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"Ah, Mercedes! I thought I might find you here."
Mercedes finished her prayer and turned her head to find who had addressed her. The lofty and articulate tone of voiced suggested that it was most likely...
"Oh, Lorenz! Hello. You caught me at just the right time. I just finished praying to the Goddess." She watched him carefully as he made his way across the chapel floor, boots clacking on the stone. He usually carried himself with a bit more pomp and haughtiness, but right now he seemed to be making an effort to approach her on... well, perhaps "equal ground" wasn't quite correct when it came to Lorenz. But he was a bit more casual, not quite as purposeful, with his movements. Of course, still in a way that suggested he was not used to such things. Very little about Lorenz was "casual."
"Mind if I take seat?" he asked.
"Perhaps not... so long as you intend on apologizing for hounding me the past few days." She kept her serene smile, but did little to hide her annoyance. While Lorenz was far from the only noble here who considered himself the Goddess's gift to women, he had spent the last few days trying to persuade Mercedes to accompany him to tea, or trying to carry her books for her, or just generally showering her with unwanted attention. Yesterday, she had finally put her foot down.
"I do indeed. I offer my most sincere apologies, Mercedes," and as he said this he performed a grand bow, "for pursuing you despite your protestations. While my intentions were true, it was hardly gentlemanly of me to continue my advances when you had expressed disinterest."
"I suppose I accept your apology." Mercedes had no doubt in her mind that this act was merely performative, done for the sake of saving face as the heir of his house. Hopefully, that would be that, and he'd leave her alone as far as marriage prospects went.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. Lorenz took a seat at the end of the pew, even though she had already finished her prayers and was likely to leave. Oh goddess, he seemed ready to start a conversation. As much as she'd like to simply leave, her outburst yesterday had taken a lot of her will, and she didn't think she could muster the courage to turn him away again just yet.
"If I may ask, Mercedes..." Lorenz began, suddenly looking much more sheepish than before, "...how did you know?"
"Hmm? Know what?" she asked back.
"Know that you were, ah... 'genderfluid?' That's what you called it, right?"
"Oh! ...I see." Mercedes was a little taken aback. She had been trying to casually dissuade Lorenz from pursuing her, saying vague things like that she was "not exactly a noble's perfect woman." When Lorenz continued to press the issue, saying that ohhh, but of course she was, she retaliated again, stating that some days she wasn't even a woman. While she hadn't wanted to broadcast her gender identity like that, it was a great way to get a lot of "traditional" folks to shut up.
It had certainly worked on Lorenz, who was reduced to a bit of a stuttering mess as suddenly all eyes were on him. She felt a little bad at first, but she'd had her share of arrogant nobility, so having him leave her alone would be a welcome change.
Here, though, he seemed genuinely curious, and almost sincere. After what he'd been subjected to yesterday, the last thing she expected from someone like him was curiosity. There was an earnestness in his eyes she had yet to witness elsewhere, and perhaps a bit of... longing? It reminded her a little bit of when Annie had come out to her as gay.
While she couldn't be sure, Mercedes was starting to connect the dots. If there were two things she knew about nobles, it was that they were stuffy, and that a lot of them were repressed.
"It feels a little dishonest to say that I've always known, but then it feels like I've been like this forever. I didn't like being confined to just one thing, and it took a while before realizing that I just... didn't have to be! Sometimes I feel like I'm both, other times neither." Lorenz, while still noticeably a bit nervous, relaxed a bit. Her hypothesis seemed more and more correct.
"I suppose that makes sense." Realization dawned on his face. "Ah, wait, have I been referring to you correctly today?"
Mercedes chuckled. It was refreshing to see Lorenz on the back foot, but with how vulnerable he was being she didn't want to alienate him. "Don't worry, I'm 'she' for the time being." A bit of tension visibly lifted from Lorenz's shoulders. "Might I ask why you're so curious?"
"C-curious?" Lorenz sputtered. "I am, ah, merely being courteous! Yes, that's..." Lorenz's face fell as he quickly seemed to realize that his excuse was flimsy, before returning to feigned confidence as he switched tactics. "Actually, if I may confide in you for a moment... I've got a friend who is questioning their gender identity."
Mercedes didn't believe in this "friend" for a second, but trying to push too much might only cause Lorenz to retreat, and she didn't want that. "Oh? Could you tell me more about this friend?"
"I, um, don't want to breach their privacy," said Lorenz, perhaps deciding he'd divulged a little more than he intended to.
"Lorenz, whoever this friend is, I want to help them, even if indirectly." She scooted towards him and gently took his hand in hers. "I know how hard it can be, being queer with a noble upbringing."
"I-I, ah..." Lorenz stammered. "I never said they were a member of the nobility."
Fortunately, Mercedes already had her backup explanation ready. "Oh! I simply assumed any friend of yours would have to be nobility as well."
"Ah. Y-yes! Of course." Lorenz game a half-hearted smile, before taking a deep breath. "This friend, he--well, 'she' I suppose--is fairly confident she's a woman. Unfortunately, her father has some very... traditional views regarding nobility. Which is typically a good thing!" Mercedes had her own opinions based on what she'd heard of Lorenz's father, but that was a conversation for another time. "But in this particular regard, she knows her father would oppose her identity, and... it frightens her. She wants to try, to know if this is real, but... she's worried about what will happen if she takes that chance."
"Hmm." Mercedes placed a finger on her chin. "Well, I assume she's another student, so while she's at the academy, she's got much more privacy than she would have back home. I think if she wants to try her new identity out, she should try it out among friends! If that's who she wants to be, then she'll have a support network for when she wants to come out. If not, that just means they can know for sure."
Lorenz seemed to contemplate this, before standing up. "I shall have to tell her that. Thank you, Mercedes!" He very much seemed to be back to normal, either invigorated by the advice or attempting to mask his feelings. "A shame things couldn't work out between us, but this was a lovely chat! I shall see you around." He then finally turned to exit the chapel.
Mercedes rolled her eyes. Baby steps.