Chapter 86: Gossip

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: Gossip

The lunch hour gradually came to an end.

Students returned their trays before drifting out of the university cafeteria in small groups, their conversations continuing as they stepped onto the broad stone walkways of St. Albion University.

The afternoon sun hung warmly overhead.

Across the campus, students began making their way toward their respective societies.

Damian and Vivienne stepped out into the courtyard.

For a while...

Neither of them spoke.

The silence was neither awkward nor deliberate.

Simply the quiet that often accompanied two people walking in the same direction.

A cool breeze stirred the branches of the old maple trees lining the pathway.

Vivienne was the first to break the silence.

"We have the Foundation meeting later."

Damian nodded.

"We do."

"I don’t think it’ll be very long."

"Probably not."

"We’ve already finished most of the preparations."

"Today’s meeting will likely just be confirming tomorrow’s schedule."

She smiled faintly.

"I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow."

Damian glanced toward her.

"Our field visit?"

She nodded.

"After everything we looked through last Saturday..."

"The partnership records."

"The community requests."

"The reports."

She looked ahead, watching several students cross the central courtyard.

"I feel as though we’ve spent so much time looking at everything on paper..."

"...that I’m curious what it’ll actually be like."

"What we’ll notice."

"What we might have overlooked."

Damian considered her words before answering.

"Quite a few things, most likely."

She looked at him.

"You think so?"

"The Foundation keeps thorough records."

"They’re reliable."

"But records have their limits."

"They tell you what happened."

"They don’t always tell you what you’ll find when you arrive."

Vivienne listened quietly.

"I’ve attended enough field visits to know that every community is a little different."

"Even businesses in the same industry rarely operate in exactly the same way."

"The reports prepare you."

"The visit teaches you."

She nodded slowly.

"That makes sense."

"I suppose that’s why we decided to observe first."

"Before presenting anything."

"Exactly."

"If we understand how they work..."

"It becomes much easier to determine how our proposal can fit into what they’re already doing."

Vivienne smiled.

"I’m glad we reached that conclusion."

"So am I."

For a few moments...

Their conversation faded once more.

The campus buzzed gently around them.

A group of engineering students hurried past carrying drafting tubes.

Several members of the Debate Society were already arguing about something neither of them could quite make out.

The familiar sights of university life continued uninterrupted.

Vivienne spoke again.

"Have you done many field visits?"

Damian thought for a moment.

"Enough that I’ve stopped counting."

She laughed softly.

"That tells me absolutely nothing."

A faint smile touched his lips.

"I’ve been volunteering with the Foundation since I was young."

"Most years include at least a few."

"I suppose tomorrow won’t be anything unusual for you, then."

"The work itself..."

He paused briefly.

"No."

"Every project is different."

Vivienne considered that.

"I suppose that’s true."

"Even if the goal is similar..."

"The people aren’t."

"No."

"They aren’t."

The deep bell of the university clock tower echoed across the campus.

One...

Two...

Three...

Students instinctively checked their watches and then began making their way toward their afternoon societies.

Vivienne glanced toward the distant Humanities Building.

"I should probably head to my club."

Damian nodded.

"I never had the chance to ask."

She looked at him.

"Which club are you in?"

A small smile appeared on her face.

"The Literature Society."

She lifted a hand, pointing toward one of the ivy-covered buildings farther down the pathway.

"We meet over there in the Humanities Building."

"I see."

Damian followed her gaze.

Then, almost casually, he said,

"I’ll walk you there."

Vivienne blinked.

"You don’t have to."

"It’s a little far from here."

"It’s all right."

"It’s on the way to my club."

The answer came so naturally that she didn’t question it.

"...Thank you."

They resumed walking.

After a few moments, Vivienne looked at him again.

"By the way... which club are you in?"

"The Strategic Management Society."

"I see."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"That sounds like a club you’d join."

"It does?"

"It does."

"I can’t really explain why."

"But it suits you."

Damian smiled faintly.

"I’ll accept that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one."

--

The Literature Society’s clubroom was already beginning to fill by the time Catherine arrived.

Warm afternoon sunlight filtered through the tall arched windows, spilling across rows of polished wooden desks and overflowing bookshelves that lined the walls. Conversations drifted lazily through the room as members arrived one by one, greeting friends before the weekly meeting.

As president, Catherine naturally made her way toward the officers’ table.

Her vice president and secretary—both fellow fourth-year students from the Faculty of Political Governance—were already arranging the afternoon’s agenda.

"You’re right on time," her secretary said with a smile.

"I try to set a good example."

The vice president chuckled.

"As expected of our president."

Catherine smiled faintly as she placed her folder on the table.

"Has everyone arrived?"

"Almost."

"We’re only waiting on a few senior members."

As if summoned by the words, the clubroom door opened.

Three fourth-year students stepped inside together.

One of them laughed as she closed the door behind her.

"I’m telling you, the cafeteria was impossible today."

Her companion shook her head, still amused.

"I’ve never seen so many people staring at one table."

Several nearby members looked over.

"What happened?"

The first girl answered casually.

"Lord Blackwood."

Immediately, more than a few heads turned.

Even Catherine’s secretary glanced up.

"What about Lord Blackwood?"

The girl shrugged.

"He had lunch with Lady Beaumont."

Another senior nodded.

"I saw them myself."

"They were sitting together."

A third-year member blinked.

"Really?"

"Oh, it gets better."

A small smile curved the senior’s lips.

"He took a bite of Lady Beaumont’s strawberry shortcake."

Several students stared.

Someone laughed.

"You’re joking."

"I’m not."

"I watched him do it."

Another voice chimed in from across the room.

"I saw it too."

"He really did."

The first senior continued almost playfully.

"And then..."

She paused just long enough to build anticipation.

"...he put broccoli on her plate."

The room dissolved into bewildered laughter.

"What?"

"Why?"

"I don’t understand."

"Neither did anyone in the cafeteria."

"It was the strangest lunch I’ve ever witnessed."

Across the room, Catherine’s secretary frowned.

"...Broccoli?"

Her vice president looked equally puzzled.

"That doesn’t sound like Lord Blackwood."

"No," Catherine replied quietly.

"It doesn’t."

One of the senior girls—the same one who had never quite hidden her dislike of Catherine—smiled lightly.

"Perhaps Lady Beaumont is simply special."

Her tone remained pleasant.

Almost conversational.

Her companion smiled.

"I suppose she must be."

"I can’t imagine Lord Blackwood sharing dessert with just anyone."

The remark floated through the room as though no one in particular had been meant to hear it.

Yet it carried just far enough.

Catherine’s vice president glanced toward her.

The secretary did the same.

Neither spoke.

Catherine lowered her eyes to the meeting agenda.

Her expression remained composed.

Yet...

Her fingers lingered against the edge of the paper.

Almost unconsciously...

She pressed her lips together.

Damian...

Sharing Lady Beaumont’s dessert.

Placing broccoli on her plate.

It simply didn’t sound like him.

Perhaps...

The story had grown with each retelling.

Campus gossip had a habit of doing that.

Besides...

Lady Beaumont was engaged.

To Lord Anthony Ashford.

Damian’s cousin.

The Ashfords and Blackwoods had always been close.

If they happened to have lunch together...

Surely there was an ordinary explanation.

Perhaps it had something to do with the Foundation.

Or perhaps Anthony himself had joined them earlier.

There was no reason to think otherwise.

The slight tension in her expression eased.

Yes.

That had to be it.

Just then—

"...Oh."

A voice near the windows drew the room’s attention.

One of the younger members had wandered toward the tall glass panes overlooking the central courtyard.

She leaned forward.

"Isn’t that Lord Blackwood?"

Conversations faltered.

Several students instinctively turned toward the window.

Catherine’s gaze followed theirs.

Outside...

Damian Blackwood walked beside Vivienne Beaumont.

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the stone path as they spoke with an ease that seemed strangely natural.

Neither hurried.

Neither appeared uncomfortable.

They simply walked together.

At the foot of the Humanities Building, they stopped.

From inside the clubroom, the glass swallowed every word between them.

But Catherine saw Damian say something.

Vivienne laughed softly.

Then smiled.

A warm...

Unrestrained smile.

She gave a small nod before climbing the broad stone steps and disappearing through the great oak doors of the Humanities Building.

Damian remained where he was for only a heartbeat.

Then he turned.

And walked away alone.

Silence settled over the officers’ table.

The vice president stared through the window.

After a long moment, she spoke quietly.

"...I thought the Strategic Management Society met near the Business Hall."

Catherine answered without taking her eyes off the courtyard.

"...It does."

No one said another word.

Because no one needed to.

--

Tbc

AN: hehe what do you think? See you on the next Chapter!