Chapter 20.2

“Miss, you should at least dry your hair.”

Seeing me lying on the bed as soon as I’d washed my hair, Rita heaved a heavy sigh and handed me a towel.

Since I was also against getting my pillow damp before bed, I nodded in agreement and sat up.

I dried off my hair for some time before I stopped, looking up at the night sky. The clouds floating in the darkening sky looked just like cotton candy.

It felt like the sweetness of the cotton candy I’d had earlier was still lingering in my mouth. The same went for the chocolate cake, the chocolate chip cookies, and the vanilla ice cream.

Listing them all out like this, hadn’t I eaten way too much? I hoped I wasn’t going to get fat.

Gah, Arkhan knew what I liked too well. When had that kid grown up so much? I wondered.

Though Arkhan had done nothing wrong, I was suddenly very resentful of him.

Anxious, I rubbed my stomach.

***

The rest of the vacation passed very quickly.

I spent the time relatively well: I memorized a lot of formulas, did all my homework, dealt with Arkhan on his occasional visits, and read the books that I’d bought.

Oh, and I also got my cast removed. While a long scar as fine as a thread remained, it didn’t hurt anymore.

And just like that, for at least two weeks, I didn’t think about Noah. Mostly.

Was it because he was out of sight? It felt like I’d dreamt a miserably sweet dream for a moment there.

But the thing about dreams was that you always wake up from them.

“If you leave now, how long does it take for winter vacation to start?” my father asked, with a face that looked like he would burst out crying at any second now.

Slinging my bag on my shoulder, I chuckled.

“You better not forget to pick me up this time.”

Coachman Thompson jerked his chin at me to tell me to hurry on, so I quickly entered the carriage.

Outside the small window, I could see Dad, our servants, and the knights.

“Stay safe, sirs!” I said, waving at them with a regretful expression. Sir Zion was biting his handkerchief, tears streaming down his face.

I looked down to discover a bright red hardcover book in my hand.

Tearing my eyes off it to look outside, I gulped.

The carriage rumbled mightily over the unpaved road.

***

The carriage traveled nonstop for a full day and barely arrived at the academy.

The first thing I saw as soon as I got out of the carriage clutching my nauseous stomach was Dora’s face, who looked like she’d been waiting for me.

“What? I thought you hurt your arm.”

“What?” I asked back a bit stupidly.

Dora blinked at me. “I heard you broke your arm fighting a monster.”

“That’s already healed. Where did you hear that? Was that what Echo told you?”

I rolled my eyes in sheer ridicule and lugged out my bags at the same time.

“Ho, is that so? She was exaggerating so much, so…”

“How’ve you been? Is Auntie…”

It felt like we’d gotten the order wrong, but since we hadn’t seen each other in so long, greetings were now in order. But then I stopped and froze.

Two giant carriages were coming towards the school gates.

Each had the family crests of Count Ivy and Marquis Yurielle, respectively, so it was easy to guess who was riding them.

As Flora stepped off the carriage, her fluffy pink hair fluttered in the air behind her. It was a soft yet thrilling sight to behold.

And soon, Noah emerged as well. I won’t waste my breath with another description. He was blindingly beautiful as always.

When the two of them stood together, they literally seemed to emit their own lights. Even when people gathered like a swarm of bees around Flora and Noah, even in a crowd, they outshone everyone.

Maybe because they didn’t see us, they didn’t say hello.

Actually, no, they didn’t have a reason to say hello even if they did see us.

I watched them for a moment before I turned away.

Dora had been talking about her visit to the Lowell Kingdom.

With a broad grin, she said, “The aristocrats of the Lowell Kingdom are just so handsome.”

“Aha.”

No wonder her face had become so serene. If that was the reason, I understood.

As if she was reminiscing about her summer, Dora closed her eyes and giggled.

I was pretty curious too by then and was about to ask her for more details when she suddenly turned serious and spoke again. “Yo, I also saw that person.”

“Who?”

In response to her abruptly lowered voice and secretive atmosphere, I raised my eyebrows.

“You know, the upperclassman who went to the Lowell Kingdom Seminary as an exchange student last year during the second semester – the one who’s supposed to return this semester.”

Dora frowned, massaging her temples as if trying to recall this person’s name, then suddenly extended her finger to point somewhere.

“Right, it’s that person!”

“Huh?”

When I followed her gaze to where she was pointing, I saw a giant carriage as big as that of Count Ivy and Marquis Yurielle’s.

As well as the tall female student with platinum blonde hair, standing in front of it.

Though the large lion crest carved into the white carriage drew plenty of attention, what was even more eye-catching was her appearance.

Sparkling platinum blonde locks tumbled down her round shoulder line like a waterfall, accompanied by eyes of cold sea blue. She looked vastly superior as if she alone existed in this world.

Her shirt buttons were left open lazily and her tie was nowhere to be found but even that fit her appearance to the tee.

In awe of this girl’s blinding beauty, I could only blink in shock when suddenly my mouth parted.

Oh, I remembered now.