That nap was unbelievably comfortable.
At some point, they didn't even hear the bell for the break between classes.
It wasn't until midday that they finally woke up—slowly—and even then, they did it in perfect sync.
Luke opened his eyes, his mind still hazy with that just-woke-up fog, and sat up.
Right next to him, Lady Crownguard sat up at the exact same time, bleary-eyed.
Neither of them spoke. They just sat there, zoning out for a while.
It wasn't until Luke let out a yawn that they were pulled back from their blank stares.
"What time is it?" Lux turned her head and asked, dazed.
Luke shook his head and glanced at the light outside. "Probably noon."
"I'm hungry."
"Same."
Luke got to his feet, his brain mostly awake now. He stretched, shaking off the last bit of sluggishness.
Lunch time should be about right.
Lux had slept deeply too. She tidied up her slightly messy hair, and the emptiness in her eyes faded—brightening into a lively, energetic look again.
Looking around, she even felt a strange sense of unreality.
She couldn't believe she'd actually skipped class!
And then slept inside the academy.
Just thinking about it made her excited.
"Lady Laurent, do you want to come eat with us?"
"No need."
"Alright then. Bye."
"Bye."
They said goodbye to Fiora, who was still on duty in the library, and left.
Fiora watched their backs for a moment, then lowered her head and went back to reading.
The Royal Academy had a cafeteria specifically for students.
As they walked, Lux suddenly remembered something and quickened her pace. "We have to hurry!"
"Why?" Luke sped up with her, curious.
Lux's expression turned deadly serious. "The cafeteria's desserts are limited every day. Only the people who get there first get to have them."
Luke had no idea why they'd run things like that.
But hearing it, his own expression also grew serious.
Silently, he sped up again.
Lux didn't even react in time before he pulled a small gap between them.
She hurried after him.
By the time they reached the cafeteria, there weren't many students left, as if it had been a while since the last class of the morning ended.
Right now, that wasn't the point.
The moment they stepped inside, their eyes locked onto the very last slice of cake on the dessert display—its bright red strawberry gleaming with an irresistible shine.
Only one left?
Luke suddenly sighed with emotion. "Lady Crownguard, I feel like after spending the whole morning together, we're partners who've shared life and death. Don't you agree?"
As he spoke, he walked toward the dessert display.
"I feel the same way, Your Highness. Having a friend like you is truly an honor," Lux replied with a smile, heading for the display as well.
"Ever since I came to the capital, I've always seen you as my best friend."
"Me too."
"There's only one piece of cake left."
"Yeah."
"In that case, I'll give it to you."
"Then why are you still speeding up, Your Highness?"
"I just want to personally hand it to you. Could you stop yanking my clothes?"
Luke wanted to accelerate, but Lux—clearly prepared—had a death grip on his clothing.
"Quit pretending!" Lux's smile vanished. She glared at Luke viciously. "Are you trying to keep that cake all for yourself?"
Seeing he couldn't talk his way out of it, Luke let out a helpless sigh.
"There are two of us, but only one slice of cake. Are you willing to accept splitting it into two?"
"No! A cake cut into two can't be called a cake!"
Lux said it with absolute conviction.
"Then there's no choice." Luke offered the simplest solution. "We settle it with rock-paper-scissors."
Lux nodded at the proposal. "Fine! One round—winner takes all!"
They got ready.
Luke clenched his fist and looked at the Lady Crownguard across from him, coiled and ready to strike. Then he suddenly smiled. "Next, I'm going to throw rock."
Lux had already been prepared to just gamble on luck, but hearing Luke say that made her hesitate.
Luke didn't give her time to think. "Rock, paper—"
In the two seconds before hands came down, a full-on brainstorming storm erupted in Lady Crownguard's head!
He said he's throwing rock.
If I throw paper, I win. But if he said that on purpose, is it bait to make me throw paper?
Then he'd throw scissors and win. In that case, the real correct move would be rock.
In the first second, that conclusion formed.
But then she noticed the satisfied little grin in Luke's eyes.
Wait!
Maybe that's his real plan!
He says he'll throw rock, so I end up deciding to throw rock.
And the moment I throw rock, he'll casually throw paper and win.
Ugh. That's so dirty!
In the second second, Lady Crownguard overturned her first conclusion.
So does that mean I should throw scissors?
But what if he really does throw rock?
Damn it, I can't tell—I seriously can't tell!
Lux's CPU was smoking. In two short seconds, her brain processed information like it was about to explode—predicting, predicting, and predicting again.
"Paper!"
As the last word fell, both of them dropped their hands.
Lux froze in place.
She stared at her own scissors… and Luke's rock, and went completely blank.
"Looks like Lady Crownguard still wasn't willing to believe me," Luke sighed calmly. He took the last slice of cake from the dessert display. "So this is the price of not trusting me."
"Damn it! Maybe I would if you didn't lie to me all the time!" Lux ground her teeth, glaring at him in pure frustration.
This guy was full of smooth talk nonstop. She never knew whether she was supposed to believe him or not!
So annoying!
She'd wanted to throw paper at the start, too.
After a while—
At the dining table.
In an excellent mood, Luke decided to eat his "after-meal" dessert before the meal.
Beside him, Lux's big eyes clung to that strawberry cake with heartbreaking reluctance.
Today, she hadn't had her dessert nutrition yet.
When someone looks that pitiful… who could possibly withstand it?
Luke sighed. "Stop looking at me like that. Fine—then I'll give you a tiny, tiny bit of whipped cream so you can at least taste it."
"Get lost!" Lux instantly snapped, glaring at him.
The next second, she made a firm decision—turn grief into appetite!
Staring at the food on the table, she imagined it was all Luke. She viciously cut it apart with her knife and fork, shoved it into her mouth, and chewed hard.
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