Chapter 25

chapter 25

Just as Dave looked at his talents the other day, the bright light from Professor Hutson’s hands began to sweep Raynald’s body from his arm. Raynald whispered to Yurina, shivering with a hateful face.

“Even though it’s the second time, I don’t get used to this feeling.”

When asked how it feels, he said it feels like a feather is tickling his whole body.

When the light that swept all over his body finally disappeared, Professor Hutson held his hand tight with a greedy, gleaming face, as Dave did.

“I’ve been teaching for more than 10 years, and I’ve met a lot of talented students, but I’ve never seen anyone like this before!”

“Then can he enter the academy without taking a test?”

Professor Hutson nodded strongly at Dave’s question.

“Of course! Pass, pass! You don’t even need to have an interview. Why don’t you go to the Academy right now?”

Even if he said he wasn’t going, Raynald trembled again this time as if he was getting goosebumps over his likely to take him as a kidnapping at night.

To explain the admission process and the academic process in earnest after the uproar, Professor Hutson, Marquis Carthia, Dave and Raynald spoke in the best parlor in the mansion.

Yurina was not able to participate because the conversation included information about the academy. Instead, she waited for him to come to the small drawing room where she always studied with Raynald.

‘You’re really leaving.’

Yurina looked at the books that Raynald had studied without touching the tea brought by Betsy.

The hand-stained and worn-out books have shown the long, arduous journey of the last six months. Memories of only two of them came out from one exercise book that seems trivial.

[I’m sleepi.]

Yurina suddenly burst into laughter after seeing the crappy graffiti written on the corner of the exercise book. I could see Raynald lay down on the table and practicing his writing, lifting up the glue of his eyelids that had fallen more than half.

“It’s ‘sleepy,’ not ‘sleepi,’ Ray.”

That was the case at the time, but the answer was understandably that he could write well now. Yurina, who knew it but was embarrassed for no reason, put a scribble of “stupid” next to “i’m sleepi” and covered the book.

She don’t know what’s going on today, but she sat down with Raynald and took a sip of the cold tea. Maybe because of the tea, her stomach ached. Yurina crouched down on the table.

‘It’s quiet.’

This quiet drawing room was the scene that Raynald would face when he left. His absence, which had not been reached until now, suddenly began to feel real.

Yurina closed her eyes in memory of Raynald, who had grown up on this spot.

One summer day when the sun was hot, Raynald’s face curled up in the shade comes to my mind. A proud voice that smells good from his body, and the expression on his face when he swore to protect her, and his calm hand that filled my arm.

‘There are more memories than I thought.’

All the pleasant memories that were built apart in this strange world were with him. It’s a pleasant memory, but I’ve been strangling my stomach in a strange way.

Yurina struggled to get rid of Raynald’s face and began to think about other things.

I guess I fell asleep. It was not known how much time had passed.

Suddenly, when she opened her eyes with a tickle on her forehead, she could see Raynald lying face down on the table and watching her.

Raynald, who had been cleaning up her hair with a stiff face, smiled helplessly when his eyes met Yurina.

“It’s snowing a lot outside. Do you want to go see the snow?”

*****

“It’s cold.”

Raynald, who closed his eyes and was hit with white snow, suddenly laughed with the wind. Yurina, who wore clothes that could be worn on her body, as she sat on a chair in the corner of the garden, nodded helplessly.

Raynald approached her with his long legs and squat in front of her.

“Your nose is red.”

“Really? Sounds like Rudolph.”

“Rudolph?”

“There’s something like that. Red-nosed deer.”

“Oh, my God. Where in the world is there a red-nosed deer?”

His blunt nose will suck like Rudolph’s. Instead of trying to write it down, Yurina gently rubbed her nose, which would have been redder than his nose, with her gloves on.

However, the warm furry gloves may have a warming effect, but they were not effective to warm other places.

“Stay still.”

Raynald took off his gloves and rubbed his palms so violently that they made a loud noise. He blew it in and wrapped her cheeks, which were as red as her nose, as if it wasn’t enough.

When the only exposed face warmed up, her whole body felt tired.

“Is it warm?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll do more.”

“It’s okay. Your hands are going to be cold. Put your gloves on.”

“You know I don’t get cold.”

He laughed mischievously and rubbed his palms again. Yurina looked at the red cheek and took off her gloves. Raynald, noticed quickly, and put a glove on her hand.

“You’re wearing it. It’s cold.”

“You must be cold, too. Your face is also red.”

“It’s not cold. It’s about this much.”

He smeared himself with pride and rubbed Yurina’s cheeks with his warm palms again. Yurina rubbed her gloves around the back of his hand rubbing her cheek.

Does he know that his fingertips touching my earlobe are cold, contrary to the words ‘not cold’?

“Shall we go in now?”

When Yurina asked, looking at Raynald’s red nose, he shook his head.

“A little more. Let’s go a little more.”

“Okay, then.”

Just in time, Betsy put a big shawl on my shoulder, saying I’m going to catch a cold.

Yurina patted the side seat, looking at the Raynald blowing his breath on his palm. He brushed off the snow on the chair which he sat with his bare hands, and on the opposite side of the shawl was placed over his shoulder.

Raynald grumbled to do it because he was okay, and Yurina quietly leaned her head against his shoulder.

“It’s snowing a lot, isn’t it?”

Raynald nodded as Yurina muttered to herself, looking up at the sky.

“Yes. It’s really coming a lot.”

“Shall we make a snowman a little later?”

“You don’t need a snowman when your hands are cold.”

That’s what he said, but he tried to get up straight from his seat. Yurina quickly grabbed his arm and put him on the seat again.

“Never mind. As you said, my hands are cold. What a snowman. Just stay like this. Let’s get closer.”

“Yes.”

Yurina again leaned her head against his shoulder and stretched her gloved hand into the air. The white snowflake fell on the red fur gloves and soon melted away.

Somehow, as he tried to catch the snowflake again, Raynald quickly reached out without gloves. Unlike Yurina’s hand that melted quickly, the white snowflakes floating apart from his hands retained their shape.

“Is that magic, too?”

“Yes, it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Raynald giggled and blew the snowflakes. A snowflake slowly flew and landed on the back of Yurina’s nose.

“It’s cold.”

Raynald giggled again as he watched her rub her nose with frowns. Yurina glanced at him and collected the snow on his shoulder and rubbed it on his cheek.

“Oh, it’s cold! How can you do this all of a sudden!”

“You did it first. Don’t you remember?”

“All right, all right. It was my fault.”

He raised his hands as if he were surrendering. The snowball fight ended without a proper start. Again, the two leaned against each other and looked up at the increasingly thick snowflakes.

“As you said, I think this winter is especially colder. How did you know?”

Breaking a moment of silence, Raynald asked.

“It’s a secret.”

Yurina smiled, covering her mouth with her entire palm of her hand, she couldn’t open her index finger because she was wearing gloves with her fingers in one hand.

“It’s all a secret.”

As he burst into laughter, he stepped on the white snow piled up with his nose in front of his shoes. He wondered if he was thinking something wrong and wanted to make a serious expression, and as soon as he decided, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“You know, it’s so cold here, but the orphanage where I’ve been lived is much colder than here, right? Actually, I didn’t listen very much at that time, but as you said, I might have died this winter without enduring it.”

Did you still remember that? I was just saying it on the spot to bring him in. Yurina looked up at his side with her head leaning on his shoulder.

Today, no, he has been strangely calm since talking to people from the Academy earlier.

‘What did you say?’

If he had known this would happen, he should have followed her in earlier.

“It’s all thanks to you that I can stay warm even on this cold day, I can eat anything I want, and I can learn the magic that I have never learned.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I said it was an investment.”

“I know, but it’s you who found me anyway and brought me here.”

Yurina couldn’t answer right away. A bit of guilt poked her conscience. She was not a great woman to be praised for saving him.

If it wasn’t for her, he would have enjoyed a life no less than now under the protection of Marquis De Flon.

No, who knows if the life with Lydia in the Marquis of De Flon, like the original one, would be better than it is now.

“You never know. Another person who recognized your talent could have taken you.”

The Marquis of De Flon would have gone. Words that couldn’t be said hung in my mouth. I couldn’t take it out until that end. It is a secret to take to the grave.

“Well, I don’t think such a person would have come all the way to that corner again.”

Raynald turned his head and faced her with a look of conviction.

“You saved my life, Yurina.”

Yurina didn’t know what to answer. She had no idea what wind was blowing when he was saying this, which had never been done on that day.

So she just blinked and stared at his face, which was as serious as his age.

Raynald stared at her unanswered for a moment,and laughed helplessly as if she were missing.

“You’ll catch a cold later. Let’s go in.”

Yurina stared blankly at his back as he walked slowly to the mansion, and then hurriedly followed his back.

“Yurina.”

Before Raynald went up the stairs, he looked back at Yurina.

“Me, should I not go?”

The short words that passed by made Yurina feel like her heart was sinking.