Page 50 of Is It Wrong to Escape My Fate?
Claude opened his mouth to respond at the same time as Winston, when the door to the parlor slammed open, making me jump on my seat and kneeing Claude in the face. “Sorry!”
“It’s okay, baby —”
“Winston! I finally got the recipe right!” Vincent’s cheerful voice sounded in between gasps of air. “Last week I was doing my experiments when — Bea?”
The three Champions glanced from him to me, and I could only bite my lip again in response. Things just gotinteresting,didn’t they?
Chapter Eighteen
Who would’ve thought that Vincent Lovell was acquainted with Prince Winston? I should’ve, because like Samuel Grimwald, they were sons of powerful nobles, and nobles liked to intermingle. As explained to me by these men and Mia.
I really needed her guidance now.
“Lord Vincent,” I bowed to him. I would’ve curtseyed but at some point in the past three seconds, Claude seized my legs in his arms.
“Please don’t call me ‘lord’, it doesn’t feel right,” Vincent sighed, plopping down on the couch that Claude had abandoned.
“Prince Winston,” the butler that accompanied me entered the room, followed by two maids. “I apologize for the interruption. I tried to stop Lord Lovell, but he insisted on rushing here. He claimed it was important.”
“It’s quite alright. In the meantime, please be more vigilant,” Winston smiled at them, in a clear form of dismissal. The staff bowed their heads and left, closing the door behind them.
I remembered Vincent acting as a witness to whatever transpired last Friday, and I hadn’t thanked him for that yet. Now was as good a time as any, so I bowed my head again. “Thank you for helping me with that incident the other day.”
He brushed his hand through his bright blue hair, looking away. “No need to thank me. I just happened to be there as the scene played out. Your bodyguards are pretty good. Keep them.”I didn’t want to know what my twins did to the perpetrators, and I was glad he didn’t clarify.
“Ah, so you’re the third-party witness to the bullshit,” Claude hummed, turning his head on my lap to face the other guy. “I thank you too, dude.”
Vincent raised his eyebrows. “What in the stars above are you doing to Bea?”
“We will never understand what’s going through that man’s head,” Winston answered instead. “What brings you over?”
Vincent looked concerned, as he brushed his hair again with his fingers. I realized that maybe it was a nervous tic. It was kind of adorable. “I’m not sure I’m at liberty to say.”
The Prince lifted his arms aloft. “This is the first Champion’s meeting. And as an ally of the Champions, you are free to share your news. Assuming it has anything to do with your assignment, of course.”
I had no idea what the hell he meant by that. It seemed Vincent didn’t too, judging from the confused look to the shocked face he had. “Bea’s a Champion?”
“No, I’m the Caregiver of the Champions. I’m a special thirteenth member,” I grimaced. He probably didn’t hear Winston’s announcement since he was busy witnessing the bullshit thing.
“Her job is to care for us,” Claude added, not that it clarified anything. Samuel only smirked as he sat comfortably on his couch, one foot on the other knee, sipping his wine. Where didthateven come from?
“Vincent, the reason for your visit,” Winston steered back.
The man cleared his throat before sitting up straighter. “Alright, since you insist it’s okay. I finally made it. I’ve been having so many setbacks over the break with the potion you wanted me to invent. Experiments here and there, recalculating formulas, figuring out the correct ingredients. Last week Iknew I was so close to making the recipe stable, there’s just a little missing I couldn’t figure out. And then, due to a bout of inspiration, I made it! Can you imagine it only needed a few more wisps of air magic mixed in to stabilize it? The straightforward explanation of my computations helped me reassess it from a different point of view. It’s amazing!”
I blinked at him. “Are you talking about the explotion? Winston made you do it?” I made a pun in my head. Explosion potion. Explotion. Or a bomb.
Winston’s head whipped to me. “You knew about it?”
“First-years don’t have Alchemy in their curriculum,” Samuel added, eyes narrowing. “Unless you’re taking an advanced class? And what’s this about an explosion?”
Shaking my head, I could see how someone might misunderstand. “I encountered it by accident,” I answered Winston. “At this one greenhouse. I saw the potion brewing and the modification notes for a fire potion next to it. I read it and understood the explanations.
“And no, I don’t have Alchemy in my curriculum. I just … the math came naturally to my head?” I didn’t want to make something up like, “I read about Alchemy in the library”, because I didn’t know how guarded the knowledge was. What if that sort of information wasn’t easily available, or could only be taught by a professor? My lie wouldn't survive scrutiny.
Vincent was beaming and vibrating with energy in his seat. “She’s a genius! It’s thanks to her that I even learned about the mistake. One look and she figured it all out. Now I have a safe, working prototype that needs to be tested.”
The rest of the guys now watched me with newfound awe and respect, while I sat here, a little helpless because of Claude clamping my legs, and so confused and embarrassed.One,I wasn’t a genius. I might be good at math, because that was necessary for a programmer, but not enough to be called supersmart.Two,I didn’t remember pointing out any mistakes with his formula? I even praised him for how detailed and easy to understand his explanation was.
