Chapter 2

“Why is there suddenly a baby?”

Amid the cheerful laughter of the child, the senior’s bewildered voice rang out.

What kind of excuse could I make here? Should I say, ‘When I woke up this morning, this baby was sleeping beside me’?

Would he believe me if I said that? Or would it be more convincing to say, ‘Senior, meet my hidden child’?

Every possible explanation felt absurd, so she couldn’t bring herself to look at the senior’s face. Instead, she clenched her teeth and stared at Little One.

“Uddle, ggle, mm.”

Had Little One noticed my irritation? 

The baby, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly closed his mouth.

With his lower lip sticking out, Little One tilted his head this way and that, then suddenly let out a loud sound toward the senior.

“Ah!”

“Quiet, Little One. You’ll wake others up.”

She hurriedly tried to pull the blanket back over the baby, but Little One shook his head and continued babbling toward the senior.

“A-woo-ah! Huba-ah!”

“I said be quiet. Senior, this… Well, it’s a long story to explain…”

“Right, you said you were on an errand?”

“When I woke up this morning… Pardon?”

What was that response?

Startled by the unexpected reaction, she tore her gaze away from the baby and looked at the senior. For some reason, he was staring blankly above her head.

“It’s a rare holiday, and you’re running errands from the morning. Be careful not to trip on the stairs.”

“Um, Senior?”

“Since you’re here on an errand, I won’t tell anyone I saw you here.”

“Well, actually…”

“Enjoy the festival later, and I’ll see you in class.”

“Senior?”

She called out to him in a bewildered tone, but he simply waved lightly and turned away without hesitation. He walked down the corridor without looking back even once.

‘What’s going on? Is he just pretending not to know?’

Or was it too much for him to handle, so he simply left?

‘That’s probably it.’

After wrapping Little One in the blanket again, she dashed up to the third floor, where Felix’s room was located.

Panting heavily, she carefully knocked on Felix’s door with her foot. Since Felix’s roommate had left for his hometown the previous day, there was no need to worry about him.

‘But why isn’t he coming out?’

Just as she was about to knock harder out of impatience, the door opened, and Felix appeared.

His silvery hair, tinged with a bluish hue, was disheveled, making it clear he had just woken up.

“What’s this about at this hour?”

Felix’s annoyed expression softened the moment he saw her.

His sharp, cat-like light gray eyes slowly scanned her from head to toe.

“Do you even know what time it is? It’s 7 a.m.”

As he questioned her in an accusatory tone, a thought crossed her mind.

‘Why do girls think someone like him is attractive?’

Was it because he was considered a cold-hearted handsome man? Cold, but seemingly tender toward his lover?

As if. He was just plain mean.

But right now, the only person she could rely on was this mean-spirited friend, so she put on a smile and spoke in the softest voice she could muster.

“I came because I have something urgent to discuss.”

“At seven in the morning?”

“Exactly. That’s why it’s urgent.”

Felix opened the door wide, crossed his arms, and leaned against the doorway.

“So, what’s so urgent that you had to sneak into the men’s dormitory like a criminal at 7 a.m.?”

“I didn’t sneak in… And I didn’t commit any crimes.”

“You didn’t come in confidently either.”

Well, that was true…

While she momentarily lost her words, Felix gestured toward her chest with his chin.

“What’s that?”

“First, just look at this.”

She carefully pulled down the blanket. Little One raised his head.

“Oom-ma!”

“Yeah, peek-a-boo.”

When she responded indifferently, Little One stomped his feet excitedly.

“Ha-woo-ah!”

“…Who is that child?”

Felix, who had been watching them, asked with a stiff expression.

“Is that your child?”

…What did he just say?

This time, she was so dumbfounded that she couldn’t say anything and just stared at his face.

His sharp, gray eyes always looked cold and calculating, but today they seemed particularly piercing.

Felix alternated his gaze between her and Little One as if trying to figure out the truth.

Sensing that his thoughts were heading in a bad direction, she hurriedly shouted.

“No!”

“Nya!”

Little One also shouted in agreement, as if supporting her. 

Good job, Little One!

Encouraged, she continued her explanation.

“You know that’s impossible. When have I ever shown signs of being pregnant? Or disappeared suddenly to give birth?”

“You… haven’t. But still.”

Felix, who had been stroking his chin while staring at Little One, suddenly reached out and grabbed a lock of her hair.

“If it’s not true, doesn’t the hair color match a little too well?”

After a moment, he muttered in a slightly uncomfortable voice.

She frowned slightly and alternated her gaze between her hair and Little One’s.

Now that she thought about it…

‘It is the same blonde color.’

However, saying they were the same was a bit of an overstatement.

Her hair was a striking golden blonde that stood out, while Little One’s hair was so light it seemed almost translucent.

“What do you mean, the same? If it were an unusual color like yours, maybe, but blonde is common. Besides, Little One’s hair is even lighter than mine. And look, his face doesn’t resemble mine at all.”

“Little One?”

Felix still sounded skeptical as he asked, and she gestured toward the child with her eyes.

“This one, I mean. And above all, I don’t even have a lover. How would I have a child on my own?”

“Bba!”

Little One, who had been looking only at her and ignoring Felix entirely, laughed.

He’s talking about you. Don’t laugh like that.

But more baffling than the innocent Little One was Felix, who nodded in agreement at her last statement as if it made perfect sense.

“That’s true.”

While she was relieved that he believed her innocence, she also felt an inexplicable sense of defeat.

Why was it that he didn’t believe her more logical arguments, yet instantly accepted the fact that she didn’t have a lover?

She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“For now, come inside. We can talk in detail here.”

She nodded and followed him in. She didn’t want to wake anyone by talking in the hallway.

The dormitory, shared by two people, consisted of a common living room, a shared bathroom, and two bedrooms.

Since meals were usually taken in the cafeteria, the space only had a small area for snacks, but no kitchen for cooking.

“Sit on the sofa over there.”

Felix muttered politely as he tossed two more logs into the fireplace.

‘Even if you tell me to sit on the sofa…’

She frowned at the messy state of the sofa. The living room she shared with Alice was relatively tidy, but this one was so chaotic it made her question if it had the same layout as her room.

As if reading her thoughts, Felix walked over, gathered the clothes piled on the sofa, and carried them to his room.

Only then did she sit on the sofa and lay Little One down on it.

“Must’ve been stuffy, huh?”

“Prrr.”

She unwrapped the blanket that had been tightly wrapped around Little One.

“Ah?”

Little One, seemingly fascinated by the change in scenery, turned over and looked around.

“Be careful not to fall.”

But of course, Little One didn’t listen to her.

“I said you’ll get hurt if you fall.”

When Little One kept trying to crawl, she eventually placed them on the floor.

As the child crawled around the carpet, exploring, Felix returned to the living room with a teapot and teacups.

He approached the fireplace but stopped halfway and sat down next to her.

“There’s no milk left, so do you want sugar in your tea?”

“No, I’ll take it plain.”

When she lightly shook her head, Felix nodded as if he understood and placed his hand on the teapot.

The pendant dangling near his chest glowed blue.

Soon, white steam began to rise from the teapot. It was much faster than boiling it directly over the fireplace.

‘What a waste of magic.’

She clicked her tongue without realizing it, and Felix crossed his legs with a smug expression.

‘Yeah, you’re amazing. I bet you’re the only one in this academy who wastes magic on boiling tea.’

Though she couldn’t stand most things about Felix, she had to admit his magical skills were exceptional.

Not only was his mana affinity high, but his natural magic reserves were far greater than those of other students.

On top of that, he was smart enough to perform simple spells without formulas by the age of three.

When he entered the academy, the notoriously proud headmaster had personally come to “recruit” him.

‘He can probably perform most spells without formulas by now.’

It was a world she, who barely scraped into the academy, could never understand.

“For now, drink this and warm up. No matter how close it is, what were you thinking going out dressed like that in this weather?”

Felix muttered, eyeing her clothes as if he found her pitiful. She accepted the warm mug and checked her outfit.

‘I didn’t wear a coat.’

She laughed awkwardly.

“I was in such a rush to leave.”

Before she could even finish her reply, Felix glanced at the blanket she had wrapped around Little One.

“Focusing on Little One left me no time to think about my own clothes.”

She wasn’t sure why she was explaining herself, but Felix’s sharp gaze made her feel small, and she instinctively shrank her shoulders.

Avoiding his eyes, she took a sip of tea. The warmth spreading down her throat seemed to melt her frozen body.

“Ah!”

Little One, who had crawled back to her, grabbed the sofa and stood up. The child reached out toward her mug.

“Are you thirsty too, Little One?”

Felix, quick to notice, brought over a mug filled with water and a small teaspoon.

“So, what’s the story?”

He placed the cup on the table with a clatter and asked.

“Well, the thing is…”

As she fed Little One with water with the teaspoon, she explained what had happened.

When she woke up, Little One was next to her, and there were no signs of intrusion. She had come to him because he was the only one who could help. And on the way, she had run into Senior Denian.

When her story ended, Felix crossed his arms with a dissatisfied expression.

“What about the others?”

“Alice went home, and besides Senior Denian, I didn’t run into anyone…”

“No, not that. I mean, was there anyone else besides Little One?”