Felix’s rival, Yule, targets Aurora, and Felix magically rushes in to protect her. Anger and alcohol lead to a brawl, and though the scuffle is brought to an end by the arrival of the princess, the characters are left to deal with their aftermath of their burgeoning feelings.
Yes, even Yule. And by the end of the volume, both Felix and Aurora are skeeved out by him.
Let’s get one thing out of the way: my complaints about the flow of the manga still isn’t great. After the party, Felix and Aurora have one of their usual casual dates, and they soon meet up with the prince to discuss Aurora’s magical embroidery. Then it’s summer and the main couple haven’t seen each other much and then (as we are told) not at all for the past two weeks. Then Felix and Yule appear, and then it’s another date followed by a meeting with the prince. We as readers know Aurora is at least starting to fall (if not already) in love with Felix, but her changing feelings would be easier to understand if the manga would do better with the timeline.
Of course, Aurora has never disliked Felix or anything, but Felix becomes more and more outwardly affectionate each chapter. Aurora doesn’t get that kind of progression; it’s more like she goes from being bewildered by his behavior to missing it. I can understand if the story doesn’t want to cover every “normal” week, but even a small, dialogue-less montage with the two of them would have helped emphasize the passage of time.
Plus, Aurora’s feelings toward Felix is a critical part of the direction of the story. Aurora is invited to live in The Tower, a prestigious facility where mages can devote themselves to the study and pursuit of magic. There, Aurora could embroider as much as she wants without worrying about time or supplies. But those in The Tower must renounce their family name and have little access to the outside world. Aurora wouldn’t have to live there permanently, but it’s implied not to be a short-term gig. The prince, a mage himself, wants Aurora at The Tower, but he also knows her engagement with Felix is going to make the decision difficult.
So this along with Yule give Felix reasons to be even more upfront with Aurora about how he feels, but Felix is unsure of how to make their engagement official (or redo his proposal). Not that he’s been exactly subtle with sitting so close to Aurora and hugging her several times. Still, Felix does want to make it clear how he feels; he just agonizes over his lack of social skills.
While I don’t think readers doubt that Aurora will turn down the offer to join The Tower (outside of getting special permissions), perhaps Aurora’s magical abilities will play a larger part in the story than I would have thought. Surprising, especially considering how poorly this series introduced the fantasy elements. But still, Felix is going to be the big draw with his adorkableness despite Aurora still being a likable protagonist.