Chapter 20: Chapter 20 - The Encounter
They went to the cafeteria after obtaining Malia's personal meal card. As expected, the aroma of savory cuisine filled the room.
It was lunchtime, so the cafeteria was filled with kids eating in groups and some by themselves.
Since Malia had highly distinctive hair and Matthew was incredibly attractive, many students were drawn to the duo.
"This cafeteria will be quite packed when school officially starts—I mean very very packed. It's a good thing that everyone acts politely and follows proper etiquette which keeps everything in order and prevents anyone from being unruly out of fear for their family's reputation." Matthew explained.
Matthew showed her how to make an order and use her meal card to pay. Maybe Malia had high expectations, but she was disappointed to see that the cafeteria only offered roasted chicken, duck, other fried meals, steak, six different soup selections, sauteed vegetables, and various pieces of bread. Desserts were the only thing that offered a lot of variety; she lost count of how many there were.
Since Matthew mentioned that corn soup and steak were one of his favorite dishes, she placed an order similar to that of her brother.
"Let's sit there." Matthew pointed to a table that could accommodate four people. "But we can go to our owned shed if you don't want to eat here."
Malia's eyes widened as she knows what shed her brother was referring to, "You mean those 3 exclusive greenhouses that are put up for auction each academic year?"
"Well, there are those you mentioned, but what I'm talking about is the shed for House Augustus. Father mentioned it last year before I entered the academy, right?... There are sheds that were built for the 7 families who founded the school, one of which will only be accessible to immediate descendants." Matthew explained. They both were slowly making their way to the table he pointed at earlier and placed their food trays.
"It's not all that fancy, so don't expect too much. It is merely a simple greenhouse that serves the same security purpose as your dorm door. The gem will turn green with just a small amount of blood added. According to an old rumor, a son of a duke in Alitia carried out the same procedure 20 years ago, but when the door turned red, it was discovered that the duchess had been having an affair and the man in question was not the duke's son." Matthew whispered and seemed to be expecting Malia's expression of surprise.
"Hahahaha!" Malia's laughter grabbed some attention, and the room grew quieter., "I'm sorry Haha, I didn't know you were also invested in rumors."
"No, I'm not! I'm just sharing something that everyone in the school knows."
"Haha! Yeah, yeah, I believe you so stop pouting! Hahaha"
"Anyway, we can visit it later. Let's finish our meal first."
They were gently slicing their steaks when they heard someone call Malia's name.
A young man with clean, dark blue hair and silver eyes caught Malia's attention when she turned to her right. His hair was so dark that it could have been mistaken for black. Looking into his silver eyes was like staring into a sparkling diamond. Malia could say that the man is more attractive than her brother, or maybe on par with him.
What she could not understand is how, all of a sudden, she was unable to breathe and had a stabbing sensation in her chest.
Matthew looked at the man with an enraged look and spoke, "What are you doing here? There should be no reason to approach us anymore."
"I know" The young man briefly glanced at Matthew and faced Malia, "I'm here to personally apologize to Malia. I know breaking the engagement through a letter was very impolite and cowardly. I'm really sorry Malia. I don't want to hurt you… spending years together when I cannot reciprocate your feelings would waste both our time. I simply want to get this off my chest so we can both go on with our lives. I— "
"Alright, alright, you can stop now." Malia interrupted the man; she quickly understood that this handsome young fellow was Cedric.
She stared blankly at him first then continued speaking.
"Let me share my side as well; I apologize for imposing my one-sided feelings. But in all honesty, the only reason I liked you was that you once saved me and because you have dark blue hair. I swear, if I run upon another young man with hair that is close to black, I'll probably like him too. So… we can act as though we don't know each other or be friends, any option is fine with me."
What Malia claimed was partially true and mostly made up; she just assumed that OG Malia liked Cedric because his hair was close to black in color, just like hers. It frequently occurs for cliche romantic storyline reasons, such as the male lead adoring a girl who shares the same hair color as his recently deceased fiancé or something.
'Ugh who cares anyway, I'm now 'Malia', and my pride would not allow me to be labeled "the pitiful girl" or "the abandoned lady". Might as well get even with Cedric so that he would be known as someone Malia liked because he has dark hair… I'm not sure whether it would be viewed that way, but whatever…'
Her words appeared to have some effect because the people around them were gossiping, Cedric's expression appeared disturbed, and her brother grinned in approval.
Matthew thought his sister would cry seeing Cedric, but now, he can really believe that she totally moved on. He was really proud of her.
"We…we can pretend to not know each other." Cedric raised his head and sounded a little confident.
"Alright, Lord we-don't-know-who, we would like to finish our meal. Thank you." Malia sounded even more confident and faced her food to continue eating.
Cedric was at a loss for words, he chose to leave without any further comment.
'Thank goodness, he's gone. These troubling feelings are not mine so I hope I don't see him that often.' But in her mind, she cannot deny that Cedric was indeed good-looking.
Some people laughed while others made negative comments about what had just happened.
"Is she insane? How could she do that to a future Duke"
"She must think highly of herself because of her family's money but she's nothing without it."
"She's gutsy for someone with slave blood and hair."
Matthew looked at the group of ladies who were mocking them. Matthew made sure to remember their faces.
"Oh no! Do you think Lord Augustus heard us? He is glaring at us.
"So what? Why do you seem frightened?"
"Hey! You may not have heard the rumors, but they described him as someone who harbors tremendous grudges."
"So? Do you think he'll do something to us? We're nobles."
"Just smile! You'll never know what he'll do; last year, he was wronged by a noble family as well; that family collapsed because of him."
Other groups and individuals overheard the warning and decided to continue their own business as if nothing happened.
"You alright?"
"Of course!" Malia chuckled at her brother to assure him, "Why wouldn't I be?"
They carried on with their meal as Matthew decided not to talk about it anymore.
Matthew took Malia to their private modest greenhouse after they had finished their lunch. It was just close to the lake and other greenhouses with various flora. Some sheds were embellished with costly plants and statues, while others were crammed with various pieces of furniture that didn't fit well in a small shed. The sheds were equally 10 steps apart from one another and they appeared like rows of tiny houses close to the lake.
They came to a stop at a shed that is third from the main path. It was indeed modest and located behind the dormitory for girls. The large trees separating the dormitory from the sheds made them simply invisible, so Malia hadn't noticed them earlier.
"I like it! It's simple with just enough amenities for hanging out. Shouldn't we thank our ancestors? Haha"
Matthew laughed briefly and motioned Malia to move closer to him, "Come here and place your thumb."
Malia closed her eyes and clenched her fist, "Ugh, I hate this."
"I hate it too; fortunately, we only have to do it once," Matthew said and she nodded in agreement.
Matthew looked at the white gem, "Oh, thank goodness it turned green!"
"Of course, it should turn green! What?! Did you doubt that I was your sister?", Malia pinched her brother.
"Ow, ow, ow, I was just kidding hahahahaha, ow stop it!" Matthew pleaded.
She went into the shed while grumbling. Matthew showed her his practice swords that he kept in the shed. They spent another half an hour talking about the school since Malia was curious about a number of things. They were startled by a knock, and considering that the shed was built mostly of glass, they could see four young men waiting to enter. Malia noticed Ian among them.
"These guys really won't give me a break." Matthew sighed as he stood up to open the door.
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--- end of chapter 20 ---
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