Chapter 38

Aiden Tessie, who had been searching for his friend that had disappeared without a word for the past week, rubbed his eyes in surprise at the sight in front of him.

What was that?

Raynald, who had vanished suddenly, was now walking with someone he had never seen before.

And this person was a woman.

It was clear she was pretty and cute, even from afar!

Aiden had known Raynald for the past five years and he was never interested in women even though he received letters and confessions from female students every day.

Obviously, with his cold attitude towards women, Aiden had questioned Ray’s taste. Maybe he was more interested in men?

But Raynald with a woman right now? A woman? A pretty and cute one at that?

Aiden couldn’t even think about approaching Raynald since he was so baffled by this situation, so he just watched from a distance.

Raynald was brighter than ever now, rather than being hurt or ill as Aiden had thought he’d be. He felt a bit embarrassed for being so restless and worried.

“Is there any place you want to see?”

“Dave said that the library here is huge. I want to take a look.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

……

“There is a large grass square in front of the library. When the weather is good as today, no one eats at the cafeteria. We can eat at the square too and visit the library after lunch.”

“Sure.”

Raynald smiled gently and was handed a basket that had been dangling from the girl’s arm. He looked quite natural holding the girl’s pale hand with his other hand.

‘Who is that?’

Aiden’s mouth dropped from shock at this scene. He almost missed Raynald trying to leave the dorm rooms with the girl and quickly shouted.

“Ray! You-! Where have you been!? And why haven’t you told me? Who’s that next to you?”

Raynald had spotted him too late and frowned slightly. He pretended not to see Aiden and tried to walk the other way, but Aiden was faster.

Aiden darted after him and snatched Raynald’s arm. The girl’s blue eyes grew round in surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I have something to ask this guy… Forgive my rudeness.”

Aiden politely bowed to the girl and apologized, then glared at Raynald.

“Ray, what the hell have you been doing…”

“I told you to call me Raynald.”

“Is that important now?”

“It’s important.”

Aiden was dumbfounded, but he decided to obey his will. Strangely enough, Raynald never allowed his best friend Aiden to call him by a nickname.

“Yes, Raynald. What the hell have you been doing?”

Aiden didn’t show much, but he couldn’t sleep well because he was concerned about Raynald.

Unlike Aiden, who sometimes skips classes, Raynald was a model student. He never skipped class unless he was too sick to move around.

As soon as Raynald read the letter he received a week ago, he ran away in contemplation and didn’t contact him for a week. At first, Aiden was going to ask if there was an emergency, but as time went by, he became nervous.

But when Aiden saw Raynald with a girl, his anger soared to the top of his head.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I had a situation.”

“No matter how urgent it may be, how…”

At that moment, Aiden made eye contact with the girl who blinked with her hand on Raynald’s arm. He recognized it from afar, but she was a rare beauty.

She had pinkish blonde hair that is rare to find, transparent and white skin that looked as if it had never seen the sun, and had a well-balanced, beautiful look even from a distance.

It was different from the trends in the kingdom, so it’s not too fancy, but it was obvious that she took care of herself.

In many ways, the girl in front of him was the most beautiful woman Aiden had ever seen in the capital.

She was not simply outstanding. She was so beautiful that she could shine next to Raynald, who was rumored to have no one be able to match his appearance. Aiden was able to have a strange experience with Raynald, who attracted attention from others.

Aiden’s cheeks flushed reflexively. Raynald looked at Aiden with thin eyes and hid the girl behind him.

It was not Aiden who responded to Raynald’s call, but the girl standing behind Raynald’s back.

“Aiden?”

She peeked her head out to Raynald’s side and gave Aiden a high exclamation, “Ah!”

“Your friend?”

“Maybe.”

As usual, “Maybe, what do you mean?” Aiden, who would have retorted, ‘Listen to your friends!’ could not say a word. This was because when Aiden saw the girl smiling at him, his mind went blank.

How can her voice be so pretty?

“I couldn’t even say hello properly. Mr. Aiden… Right? I’ve heard a lot from Ray. I heard you helped him adapt to the Academy.”

The nickname “Ray,” which was not allowed by anyone, flowed casually from the girl’s mouth. Aiden knew instinctively.

This girl had a deep connection with Raynald. Or Raynald was going to take this girl…….

Without realizing it, he looked at Raynald and twitched his lips. Raynald raised one eyebrow as if he was unhappy.

“My name is Yurina Carthia. Nice to meet you.”

Yurina Carthia. It was a strange and familiar name. A few times, Aiden, who repeated the name in his mouth, was able to recall what was written in the letter Raynald received a week ago.

Over the past five years, Aiden had seen a lot of Raynald. Raynald, who came from a faraway empire and said he knew no one in the kingdom, soon adapted to the academy, unlike other children who were homesick.

But Aiden, who watched him closer than anyone else, noticed that Raynald was often lonely.

He used to look up at the sky every month, even though he was focused during classes. The blue sky was similar to the eyes of Yurina standing in front of him.

At that time, he used to take classes and eat meals. No matter how much Aiden went to soothe him and told him a joke, Raynald could barely keep his spirits up.

Just then a letter came to Raynald. A letter with a slight scent of fragrant spring flowers. The day after receiving the letter, Raynald regained his spirits and became fine as if he had never been depressed.

Whenever Aiden saw him, he felt relieved and wondered who the sender of the letter was.

‘It was a letter from Young Lady Carthia.’

Questions that had not been solved until today were solved.

A friend’s precious person needed to be treated well.

“Help? It’s natural to get along with friends. It’s nice to meet you, young lady. My name is Aiden Tessie.”

Aiden rubbed his palm hard on his pants and reached out to her.

Basically, there was not much difference in the aristocratic etiquette of the kingdom and empire. Recognizing his intentions, Yurina tried to put her hand on Aiden’s palm.

But before that, Raynald held her hand and kissed her fingertips.

Yurina’s eyes were round at the embarrassing sight, and Aiden’s eyes were rounder than that.

‘Who the hell is this?’

Raynald, whom he had known for five years, and the man in front of him were completely different. He never had changes in facial expressions, voice, speech, or behavior.

Although the behavior in front of a friend and a girl he liked was usually different, this was worse. Aiden even shrugged his shoulders in a sense of betrayal.

‘What’s going on?’

From the way Yurina talked, she seemed to be a simple friend, but Raynald’s behavior did not make it seem like that. Well, he’s like a bride before getting married.

“Let’s hurry up, and go on our way, Yurina. I want to show you a lot.”

“Huh? But what about your friend?”

“It’s okay.”

‘No, I’m not okay!’

But while Aiden was stunned, Raynald began to walk, holding Yurina’s hand. As Yurina followed him, she bowed down to Aiden with perfect aristocratic etiquette.

Aiden, who greeted her with a reflexive courtesy, shouted at Raynald.

“Hey, wait a minute! Ray! What about your class?”

Before he knew it, Raynald, who was as far away as he was, lightly waved at Aiden without looking back.

Aiden looked at Raynald’s hand, holding Yurina’s hand tightly, and clicked his tongue.

“You’re more of a woman than a friend, are you?”

But he didn’t feel bad. Rather, Aiden felt strangely good.

Aiden, who laughed like the sound of a clear breeze, went into the room without worrying about the gaze of the children passing through the hallway, smiled widely, and tousled his hair.

It had already been a long time since the idea of “You should have told me no matter how urgent it is” changed to “It’s such an urgent matter, but you can’t talk and disappear.”

No wonder it was a day when your heart became as warm as the sunshine.