The evening before the public lecture, Enid was still in her office.

  She was just about to head back to her room in the Nature Tower when someone knocked on the wooden door.

  Enid stood up to open it, curious who would come by this late on a rest day.

  It was Eleanor and Esme, two of her students.

  Enid was a little surprised, but she still poured them hot tea and asked what brought them here.

  Esme was wrapped up in her thick robe as usual, her hood still hiding that doll-like, delicate face.

  Eleanor took a small sip of tea and got straight to the point.

  “Yesterday, my uncle already apologized to you on my behalf, but I feel that, out of courtesy, I need to offer a formal apology myself.”

  Then Eleanor bowed her head deeply.

  “I’m sorry my impulsiveness put you in an awkward position. If there’s anything you need, I’ll do what I can to make it right, in the name of House Francisca.”

  Eleanor couldn’t stop replaying the scene from the morning before.

  Bursting into the headmaster’s meeting hall, shouting, then losing control and hugging Enid while she cried.

  To her, it was mortifying, improper, and humiliating.

  Enid smiled the same way she had when they first met, but this time it was honest, warm, and unmistakably real.

  A red-haired girl who was usually so serious, yet could show that kind of courage at the critical moment, and do it in a clumsy, endearing way, who wouldn’t like her?

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Enid said. “Storming into the headmaster’s meeting hall wasn’t exactly the most rational choice, sure, but you stepped forward because you didn’t want me treated unfairly. I should be thanking you, not the other way around.”

  The reassurance worked.

  Eleanor was still just a teenage girl, and growing up in noble society had made her far too strict with herself about etiquette and rules.

  Enid didn’t want those pointless formalities to chain Eleanor down, even if she didn’t have a perfect way to change her habits overnight.

  At the very least, Enid wanted Eleanor to feel like she could breathe around her.

  “Besides,” Enid added, “from what I know of Antonio, he’s not the kind of person who can’t tell right from wrong. He’s the one who built this place and kept it running for centuries. Even if you hadn’t come, he would’ve made the same call.”

  Enid paused, then smiled faintly.

  “It just would’ve taken longer, and it would’ve tired me out. So don’t blame yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  After carrying that guilt all day, Eleanor’s tight expression finally eased.

  Then it was Esme’s turn.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen you come to my office with someone else,” Enid said gently. “Do you want to tell me why you’re here?”

  Esme was curled up in the corner of the sofa with her teacup held in both hands.

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  Enid addressing her so directly startled her and her small body jerked in place.

  She didn’t manage an answer right away.

  Eleanor spoke up for her younger classmate.

  “When I got to your door, I noticed Esme crouched outside. She looked like she was debating whether to go in. She tried to run the moment she saw me, so I brought her in. You can ask her the details.”

  Enid looked to Esme.

  When it was just the two of them, Esme had gotten noticeably better at speaking after Enid’s steady encouragement.

  But in front of someone else, it was obvious Esme still couldn’t easily open her mouth.

  Enid understood that completely.

  “Esme, I told you before, you don’t need to feel nervous or scared around me,” Enid said. “I’m not going to scold you, and I’m not going to look down on you. And I think Eleanor is the same. You don’t need to be afraid.”

  Esme still couldn’t speak, but she nodded, like she understood.

  She just needed time to work herself up to it.

  To help Esme settle, Enid and Eleanor kept the conversation going around her, easing her into a three-person exchange.

  “That reminds me,” Enid said, “since you’re both from ducal houses, only a year apart, and at the same academy, you should’ve known each other growing up, right?”

  Eleanor answered calmly.

  “I never really enjoyed the tea gatherings other girls hosted. When I had free time, I stayed in my family’s library and read, and my family didn’t object. So I don’t know many girls my age.”

  She hesitated, then continued.

  “The first time I really met Esme was at my debut ball a few months ago. We only crossed paths briefly.”

  Enid nodded, then looked back to Esme.

  “And you, Esme? Do you think you can try speaking now? No pressure. Just treat it like classmates getting to know each other.”

  Esme used the method Enid had taught her.

  A few slow, steady breaths.

  After that, she finally managed to push through the fear enough to speak.

  “I, I don’t really know other people my age either,” she said haltingly. “I usually just stay, stay in my room. I’m not very familiar with Eleanor…”

  At least she was talking in full sentences now, Enid and Eleanor both thought, quietly letting out a breath.

  Enid decided to push a little further and help the two of them really get to know each other tonight.

  “Got it. Then, Eleanor, what do you think of Esme as a classmate?”

  Eleanor thought for a moment, then answered.

  “Hmm. She’s extremely shy, and like me, she’s not great at socializing with people our age. But she can think, and her elemental sense is solid. And… honestly, she’s kind of cute.”

  Hearing that, Esme tried even harder to curl up into a tighter little ball, probably from sheer embarrassment.

  “Then what about you, Esme? How do you see Eleanor?”

  Esme’s face was completely hidden under her hood, so it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

  She seemed to be mumbling something fast and quiet, but neither of them could make it out.

  Then, still in ball mode, Esme answered.

  “V, very impressive… I heard my brother say Eleanor likes, likes reading, and she’s really… mature, sharp… not someone like me, a useless person, could ever compare to…”

  “You can’t say that about yourself.”

  Before Esme could finish, Eleanor grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face her.

  “How can you talk about yourself like that? You’re part of a ducal house too. You should have some confidence of your own, and you shouldn’t let gossip decide who you are. I didn’t praise you just so you could turn me into some measuring stick.”

  Esme was clearly startled by the sudden move. Her breathing sped up again, and she stammered without getting a full sentence out.

  That was Eleanor.

  She took real pride in being part of a ducal house, and in her identity.

  She’d grown up surrounded by capable people, her parents, her two older sisters, and even her uncle Jules, the dean of the Arts Academy.

  All of them had a strong reputation across the empire, and Eleanor didn’t want to become the stain on a great family’s name.

  But her ambition went beyond that.

  After a few days of talking, Enid had learned that Eleanor wanted achievements that made people sit up and take notice.

  She intended to keep pushing until, when people heard “Eleanor Francisca,” they thought of Eleanor’s accomplishments first, not her surname.

  So to someone like Eleanor, who loved natural magic and took pride in her family and talent, Esme’s self-defeating fear was hard to watch.

  Maybe it was because they were classmates. Maybe because Eleanor was the older student. Maybe it was that instinctive kinship between people who had real talent.

  Either way, she’d wanted to tell Esme for a while that she didn’t need to be that ashamed of herself.

  And with Enid nudging things along, she finally said it.

  She just came on a little too strong.

  After Enid gently stepped in, Eleanor finally let go of Esme, who had basically gone wide-eyed and blank, making little incoherent sounds like her brain had shorted out.

  It seemed Esme still wasn’t ready for Eleanor’s extremely serious brand of comfort and encouragement.

  But they’d only really been around each other for less than a week.

  Enid believed that, with a bit of guidance, the two of them would end up as good friends.

  Because deep down, they were the same.

  The difference was that Eleanor chased recognition, while Esme craved it.