I was surprised to see the princess here. Although I knew she’d enrolled at Nova, I hadn’t had the chance to greet her until now. Still, seeing her among the students, so calm and approachable, felt... pleasant. Perhaps that’s why, without realizing it, a soft smile crept onto my face.
"Hey, Cyan," Erwing called from the table next to , "you can go now. Enjoy the festival for a few hours and leave this to us."
I turned to him, a little surprised. I assud he’d noticed I’d skipped lunch. Maybe he was feeling a little preoccupied, which I appreciated, though he’d never admit it out loud. I nodded.
"Thanks, Erwing," I said, and he just raised an eyebrow as if to say, "Don’t co back until you’re satisfied."
I walked to the back of the classroom, careful not to disturb the atmosphere at the tables my classmates were serving. At the back, a pair of curtains separated a small makeshift dressing room. I took off my butler suit, which, while comfortable, was not very practical for navigating the school—well, at least not for . I didn’t want to attract attention. I put my school uniform back on. Once ready, I left the classroom.
"What took you so long?"
A female voice took by surprise. Her tone was soft, but it contained a hint of nobility, confident, almost defiant, that I would recognize anywhere. I turned toward the hallway, and there she was: Alia.
Her eyes, a deep red almost like two burning embers, bored into mine. Apparently, she’d also found ti to enjoy the festival. She was wearing her usual uniform, although the bow on her blouse was slightly loose and a few strands of her hair fell untidily over her forehead. Still, she looked perfect... as always.
"Were you waiting for ?" I asked, confused.
Alia frowned in irritation. Casia could hear her smacking her tongue. Soon, she crossed her arms, and for a mont, a line of annoyance crossed her face. But before I could ask more, she lowered her gaze just a little... although her face wasn’t visible due to the mist seeping into the hallway, for so reason she looked like a depressed little thing to .
"Did you forget our promise?" she said, not looking at directly.
"Promise?"
I blinked a few tis, trying to rember. What promise? Did I tell her I’d get her sothing from the candy stand? Or...?
And then, all of a sudden, a mory ca back to :
So ti ago, during one of my nightti workouts, I ran into her by chance. It was quite late, past midnight, a ti when most students were already in their dorms. The school hallways were empty, dimly lit by the lanterns that floated gently over the crystal sconces on the walls. A cold wind blew through the windows, and the silence of the place was only interrupted by the distant crunch of my footsteps against the floor.
I had gone out to move around a bit, as I had been accustod to doing since I ca into this world. I moved silently, almost by instinct, until I saw her.
Alia was there, alone in one of the north wing corridors, walking slowly, seemingly aimless. Her shoulders were slightly hunched, her steps slower than usual. At first, I thought she hadn’t seen and considered simply continuing on my way, without disturbing her. She didn’t seem to want company, and although our relationship had improved over ti, she was still difficult to read.
But then, our eyes t.
It only took a second. She stopped, surprised, and so did I. There was sothing in her gaze... a slight reddish hue that contrasted with her usual paleness. I imdiately frowned, worried. Was she sick? A cold, perhaps? What was she doing out so late, alone, looking like that?
She imdiately lowered her gaze and tried to cover half her face with her hand, as if trying to hide. I didn’t understand why. I approached cautiously, not wanting to scare her.
Alia was always a proud person. She didn’t like to appear vulnerable, not even in front of her father, much less in front of others. Perhaps that’s why I hesitated before speaking to her, and also the way she tried to hug herself, as if she were holding back sothing—cold, perhaps? Just thinking about it made feel a pang in my chest. Looking at her that way reminded of... . Maybe not the now, but the from my previous world.
I stopped a few steps away from her, and trying to sound as natural as possible, I spoke to her:
"Alia... are you okay?"
It took her a few minutes to respond. She kept her gaze fixed on her feet, and for a second I thought she might look a little cute. "Wait, I’m thinking. Concentrate, Cyan. This isn’t the ti for that."
"Oh... yes," she finally said, her voice lower than usual.
She didn’t sound entirely convinced, and neither was I. I examined her; she didn’t seem to have a fever, but the slight flush on her cheeks was still there. And although her eyes avoided mine, her breathing was sowhat irregular.
I leaned a little closer, softening my tone:
"If you keep this up... you could get really sick. It’s cold tonight."
She didn’t say a word. She barely moved. She only shrank a little more, as if my words had hit her harder than she intended.
For a few seconds, I stood there, waiting for her to say sothing else. Sothing that would give a clue as to what was really going on. But no complaints ca, no excuses.
Just that silence... and the feeling that, for so reason, she felt more exposed than she wanted to admit.
I, of course, assud it was all due to a bad cold, because I couldn’t explain this strange behavior otherwise. It wasn’t unusual this ti of year either. Another thought that briefly crossed my mind was that she might be embarrassed at being seen like that by . Although I quickly dismissed it, it was Alia we were talking about. It wasn’t for nothing that the students called her the Ice Princess, even though her primary elent was fire.
I looked at her again with so concern. She was wearing only her white uniform shirt and black skirt. She didn’t seem to have her coat on, and with that cold wind blowing through the halls, anyone could get sick. Especially soone who insisted on not taking care of themselves.
Without thinking twice, I took off the jacket I was wearing and approached her. Gently, I slipped it over her shoulders. For a mont, she didn’t move. She stood still, as if the gesture had taken her by surprise.
Then she raised her face.
Like the first ti, our eyes t at close range, closer than I had anticipated. I could hear her breathing, slow, held, as if she too were trying to process that mont. Her eyes, that deep red like a faint fire, seed to glow with a mixture of sha, vulnerability... and sothing else. Sothing that made forget the cold, the place, even my thoughts for a second.
I felt caught in her flow, as if those eyes could read everything, even the deepest part of my soul.
"Cyan..." she whispered.
Her voice was barely a thread, soft, almost trembling, but enough to bring back to reality.
"Oh, sorry," I murmured, taking a step back awkwardly, feeling the heat rise up my neck.
But before I could move far enough, a warm hand closed around my wrist.
"Wait..." she said softly.
I stopped all my movents, my body even seed to freeze. I felt the breathing in my chest begin to quicken. I turned very slowly toward her, her warm hand holding gently, though I couldn’t stop its slight tremors. Her gaze no longer avoided mine. Instead, it seed to challenge , as if searching for sothing.
"Oh... really?" I asked, although my face seed the sa as always, calm and serene. Inside, it clearly wasn’t; my chest began to pound wildly, but I didn’t know what the reason could be.
"Maybe it’s so kind of arrhythmia scam. I should get checked later," I thought.
There were a few seconds of silence between us. Only the distant whisper of the wind seeping through so crack and the strong beat of my own heart could be heard. Then, without looking away, she murmured:
"Could you... go out with ?"
For a mont, I thought I hadn’t heard it correctly. But she repeated it again... Her voice, although soft, was clear enough that I couldn’t pretend I had imagined it.
I froze, surprised. I never expected to receive this kind of attention from her... much less at a ti like this. But there she was. Looking at with a mixture of nervousness and determination, still covered in my jacket, under the soft light of the night hallways.
And for the first ti since I ca into this world, I didn’t know how to respond...
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