Chapter 23

It was before the previous student had graduated. Because the room had been hastily reassigned, the new room was located at the very end of the topmost floor.

“Is this really the only option?” 

Felix frowned. The staff member shrugged slightly.

“This room is only available because a student took a leave of absence. Spring break is in two months, so please bear with it for a little while.”

“But…”

Elena grabbed Felix’s arm as he tried to protest again. Shaking her head at his dissatisfied expression, she turned to the staff member with a smile.

“It can’t be helped. Thank you.”

“The room has already been cleaned thoroughly, so you shouldn’t have any issues using it. But if there’s anything inconvenient, feel free to let us know.”

After entering Elena’s information into the door’s magical lock, the staff member left.

Elena opened the door and stepped inside. The new room had the exact same layout as the one she was using before.

“I’ll take the inner room like I did before.”

As the staff member had said, the room was neat and clean. Nothing seemed to be lacking.

All that was left was to move her belongings.

“You can go now.” 

“You need to get your things, don’t you?”

“Yes, I can go now.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I can manage on my own.”

Felix snapped, 

“How are you going to move everything by yourself? Think before you speak.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, he left the room first. Elena stared blankly at his retreating figure before hurrying to follow him.

The room they returned to was the same as when they had left it. Just in case Little One had returned, Elena looked around, but no one was there.

Holding back tears, she began packing. She pulled out a large travel bag, usually reserved for trips home, and carefully placed her belongings inside.

Felix silently organized the heavier items, like books, next to her.

An awkward silence hung between them. They weren’t particularly close, but they had spent enough time together that being in the same space had never felt uncomfortable before.

To break the silence, Elena opened her mouth to speak.

“Little One…”

She didn’t know why she brought him up. Of all topics, why did it have to be about Little One?

Felix, who had been tying a string around a stack of books, looked up at her.

“Do you think he’s safe?”

“He’ll be fine.”

He tied the knot and placed the books on the desk with a dull thud.

“I was too distracted earlier to think about it, but now I’m certain. Little One must have returned to where he came from.”

His voice was filled with certainty, as if he truly believed it. But Elena couldn’t accept his words at face value.

“How can you be so sure?”

“There were no signs of anyone leaving or entering. Doesn’t this situation feel familiar? It’s just like when Little One first appeared in this room.”

He took the clothes from her frozen hands and placed them in the bag.

“Remember what I said on the first day? Someone must have used spatial magic to send Little One here. And it’s highly likely that it was his parents. If that’s the case, we can assume the opposite as well. His parents used magic to take him back.”

“But why?”

Her soft whisper cut through the stillness of the room.

“Why now, all of a sudden? You were the one who said that if his parents hadn’t come looking for him, it meant they had abandoned him using spatial magic. You even suggested we inform the professor so they could trace the magic to find his parents.”

It was strange. She wasn’t angry at Felix, but her voice kept rising without her realizing it.

Sensing her emotional state, Felix gently placed his hands on her shoulders. It was probably meant to calm her, but it had the opposite effect.

“No one looked for him for days. But now, out of nowhere, his parents took him back? It doesn’t make sense!”

“Elena, calm down.”

He lightly shook her shoulders.

“Little One was sick. Maybe that’s why they took him back.”

“Then why now? They abandoned him, didn’t they? They didn’t even look for him until now, but they took him back because he was sick? If they cared, they shouldn’t have abandoned him in the first place!”

She knew.

Felix’s explanation—that there were no signs of anyone entering the clinic and that Little One must have disappeared through magic—was the most plausible theory.

Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

“What if the person who used magic on Little One wasn’t his parent?”

What if Little One wasn’t safe, contrary to Felix’s assumption?

His theory, though plausible, had its flaws.

The person who sent Little One to her might not have been his parent.

Even if it was, they might not have taken him back but sent him somewhere else.

If that were the case, Little One might have ended up alone in an unfamiliar place, just as he had when he came to her.

‘How can you be so sure when you haven’t seen it with your own eyes?’

If the person who sent Little One to her wasn’t his parent, he might be crying alone in another unfamiliar place.

Little One had warmed up to her, but he was excessively wary of others.

Was he surrounded by strangers, crying his heart out?

These trivial thoughts, insignificant to anyone else but monumental to Little One, kept weighing on her mind, making her head ache.

They didn’t argue any further.

But just because they stopped talking didn’t mean her doubts disappeared. Her concerns and questions about Little One lingered deep in her mind.

Where had Little One gone?

***

When Alice returned to the academy after a pleasant vacation, she couldn’t hide her disbelief upon hearing that they had to change rooms.

Rather, she didn’t bother hiding it. She seemed genuinely furious at the academy’s unilateral decision.

“Why?”

She asked as she roughly pulled her uniform out of a box. Since she didn’t expect an answer, Elena stayed silent.

“Why do we have to move when everything was fine?”

The academy staff didn’t want the incident with Little One to be mentioned to others, including Alice, Elena’s roommate, who had been unintentionally involved.

Because of that, Elena couldn’t explain anything to her. All she could do was shrug her shoulders.

“This is ridiculous! I’m going to the administration office tomorrow to complain.”

Alice had already vented her frustration at the staff member who asked them to move rooms earlier. Apparently, that hadn’t been enough to calm her down.

After hearing all of Alice’s complaints, Elena lay down on her bed.

She should have unpacked her belongings, but she didn’t feel like it. Her body felt heavy and sluggish, like wet clothes weighed down with water.

Her head spun, and her eyelids felt heavy, likely from crying so much over the past two days.

‘What should I do?’

It was only dinnertime. There was still plenty of time before she could go to sleep.

But she wasn’t hungry, nor did she feel like unpacking. With those two options out of the way, she had nothing to do.

As she tried to recall what she usually did at this time, all she could think about was Little One. This was the time she would put him to bed when he got fussy from being sleepy.

That’s when she realized.

Without even noticing, her entire day had revolved around Little One in just a week.

Now that Little One was gone, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

‘What did I even do before he was here?’

She couldn’t remember. She just felt empty.

“Elly!”

With a loud bang, Alice burst into the room. Unlike her earlier grumbling about the academy, her voice was now cheerful.

“What are you doing? Are you already asleep?”

She sat at the edge of the bed, shaking a heavy cloth pouch.

“Someone brought hazelnuts! You love these, don’t you? They look delici—Elly? Why is your face so pale?”

Alice’s hand touched Elena’s forehead. Although the room was quite warm, Alice’s hand felt surprisingly cool.

But seeing Alice’s startled reaction, Elena realized it wasn’t that Alice’s hand was cold—it was that her forehead was hot.

“You’re burning up! Did you skip meals again? I told you to take care of yourself!”

Alice hurriedly set the pouch down and rushed out of the room. Elena raised her hand to touch her forehead. Just as Alice said, it was burning.

Had I caught a fever from Little One, or was it from waiting in the cold room all morning for Felix?

That night, Elena was bedridden with a fever, unable to think clearly.

***

That night, she dreamed.

She stood in a pitch-black space, and somewhere, she could hear Little One crying sadly.

“Ah-woo!”

It almost sounded like he was terrified.

‘Is Little One all alone?’

She ran frantically, trying to find him. She stumbled and fell several times in the darkness.

Each time, she got back up and ran toward the sound, but she couldn’t find him.

In fact, Little One’s cries seemed to grow farther and farther away.