Thin Ice (M/M Transmigration)

Chapter 11

Like he'd thought, he couldn't sit around forever. Over a week later on a Monday, Cale fell flat on his face on Magdalena's bed and let out quite possibly the biggest sigh of his life. And Cale had sighed a lot.

He rolled onto his back and stared up at Magdalena's amused face. "I regret everything," he solemnly told her.

She let out a loud bark of laughter. Julius sat down next to him on the bed and Cale gratefully leaned against him, resting his head on the teenager's shoulder. He exhaled softly and basked in the warmth that Julius provided. Soaking up the affection that Julius so freely gave him, Cale took a deep breath and sat up straight.

Magdalena was sitting by a table on the far right of the room. It was round, with sturdy wooden chairs with soft-looking cushions on them. Magdalena looked elegant where she sat, her short hair falling freely around her face, her eyes focused on the pastries that laid on the large silver plate in the middle of the table. Cale stood up and walked over to the table with Julius following close behind. He sat down across from Magdalena on one of the four chairs, pulling out another one without thinking about it. Julius sat down on it, pushing the plate of pastries toward Cale.

Cale nodded at him and picked up three pastries that looked delicious, putting them on his own purple china plate. He then grabbed the glass pitcher of cold water and poured it in his teacup. Magdalena frowned at that, "You're really not gonna have tea?"

"It's not to my taste," he explained. Nibbling on one of the chocolate pastries, he tried to remember if he had ever seen anything like it in his old world.

Magdalena didn't say anything more on the subject, instead choosing to pick a few pastries with a delicate hand. Julius waited until Magdalena nodded at him before he grabbed six pastries (Cale supposed that they resembled cookies and cupcakes, but he wouldn't call them that) and put them on his own, equally purple, plate. Staring at the way that Julius looked pleased with himself, Cale's heart jumped in his chest.

He smiled brightly. "Can you eat all those?"

Julius shrugged. "If I can't, I'll take them back with me."

Cale nodded. His smile dimmed slightly when he shifted his gaze to Magdalena. She smiled back at him over her teacup. Humming, Cale bit into his first pastry, feeling it almost melting in his mouth. His eyes widened at the sensation and he swallowed it down easily, staring at the chocolate pastry that was in his hand. Quickly, he took another bite.

With his hand over his mouth, he chewed and swallowed it quickly, delighting in the taste. In between bites, he said, "This is really good."

Julius agreed, "They are. You bought them?" he asked Magdalena.

Magdalena shook her head. "My fiancé sent me them. I can't possibly finish them all before they go bad, so I thought I'd have a little get-together. If you're going to marry Calla, we should get to known one another. After all, I was once supposed to marry him."

"Yes, I know," Julius said. He frowned and stared suspiciously at Magdalena.

She reminded Cale of a shark when she smiled at Julius, "So, then, why did you ask for an engagement when you've only known each other for a handful of months?"

"Because I am in love with him," Julius stated.

"But you do understand why you seem suspicious, right? You're younger than him by four years, you're not the heir of your family, you used to dislike and mock him. You followed Sayer around like a puppy." Magdalena took a sip of her tea and smiled gracefully at Julius, her eyes sharp as knives.

Julius' green eyes blazed. Harshly, he bit out, "I was an idiot. I know that. I asked for the engagement precisely so Calla and I could get to know each other and decide if we want to get married. I know he doesn't love me yet, but there's a chance. All I need is a chance."