Side Story:
Sylphiette
(Part 3)
T ODAY, AS I FOLLOWED the Princess through a hallway, I overheard someone speaking nearby.
“Really, Cliff, you’ve got to lighten up a little!”
“Look, I understand the nature of your curse. And I do enjoy, uh… being intimate with you. But we came here to study, remember? If we spend every day in bed, we’ll end up totally depraved.”
“I know, I know. First we study, and then …”
It was Cliff and Elinalise—walking along together, looking very ‘intimate’ indeed. Rumors had been flying that the two of them were dating, which most people found odd, since Cliff was a very sober young man and Elinalise supposedly slept around a lot. People said that she was only playing with him, and Cliff was just too naïve to realize it… but watching them in person, it sure seemed like their feelings were mutual.
“I can’t say I was expecting those two to fall for each other,” murmured the Princess softly, following my gaze. “Cliff always seemed like such an obstinate, serious person. He refused every attempt we made to win him over, for one thing. It’s hard to believe he ended up with an elf with such an infamous reputation.”
The Princess then turned her gaze to Rudy. “He really is impressive, isn’t he?”
Rudy was speaking to the new couple with an awkward little smile on his face. Elinalise was smiling warmly back. Cliff’s expression was less warm, but there was something like respect in his eyes when he looked at Rudy.
I seemed to remember Cliff despising Rudy. But now that Rudy had helped him win over Elinalise, his attitude had apparently changed completely.
Come to think of it… was Rudy getting up to anything himself? He’d met quite a few pretty girls by this point. And he did seem to be friendly with a few of them. According to the Princess’s knight, every man of the Notos Greyrat line was a born womanizer. Still, I hadn’t heard anything about Rudy dating, or even making a move on someone. And I hadn’t seen him flirting with anyone, either.
It was hard to think he wouldn’t be interested in that sort of thing, though. That was the weird part. Back in Buena Village, he’d sure treated me differently after realizing I was a girl.
Was he trying to restrain himself or something?
As I was thinking this, Rudy happened to glance in my direction, and waved with a little smile on his face. It reminded me so much of the boy I’d known years before. It felt like my heart skipped a beat.
But he wasn’t waving at me. I knew that all too well. He was waving at Fitz , one of the Princess’ attendants. Rudy had gotten very friendly with Fitz over the last few months. He’d asked him for all sorts of advice, and Fitz had gradually earned his trust and friendship in return.
He wasn’t waving at me, in other words. He didn’t even know I was here.
Trying not to feel too sad about that fact, I followed after the Princess as she set off down the hall.
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