahlia noticed the action, judging from the curious side-eye she gave me. Apparently, Claude did too, when he turned on his seat and waggled his eyebrows.
It was only half of the first day of class, but I already felt exhausted.
There wasn’t actual casting yet for the Elemental Magic classes. It was expected that we’d learn about it theoretically before a hands-on experience.
Professor Strom also informed us that after our first two weeks of introductory classes, we’d have evaluations for our magic affinity. While everyone would still learn the same curriculum, it would be valuable to know which person was better at which magic.
As an example, the professor could also cast other types of magic, but his affinity was Water. When he used Water magic, the output was so much greater for little cost to his mana.
Our class ended, and it was time for lunch. Or at least, it was supposed to be, but Professor Strom made me stay behind, earning even more curious looks from Dahlia, more eyebrow-waggling from Claude, and now a frown from Eli.
When it was only me and the professor in the room, he beckoned me closer, and I stood by his desk as he sat behind it.
“I wanted to check up on you after the incident,” he explained, quite serious with his words. “I wasn’t sure how at first until I described you to the staff and one immediately named you. He was your former physician, I believe.”
He was talking about Derrick.
“Even though he assured me he checked up on you and you’re fine, I want to hear it from your own words.” His eyes roamed my body, assessing, pausing at the skin in-between my skirt and my thigh-highs, ending up on my face again. “Well, Bea?”
I nodded to mean that I was fine.
He shook his head. “Use your words.”
I bit my lip. Why did that sound so erotic? Holy fuck, was my libido acting up again?
“Bea.”
“I’m fine, professor,” I responded, my voice coming out breathier than I wanted.
His throat bobbed next, and his fingers twitched where they rested on his desk.
He folded his hands together to alleviate it.
“Good. As you may not know, the academy takes this kind of incident seriously. In case anything similar happens again, do not hesitate to inform me.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Or any other staff members.”
I nodded again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
He exhaled, swiping a hand towards the door. “You may leave.”
As I left the classroom, I swore I could feel his eyes following my every step.
Dahlia immediately greeted me in the hallway, faking a wipe of her forehead. “Holy skies, the tension was so thick there.”
I gaped at her. “You were watching?”
“ We were watching until your men had to leave for one reason or another.” She held out an arm for me to hold on to. “They were equally tense themselves.”
“First, they’re not my men ,” I grouched as we walked together to the dining hall. “Second, Professor Strom was only concerned about me.” Even as I said it, I couldn’t deny the weird atmosphere between us. “Some idiots threw a fireball at me the other day.”
“Are you okay?” Dahlia sounded genuinely concerned. For me? Someone she’d barely known for a minute?
“Perfectly fine.” Except for the self-immolation.
“No wonder he’s concerned. A fireball’s no joke,” Dahlia huffed, but suddenly scoffed too. “What was it about them not being your men, again?”
I raised my eyebrows in mock anger. “Come on, you were there when we met Claude for the first time. And Elias is a childhood friend.”
Instead of responding, she swished her arm in the air, and I followed the action with my eyes until I found Claude walking in our direction, bringing someone else in tow.
That someone else had onlookers turning their whole bodies to look at him.
I didn’t have to guess who it was; it was obvious from his clothes, his mannerisms, the general aura around him, and Mia’s physical description of him — the man walking beside Claude was the Crown Prince himself, Winston Regalis.
Funnily enough, I thought he’d have a whole ensemble of people following him around wherever he went. At least a Royal Knight or two. But he was alone with Claude, and that made me wonder if Claude was his knight after all.
With wavy platinum-blonde hair and majestic purple eyes, he was the embodiment of a holy angel, ready to smite evil demon lords.
“Are they actually heading towards us?” I whispered to Dahlia in a panic. It was enough that I had the attention of all these random people, but adding the Crown Prince to the mix was just too much.
“It seems like it,” Dahlia mused, but we didn’t slow down our trek towards the dining hall building. “But you know, it might be a coincidence? It’s not like that crazy guy had his sights set on you. What are the odds he’d find it normal to just shove the Prince at you?”
I glared at her while she looked smug, because the Prince and Claude were only seconds away and there was no way they’d suddenly detour if they weren’t gunning for me.
“Ah, there’s my baby girl!” Claude cheered so loud that if people weren’t already watching because of the Prince’s presence, they certainly were now. I hid behind Dahlia, who was giggling in disbelief.
“Is she actually your girl ?” the Prince asked Claude as they stopped in front of us.
“I just met him today!” I informed them in haste before any misunderstandings arose.
“Time isn’t an issue,” Claude tutted at me, reaching over to pinch my cheek before I could react. “Meet Beatrix Gadreel Havenglow, Win.”
“I know her,” the Prince smiled, with a contemplative expression that was the complete opposite of my distraught one. How could the Prince know me? I was a baron’s daughter at the edge of the Kingdom. “Baybluff estate, right?”
Okay, so he did know me. I nodded dumbly. Maybe learning every noble’s name was part of his education as the future King.
I couldn’t imagine this angelic face throwing a tantrum, though, as I remembered Mia’s story about his discontinued engagement with Lady Cecilia.
He reached out a hand, and by instinct or habit, I received it. He brought my hand to his lips as was the norm, but before it touched, Claude snatched my hand away and kissed it himself.
I tried to pull my hand from his grip. I wanted to say: What the fuck? Why did you do that? What the hell is going on? But my words caught in my throat, and like I had been doing a lot lately, I glared in silence.
“Whoa, Claude,” the Prince chuckled, but I could tell he wasn’t completely bemused. “Possessive already?”
“I found her first,” Claude exclaimed, raising his arms and bringing my hand up with it that I dangled next to him. “Finders keepers!”
“I’m not an object!” I squealed as I tried to detangle myself from his hold, but he was just too strong.
Claude ignored my attempts. “No offense to you, Win, I know you’re used to always getting what you want. Let me have this. Something for myself!”
But the Prince grabbed his wrist. I didn’t see what he did; Claude let go unexpectedly that I almost tumbled to the ground but caught myself in time.
“You’re hurting her,” the Prince smiled at Claude as he held the other man’s wrist. “We can’t have that, right?”
Claude visibly deflated like a sad puppy. It was both amusing and terrifying, with how the Prince, with his angelic, smiling face, could instill that kind of fear over the other man. He really was the heir to the Kingdom if he had that power.
“I’m sorry for hurting you, baby girl,” Claude whimpered, staring at my hand. “I’ll be a good boy for you, I promise.”
I couldn’t keep up with the craziness of this man.
“I forgive you, and you don’t have to do that.
” If I wanted as little disturbance as possible, I would let myself get walked all over, if that would make them leave me alone.
These two are the worst pair of men to interact with me — they gathered too much attention.
Getting out of here was top priority. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to have lunch in less than thirty minutes.” Thanks to these two. “Goodbye.”
Without waiting for a response, I dragged Dahlia with me to the dining hall. Thankfully, they didn’t follow.
“They didn’t even see me,” Dahlia laughed. Why did she find this so funny?
“I held them back,” Elias said as soon as I found him with Robin and Reuben, who were both struggling behind his arms.
Mia grinned. “I reasoned with them. I said, if they try to kill the Hero of the Kingdom and the Prince for talking and touching you, the Kingdom will inevitably fall into chaos and our entire household will die.”
How could she say that so cheerfully? Dahlia continued to cackle while my twin knights finally calmed down when their eyes focused on me.
“You attract too much trouble,” Reuben groused. If only he knew how much I agreed with him.
How would I be able to do my research now?