Chapter 23 Too Scared to Approach the Hero

Molly tilted her head, still smiling sweetly.

"Leon seems to think I have plenty of class. But I mean, what does he know, right? He's just the guy who carried me to the infirmary. And studied with me every night. And passed his exam because I helped him." She counted on her fingers. "And kissed me. And called me his girlfriend. In public. Multiple times."

Each word was a tiny dagger.

Seraphina's face went through several shades of red.

"You're lying!"

Molly shrugged. "Ask him yourself. He's in the library right now. East wing, third table from the window. You know~ He saves me a seat~" She paused. "On his lap~"

Celeste looked faint. Mirabelle grabbed her arm for support.

Seraphina stepped closer, lowering her voice to a whisper.

"I don't know what game you're playing, Moriana. But Leon von Sulis is the crown's most valuable asset. He's destined for greatness. Alliance with a high noble house, political marriage, the future of the kingdom. He doesn't have time for some... some peasant distraction who can't even perform a proper Holy Slash."

Molly's smile finally faded.

For just a moment, a single heartbeat, something flickered in her eyes. Something dangerous. Something that had absolutely nothing to do with the cute, clumsy girl they thought they were talking to.

"Aa-aah... they're so annoying. Stop wasting my time I could be spending with my boyfriend! Come on, get the clue already! Read the room, no one cares about your fan club, he is mine and mine alone and I do not share! God damn it! You better do not push this demon girl any further, princess."

The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop a degree.

Molly's voice, when she spoke, was still sweet, but there was an edge to it now. A warning.

"Lady Seraphina. I'm going to give you some advice, free of charge this time." She stepped closer, and despite being shorter, despite being outnumbered, she suddenly seemed to take up more space. "Disband your silly fan club. Leon chose me. He does not need a fan club."

"How dare you, peasant! A nobody like you has no right to tell us what to do! Leon is the hero! We, girls in his fan club had agreed to not approach him casually! There are rules to this!"

"Pfffft-haHAHA-oh wow, okay, let me get this straight. You're the president of his fan club? Like, an actual official club? For staring at him from across the courtyard and making banners and maybe, what, leaving love letters in his locker that he definitely doesn't read?"

Seraphina's eye twitched. "We support him in—"

"You support him from afar." Molly cut her off, pointing a finger. "You've been here HOW long? A year? Two? And in all that time, did any of you EVER walk up to him? Talk to him? Ask him how his day was? Offer to help him study when he was drowning in exams?"

Silence.

Celeste looked at the floor. Mirabelle's confident sneer wavered.

Molly's grin widened.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You just looked. From the side. Shaking in your little boots, too scared to actually approach the hero." She gestured at herself. "Me? I walked up. I talked to him. I made him laugh. I sat in his lap and taught him magic."

She stepped closer.

"You had ALL the time in the world. Years, maybe. And you didn't do ANYTHING with it. You just watched. Waited. Hoped he'd magically notice you from across the room." She tilted her head. "And now that someone ACTUALLY went for it. Someone actually GOT him. You wanna come and complain?"

She laughed again, shaking her head.

"That's not how it works, girls. You don't get to call dibs on a person just 'cause you've been staring at them longest. You LOST the race. Before it even started. 'Cause you never even got on the track."

Seraphina's face was purple. "How DARE you—"

"How dare I WHAT? How dare I love him? How dare I make him happy? How dare I be the one he CHOOSES to hold at night?"

She crossed her arms.

"Look, I get it. He's hot. He's a hero. He's got that whole thing going on. Believe me, I NOTICE." She winked. "But here's the thing, he's also a person. With feelings and stress and really bad study habits. And I was there for that. I helped him with that. I became his PARTNER, not just his biggest fan."

She pointed at Seraphina's fancy club badge.

"So you can keep your little fan club. Make all the banners you want. Swoon from afar. That's fine. But don't you DARE come at me with this 'you don't deserve him' crap. 'Cause I earned my spot. In his heart. On his lap. In his life. Meanwhile, you're still just... watching. From over there. Forever."

The three girls stood frozen, fuming with anger. Fumbling for come back.

Molly gave a little two-fingered salute and bounced past them.

"Byyyye~ Enjoy the show! I know I will!"

She disappeared around the corner, leaving three very angry noble girls in her sparkly wake.

The three girls stared at her walk away.

"This isn't over, Moriana. You will regret talking down on us like that."

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 LIBRARY 

Molly slid into Leon's lap with a happy sigh.

Leon looked up from his book, immediately concerned. "You're later than usual. Is everything alright?"

Molly wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into his shoulder.

"Just had a little chat with your fan club."

 "My... what?"

"You have a fan club, Leon. Some pretty, very salty girls who think I'm not good enough for you."

"Molly, I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry, because of me you were put on a spot."

She laughed, cutting off his panic with a kiss on the cheek.

"Relax, boyfriend. I handled it." She snuggled closer. "They're just jealous. Can't blame them, though. You ARE pretty great."

 "Did they said anything to hurt you—"

"Don't worry about it, you can forget I said anything." Molly pulled back, meeting his eyes with a warm smile. "I've faced scarier things than jealous noble girls. Like for example training with my father. You know, we don't have cute little swords back at home like these holy swords. The point is—" She poked his chest. "—I'm not going anywhere. Fan club or no fan club. You're stuck with me, boyfriend~"

He pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head.

"Stuck with you is exactly where I want to be."

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CLASSROOM 

Cedric arrived early, as always. The classroom was empty, quiet morning, perfect for a few minutes of peaceful review before the day began.

He pushed open the door.

THUMP.

A body collided with his, soft and fragile. A girl stumbled back, eyes wide, face flushed.

"S-sorry! So sorry!" She was one of the noble girls. He recognized her vaguely.

"Is that Miss Celeste? What is she doing in our class? I believe she's second year."

She clutched a stack of papers to her chest and fled down the hallway before he could respond.

Cedric adjusted his uniform and thought nothing of it.

He walked to his desk and looked at Molly's desk.

The surface was covered in dripping ink, cruel words carved into the wood with what looked like a knife.

"...What? Who would... The girl just now. It has to be her. That's petty, low, pathetic. Stooping to vandalism because you don't like someone? Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Some people have no class."

And then.

"Morniiiiing, Cedric~! What ya looking at, desk buddy~?"

Molly bounced through the door, her usual sparkly self, beaming at the sight of him.

Her eyes landed on her desk. On the destruction. On the words carved into the wood.

Her lower lip trembled. Her eyes went wide and wet. Her hands flew to her cheeks.

"C-Cedric...? You... you did this?"

"WHAT?! NO! I would NEVER—"

But Molly was already backing away, one hand pressed to her heart, the picture of betrayal.

"I knew it! I KNEW it!" She pointed at him with a shaking finger. "Ever since I told you my secret, you've been looking at me differently! I knew you were gonna use it against me eventually! Make me do things! Humiliate me! Bully me! I just didn't think you'd start with my DESK! My poor, innocent desk! What did it ever do to you?!"

 "Hey! I didn't do it. Why would I do something like this?"

Molly's eyes narrowed, still wet with fake tears, but something sparkled behind them now.

"Oh really? So you're saying it was someone ELSE who hates me? Someone who wants to tear me down because I'm dating the hero they've been too scared to talk to?" She tilted her head. "And you just HAPPEN to be sitting here, right next to the crime scene, looking all suspicious?"

"What? Now you're just bragging about dating Leon. What are you even talking about, I was sitting next to you this whole time. Since the first day of academy."

"Mmmhmm. Convenient." She folded her arms, sniffing dramatically. "Go ahead, Cedric. Tell me what you want. Want me to fetch your books? Polish your shoes? Call you 'master'? I bet that's what this is really about, isn't it? You finally have leverage over this poor, little, cute demon girl and you're gonna make her your slave."

"Oh my god. She is teasing me again. Why do I even bother humoring her jokes. She knows better than anyone it wasn't me and she still get a laugh out of it. Are all demons like that? How does Leon even endure her."

Molly stepped closer, looming over him despite being shorter, her fake tears miraculously gone, replaced by a terrifyingly amused smile.

"Well~? I'm waiting. What's your first command, oh cruel desk buddy who definitely, definitely didn't do this but is taking the blame anyway?"

She leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper only he could hear.

"Just so you know, if you ACTUALLY wanted me to call you master, all you had to do was ask. But now?" She pulled back, winking. "Gonna cost you extra."

Cedric buried his face in his hands.

"Please stop talking. We both know what's going on. Stop it, I give up, you win. Happy? You win."

Molly patted his head.

"Anything for you, master~"

"By the gods. It's only morning and I'm already feeling exhausted."