“No one can pa.s.s me.”
“Be the wall I can never cross.”
From then on, Simon was safely protected under Ian’s efforts. There was no n.o.ble dense enough to support a dismal and ordinary boy over the brilliant and handsome prince.
However, sometimes Ian worked himself too hard. He wouldn’t put down a book even when he was sick. When he forced himself to swing a sword even in exhaustion, Ian simply laughed and said he was fine, and encouraged Simon to do his best.
“I wish you could be serious with me.”
The more Simon tried, the harder Ian worked.
“Yes, I am Hillard. With the same rights as a beast.”
Whenever Ian wanted him to be serious, Simon would talk about their promises and their cruel expectations. This twisted promise may have helped make Ian a great man, but malformations were malformations, and thorns would grow in places where they weren’t supposed to. So, Simon resolved to break it. No, he’ll go beyond it, beyond the friendly walls of his childhood.
Simon looked back at Ian, and to his surprise saw that Ian was already looking back at him. The results were about to be posted. The crowd of students rushed over to view the results, while the trio simply stood in their place.
“Ah.”
Louise made a small sound of surprise, and Ian and Simon turned to look at the rankings. The three of them squeezed each other’s hands a little tighter.
*
*
*
Snowflakes began to drift downward as they made their way to breakfast after confirming the results of their grades.
“Looks like my hunch was right.”
Ian wore a proud expression on his face.
“Simon Hillard is a scary guy who can manipulate his grades at will.”
“‘At will’…is that malice in your words?”
“I don’t care what you say. The results in the hallway confirm my claim. Don’t you think?”
Ian put his arm over Simon’s shoulders and laughed. Simon’s expression, however, was unsmiling.
“Simon, are you alright?”
“No. I couldn’t achieve my goal.”
“What do you mean!”
Louise leaped forward in front of him and protested.
“You said you wouldn’t allow anyone else’s name above yours!”
“Yes.”
“There was no name over yours.”
He had successfully achieved his goal, unless he had a different one in mind.
“The problem wasn’t the top, but the side.”
“Side?”
Simon turned his eyes towards Ian, who was still leaning on him.
“Ah.”
Louise finally realized why Simon was so morose. He was disappointed that their two names were written side-by-side each other.
“You’re the one who told me not to make it easy, remember?”
Ian brushed some white snow off Simon’s head.
“That’s true.”
“In the end, both you and I kept our promise with Grandmother. I did not lose my position, and you stood at the top.”
“To be honest.”
Simon breathed a small sigh.
“I wanted to win.”
And he wanted to free Ian so he would not be bound by past promises.
“Does that mean you’re finally going to be serious with me?”
“When am I ever not serious with my cousin?”
Simon mimicked Ian’s voice, and Louise gave a chuckle at his impression. Ian smirked, then gathered a ball of snow from the ground and tossed at his cousin. It landed on Simon’s head like a white hat, and he shook it off.
Simon had been careful to not surpa.s.s Ian, but know he knew that Ian’s wall was stronger than he thought. Simon had to do better than his best. And so Simon would continue to try pa.s.s that wall—even if it involved a childish s...o...b..ll fight.
Simon successfully pelted a s...o...b..ll right into Ian’s face. Simon only had a brief moment to savor the win, however, until a counterattack in the form of a large s...o...b..ll struck him on the waist.
Their playful war stretched out for some time as they tested each other’s strength. Their ungloved hands were frozen, and they had forgotten their coats in their hurry. But somehow, they couldn’t stop laughing.
“d.a.m.n it, Simon!”
Ian shouted as he hurled another s...o...b..ll, and Simon skillfully dodged it. The s...o...b..ll struck Louise’s forehead instead and broke into pieces. She had a look of stunned surprise as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. All sympathy for the two boys was gone. Louise lifted her head, releasing a terrifying aura.
“Really! I keep telling you to wear your coat and gloves!”
She picked up two firm-looking s...o...b..a.l.l.s nearby. One struck Simon squarely in the back, and the other flew towards Ian. Louise foresaw a victory and gave a whooping laugh, when something surprising happened. The s...o...b..ll that was aimed at Ian’s shoulders instantly shattered in the air.
Between the glistening snowflakes, a man slowly opened his eyes then sheathed his sword.
“Louise of the Greenhouse, were you really attempting to kill the Crown Prince?”
It was Hesse. His eyes were dark with wariness as he stared down at Louise.
That is, until Ian hit him on the head.
“Arh, it hurts! Why are you hitting the faithful knight who protected you!”
“My knight.”
“What?”
“Don’t exaggerate.”
“Well, I saw from a distance that the s...o...b..ll was a total threat. It could’ve killed you! Really!”
“Speak more honestly.”
“Well, if it would be a problem if you caught a cold. I was worried.”
“Okay, we’re almost there. Let’s put a little more honesty into it.”
Hesse brushed down his hair and spoke more politely.
“It looked fun. What?”
“Good.”
Ian patted off some snow from Hesse’s shoulders.
“That’s why I want to attack you!”
h.e.s.h.e quickly picked up the s...o...b..ll and threw it at Ian with a roaring laugh. Ian and Simon teamed up to throw more s...o...b..a.l.l.s at Hesse, but he narrowly managed to dodge each one.
“Oh, that’s right. Louise of the Greenhouse.”
“Yes?”
Hesse jumped onto a tree branch and smiled.
“The s...o...b..a.l.l.s that you threw a while ago was the snowman that Professor Hewitt made.”
“What? Who?!”
“Professor Hewitt. Every first snow day of the year, he makes a little snowman that he called ‘Principles.’”
Louise’s hands started to shake. She thought the s...o...b..a.l.l.s were particularly well crafted, but it turned out it was a snowman that Professor Hewitt made! And given that it was named “Principles,” the professor must surely dote on it. There were many villains in the world, and someone who destroyed another person’s snowman was definitely a villain. The label which she so desperately tried to escape had come back to haunt her.
“Professor Hewitt is coming this way.”
Hesse grinned as he swept some powder off Louise’s head.
“As I said before, look for me when you’re secretly dealing with annoying people. Okay?”
He added in a low voice, ‘It’ll be bad if you ask another knight!’ then quickly fled over the wall. The moment he disappeared from sight, Professor Hewitt appeared. He stared at the remains of his little snowman and turned towards the trio with fierce eyes. He looked ready to apply for a grade correction.
Louise quickly rolled a s...o...b..ll, and Simon and Ian scrambled to help her complete it. Professor Hewitt’s a.s.sistant came running with a name tag that said, “Great Principles” and hung it on the newly built snowman.
The professor seemed to approve.