Chapter 8. From Winter to Spring (12)

After my visit to the Raven ducal household, I spent some time strolling with Tosoon or going out with Vivian, and before I knew it, winter break had flown by.

The season of soft, piling snow gave way to blooming flowers and budding greenery—spring was arriving, and I returned to the academy with a heart full of excitement.

But then…

“Oh my, Radel! Congratulations on your engagement!”

A student I’d never even met suddenly congratulated me.

“Hoho, Miss Radel! Congratulations on your engagement.”

The magic professor I shared snacks with handed me a celebratory cookie.

“Radel! Congratulations on your engagement!”

When I entered the swordsmanship club, every member welcomed me and even began singing a congratulatory song.

What the… This is starting to creep me out.

I never posted anything about my engagement on the academy bulletin board, but it seemed like everyone—students and professors alike—already knew that I was engaged to Kyle.

I tried to recall if I’d told anyone, but no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t remember doing so.

Hmm… Kyle definitely isn’t the type to blab… so then who could it have been…?

“Radel! Congrats on the engagement!”

While I was busy deducing the culprit, a student from the magic department—rarely seen in the swordsmanship club—appeared.

His name was Alec! The poster boy of unrequited love!

“Thanks for the congrats. But… what’s with the bouquet?”

It had been a while since I’d seen Alec, and judging by the cheerful, practically-floating look on his face, it seemed he had finally recovered from the whole Seria incident.

Before I could even ask why he was so giddy, I noticed the bouquet in Alec’s arms.

It was clearly a bouquet meant for a confession.

Alec… don’t tell me…!”

“Actually, I saw this beautiful girl in the library…”

“Oh, I see.”

Even though I responded dryly, Alec was excitedly going on and on about the beauty he’d seen in the library.

From Seria to the library beauty now, huh?

Still, it was such a relief to see that he’d found a new love.

“Oh hey, there’s a “bird”!”

“Oh my, how “se”renely beautiful it is!”

Flinch.

Alec flinched hard at the gossip of the swordsmanship club students mid-conversation, just because they accidentally uttered the syllable ‘se.’

Yep, he had definitely moved on from Seria.

He no longer moped about her and seemed to be eating well again.

But the fact that just hearing the “Se” from her name made him freeze and fall into a weird funk… yeah, that was a little heartbreaking to witness.

“Alec, pull yourself together! A new love has found you!”

“Right! You’re right!”

The ever-simple Alec immediately perked up at the phrase “new love,” and then shouted,

“I’m gonna go confess now—listen to how it went afterward, okay?” before running off.

Hehe… he’s probably gonna get rejected but… you got this, Alec! Don’t give up, Alec!

“What the heck? Why did Alec even come to the swordsmanship club?”

Someone grumbled nearby, and when I turned my head, I saw Dia elegantly flipping her hair as she walked over.

And beside her—was a familiar head of orange hair.

“Oh, Dia and Huan?”

I thought Dia came alone, but one of her hands was firmly clutching Huan’s wrist.

Hmm, why does it feel like Dia always shows up dragging some guy behind her?

I was feeling an odd sense of déjà vu when I greeted the two of them.

“Hey there. Is carrying flowers around the new trend among guys lately?”

Alec was one thing, but Huan was also holding a single orange rose.

Just one, but it was so big and beautiful that it caught my eye instantly.

“…I heard you got engaged.”

Huan slipped free from Dia’s grip and walked straight up to me.

He hesitated for a moment, then awkwardly handed me the orange rose he was holding.

What… What is this? Could it be…

“An engagement gift?”

“Well, something like that.”

Huan gave me a bittersweet smile and pressed the rose into my hands.

He gently said, ‘Congratulations on your engagement,’ and hurried out of the swordsmanship hall.

Something about him felt… off.

“Oh, that big ol’ dummy.”

Dia clicked her tongue at his retreating back.

Then she pointed at the orange rose in my hands and said,

“First love’s confession. Shyness.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“The flower’s meaning. Don’t mind it.”

Without explaining herself, Dia flashed a bright smile.

Even though it felt like I hadn’t seen her in a while, there was something so familiar about her that I found myself smiling back.

Still, what was with that sudden talk about flower meanings?

I tilted my head in confusion—only to spot a familiar face and waved.

“Lady Rachel!”

“Ah!”

As soon as Lady Rachel saw me, she came running at full speed.

Wow, that was fast. I almost thought she was a marathon runner.

Panting heavily, Lady Rachel grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and exclaimed excitedly,

“I really wanted to meet you in person! Could you tell me again how you ended up engaged to Lord Kailon?”

I had run into Lady Rachel once during winter break and shared a bit of the story with her.

Oh, right… I think I might’ve mentioned the engagement then… Could it be?

“Um, just asking… but were you the one who spread the news of my engagement to the entire academy?”

“Oh, yes. That was me.{

She admitted it so easily I was left speechless.

I stared blankly at Lady Rachel, who then grabbed me and shook me with excitement.

“More importantly, tell me everything about how you ended up engaged to Lord Kailon!”

When I asked why she was acting like this, she gave me a wide, mischievous grin.

“I’m going to publish a book about your story, Radel. So hurry and tell me everything!”

“W-What?!”

A book?!

I couldn’t help but shout in shock.

No way. Absolutely not!

A book meant tons of people reading it.

But my story with Kyle wasn’t exactly heartwarming or romantic enough to be turned into some bestselling novel.

I tried to reason with Lady Rachel, telling her there was nothing worth publishing, but then—

“Sounds great! I love the idea of reading Radel’s story in a book,”

Dia chimed in, eyes sparkling.

“Though I wouldn’t care much for the parts about Kailon,” she added while gently combing through my hair.

Seriously, even Dia was on board now?

The betrayal stung—I sharply turned my head away.

Hmph, a book? No way!

“Ah! It’s almost time for class. I’ll come hear the rest of your story next time!”

“Wait, I didn’t agree to tell you any—“

Lady Rachel dashed off before I could finish, leaving me speechless.

Beside me, Dia looked far too pleased and started trying to convince me with a hopeful smile.

Why are you even excited about this, Dia?!

***

“Now then, before we begin today’s lecture…”

After Lady Rachel left, the fencing instructor came in shortly after. He glanced over the fencing club members, then frowned when his eyes landed on me—more precisely, on Kyle, who was stuck to me.

“Why is the graduate Kailon here?”

Kyle had graduated from the academy before winter break. There was no reason for him to be here anymore. I was also curious as to why this man was here. At some point, I’d realized Kyle was behind me, hugging me tightly, and I gasped in surprise.

“I came to see Radel.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

Kyle started playing with my hair. Seeing that, the instructor’s face turned red with anger as he marched over to Kyle. Placing one hand on his waist and pointing toward the exit with the other, he spoke firmly.

“Congrats on the engagement, but public displays of affection are banned in the training hall. Now get out!”

“Ah, so I am allowed to leave then.”

Kyle gave the furious instructor a quick glance, then grabbed my wrist and dashed out of the fencing hall. Uh, wait—I’m getting kicked out too? But I wasn’t even expelled!

“Hey, you punk! Kailon!”

“Just give up. Have you ever seen Kailon actually listen to anyone?”

Behind us, the instructor’s yelling and Dia’s sigh of resignation could be heard, but Kyle completely ignored them and kept walking.

Ugh, I don’t even know anymore.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Even if I’m busy, I have to see my wife’s face.”

We naturally walked into the now-familiar garden and sat down under a large tree, chatting away. Kyle, who had somehow even picked up the skill of being sly, gently touched my cheek and smiled with his eyes. I nearly lost it at the shock of seeing that smile.

“Gasp—who taught you that?!”

He was so pretty I almost got hypnotized. How could a man look handsome from one angle and beautiful from another? He truly had a fascinating face. Kyle tilted his head at my question and replied,

“Why? You don’t like it? That’s weird… I was told you’d like it if I did this.”

“By who?”

“Dia.”

Of course. The culprit was Dia. Dia, how could you teach him that?! Now he’s twice as charming! I honestly wanted to scold her. His popularity was already sky-high, and I was worried sick. If he ever showed that eye smile to another woman, she’d fall for him instantly. So I smiled sweetly and said,

“Then just show that to me, okay?”

He nodded without hesitation.

“Hmph, skipping class at the beginning of the term…”

I looked up at the tree and sighed. It’s fine as long as I do well on the tests, but if the professors start to think poorly of me, it could be a pain. Especially since the fencing professor was infamous for being strict… I already felt a headache coming from the thought of returning to the training hall.

“Ow, my head… This is all your fault, Kyle. Take responsibility.”

“Like this?”

Without hesitation, Kyle leaned in and gently kissed me. I’d always felt it, but Kyle really did like physical affection.

Well, only with me, of course.

I blushed slightly from the sudden kiss. No matter how much I tried to get used to it, I never could.

“Should I take responsibility again?”

“N-nooo!”

If he ‘took responsibility’ a second time, I felt like my face would literally explode, so I hurriedly refused. Kyle just chuckled, saying, “Hmm, is that so?” before pulling me into a tight hug. I closed my eyes, taking in the faint scent of the approaching spring from within his arms.

“I want to get married soon.”

He said that earnestly, gently wrapping his arms around my waist. Ah, here he goes again. Kyle had been pressing for marriage nonstop lately. I could understand that he was eager—and honestly, I wanted to get married soon too—but I still really wanted to graduate from the academy first.

“We agreed to get married after I graduate, didn’t we?”

“But…”

“Please hold out a little longer. Can’t you at least do that much for me?”

I snuggled into his chest and pouted sweetly, and he replied, “Alright. If that’s what my wife wants,” then pulled me even tighter into his embrace.

Ack—it was starting to get hard to breathe, so I tapped his back with my palm.

“I want to wait, but every time I see you, I feel like I’m going insane wanting to marry you.”

He whispered that into my ear before pulling me out of his arms. Kyle’s sharp features were now clearly visible up close. I stared at his handsome face for a while, then leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Oh…”

Kyle reached up, gently touching the spot I had kissed with a stunned expression. Watching his adorable reaction, I beamed and said, ‘If you keep being patient, I’ll give you another kiss!’

Then, all of a sudden, Kyle shot up and said with a dead-serious look on his face, “That’s it. We’re reserving the wedding hall. Right now.”

“Huh? Kyle?”

“I’m calling Sebastian.”

He pulled out his communicator with practiced ease, sounding completely serious as he told Sebastian, “Book the most expensive wedding hall you can find.”

『Master, what in the world are you—』

“I’m giving you thirty minutes. Book it by then.”

『What? That’s— Master? Master! Mas—』

Kyle shut off the communicator, completely ignoring Sebastian’s frantic shouting. Poor Sebastian… More importantly, Kyle was way too hasty.

I had to stop him, and stop him again, before I could finally convince him to cancel the reservation. Ugh, that was exhausting.

“Kyle, you’re way too impatient.”

He can be a bit of a handful, but even that side of him feels endearing now. I took Kyle’s hand and gave him the brightest smile I could.

This very moment—this time we shared—was so precious and filled me with happiness. Smiling softly, I leaned in and gently kissed Kyle on the lips.

Just like the colorful blossoms blooming with the warmth of spring, my emotions, too, surged uncontrollably.

I really love this man.

That feeling, as natural and certain as the change from winter to warm spring, would never change.