Calla appeared beside Don, who was blushing red.
His brother looked very flustered beside her. “I’m sorry, Ronin. I did not expect them to be walking around the grounds even after curfew—“
“We’ll keep your secret if you keep ours.” Edelweiss stern voice came.
She added: “Also, what kind of decent man would sleep on the same bedroom as a woman, not to mention a lady he’s serving?”
Don corrected her. “I’m still a man, you know. Just…. not in men’s clothes at the moment.”
“Of course, of course!” Calla clapped. “Well, would you mind if we borrow your lord for a bit, Ronin?”
“Just for one night~ I am so enthralled by this revelation that I simply could not pass the chance to hear the explanation for it! All those juicy secrets—“
“And as a fellow…. person of the fairer sex.” Edelweiss said. “It doesn’t feel right to let Don sleep on the same room as you. Let him experience to be around people of the same sex as him.”
“So….. There it is, Ronin. I being coerced to spend the night over their dorm room.” Don scratched his head. “I’ll be back by morning, I promise.”
Ronin sighed. “I suppose that would be for the best too. He’s not going out any time soon, I can feel it.”
Calla’s eyes widened at this possible gossip. “Who’s not going any time soon—“
Ronin tossed the crystal to the floor, and stepped on it..
‘This is going to be a tiring night…..’ He grumbled as he went outside.
When he opened the door, he saw Cermin looking over his books but at least not touching them.
Yet it was obvious that he was trying to behave while keeping his hands behind his back. His curious eyes betrayed him by showing how much he really wants to meddle around.
“Your Highness….. How did you get here past the curfew anyway?” Ronin asked.
Cermin turned to him in a bit of surprise. “Oh, I tried to sneak my way, but almost got caught by a guard. But I was saved by the bell when there was a loud shout at the girl’s dorm room.”
“Loud shout?” Ronin frowned.
“Yes, it was so loud it reached all over the school. It sounded very rough and guttural too, not like a lady’s shout at all.”
Ronin knew only one person who could shout so loud like that.
“Rabuka…..” He muttered under his breath.
Something must be up with Rabuka and Calla earlier that night, that’s why she and Edelweiss were outside past curfew, and caught Don along the way back.
He took note to ask Don about it tomorrow. At the moment….
“Don would not return until morning.” Ronin told him. “And it’s dangerous for you to go back to your room now that there’s no distraction to save you so…..”
Cermin took a while to understand where he’s getting at, then asked in disbelief:
“Are you…. Are you asking me to sleep over?”
‘Yeah, well, you’re going to eventually ask me if I didn’t do it first so. You’ll probably torment me until I agree too.’
Ronin sat on his bed. “I suppose, yes. As thanks for the thoughtful gift.”
“But no pillow fights. Or bouncing on beds. We can’t be too loud, there are other people sleeping in their rooms.”
Cermin nodded profusely. “Yes! Yes! I understand! I’ll stay quiet!!!”
Ronin felt he needed so much patience to survive the night without killing this idiot or himself.
And so, he breathed deeply to gain that patience and asked:
“Fine….. What do you want to do in this sleepover, Your Highness?”
————————–
“So you pretended to be a man in order to fulfill your father’s dreams of becoming a Knight, and not just any Knight, but the greatest in the Kingdom of Sephyrine?”
“More or less.” Don fiddled with his hair that was tied into a luscious braid by this frivolous woman.
Calla looked deeply fascinated by his story. “My, this is juicier than I thought! I simply assumed that you did so in order to survive among the male-dominated Spire of Warriors.”
“Well, that is partially also the reason. But there was one female Warrior in our batch anyway, and she’s doing fine…. Possibly because she was built larger than the average man and have twice the strength.”
Edelweiss soon started to pity him. “I see….. It must have been difficult for you, letting go of your femininity just to survive. I can relate to that very well, I sometimes had to not act too ‘feminine’ and feign to not like frivolous feminine things like pastel ribbons and fancy dresses just to appear intellectual among these men—“
“Who said I let go of my femininity?” Don frowned. “I am still a woman sometimes, and sometimes I’m a man.”
[0)??? “And at the moment you are a man?” Calla confirmed.
“Yes.”
“Out of choice?” Edelweiss asked.
“No. Just because I am. And just because I identify as a man at the moment, doesn’t mean I can’t like feminine things. Same with how I identify as a woman sometimes yet like masculine things.”
“So no, I did not sacrifice anything for this.” He turned to her. “In fact, I think I gained more from it.”
“Oh, such as?” Calla Lily arched her perfect eyebrows.
Don looked at this two, and decided to choose his words as carefully as he can…. But also remained as honest.
“The notions of gender…. About how men can be the only one who was strong and women as the only one was weak…. It’s not the fault of one side.”
“We can’t blame everything in men, even though it is true that they get to dictate many things most of the time.” He said. “Women do it all the time too…. Just like how you both assumed just now.”
“You disliked me when you thought I was just a man, right?” He gave a pained smile. “But I understood that, because back then, I would have too. I had the same mindset as you.”
“I misinterpreted what an old friend of mine said, and what she experienced. I thought she was the victim because she was made weak and turned into a docile lady after becoming a warrior by men.”
“But it’s not just men. Now that I see things in both perspectives, I realized it’s everyone. Everyone finds fault on each other, separating things into ‘sides’ just like in a Gridiron game.”
“When in fact, we’re all under the same rules, following those rules just to harm each other.”
He chuckled. “I guess that’s also why I came to dislike Gridiron now. What a waste of effort and risking your safety.”
Edelweiss and Calla blinked at this weird speech from this younger boy.
“Ah, I knew you wouldn’t get it.” He scratched his head. “I’m not really good with words and my metaphors tend to make people weirded out or confused—-“
“No, I get it.” Edelweiss told him. “And you’re right. Had I not learned that you were….. Born in the same sex as me, I would have never gotten over my hostility for you.”
“Hostility that you never really deserved besides the fact that you were a man.” She looked down. “I apologize.”
Don shrugged. “It’s alright. It’s a relief too since I get to have someone know about me besides Ronin and my family. Someone else knows I am a woman sometimes, haha.”
He added: “Actually, I’m really glad. I’ve never been in a sleepover with anyone, and my old friend is quite…. Old. Though uh….”
Edelweiss listened carefully now, expecting something even more profound than that speech. “What is it?”
Don made a face towards Calla. “Can Calla stop ogling at my breasts and then looking away as if pretending it never happened?”
Calla pursed her lips. “I’m not ogling, dearie~ I’m just not used to seeing you with a bigger breast size. I’m picking what dress and collar type matches your body well in case you’re feeling like wearing one.”
“Well…. I guess I do feel like wearing one with this braided hairstyle.” Don shrugged.
Calla clapped excitedly. “Wonderful! I have old clothes in my closet that would be just right for you!”
Edelweiss blinked. Calla just waved off all that just now, and so did Don…..
But what he said struck her, and gave her a lot of things to think about during this sleepover.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶