Chapter 53

‘What is this?’

While Elena was frozen in shock, Felix’s voice, which should not have been audible in this place, suddenly rang in her ears.

“Elly, throw that outside!”

What? The Emron Potion? 

She stood there blankly, unable to process what he meant, when someone suddenly blocked her view.

And then…

Boom-!

A loud explosion echoed through the room.

***

It was the moment Felix was left alone in the club room, flipping through a book. A knock sounded on the door, and a child walked in.

It was a familiar face. The boy was a student from the magic department. Although they weren’t particularly close, Felix assumed he had come to see Elena. That thought alone soured his mood.

Why was this boy looking for Elena? 

Felix wanted to ask but instead replied curtly.

“If you’re looking for Elena, she’s gone to take her exam.”

“Oh, I saw her leave earlier. But I’m here to see you.”

“Me?”

Only then did Felix set his book aside and focus on what the boy was saying. The boy glanced around nervously before leaning in and whispering, as if sharing a secret no one else should hear.

“I saw Nate switch your Emron Potion earlier.”

“What?”

“He kept glancing at you and laughing during the exam, so I thought I’d warn you just in case. That potion looked strange—you should take it to the professor…”

“Damn it!”

Before the boy could finish, Felix bolted out of the club room. He rushed toward the classroom at the same speed he had when Elena called him from the library.

When he burst through the back door of the classroom, all eyes turned to him, including Elena’s.

But the potion bottle in Elena’s hand was already half-open. Felix saw something bubbling inside the bottle and sprinted forward.

“Elly, throw that outside!”

However, Elena just stood there blankly, unable to comprehend his words.

Damn it. 

Felix muttered a curse under his breath and snatched the potion bottle from her hand.

At that very moment, something exploded.

***

Elena had no idea what had just happened. Felix had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the potion bottle from her hand, and then…

With a deafening explosion, the classroom descended into chaos. Thick smoke filled the room, and students screamed in panic.

“Elena! Let’s get out of here!”

Alice, who had been sitting next to her during the exam, shouted amidst the chaos. Her face was barely visible through the haze of smoke.

But Elena couldn’t just leave. Coughing from the acrid smoke, she frantically searched for Felix.

The potion bottle he had snatched had exploded, and Felix had taken the full brunt of it.

Though she didn’t understand why the harmless Emron Potion had exploded, one thing was clear—Felix needed to be taken to the infirmary immediately.

Unfortunately, the professor overseeing the exam was too busy evacuating the other students to pay attention to their situation.

“Felix? Felix, wake up.”

No matter how much she shook him, Felix didn’t move. Desperation mounting, Elena turned to Alice, who had come to her side.

“Alice, we need to get Felix to the infirmary now!”

Alice quickly grasped the situation and grabbed Felix’s right arm.

“You take that side. Let’s lift him together.”

Together, they managed to lift Felix. Alice, staggering slightly, shouted toward the students murmuring outside.

“Someone, help us! It’s an emergency!”

A tall boy, as big as Felix, stepped forward and hoisted Felix onto his back. Carefully, he began walking toward the infirmary.

The professor, having finally noticed their predicament after evacuating the other students, followed closely behind.

The thick smoke had spread into the hallway. Students from other classrooms, startled by the commotion, fled the building in panic.

But Elena couldn’t focus on any of that. Her mind was consumed by one thought—Felix’s safety.

Walking behind the boy carrying Felix, Elena checked his condition. The smoke made it hard to see clearly, but at least there was no visible blood.

That was a small relief, but she couldn’t let her guard down. She had no way of knowing what kind of internal injuries or other effects the explosion might have caused.

The smoke made her dizzy, and she covered her nose with the back of her hand. Thankfully, they reached the infirmary quickly.

Their hair was coated in a fine layer of dust, a testament to the chaos they had just endured.

The nurse looked at them in shock.

“What on earth happened?”

The boy gently laid Felix on a bed. Seeing him lying there motionless, Elena couldn’t hold back her tears.

“I… I was just… taking my exam…”

Unable to speak through her sobs, Alice explained on her behalf.

“We were taking a practical magic exam, and something exploded. Felix was the closest to it and fainted from the impact.”

“What?”

The nurse, alarmed, immediately began examining Felix. At first glance, he appeared unharmed.

After checking his vitals and pressing gently on various parts of his body, the nurse let out a small sigh.

“He seems fine for now.”

“What about internal injuries?”

“There don’t appear to be any. But we’ll need to wait until he wakes up to be sure. He might have hit his head.”

“This is all my fault.”

“Elly, why do you think it’s your fault?”

“I must have mishandled the Emron Potion.”

Elena broke down in tears again, clutching Alice for support. It felt like everything was her fault.

If only she had noticed something was wrong with the potion earlier. If only she had thrown it outside when Felix told her to, things have turned out differently.

Time seemed to crawl as she cried in Alice’s arms. Every minute felt like an eternity.

In those few minutes that Felix was unconscious, Elena imagined a world without him.

She would continue her ordinary academy life with Alice. During vacations, she would visit the Christian Estate to spend time with Lindsey and Tony. After graduation, she would pursue her dream of starting a toy business.

Felix, despite being her childhood friend, didn’t hold a particularly significant place in her life. He was just one of many people who made up her world.

Life would go on. But the thought of a world without Felix made her chest tighten painfully.

She didn’t want this. She didn’t want to lose someone precious to her again.

She remembered the desolate garden where she had once cried alone, mourning her mother. Felix had been the one to comfort her then.

“Wake up.”

She murmured through her tears.

“Please, wake up.”

Perhaps he heard her plea.

Just as her tears finally stopped, Felix opened his eyes.

“Ah…”

“Felix, are you okay?”

Blinking, he looked around before suddenly sitting up.

“Elly, where’s Elly?”

He looked ready to leap out of bed. Elena, breaking away from Alice, shouted at him.

“Where do you think you’re going in your condition?”

Seeing her, Felix looked bewildered. Slowly, he approached her and looked her up and down, as if checking to make sure she was unharmed.

It was Felix who had been unconscious moments ago, yet here he was, worrying about her.

Tears she thought had dried began to flow again. Felix’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Elly, are you hurt? Are you okay?”

He was the one who had just woken up from fainting. He was the one who might have lingering effects from the explosion. Yet he was worried about her.

His concern only made her angrier.

Before he could say anything else, she yelled at him.

“Okay? Do you think I’m okay? You nearly died! You just woke up after fainting! Who knows what kind of aftereffects you might have? And yet, instead of checking yourself, you’re worrying about me?”

Felix shrugged, as if to prove he was fine.

“I’m okay. I used a defensive spell before the explosion. I fainted from the shock, but I’m not hurt.”

Despite his explanation, Elena couldn’t calm down. She knew she shouldn’t be angry at him, but she couldn’t help it.

“Are you insane? Do you think a defensive spell solves everything? What if you had been even a second too late and gotten hurt?”

Felix sighed and gestured for the others in the room to leave. The nurse, Alice, and the boy who had carried him out hesitated before stepping outside.

Now, it was just the two of them.

Felix spread his arms.

“See? I’m not hurt. So calm down.”

“You could have been.”

Felix continued to explain.

“I used a defensive spell. I wasn’t actually hurt.”

“Do you even think before you act?”

She wanted to ask if he had any sense at all, but the words caught in her throat as a sense of déjà vu washed over her.

This situation felt familiar. It had happened before, though their roles had been reversed.

– You said you’d be the hostage if they let Little One go? Do you even know what that means? Do you have nine lives or something? Or do you just not care if you die?

Those were Felix’s words to her after she had been taken hostage by Anguis during Saint Esna’s Festival.

Instead of asking if she was okay or if she had been scared, he had immediately scolded her.

At the time, Elena had been furious at him. How could he say such things?

She had even felt disappointed in him.

But now, with their roles reversed, she found herself scolding him out of worry as well.

Perhaps, on that day, Felix hadn’t been indifferent to her feelings but had been just as worried about her as she was about him now.

It took months for Elena to fully understand Felix’s emotions from that time. The fear of almost losing a close friend right before his eyes, and the helplessness of being unable to do anything.

He hadn’t been angry at her but at himself.

Elena tried to calm herself. Once she understood her emotions, it became a bit easier to manage them.

In a steadier voice, she confessed her feelings honestly.

“I was worried about you.”

“……”

“It would’ve been better if I had gotten hurt instead. Really, I would’ve been fine. You didn’t have to go out of your way to protect me.”

“It’s not fine for me.”

For a moment, Elena wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly.

“What?”

Felix looked straight into her eyes and spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.

“It’s not fine for me.”

His words left a brief silence between them.

What… did he just say?

Felix, looking startled by his own statement, avoided her gaze.

“So, uh… what exactly do you mean by that?”

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Think about it. If you had gotten hurt, my mother would’ve given me an earful. I’d rather be the one who gets hurt.”

“Okay, I kind of get what you’re saying.”

Oddly enough, Elena found herself agreeing with his excuse—or was it an explanation?

If she had been injured in this incident, Madam Jane would indeed have given Felix a very hard time.

“And think about it rationally, Elena. Because I intervened, this ended with minimal damage. If I hadn’t, things would’ve been much worse. Not just for you but for the other students in the room as well. I made the best decision.”

“That’s true.”

Elena wiped her still-damp cheeks. Maybe it was from all the crying, but her head was starting to ache slightly.

“Thank you. I feel like I’m always causing you trouble.”

But something felt off. Normally, Felix would’ve teased her with a smug remark like, “Took you long enough to realize that.” Yet now, he suddenly turned serious.

“And there’s one more reason why I stepped in.”