Chapter 2.1

The next morning.

Flash—

As usual, Agnes woke up at 6:50.

But she didn’t open the curtains.

She was about to face Kallion first thing in the morning, and she was worried her stalking might be discovered.

Especially judging from his attitude yesterday, it was clear Kallion remembered Agnes.

Yesterday, she barely managed to get by, but she couldn’t let that happen again.

Even before, she’d only ever shown him her messy side—if he found out about this secret, it would really be the end.

If Kallion ever found out, she’d surely receive a look full of disgust.

She hated that more than anything.

“Haa…….”

A huge sigh escaped her, enough to make the floorboards sink.

It was the first time this year.

It was the first time Agnes hadn’t peeked at Kallion’s morning routine.

“My vitamins… My supplements…”

A lamenting mutter slipped out of Agnes’s mouth.

She really hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.

She only felt awkward for a moment at the change in her routine, but soon, Agnes finished getting ready to head to the Swordsmanship Department building.

From today on, she’d have to keep coming and going to the Swordsmanship Department.

The Swordsmanship Department building was located on the exact opposite side from the Department of Magical Engineering.

Since Rondale Academy boasted such a vast campus, she had to leave about thirty minutes earlier than usual because of the distance.

‘Ugh, at this rate, I’ll be late.’

Even though she’d been walking for a while already, the clock’s hands were nearing eight o’clock.

The academy’s official schedule started at eight.

It was already five minutes to eight.

She couldn’t be late and cause trouble on her very first day. Still, since her destination was right in front of her, she thought she could make it if she hurried.

Just as Agnes quickened her pace—

Bzzz—bzzz—

“Gasp.”

Agnes was startled by the vibration coming from her pocket and stopped in her tracks.

‘Oh no. Why did I bring this?’

It was the vibration magical device used to detect Kallion.

It was something she’d made so that it would vibrate whenever Kallion came near.

Usually, she always carried it to avoid getting caught observing him, but now that she’d have to be with Kallion every day, it didn’t have much meaning anymore.

‘It must have been out of habit.’

She’d carried it every day, so she must have forgotten to leave it behind.

‘No, this isn’t what’s important right now.’

Her panic only lasted a moment.

Agnes quickly turned off the detection device and looked around.

If the device was reacting, it meant Kallion was within a 30-meter radius.

The vibration just now had been pretty strong.

That meant he was close by, so where could Kallion be…

“Agnes?”

Tap—

“Ah, ahhh!”

A voice calling her from behind, and a hand lightly tapping her shoulder—Agnes was so startled, she ended up sitting down on the ground.

She hadn’t expected him to suddenly appear from behind.

“Sorry. Did I scare you?”

Kallion seemed a bit flustered by Agnes’s unexpectedly strong reaction.

With an apologetic look, he moved in front of her and held out his hand.

But Agnes couldn’t take the offered hand right away.

‘He’s… too dazzling.’

His face, looking straight at her, was shining far too brightly.

Without realizing it, she stared blankly up at Kallion’s face. And she thought—

‘How can someone’s face look like that?’

Agnes was experiencing the same feeling she’d had the first time she met Kallion.

No, hadn’t it been the same just yesterday?

Maybe she’d been so nervous yesterday that she hadn’t even noticed how radiant he was.

While she admired his ever-new appearance—

‘Wow, I have to see this every day? My heart…’

She felt overwhelmed by the thought of facing Kallion’s face for a whole month.

If she kept meeting him like this, she worried her heart might stop or she might go blind.

Some might think she was joking, but Agnes was completely serious.

Where light falls, shadows disappear. Like two beings that can’t coexist, Agnes was more afraid than anyone of getting close to the shining Kallion.

She thought she had no right to hope for Kallion’s attention.

At that moment—

“Um, Agnes?”

Kallion called her again.

She finally snapped out of it.

“Oh, oh? S-sorry.”

He’d been holding out his hand for a while, but she’d been so distracted by his smile that she hadn’t even thought to take it.

‘So, so embarrassing.’

Agnes screamed internally as she hurriedly grabbed Kallion’s outstretched hand.

‘Oh.’

His hand was as warm as yesterday. Warm enough to heat her own.

And thick, solid. Of course, not a bad… no, a pleasant feeling.

She thought touching Kallion would be a disaster.

Thump, thump.

Unlike yesterday, when she’d been flustered by the newness of it, Agnes’s heart pounded.

Maybe holding the hand of someone you have a crush on was more thrilling than she’d expected.

While Agnes was caught up in these subtle feelings—

Whoosh—

He pulled her up in one smooth motion.

She hadn’t even braced her legs, but her body was lifted up just like that.

The way he could lift someone like her with one hand made Agnes fall for Kallion all over again.

‘Wow, he’s strong…’

But Agnes was someone who had never let anyone discover her Kallion obsession.

Sure, she’d just been a little dazed by his face being so close, but from now on, she needed to keep her poker face.

Agnes composed herself and answered Kallion with a cool tone.

“Thanks. For helping me up.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kallion replied casually.

But then he paused for a moment and looked at Agnes again.

“By the way, did something happen today?”

“Huh?”

From Agnes’s perspective, it was a random question. She had no idea why he was suddenly asking.

But Kallion didn’t seem to think so.

With a slightly uneasy expression, he asked again.

“Why didn’t you… No, are you really sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing’s wrong…”

Pressed by his intensity, Agnes answered in a shrinking voice.

Actually, something was wrong.

Not being able to admire Kallion’s face that morning was a big deal for Agnes.

But how could she say that out loud?

Especially to Kallion.

There was no way she could say she hadn’t peeked into his room this morning, unlike usual!

‘Absolutely not.’

To Agnes’s denial, Kallion quickly followed up.

“Then did you oversleep?”

“No, I woke up at the same time as always.”

“Then why…”

Kallion looked unconvinced.

‘…Wait a minute. Do I look different from yesterday?’

Agnes started to wonder if there was some change she hadn’t noticed herself.

‘If Kallion is asking this much, maybe I really do look unwell?’

A realization dawned on her.

‘I guess I really should have admired Kallion’s face this morning.’

She hadn’t peeked into his room today, worried she might get caught—or maybe just feeling guilty.

But maybe that was the wrong choice.

‘Is it obvious I didn’t get my daily vitamins?’

It was a reasonable deduction.

She felt sorry for Kallion, but it seemed like she’d have to resume her morning ritual from tomorrow.

‘Back to it from tomorrow.’

Her resolve to stop observing Kallion lasted only a single morning before changing again.

“…Really? Anyway, you were on your way to the Swordsmanship Department building, right? Let’s go together.”

“Huh? Oh. Sure.”

Agnes deliberately avoided looking at his face as she answered.

Especially today, with her immunity low, looking at him too long would be bad for her heart.

“But are you planning to keep holding my hand?”

“H-hand?”

When she looked down at his question—

Agnes was still tightly holding Kallion’s hand.

“S-sorry!”

She hurriedly let go and apologized.

“It was just so warm, I did it without thinking… No, I mean, it’s not like that, I just…!”

So embarrassing.

Agnes’s face turned red as she stumbled over her excuses.

She always pretended to be indifferent to Kallion in front of her peers, never letting it show.

But in front of him, it was never easy.

Just holding his hand for a moment had made her get lost in unnecessary thoughts and show this clumsy side of herself.

“No need to apologize.”

Kallion chuckled and replied briefly.

“Let’s go. We’ll be late.”

“Uh, uh!”

Agnes hurriedly followed behind Kallion.

‘He just smiled, didn’t he?’

Had I ever seen such a smile during all the countless times I had secretly watched him?

Because of his smile, her heart simply wouldn’t calm down.

Thump, thump.

Her heart kept pounding loudly.

Perhaps it was inevitable, since it was her first time seeing the smile of the one she had a crush on, and that too, right before her eyes.

Agnes kept repeating to herself, trying to calm down.

‘The one next to me isn’t Kallion. The one next to me is just a doll. The one next to me is just a statue.’

Since morning, she had been repeatedly losing her composure, so Agnes didn’t notice at all what had just happened.

She didn’t realize that she had tried to let go of the hand that had helped her up right away.

Nor did she remember the moment when his thick hand gripped hers tightly again, not letting her escape.