Chapter 180 Pawn and the princess
The sun's golden rays draped over the enchanting scene in front of the academy gates. A young woman with flowing golden hair stood there, her hair shining even brighter in the sunlight. Her eyes, a captivating shade of pearl blue, darted around excitedly, scanning the vehicles approaching the academy. Her face would light up whenever she spotted a black car turning the corner, but that sparkle would fade as the vehicle came closer and it wasn't the one she was waiting for. This was Rebecca, the princess of Schilla, a dignified figure now reduced to an impatient girl. If the people in Haven knew that their princess had been standing at the gate, waiting for someone else since morning they'd laugh and simply call it a joke, but here it was happening right now.
"Where are they?" she muttered in frustration, her gaze following each car that passed her.
"I told you, that you came early," a girl with rich brunette hair next to her chided, glancing at her watch. "Knowing him, he was probably still sleeping by that time."
Ayla's words only fueled Rebecca's annoyance. She was eagerly waiting to meet him, yet he seemed to be casually lazing around at his home like always.
"Got a message from him. They're done with their checks. They'll be here soon," Bernhardt, who stood nearby, reassured them.
Rebecca's heart raced at the prospect of finally seeing him. She observed the approaching cars with even more intensity. The teleportation branch wasn't far from the academy, and with the academy's transportation, it would take around 5 to 10 minutes at most.
"You know, Amelia is with him," Ayla mentioned nonchalantly after another few minutes of waiting.
Rebecca shot her a puzzled look, but after a moment's thought, understanding dawned on her. They weren't about to arrive any time soon. No way, that foodie friend of hers would come here directly, and knowing that idiot, he'd simply nod his head at her requests.
"Alright, that's it. I'm going back," Rebecca declared, her impatience getting the better of her. "He clearly has no concept of time."
She had been standing here for so long, that even many students were coming out and staring at her.
'He really has no value for anyone.' She thought and turned around to go back inside.
They had known each other since childhood and after her awakening, they had only grown to be best friends. After her birthday, she wasn't even angry at him for breaking the engagement or insulting her, she was happy that he was there.
So 2 years ago, when the news that he was dead, and that too because he was trying to save her brothers reached her ears, she had been heartbroken about it.
That's why when she heard that he was back, she had been eager to meet him. But since she was away from home at that time, she couldn't come rushing back. Even after a month since then, this was going to be the first time she would see him face to face. No more projections on screens or photos; this was real. Hence her impatience from morning until now.
But who knew, it was only her feeling this way, that guy probably didn't even miss her or care about her at all. That's why instead of coming here, he's out there roaming around the city with his sister.
Her thoughts spiraled, and disappointment clawed at her. 'And my mother was suggesting that I feign interest in the engagement. This guy can't even spare a thought for me.' Irritated and feeling her time had been wasted, she quickened her pace, her footsteps echoing her frustration. She didn't even unpack her stuff and came here. But What a waste of time.' She thought.
"He's here." Bernhardt muttered. As he saw a car coming towards them. He was happy, as he could faintly hear Amelia's voice. He was about to move towards the side for parking when he noticed the car swerving oddly.
Bernhardt's heart raced as he realized something was off. Instead of slowing down, the car seemed to accelerate towards him in a zigzag pattern. His confusion cleared when he heard a girl's voice shouting warnings - "look out" or "move away"..
'Doesn't she know how to drive?' Bernhardt wondered incredulously as he quickly stepped aside to avoid the erratic vehicle. His heart thumped a little, as he felt the swish of air moving past him.
He turned and saw it going straight towards Rebecca, who was still walking without looking back. He shouted to call her, to move out of the way too. But Rebecca seemed lost in her thoughts, as she kept walking forwards. Finally some honking of sounds started coming behind her, bringing her back. She turned around, annoyed at who the hell was honking horns when she was already out of the way.
However, her annoyance turned to shock as she found a car hurtling directly towards her. She was about to shout at who was this idiot driving out from the road, when instead of the car slowing down, it started speeding towards her even more. She was about to unleash her mana to leap to safety when the car abruptly screeched to a stop, barely a foot away from her.
The heat and smell of the engine assaulted her senses, and she could only stare at the car in shock. She looked down at herself and after being sure she was fine. She turned her attention back to the car, hoping to take her anger out on this blind driver.
Amelia stepped out of the car, and started shouting. "What the hell was that, brother? You nearly crashed us."
Rio stepped out of the driver's seat and looked at the car weirdly. "How would I know? There's something wrong with this car."
"Hah" Amelia made a shocked expression "Wrong is with you liar. You told me you knew how to drive!"
"I did, once." Rio said, "I just forgot a little since it's been so long."
Amelia wasn't about to let him off the hook. "Don't blame your dungeon for this. You didn't even know where the brake and accelerator were." This shameless brother, instead of accepting he doesn't know anything, is blaming the car first, and is now using the excuse of being trapped in the dungeon.
Rio wanted to smile. It wasn't his fault at all. Whoever made these cars, switched the positions of brake and accelerator. This was also his first time driving; Artemis had never allowed him near the steering wheel, deeming him too young. And then at the academy he never learned it himself, as he was too busy training and doing other things to change his fate.
I mean, he already knew how to drive cars back on earth, as it was a stupid little hobby of his. so he never thought it'd be any different here and never learned it. But this stupid author never mentioned he spiced some things in these magic cars. They look the same as back on earth, but half the stuff is mixed up.
"Accept it brother. You know nothing about cars." Amelia said proudly. She finally found something where she was better than her brother.
"Hey, it wasn't that bad, right? I still didn't hit anyone this time." Rio defended himself.
Rebecca, all this time just kept staring at this brother - sister duo , who instead of looking around or apologizing to anyone, started fighting amongst themselves. When she heard Rio's proud tone that he didn't hit anyone, she finally had enough. 'This guy _. It is okay to not apologize, but this one didn't even notice that he almost killed someone.'
"Well, for a first-timer, I suppose it wasn't bad," Amelia conceded, still clearly annoyed.
Feeling angry, Rebecca went forward and slapped her head "Wasn't bad? Say that after seeing where your car ended up?" She looked at Rio "and you, did you sleep on the steering wheel or what?"
Rio looked at her, his eyes surprised at the sight of her face, which then broke into a familiar smile. He playfully waved his hand at her, his voice teasing. "Well, hello there, princess. Didn't see you there."
"Tsk" Rebecca just clicked her tongue at his jokes. Without further ado, she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around Rio in a tight hug. "You're such a jerk, you know that? Scared the hell out of me."
"What? Don't worry, you won't die from a car's hit." Rio smiled and hugged her back. Over the years, he did indeed change this princess' perception of everything quite a bit. One of them, being her cursing language.
"I missed you," Rebecca whispered, her voice choked with emotion, barely above a whisper.
"Missed you too, princess," Rio replied, his sincerity evident. Unlike some years ago, she wasn't his pawn to play points or pranks anymore. She was a friend now.
"Welcome back to the academy, buddy." Bernhardt came forward, as he patted his shoulder. "It's been dull without you."
"Don't worry. It won't be dull anymore." Rio turned around and shook his hands, as he hugged him too. "The fun's just gonna start now."
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A/N - okay, so done with fillers now. My bad it got dragged out more than i hoped for. But promise, let's get serious now. Man, it is a hard thing to do.
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