Chapter 166: The Crimson Tide [7]
Both Alaric and Oliver finished eating in relative silence.
Oliver had stopped complaining, now too much absorbed in his food and thoughts.
Alaric pushed his empty bowl away and stood. Oliver followed the suit, grabbing both their plates out of habit before catching himself and shooting Alaric an annoyed look.
They left the dining hall together, stepping back out into the courtyard. The afternoon sun had shifted, casting longer shadows across the cobblestones.
Oliver checked his watch and spoke under his breath. "I have a class in ten minutes. Professor Voss is going to kill me if I’m late again."
"Then don’t be late."
"Right. Thanks for that brilliant advice." Oliver shifted his bag on his shoulder. "You coming?"
"Don’t have that class."
"Lucky bastard." Oliver started backing away toward the academic wing
Alaric stood there for a moment, watching him disappear into the building. Then he started walking with no particular destination in mind.
Just needed to move.
The courtyard wasn’t as crowded now. Most students had filtered off to their afternoon classes. A few stragglers remained, sitting on benches or walking in pairs.
He rounded the corner near the fountain and nearly collided with someone coming from the opposite direction.
"Watch it—"
The words died as Alaric stepped back.
Elina stood there, arms full of books, one of them now tilted precariously after their near-collision.
Her golden eyes narrowed when she recognized him.
"Of course," she muttered. "Why wouldn’t it be you."
Behind her, two other girls had stopped as well. One with dark hair pulled back in a practical braid. The other shorter, with auburn curls and an expression that suggested she’d rather be literally anywhere else.
The dark-haired one—Lily, Alaric remembered, looked between them with poorly concealed amusement. "Should we—"
"We’re fine," Elina said curtly. She adjusted her grip on the books, redistributing the weight. "Just Alaric being his usual oblivious self."
"I was walking," Alaric pointed out. "You came around the corner."
"And you weren’t paying attention."
"Neither were you."
They stared at each other for a beat.
The auburn-haired girl smiled brightly and waved at Alaric. "Hi! You’re Alaric, right? Elina’s brother?"
Alaric nodded. "Right."
"I’m Jasmine. Nice to officially meet you."
She said and extended her hand towards him, still smiling.
Alaric just stared at her for a moment but then took her hand and shook it firmly.
Elina then turned to leave. "Come on, we’re wasting time—"
"Wait!" Jasmine grabbed Alaric’s arm and linked it with hers before he could react.
"Wouldn’t it be great if your brother joined us for our study session? You know, for the upcoming exams?"
"No," Elina said flatly. She didn’t even turn around.
Alaric just blinked at this.
"Oh come on!" Jasmine tugged Alaric closer. "He’s family! And we could use another person. Lily said the theory section is going to be brutal."
"He can study on his own."
"But siblings should study together! It’s like... bonding." Jasmine’s smile was relentless. "Right, Alaric?"
Alaric looked at his arm, currently trapped in Jasmine’s grip. "Are you always this enthusiastic about things?"
"Yes," Lily answered for her. "It’s exhausting."
Jasmine ignored that. "Besides, Elina, you’re always saying you need people who actually understand strategy instead of just memorizing facts. I had seen your brother’s performance in class. He’d be perfect!"
What a drag.
Alaric’s mind was already searching for an exit from this situation. Study groups. Social obligations. Pretending to care about—
Wait.
He paused mid-thought.
If he showed off in front of them... actually demonstrated his knowledge, dominated the discussion, made them rely on his analysis—would the system count that as establishing dominance?
The system rewarded displays of superiority. Public ones especially. And what was a study group watching him prove he was better than them?
It might actually be worth the annoyance.
Before Elina could unleash whatever rejection she was thinking, Jasmine pulled Alaric forward. "Let’s go to the library! Come on, we’re wasting daylight!"
Elina made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan but followed. Lily trailed behind them, looking resigned to whatever chaos Jasmine was creating.
The library’s main entrance opened into a vast space filled with rows of bookshelves stretching toward high ceilings. The smell of old paper and leather bindings hung in the air. Students occupied scattered tables, some studying quietly, others whispering in small groups.
Jasmine led them up the stairs to the third floor. This level was quieter, fewer people, more private study alcoves between the shelves.
"There!" Jasmine pointed at a large table near the windows. Natural light poured in, illuminating the worn wood surface. "Perfect spot!"
She released Alaric’s arm finally and claimed the seat closest to the window. Then patted the chair next to her. "Sit here, Alaric!"
He looked at the chair. Then at Elina, who had taken a seat on the opposite side of the table and was very deliberately not looking at him.
Lily sat next to Elina, already pulling out her notes.
Alaric sat where Jasmine indicated. Mostly because arguing seemed like more effort than it was worth.
Jasmine immediately scarped her chair closer to his. "This is going to be great! We can quiz each other and everything!"
"Wonderful," Alaric said flatly.
Elina opened one of her books with more force than necessary. "Can we actually study now? Or are we going to waste more time with..." she gestured vaguely at Jasmine and Alaric, "Whatever this is?"
"Right, right. Studying." Jasmine pulled out her own materials—notes that looked surprisingly organized for someone so chaotic. "So we’re focusing on the theory section first, yeah? "
"Military history, strategic analysis, and tactical problem-solving," Lily recited.
They settled into studying. Books opened. Notes spread across the table. The scratch of quills on parchment filled the quiet space.
For about five minutes, it was actually peaceful.
Then Jasmine leaned over toward Alaric’s notes. "Hey, what does this mean? The part about supply line vulnerabilities?"
Alaric glanced at what she was pointing at. "It means if you cut an army’s food supply, they collapse before they starve. Morale breaks first."
"Oh!" Jasmine’s face lit up. "That makes sense. So it’s like... psychological warfare?"
"Essentially."
"Cool." She went back to her own notes.
Three minutes later. "And this one? About defensive fortifications?"
"High ground advantage. Forces attackers to fight uphill, expend more energy, easier to defend with fewer troops."
"Right, right." She scribbled something down.
Another two minutes. "What about siege tactics? I don’t really get why you’d besiege a city instead of just attacking directly."
"Because direct assault against fortified walls gets your soldiers killed for nothing," Alaric said. "Siege starves them out. Forces surrender without wasting your own forces."
"Unless the siege takes too long and your forces run out of supplies," Elina added without looking up from her book. "Which brings us back to supply lines."
Jasmine beamed like she’d just solved a complex puzzle. "See? This is why studying together works! We have multiple perspectives!"
Lily looked up from her notes. "Jasmine, you’ve asked like six questions in ten minutes. Are you actually studying or just bothering him?"
"I’m studying! Questions help me learn!" Jasmine turned back to her notes, then immediately pointed at another section. "Oh, what about this part—"
The questions kept coming. Some basic, some genuinely complex. Alaric answered them all with the same efficient precision, breaking down concepts, explaining tactics, drawing quick diagrams when words weren’t enough.
Lily started asking questions too. Even Elina, though she tried to hide it, occasionally paused when Alaric explained something. She’d glance up, listening despite herself.
[+50 DP]
[+25 DP]
[...]
...
The notifications kept appearing. He dismissed them with a thought.
Not bad for sitting at a table.
Time passed. The questions continued. Then his vision blurred.
Just for a second. The words on the page in front of him swimming out of focus before snapping back.
He blinked hard. Rubbed his eyes.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Alaric looked up. Elina was staring at him, her expression somewhere between mild-concern and irritation. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing," he said.
"You look terrible," she said flatly. "Are you sick?"
Before Alaric could respond, Jasmine leaned in closer, eyes wide. "Oh my god, you do look tired! Look at those dark circles!"
She reached across and pressed her hand against his forehead before he could pull back.
"Temperature seems normal though," she murmured, frowning. "But you definitely look exhausted."
Alaric leaned back in his chair, away from her hand. "It’s nothing. Just having a harder time sleeping recently."
"Recently?" Jasmine’s concern intensified. "How long? What happened? Is it stress from the exams? Or—"
"Two or three days," Alaric cut in. "And I don’t know why. Just... not sleeping well."
Jasmine gasped like he’d confessed to something terrible. She grabbed his hand with both of hers, holding it between her palms. "Two or three days? Alaric, that’s serious! You need to rest! And maybe visit a healer, lack of sleep can cause all sorts of problems. You have to take care of your health!"
Alaric blinked down at his captured hand. Then back up at her earnest, worried face.
He’d earned enough points for now anyway. And this was getting uncomfortable.
He stood, gently extracting his hand from her grip. "I think I’ve had enough studying for today." He gathered his notes and shoved them into his bag. "Later, ladies."
And left, heading for the stairs.
The moment he disappeared from view, Elina set her book down with a heavy thud.
She stared directly at Jasmine. "What’s your deal?"
Jasmine blinked innocently. "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean." Elina’s eyes narrowed. "You were asking questions you already knew the answers to. You’re not stupid. So why were you wasting our time..." she gestured at herself and Lily, "Making him explain basic concepts over and over?"
Jasmine’s innocent expression melted into a smile. "Didn’t you see how amazing he was? How cool?"
Elina’s brow twitched. "You think him explaining basic theory is cool?"
"Yes! He’s so confident and smart and—" Jasmine sighed dreamily. "And did you see his face? Those eyes? That voice when he’s explaining things?"
"Oh gods," Lily muttered, returning to her notes. "Here we go."
Elina stared at Jasmine like she’d grown a second head. "Are you being serious right now?"
"Completely serious!" Jasmine leaned forward, eyes bright. "I honestly don’t understand how you have a guy like that as your brother and you haven’t fallen for him yet. Like, how is that even possible?"
"Because he’s my brother—"
"Adopted brother," Jasmine corrected quickly. "Which means it’s not weird at all! It’s actually kind of romantic if you think about it. The adopted son, the beautiful noble daughter—"
"I’m going to hit you."
"Forbidden feelings, secret longing—"
"Jasmine—"
"So!" Jasmine suddenly grabbed both of Elina’s hands, clasping them between her own. Her expression turned pleading.
"Since you’re clearly not interested... can you maybe, possibly, help set me up with him? Please? As a favor to your dear friend?"
Elina yanked her hands back. "Absolutely not."
"Why not?"
"Because Alaric is already engaged!"
Jasmine tilted her head, genuinely confused. "So? Isn’t it normal for nobles to have more than one wife?"
Elina’s face flushed red. "That’s not... you can’t just—" She took a breath. "Shut up, you selfish bitch. And study."
"But—"
"Study!"
Jasmine pouted but picked up her notes again. "You’re so mean to me."