Chapter Text
Ginevra Renouard had no right to complain about the life she had and she knew it. She had known since she was a child that she had a very comfortable and safe life, even by the standards of the nobility. She grew up knowing the weight that her family name held, the importance that her father and uncles had as advisors to the current King, Augustus Kira Clover XIII. Since she was a little girl, she had noticed how everyone knew that she was a Renouard even if she had not said her name, because people recognized from afar the sky blue color of her eyes and the unmistakable blue tone that was on the perfect verge of turning into purple, of her hair.
Ginevra was not a stupid child, she heard the whispers of the adults, she knew then how the nobility feared the “unpredictability” of her family. The “retaliation” they carried out against people who did something to offend them became legendary, a true signature mark, worthy of a House in service to royalty.
They became people the nobility wanted to gain attention from, they could put them in the right places, they could introduce them to the right people, life could be comfortable for those who stayed on their good side. Ginevra always knew it was a risk for her family to get close to someone who could use them, because of the advantages they provided. But she never thought she would be the target for a quick shortcut.
Not when she had withdrawn from the noble events at the age of twelve—attending only occasional balls and birthdays, and only because her childhood friends David or Sawyer asked for her company.
Sawyer was the one who invited her the most, even though he knew she would reject most of his invitations. He didn't seem to want to understand that her withdrawal from these social circles was due to other priorities. Even because Ettore, her brother a year younger than her, had shown much more interest in being at these events, Ettore seemed to have a natural charm, the same charm that their father had.
Ginevra, on the other hand, had wanted to be a Magic Knight like her grandfather ever since she heard him tell her about his adventures. She was not deliberately sacrificing her political life or the responsibilities inherent to her House's name; she was encouraged by all her family to pursue her own priorities.
“That should have been your biggest warning, shouldn’t it?” She chided herself because it was much easier to see small red flags in her path when the biggest one of all was already flying at the mast.
The chaos that inhabited her being spread throughout that room, Sawyer residence, located in the southernmost part of Tota, close to the hills.
They had had many conversations about this house ever since Sawyer proposed to her on her 16th birthday. He had always been so adamant about saying that he didn't want to uproot her from his family's main mansion, she would be hours away from all of them if she moved out.
“You’ve barely seen your family’s children grow up since you joined the squad. It wouldn’t be fair to your family if we lived so far away,” Sawyer said, and when he thought she was too opposed to his “suggestion,” he appealed to a well-known weakness. After all, they were in a relationship, so it was only natural that he knew what her dreams were. “Our children would be away from all of them, Ginevra. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
Sawyer may have convinced her to move, but there were two other things he could never convince her of. And now, as she held the box with all her stupid gifts, and thought about how she would tell her now-in-laws how their son had broken her heart like it was nothing, she couldn't help but feel grateful to herself. Not agreeing to move up their wedding even with the possibility of a legal release was the best thing she had done for herself, and the second best thing she had done to keep her former mother-in-law's face intact after the nonsense she had just heard was to drop the box with the gifts on the floor.
Being told “it’s your fault” after telling how she saw Sawyer kissing another girl in Nairn, in front of the church after seeing them leaving a local shop, was like being slapped.
And hearing her former father-in-law complement her unhappy speech with “you should know what your absence would cause” really left her mouth bitter.
Ginevra Renouard had heard on more than one occasion how he always seemed to have an answer for everything, but for the first time in her life she was completely speechless, because those words came from people who had lived with her and her family since she was 11 years old.
Only 11 years old, they were only 11 years old when she saw him for the first time and she thought she had found the prince charming from her children’s books, because Sawyer was so kind, so attentive, they never fought when they played together, he had no difficulty at all in becoming friends with Ettore and David.
But Sawyer seemed to get annoyed with David as they grew older, never being stupid enough to say outright that she didn't want him around, but creating disagreements or schedules that would leave him absent for a few hours. She didn't like that, and that was the reason for their first fight, and Sawyer seemed to understand, at least for a while, how David was a permanent part of her life. That was until they passed the Magic Knights selection and joined the same squad. By then, Sawyer and she were already dating, and perhaps because he occupied a special place in his heart, he felt more encouraged to express his "fears" with the closeness they had.
Fears, as if David were anything more than a brother to her. And that was the reason for the second but last fight they had, because Sawyer had no choice but to resign herself to the fact that David was NOT leaving her life, especially now that they were living their dream as Magic Knights. Ginevra would not deny the satisfaction she felt in seeing him personally go to her squadron, asking for forgiveness not only from her but also from David in the garden at the entrance to the Dawn, in front of the other colleagues who were there — because she would not grant him the generosity of a private conversation after having heard so much nonsense. That was the last time they fought, because Ginevra was not considering today's events as a disagreement, in a disagreement in the relationship it was possible to reach an agreement that benefited both sides, but in the face of a betrayal she could only see closure.
Thinking about the devil should have given her the strength to draw him out, because while Ettore was arguing with his old father-in-law, her ex-fiancé walked through the door. Her nose had been broken by the punch she had given herself while wearing her overly ostentatious engagement ring for the last time, with more precious stones than she thought necessary. She had ignored her own taste in accepting that ring, imagining that Sawyer was being overly dedicated to impressing her, even though that was never necessary. Ginevra had grown up with jewelry and luxuries that a child did not need, she had more clothes and shoes than she would ever need to wear in her life, she would have been happy with even a copper ring, as long as it was a gift given out of genuine affection.
“Ginevra, you have to understand, I was devastated when I heard about you and David.”
You and David. She couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. Would Sawyer Baumer really try to shift the blame onto her?
“I acted in anger because of the rumors I heard.”
Oh, he really was trying to shift the blame onto her, and he was making such a horrible insinuation.
“I can forgive you, we can get through this.”
This made something snap, poetically she could say it was her heart that was finally breaking, realistically, she knew, it was that spark she had heard so much about her family possessing. That nerve that every Renouard seemed to have inside them and if pressed too much, it would unleash a horror show. Especially when House Renouard had a motto: Family is everything. And these words were not used merely for the purpose of appealing to sentimentality, as the nobility might think at first, for the members of House Renouard, Family is everything, it is a duty, a moral compass, an unquestionable commitment for them.
So, when she felt that same nerve snap, she knew she was not the only one, not when she was not the only Renouard in that room.
She wanted to fool herself by telling herself that the tears she was shedding were making the scene in front of her so confusing that she could not tell when her former father-in-law fell unconscious on the floor. She wanted to lie to herself that her former mother-in-law's frightened scream didn't send shivers down her spine, and she wanted to pretend that she didn't feel satisfaction in seeing Sawyer crumple at her feet after being struck.
Amidst the cacophony, a lit candelabra fell to the floor, onto the beautiful dark fur carpet, and the cries for help grew louder.
Her brother's hand trembled even though he was holding her wrist tightly as he pulled her out of that mansion, the sound of the door slamming behind her partially muffled her former mother-in-law's alarmed screams.
And as she let herself be carried away by Ettore, she saw the trail of ice that was left behind with each step Ettore took.