“I’m s-sure you will find the b-best partner.”
“Me too! I mean, I will completely support your secret romance story!”
The two of them smiled at each other, feeling like they were allies in love, and could understand each other’s feelings well in this moment. Tessandra chuckled.
“You two are so cute,” she said. “So innocent too. Not that I wish you to have any bad experiences!”
While she spoke, all three girls became aware of Sabael, who had been staring at Tessandra for a while now with a puzzled, complex expression. Tessandra blushed a bit, brushing her hair back playfully.
“What is it? Dazzled by me?” she chuckled.
“You... have experience with boys?” he asked.
His tone and frown sent a cold chill across the table. Cessilia and Nana exchanged a look, a bit worried all of a sudden.
“Sab,” muttered Nana. “You...”
“Is there a problem with that?” retorted Tessandra, suddenly defensive. “Did you expect me to be a virgin? Are you disappointed?”
“...And with girls too?”
Cessilia felt a bit worried for her cousin. She could see Tessandra’s expression slowly sinking, and she very visibly tightened her fist on the table. From Sabael’s shocked expression and the silent anger rising, this was not going to end well... Next to her, Nana looked just as worried, and desperate to de-escalate the situation between them.
“S-Sabael, don’t be like this... Lady Tessa and Cessilia are from a different culture, of course they have different experiences...”
“If you have a problem with me not being a virgin and also being attracted to girls, you can say it right here and now, Sab,” snapped Tessa. “I’m not going to apologize or feel sorry for my past. That’s what it is and I am not changing it!”
The Royal Guard remained mute, staring at her with a stunned expression. It would probably have been less awkward if they actually began to fight, but because he wasn’t saying anything, both Cessilia and Naptunie had no idea what to do. They could tell Tessandra was furious, and that closed fist was not a good sign, either, but she was also waiting for him to speak his mind. Despite her temper, Cessilia knew her cousin wouldn’t be the one to get physical unless the situation really called for it...
“Sorry,” suddenly said Sabael, standing up from his chair. “I... I think I need to be alone for a while.”
Without adding a word, he quickly left their group and walked away, not even glancing back once. Tessandra, who had obviously been prepared for a proper dispute, turned to the other two.
“...What the heck was that?!”
Both Cessilia and Nana were equally at a loss as well. Nana looked the most surprised and worried, shaking her head.
“I really don’t know,” she muttered. “I’ve never seen Sab react like that or look so upset...”
“...Is it really because I’m not a virgin?” Tessandra frowned. “It can’t be, right? He must have had a few girlfriends, no? At least one or two...?”
She turned to Naptunie, who was slowly shaking her head, looking almost sorry.
“I don’t think so,” she mumbled. “Not that I know of...”
“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Tessa. “With those looks of his?”
“I d-definitely thought he was p-popular as well,” muttered Cessilia.
“Oh, he is! But I’ve never seen him interested in other girls before. I know of at least four or five of my sisters’ and cousins’ friends that he rejected completely... Lady Tessandra is the first one I have ever seen him close with!”
“I did have to force my way in a bit...” scoffed Tessandra.
“Sab focused a lot on becoming a soldier and Royal Guard,” said Nana. “He really spent all his time training for the past few years, even now...”
“You tend to be a bit... very single-hobby-focused in your family, don’t you?” sighed Tessa. “...Do you think that’s what this is about, then? Because I’m not inexperienced? Or because I’ve been with girls? ...Or both?”
“I really don’t know... I mean, we do have a... uh... traditional view of relationships in our family, but it’s not that shocking either if people have relationships before marriage...”
Tessandra sighed, clearly upset by this.
“Well, I can’t change what has been done,” she pouted, “and if he’s not fine with it, that’s it. I hate guys who think women have to be virgins for them, and that they are sluts if not! I grew up with strong, independent women who did not wait for marriage, and it didn’t make them any worse or better than others. They are even stronger! If he wants a cute, shy girlfriend, well, it won’t be me! He’s just an idiot for pushing his standards on me!”
“T-Tessa, it might not b-be what you th-think it is...”
“What is it, then?! You saw his reaction!”
Naptunie and Cessilia exchanged another look, but they had no response to that. It was hard to understand Sabael’s thought process when he hadn’t said a thing... He didn’t look disgusted or anything, just shocked, and he had walked away without saying anything on the matter.
“Should we just go?” suggested Naptunie. “All those... words we used got us some attention...”
Indeed, Tessandra hadn’t been very discreet during her heated speech, and several people around were glancing at the three girls with suspicious looks.
“Fine,” said Tessa, jumping to her feet. “I’m done eating, anyway, and I need to do something or I’ll keep thinking about it and it will annoy me even more.”
She quickly walked away and threw the leftovers of their breakfast to Krai. Cessilia felt a bit sorry for her cousin as she watched her scold the dragon and send it away. Things really weren’t simple when it came to love... Next to her, Nana leaned in to whisper something.
“So... we should probably avoid going near the Royal Guards’ quarters today? Sab tends to go there and train when he’s upset...”
