Chapter 37.2

I hope he’s thinking of me. That was the sentence I had thought of the most during this one year of unrequited love.

But could there be a chance for sunbae and me? We could get along as acquaintances, but honestly, even I did not think we would make a good couple. Not because I didn’t like him, but because we were from different classes. Noah sunbae was the son of a prestigious family in the capital, while I was the daughter of a lord from the outskirts. Our difference in status was so big as to be galactic. There was even a rumour that he had been nominated for the position of imperial wizard. If that was true, we would be separated once he graduated.

Let’s say things worked out for us and we were able to get married. I have to carry on the family line [as the only child]. But would someone like Noah sunbae agree to marry into my family? Would Marquis Yuriel even agree to let him marry me? [3]

……Ah, here I am getting ahead of myself again. What am I even doing? I said I would give up.

I awkwardly twisted my hair.

Was I really thinking of sunbae and me getting married? How embarrassing was that?

Just in time, other sunbaes arrived and I banished my flights of fancy.

* * *

Flora sunbae seemed to be in a good mood these days. Things must be going really well between her and her partner. I turned around as I watched her go farther away, holding her boyfriend’s hand. I felt a little heartsore thinking of the day when she would be sad, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“It’s a bird……”

Did it fly into the academy? It was so pretty.

Maybe the blue-feathered bird wasn’t scared of me, as it sat on a tree branch and didn’t fly off.

“Good heavens!”

I jumped as I bumped into Noah sunbae, who was standing next to me. When did he get here?

Soon I collected myself and turned towards him.

“Hi,” he said.

“Are you bird-watching too, sunbae?”

“Mhmm.”

“You must like animals then.”

“I do.”

Of course. People who like animals are never bad people.

As I nodded my head with conviction, the bird flew off the branch, coming to seat on Noah sunbae’s shoulder. Then it began to chirp.

“Whoa! What is that, is it magic?”

Or do animals too look at how attractive people are before they approach?

I approached sunbae, wondering to myself, only for the bird to fly away.

“Oh……”

Right as I was looking at the departed bird with a disappointed face –

“!”

I suddenly felt some strange object on my shirt. It felt like something had entered and was moving inside my shirt, causing me to tremble.

“What- what is that? Is it a bug?”

I asked Noah sunbae who was behind me in a trembling voice. He in turn answered in a slightly nervous voice.

“No, just a leaf.”

“Phew.”

I sighed in relief, my body relaxing. I had thought it was a bug and almost screamed my lungs out in front of Noah sunbae.

“Ugh.”

I reached towards my back trying to remove the leaf that had entered my shirt, but it didn’t go as I’d wanted.

‘……damn it, why is my arm so short?’

“I’ll…… I’ll help you.”

As I struggled, despairing over my arms’ insufficient length, Noah sunbae approached. His breathing sounded irregular, as if he was nervous. I could tell because I felt his breath on my neck. It brushed over the fine hairs on the back of my neck, making me tingle.

Ah, someone save me. I closed my eyes, feeling short of breath. What if even my neck turns red?

The tips of sunbae’s fingers touched the back of my neck. I stood still as a statue as all my muscles tensed, but only a moment later, Noah sunbae moved away from me, having taken out the leaf.

I must have mistaken where the leaf was. Had it been attached to my collar?

“I- I’ll be going now.”

I said to sunbae before hurrying off, holding onto the back of my neck as I walked.

“Ar-……”

Passing by the boys’ dressing room, I saw a familiar head of red hair and wanted to wave hello. But I awkwardly lowered my hand in the end.

Why…… Why was he so underdressed?

Arkhan had taken off his top clothing. It must have been because there was no one around. Maybe he had been just about to put on his clothes after a shower, which would explain why several of his buttons were undone and why his collar was wide open. In between, his bare skin and his deep-set collarbones were showing.

Wow. Wow.

Arkhan, who was sweeping up his half-dried hair, looked my way and screamed.

“Ahhh!”

The sound was deafening.

Arkhan cleared his throat, turned around to button up as he asked.

“You saw, didn’t you.”

“No, nothing. Really, ” I stammered as I answered. Arkhan’s face turned red while he covered his chest with his two hands as though he had been molested. He seemed to think that I had seen him when he was completely undressed. I felt like I had become a pervert.

Notes:

[3] ‘marry in’: ; in some cultures, a man can marry into a woman’s family instead. This would mean that he would live with her family, and their children would have the woman’s surname. This was usually done if the woman was the only child and they needed someone to carry on the family name.