Chapter 75: Friends (1)

After sharing a moment of happy silence, Rudy let out a small chuckle and wiped the corners of his eyes. “I gotta go take a sh—ahem. I’ll go freshen up,” he corrected, “then let’s go get some lunch.”

He left both Melody and Michael alone in the room.

“Thank you.” Michael said, wearing a sincere smile. Having seen how the young woman had handled Rudy and her surprising tact, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I didn’t do it for you,” she replied, though there was a complicated look in her eyes. “Those scars… Rudy must have been a slave before coming here, and not a well looked after one.” She concluded.

Michael nodded, “I haven’t asked him yet, nor do I intend to. I think we should just move on and treat it like this never happened.”

“Mmm, that’s probably for the best,” Melody agreed.

The two stayed in companionable silence for a while, before Michael broke it. “I thought you didn’t like Rudy. You’re always pulling faces whenever he does something or acts in a certain way.”

“I do not pull faces…” Melody replied, her cheeks puffing out sulkily.

“Sure…”

Letting out an annoyed groan, the girl adjusted her hair, “I usually find such lack of manners distasteful, but the guy has his own charm…” she replied mysteriously.

At that moment, a thunderous sound echoed from the bathroom, causing both the teen’s expressions to darken.

“Oh yeah, he’s charming alright…” Michael added, resisting the urge to laugh.

Melody’s cheeks reddened as a result, “That’s not what I meant… I guess you could say I have a soft spot for those who have survived slavery.”

Michael raised his eyebrow, evaluating her carefully. He didn’t pry further, but he felt like this was an interesting piece of information—one that had some deeper meaning.

He remembered how the servants were treated in the Winterborne manor, almost like they were part of the family. Michael had always found it rather odd, at least by nobles standards to do so.

Which begged the question, why was Brian Winterborne so good to his servants? Was there a particular reason? Other than the fact he was just a nice guy?

There has to be… For a man who is so cunning and played me like a fiddle, it seems a little out of character to treat his servants so well, Michael thought, silently.

“Phew, do NOT go in there,” Rudy opened the door to the bathroom and slammed it shut, wiping away the imaginary sweat from his brow. “Let’s go get some lunch,” He flashed the two a grin and went to walk towards the room door.

“Rudy… did you wash your hands?” Michael asked pleadingly.

“Oh right, one moment.” He turned on his heel and walked back into the disaster zone, leaving the two incredulous teens to stare at the door silently.

“Such charm…” Michael added dryly.

“He’s your responsibility from now on,” Melody stated matter-of-factly, seemingly out of the blue. “If he wants any chance of joining a noble family by graduation—he’ll need to learn noble customs and manners.”

“I’m not sure I would call it my responsibility,” Michael countered, sending her an annoyed look, “but I was going to do it anyway since we’re friends. Perhaps Rudy can be your next personal butler?’ he added, a sharp grin pulling at his lips.

“N-no way!” she shrieked, eliciting a hearty laugh from Michael at her reaction.

“What are you guys laughing about?” Rudy asked with interest as he left the bathroom once more.

“Oh I was just suggesting that you could become Melody’s personal bu—”

A water jet struck his face in the next moment, cutting off his words with a gargle. Nearby, an orange mana circle hovered above Melody’s outstretched hand, the source of the attack.

Rudy let out a peel of laughter, clearly enjoying the spectacle. The sound eased Michael’s annoyance, who decided to send a quick glare towards the blue-haired girl before casting a heat spell on his now wet face and uniform.

“Let’s head to the hall, its almost lunch time,” he announced, strolling past Melody.

The trio left the violet dorms and walked along the familiar hall towards the stairs, all the while chatting. It was mostly the two boys speaking, but Melody no longer seemed as distant—as if she was slowly integrating into the group.

“I wonder if Braydon is still being punished? I sure hope so,” Rudy stated with a smile, “that guy sure knows how to get under people’s nerves.”

“If you think he’s bad, you should have met his father—the big blueberry.” Michael replied, shaking his head.

“Blueberry? Why do you call him that?”

“Well the guy shares the same… spherical shape. And since it rhymes with their family name, I guess it just sticks in my mind.” He replied, scratching his head in thought.

“Hah! That’s genius!” Rudy exclaimed, letting out a laugh.

Even Melody seemed to enjoy the insult, unable to hide the smile that pulled at her lips.

The trio felt indelibly closer after the incident earlier, bringing with it a relaxing atmosphere. Here without any outside interference, they could laugh and joke together despite their different backgrounds.

Perhaps this was one of the many benefits of academies.

Upon arriving at the great hall, they found the place rather packed. It seemed that those who had skipped breakfast this morning had all shown up, causing quite the bit of noise pollution.

While there were not as many students as there were at the welcoming feast, without the presence of the headmaster—the chatter was quite deafening.

The trio found a place at one of the long tables and ordered some food. Thanks to their violet emblems, their menu choices were far more substantial than others—a fact made more apparent when their meals were brought out to them.

Michael felt countless eyes on him, eyeing his roasted meat and mashed potatoes. Some of these students only had bread and soup in front of them.

Melody too appeared to notice the glares, pulling an uncomfortable face. “I wonder if they deliver to our dorms?” she asked.

“What?” Michael cupped his ear, unable to hear her over the clamor.

“Nevermind…”

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