Chapter 6. The Day of the First Snow (8)

“Hm.”

Kyle suddenly went quiet, lips pressed together as if deep in thought. As we neared the carriage, he turned his head and stared at me, lips barely parting.

‘Is he giving up now?’

I smiled smugly, thinking he was about to admit defeat, when all of a sudden, Kyle’s face closed the distance between us.

He gently brushed his fingers along my cheek. I blinked, staring into his eyes, stunned by how beautiful and dangerous they looked at the same time.

His gaze was like that of a predator closing in on unsuspecting prey.

Then came the soft sensation of lips—tender and warm against mine. Even with my eyes tightly shut in shock, I knew exactly what that feeling was.

His lips pressed lightly against mine once, then pulled away with a faint “smack.”

Despite the fierce, devouring look in his eyes, the kiss itself was gentle. Light. Almost playful.

“Am I still cute now?”

When I opened my eyes, Kyle was smirking, like a mischievous little devil who knew exactly what he was doing.

I couldn’t say anything back. Really, I couldn’t say anything at all. I was so blindsided, all I could do was freeze in place like a statue.

“Then, see you tomorrow.”

Kyle spoke nonchalantly as I stood frozen like a statue, then gradually walked away.

Still unable to respond, I slowly raised a hand to my cheek at the sudden chill that brushed against it.

“Ah… it’s snowing.”

Seeing the snowflake that had landed on my palm snapped me out of it. My heart pounded like it was about to burst, and my legs wobbled as the tension drained from my body. The whole world felt like it had turned pink.

‘What just happened?!’

Kyle kissed me.

The moment I fully grasped that fact, it felt like winter had instantly turned into spring. My face flushed deep red.

On the first snow of the year, with a completely unexpected kiss—I was left in utter chaos.

***

Oh, dear god.

After returning home, I spent a while rolling around in bed. Then I hugged a pillow tight, only to kick the blanket with both feet. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t shake this overwhelming mix of emotions.

‘Why on earth…’

I brushed my fingertips against my lips.

The soft sensation from earlier still lingered. Ugh, just remembering it again made my face flush all over.

A kiss on the first snow—it was incredibly romantic. That kind of kiss had always been one of my fantasies, but I never imagined the one to share it with would be Kyle.

“Why did Kyle kiss me?”

The answer to that question came easily in my head.

Kyle wasn’t the type to play around lightly, so only one possibility remained.

“Kyle either likes me, or… he likes me, or… he really likes me…”

Even an idiot could figure it out.

He was being so obvious, how could I not notice?

Kyle likes me.

I had no idea why he’d come to have feelings for me, but at least that much was clear now.

“How am I supposed to face Kyle at the academy tomorrow…”

That was the real problem.

Just thinking about him made my face turn red—if I had to face him in person, I’d probably pass out on the spot.

And to make matters worse, I had transferred to the swordsmanship division…

If I were still in the magic department, I might’ve avoided seeing him, but now I’d have to face him all day.

Could I… transfer again? Probably not, right?

Now that I think about it, the people at the Raven estate were acting a little suspicious.

Especially the duchess—I still couldn’t forget the paper she casually brought up during tea time.

If I had mindlessly signed that form, I’d probably already be Kailon Raven’s fiancée by now.

Seriously, the Raven estate is dangerous.

I shivered and pulled the blanket up over my head.

Everything felt so confusing and overwhelming.

Realizing that Kyle had feelings for me didn’t just surprise me… it stirred something else too.

A mix of emotions swirled inside me so much that I couldn’t quite put into words what I was feeling—it was frustrating.

I asked myself a question amid the confusion.

Do I like him too?

I kept repeating it over and over in my head, but in the end, I couldn’t come up with an answer.

“My lady, it’s bedtime now.”

While I was noisily rolling around in bed, Vivian entered the room after knocking twice.

“Already?”

Startled, I shot up and stared at Vivian, who had come to tell me it was time to sleep.

If I went to sleep now and opened my eyes, tomorrow would be here in no time.

That can’t happen! I’m not ready yet!

“Vivian, pack our things. Let’s escape to a warm island in the south.”

In the end, I decided to run away.

It was an unrealistic plan, of course, but I couldn’t just sit around while being this anxious.

At this rate, let’s just travel for a month—no, maybe three months.

By then, I’ll be able to face Kyle like nothing happened, right?

“My lady… you must be very tired.”

Vivian looked at me with pity.

She must’ve thought I was babbling nonsense from fatigue.

With a concerned expression, she gently laid me back down in bed and kindly turned off the light before leaving the room.

Vivian really was an excellent maid…

But left in the dark, I once again drifted into sleep, filled with tangled and complicated feelings.

***

“Radel, we’re finally taking the same class starting today!”

The next day, dragging my tired body to the academy, I was warmly greeted by Dia. She had come early for once and was preparing for morning training.

‘Is Kyle not here?’

Smiling brightly and holding both of my hands tightly, Dia welcomed me, while I glanced around discreetly.

Kyle, who usually arrived early, was nowhere to be seen. The training grounds were empty save for Dia and me.

I let out a sigh of relief and began to relax, but then a familiar voice rang out from behind me.

“Radel.”

Speak of the devil!

I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. It was the voice I’d heard all day yesterday, and judging from how Dia’s expression twisted slightly while looking behind me, it could only be Kyle.

“Why do you always come so early?”

“I always come early.”

While the two of them lightly bickered, I quietly tried to sneak away. I still didn’t have the courage to face Kyle.

“Did you get home alright yesterday?”

As I tried to quietly slip away unnoticed, Kyle approached in a few long strides. With just a few steps, he closed the distance I had worked so hard to put between us, and I found that a bit annoying.

I lifted my gaze slightly to look at his face—of course, he was as handsome as ever today.

“…Radel?”

Ever since yesterday, Kyle looked twice as handsome, and my heart was taking a serious beating because of it. Clutching my wildly pounding heart, I quickly took a step back.

This won’t do. I need to keep a safe distance if I want to look at Kyle properly.

“…?”

Kyle tilted his head, watching my strange behavior in silence.

Yes, I know I look weird. I know that what I’m doing is strange—but I just can’t help it. Even seeing him from a distance sends my heart racing, and being near him makes me so tense I can hardly breathe.

I think I know what this condition is called, but I stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.

“What’s wrong?”

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

I quickly shouted at Kyle as he tried to step closer again.

I felt bad, but for my own sake, I had to keep him at a distance.

Kyle flinched as if struck by my flustered outburst.

“What do you mean…?”

“If you come closer or follow me, I’ll never look at your face again!”

Flinch.

Kyle flinched even harder, then completely froze like a statue.

Honestly, saying I’d never look at his face again was an empty threat. Starting today, I was in the swordsmanship department, and except for a few classes, I’d be seeing him all the time.

But if I was going to threaten him, it had to sound serious—so I added a bit of gravity to my voice to make it stick.

The effect was more powerful than I expected. With a hint of surprise on his face, Kyle couldn’t bring himself to come any closer and just froze on the spot.

Seeing the opportunity, I bolted forward with all my might—but…

Thud!

I fell. Spectacularly.

“…!”

It wasn’t a light thump—it was a full-on thud! It was so loud and dramatic that I was too embarrassed to even lift my head from the ground. I just buried my face there for a while.

“Oh my, oh my! Radel, are you okay?!”

Eventually, with Dia rushing over in a panic to help me up, I managed to stand, clinging to her arm as I staggered to my feet. My face must have turned as red as an apple—no doubt about it.

“Radel, you…”

To make matters worse, a warm red liquid suddenly trickled down from my nose. Judging by Dia’s horrified face, it was a nosebleed. Ugh, what is even going on today?

I quickly pinched my nose and glanced back.

Kyle stood there, lips pressed tightly together, clearly uneasy. He looked like he wanted to run over to me right that instant, but because of my earlier warning not to come near, he remained frozen in place.

Phew, if he’d come over while I was this embarrassed… I might’ve seriously dropped out of the academy.

Avoiding Kyle’s worried gaze, I let Dia support me as we headed to the infirmary.

Oh wow—now that I look down, my leg is bleeding too. I honestly hadn’t noticed… Guess my shame completely overrode the pain.