Chapter 5: How to Avoid an Engagement(1)

Receiving Auntie Orton’s letter left me in a daze. So, it’s finally happening.

Fortunately, it’s not happening immediately, but next week, which is incredibly soon. I needed to think of a way to avoid being dragged to the small estate in the countryside.

“Lady Radel!”

“Oh my, Lady Rachel……”

The first person I met upon arriving at the academy was the vibrant Lady Rachel, who seemed to be preparing for a fresh start.

Her expression was bright, suggesting that her breakup with Giles had gone well. I barely mustered the energy to raise my arm and wave at the smiling and running Lady Rachel.

“I have good news. I’ve finally broken off the engagement!”

I had never seen someone so cheerfully announce their breakup. Then again, if I were breaking off an engagement with such a man, I would probably be grinning from ear to ear too. Although I have no intention of getting engaged in the first place, seeing Lady Rachel’s current state, I don’t think it’s something to worry about.

“After this trial, I won’t have to see Giles again!”

“Congratulations.”

Lady Rachel’s face, previously filled with concern, now looked brightly cheerful, as if her earlier worries were a lie. It was clear that Giles would end up in prison and face his punishment. I might visit him then to settle the score—there’s a debt to be paid. Heh.

As I was pondering how to get my revenge on Giles, I noticed someone waving and running toward us from a distance. What’s this? That cheerful pose and atmosphere… As I squinted to get a better look, the face gradually came into view.

“Peter?”

It was Peter from the swordsmanship club. He was memorable for his gentle and cute appearance. I eagerly waved back at Peter, who was greeting me with a big smile. But why was he grinning so widely?

“Hello! How are you feeling?”

“……Pardon?”

I looked at Peter, who suddenly seemed to treat me like a patient, with a puzzled expression. Peter tilted his head and began examining me more closely.

“I heard you were ill. Is that not the case?”

“I’m perfectly fine……”

I jumped up and down to emphasize my good health. After stretching my arms to demonstrate my flexibility, Peter seemed convinced that I was indeed healthy.

“Why did you think I was sick?”

“Sir Kailon was very worried about you, so I thought you must be seriously ill.”

Kyle…? That stoic knight was worried about me? Oh, come on, that’s nonsense. I just happened to fall asleep briefly due to relaxation that day. And he was concerned about that? Hearing such unbelievable things, I pretended to clean out my ears.

“It’s true! He was so worried that the atmosphere was so heavy we could hardly breathe!”

“I can’t, can’t believe that…”

Honestly, it’s a bit frightening. The idea that Kyle would be worried about me is hard to accept. Even if I want to believe it, it’s hard to.

I looked at Peter with suspicion. If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing!

“Please, just follow me.”

“Alright, I should thank him as well…”

Glancing at Lady Rachel to say goodbye, she waved cheerfully and smiled widely.

“Oh, then I’ll head off now.”

After parting ways with Lady Rachel, I followed Peter to the swordsmanship training grounds.

Peter continued to insist that Kyle was worried about me, but I still didn’t believe it. In the original story, Kyle was depicted as stoic and cold. He disliked trouble and had no interest in whether others were hurt. Why would such a person be concerned about me?

My skepticism grew to the point where Peter seemed frustrated, his fist clenched and pounding his chest. His reaction looked like a child throwing a tantrum, which made me smile. Peter looked quite youthful. As I admired his youthful face, we quickly arrived at the swordsmanship training grounds.

“MissRadel !”

Huh, what’s this? ‘Miss’?

“Miss Radel has arrived!”

The reaction was different from before. While they greeted me with the same intensity as before, this time they called me ‘Nim’ with a look of earnest expectation. Receiving those hopeful glances, I slowly walked through the training ground.

“Finally freed.”

“A hellish time it was.”

I could hear sighs and sounds of relief from everywhere. What on earth had happened to make the brave and dependable swordsmanship club members turn into this? As I looked at the students of the swordsmanship club lying scattered around, my confusion grew.

This is… a complete mess?

“Sir Kailon, Miss Radel has arrived.”

Peter announced loudly to Kyle. Kyle, who had been engaged in a sword duel, stopped immediately and began wiping the sweat off his brow. I wondered why he was sweating so much, but it seemed he had been dueling with the students who were now lying around. No wonder everyone looked so terrified.

“Kyle, it’s been a while!”

Kyle was still as responsive as ever. He stepped forward and started inspecting me closely, checking for any injuries by holding my shoulders.

I was considering whether I should perform some spot jumps like I did for Peter earlier, when suddenly a large hand gently touched my face, making me jump in surprise.

“Uh, what’s happening?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, as you can see…”

Kyle continued to gently pat my face and head before eventually offering a faint smile. This was a rare expression! I searched desperately for a camera, but of course, there wasn’t one around. Ah, what a shame. If only I had a camera, I could capture that expression!

“I’m glad.”

Kyle quickly returned to his usual stoic expression, but he seemed to be in a better mood. His face looked a bit flushed, but that must just be my imagination.

“Sit here.”

“Ah, yes…”

When told to sit, I complied, but the proximity was quite close. Kyle was almost pressed against my shoulder. I sat still for a moment, but feeling a bit uncomfortable, I subtly shifted my seat.

“…Kyle.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

Kyle looked at me calmly and tilted his head. Is he doing this on purpose? Whenever I moved slightly to the side, Kyle followed suit. Even if I tried to sit a bit farther away, he persistently stayed close to me.

It reminded me of a dog I used to have… our little white dog, so affectionate. Comparing a person to a dog isn’t exactly fair, but it really felt similar.

“Oh come on, Sir Kyle! Miss Radel doesn’t like it!”

Peter smiled brightly and said. It turned out that even Peter was calling me “Miss.” Is this some kind of hidden camera? I stared blankly at Peter and then glanced at Kyle. He looked very glum.

“Dislike?”

“…Yes?”

A somewhat unfamiliar voice came from Kyle. Hearing his voice, which was as drooped as his shoulders, made me feel that if I answered, “Yes, I dislike it!” I would be a great sinner.

In reality, it wasn’t exactly dislike. Since I was close with Kyle, it was just a little uncomfortable and burdensome, but not unpleasant. Therefore, I shook my head from side to side.

“No, I like Kyle!”

Saying this with a smile seemed to instantly improve Kyle’s mood. It felt like there were petals fluttering around him, but was that a hallucination? Maybe I’m still very tired.

“Wow, as expected of Miss Radel……”

“To make the downcast Kyle feel good in an instant. Scary……”

Today, the training hall seemed even noisier than usual. Wondering what was going on, I looked around and noticed a familiar man staring intently at us.

With a stiff body and a face as red as an apple……. I instantly remembered who he was.

“Ah, it’s you!”

The male student who had fainted when he saw me before was definitely the same one. I think his name was Robert. This time, he didn’t faint when I looked at him, but instead, he stood frozen, as if his body was stiff. Thanks to another male student pulling Robert to me, we were finally able to have a conversation.

“You’ve been staring since earlier. Do you need something?”

“Um, well, that is……”

Robert’s face turned even redder. I tilted my head and looked at him. He seemed like a friend who gets very embarrassed, so I gave him a kind smile, causing Robert’s face to turn so red it seemed like it might explode. And then, eventually……

“Robert has fainted! He isn’t breathing!”

“Quickly, move him to the infirmary!”

The other students in the training hall were startled, seeing Robert lying on the floor. Watching Robert pitifully carried on Peter’s back, I felt a sense of déjà vu. What’s going on, this place…… is weird.

“As expected of Miss. You subdue with just your gaze……”

So, why am I “Miss”! Every time upperclassmen who are older than me call me that, it gives me chills.

Why am I “Miss”……. Did I look scary or something? The questions kept growing, but in the end, no answers were found.

The surprise visit to the training hall that day ended with one person injured. When it was time to leave for the lecture, Kyle had to hold me back and persuade me for a while.

“Thank you so much for earlier, Kyle. But I really have to go now……”

“No, stay a little longer.”

It was quite difficult to be persuaded, but I managed to get away. Although I had an illusion that Kyle’s gaze, which was staring at me intently, was desperate, I decided to ignore it for now.

“Miss, please come again.”

“Don’t call me Miss!”

After shouting at the male student who called me Miss on my way out, I hurriedly left the training hall.