Chapter 6

– Chapter 6 –

“Five people? First is me, second is you, third is Kaiden, fourth is Eugene, and fifth is Daniel? Kaiden and I are applying to the Bureau of Investigation, you and Daniel are both royals so there’s nothing that can be done about that, and I heard Eugene is applying to the Bureau of Administration. I think it really will be like that.”

“Yeah. It’s my first time in such a situation.”

There’s been a lot of chatter among students about their choice of department, but that didn’t faze Lizen at all since she’d already made up her mind about her choice ages ago. In particular, there were many cases of students with mid-range grades trying to secretly dig for information on the first choice of the top students. Professors from each department were also involved in the chaos as they were busy trying to get the outstanding students to join their department.

As expected, Lizen also received her first offer from Professor Saphael to join the Bureau of Herbology. That was because she’s the only niece of the reputable genius of the Bureau of Herbology, Ruella, and also because she had great talent in Herbology. However, she wasn’t as talented as her aunt.

“Then, let’s study hard today as well!”

After watching Ashé disappear as she waved her hand, Lizen found herself a seat in the library. Once she sat down, she quickly finished her assignments, then slowly got up and headed on her way. There was something she had been wondering about all day. She strode across the library and entered the general archives, where there was no one but herself.

“Year 2170… Year 2170…”

The dream she had was so vivid that she couldn’t get it off her mind all day long. It was also awkward and uncomfortable for her to dream of Kaiden two days in a row. She combed through the death registers, in search of the year 2170.

“”Here it is.”

The records of the year 2170 were overwhelmingly thicker than those of other years. She coughed upon inhaling the accumulated dust and flipped through the pages one by one.

“5th April… Oh?”

Her pupils, which stopped on 5th April 2170, shook. On 5th April, a shockingly large number of people were listed. It was a list of only those who had the title of Lord or higher, so there were two or three people a day at most, but on 5th April, that number exceeded 100.

“Oh, this day…”

It is the day Queen Suzanna, the biological mother of Daniel and Crown Prince William, died. It was the day of the completion ceremony of Hiram Palace, a villa on the western side of the Kingdom. Since the King was busy with his affairs, the Queen went as his representative. Lizen heard that all the lords of the west gathered to hold a banquet, where a fire broke out, causing everyone’s death. She recalled that the territory of the Ruth Family is also located in the west, and a rumour suddenly came to mind; that Kaiden’s parents had likely participated in the banquet at that time.

“Oh no… What should I do?”

When she saw the list of over 100 people, her heart sank. Her hands, which were pointing out the names one by one, stopped at ‘Albert Ruth’ and ‘Natalie Ruth’. She stood still for a moment before shutting the list with a thud.

Once again, Kaiden was pitiful. Lizen’s breathing trembled as the anxious thoughts rushed into her brain like a wave. She wasn’t a prophet, she couldn’t have known the exact names of Kaiden’s parents from a dream she had by chance. All the circumstances indicated that she had once again entered Kaiden’s dream yesterday.

“It’s strange…”

As she left the general archives, she nervously bit her nails.

“It definitely said that it was just for a night… It said it was a one-time thing… Did I add too much? So that’s why it went on for two days? Since it’s slowly wearing off?

Then, tonight… It’ll be fine, right?

“It’s you again?”

Lizen was sitting on a bed. She was in the Royal Magic Dormitory, where students without homes in Ameniti stay. Kaiden was lying on the bed looking sluggish. Lizen took in a large breath. His upper body that wasn’t covered by the blanket was undressed and exposed. Lizen had imagined it, but at this moment, she found the fine muscles of his strong body were beautiful. In the ancient continent, people thought that men’s bodies were more beautiful than women’s, and she immediately understood why.

“U-Uh… Looks like it…”

She answered awkwardly and looked around the room. ‘Is this Kaiden’s dorm room? As expected, I must’ve entered Kaiden’s dream tonight as well’, she thought. There wasn’t any smell in the neat and tidy room. His school uniform, sparring uniform, and sportswear were hung on one side of the wall, and major books were piled up on the desk. Lizen took a deep breath. It’s a dream and not reality anyway. And Kaiden, who knows nothing, would think it’s just his dream.

Her gaze shifted to the side table next to the bed. Two framed pictures were neatly placed. One was a family photo taken with a young couple and a young man in a field, and the other was taken with Daniel at a training session in the Royal High School.

“That’s Daniel from three years ago.”

Kaiden, who was lying behind Lizen, muttered as he gazed at her looking at the picture.

“I thought that I wouldn’t be able to get along with anyone, but it seems like I was able to get along with Daniel.”

“Ah… Well…”

Lizen answered as her cheeks flushed unconsciously.

“Daniel is very affectionate and kind-hearted to everyone.”

“Affectionate? Kind-hearted? Is that how you see him?”

Kaiden grinned. Sitting on the bed, she turned around.

“There was no other way for me, than to get along with that punk.”

Kaiden, who was looking into Lizen’s eyes, suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to his side with some strength. All of a sudden, Lizen lay motionless next to him.

“…My neck hurts from having to look up at you.”

Upon hearing Kaiden’s words, she gulped. The reason why she couldn’t get up in anger was because he was talking about Daniel. Since Kaiden is Daniel’s best friend, wouldn’t she be able to hear stories about Daniel that she never knew about? She held her breath and lay down next to Kaiden, looking right at him. Lying on the narrow single bed, Lizen could even feel his breath.

“We were both in a state where our hearts were rotting away. But my situation was a little better. Since I wasn’t a part of that damn royal family, I didn’t have to try much to seem like I’m alright.”

Admission to Royal High School is in May. The fire broke out on 5th April. Kaiden’s parents and Daniel’s biological mother passed away. She was slightly surprised at the fact that she hadn’t seen the connection. Both lost loved ones due to the same incident, and not too long after, they enrolled into the same school.

“There’s nothing that time can’t erase… Now, I’ve forgotten all those intense emotions and all that remains is cold rage.”

His large hand stroked her wavy brown hair. Lizen was wearing a school uniform. Likely because that’s what she was always wearing in Kaiden’s memory. The bed was narrow, so when she moved slightly, it eventually resulted in her coming into close contact with Kaiden’s body. Lizen’s heart skipped a beat again.

‘I don’t have feelings for him… Anyone would feel strange if such a handsome man was right in front of them. I’m sure it’s the same for me when it comes to Kaiden. Besides, he’s unconscious.’

Lizen thought quickly and rolled her eyes. Kaiden, who was looking at her expression, smiled as his hand wrapped around Lizen’s back.

“It seems like you turn into a mute whenever Daniel is brought up.”

“Huh?”

“If you were your normal self, you would’ve thrown a fit.”

“If I throw a fit…”

Lizen gulped.

“Would you let me go?”

“Nope.”

He slowly climbed atop her. At that very moment, the blanket that was draped over him fell onto the floor. Fortunately, he was wearing underwear, but she could clearly see a huge bulge. He held her hands and pinned them to the sides of the bed.

‘It’s okay. It’s a dream, right? It’s just a dream anyway.’

She looked at Kaiden, who was looking right at her. His eyes were half-open, and she thought they were a little cloudy. The weight of his body on her felt somewhat good. His face approached hers slowly.

“Y-You can’t…”

Lizen muttered unconsciously.

“This is my first kiss…“

“In any case…”

His lips touched her own. Lizen shut her eyes tightly. ‘It’s a dream, it’s just a dream. This isn’t reality. But why is my heart beating so fast? Even breathing feels awkward.’

“…You won’t be able to do it with Daniel.”

She gasped and stopped breathing as his tongue pushed in. She couldn’t wrap her head around the feeling she was experiencing for the first time in her life. What surprised her was that she didn’t want to bite his tongue.

‘It’s a dream anyway.’

After her clumsy attempt at rationalising her feelings, she lost all the strength in her body. She was curious about this feeling, this sensation and tickling she felt deep inside her. All of which she felt for the first time in her life. She was indeed curious when she secretly read books or looked at pictures with friends about the relationship between men and women. However, since it’s prohibited, the thought of doing it herself never crossed her mind.

So she didn’t refuse even when his hands let go of her wrist and began unbuttoning the blouse of her school uniform. His tongue swept through her teeth and wrapped around her helpless tongue. His hand unfastened her bra and slowly climbed up to the tip of her chest. In anticipation, she shuddered. In fact, Lizen recalled every moment of him touching her chest the night before yesterday, especially when she was taking classes calmly in the classroom. She nearly stopped breathing just at the thought of it.

His lips moved downwards. His mouth, which lingered on her white and smooth neck, bit the flesh hard, creating a mark with his teeth, then bit hard again, turning the flesh a glowing red.