Chapter 4

The tangled fantasies in her head were already eating away at her reason.

She wanted to see more, to get closer, and perhaps to touch.

More deeply, in that way, until she would not want to pull away, clinging and thick.

The deeper her thoughts went, the more strangely her toes curled on their own, and strength entered her thighs, making them tremble faintly.

Before she knew it, even her breath had grown hot and unsteady.

Within her hazy, swaying consciousness, the only thing that came to mind was that wet gaze directed solely at her.

“……Ah, Raymond.”

And at the moment that name finally slipped from between her lips.

“Hk.”

Diana’s eyes flew open as if she had been doused in cold water.

She hurriedly pulled up the hand that had been below and covered her mouth, but the startled, scattered breaths did not calm easily.

In an instant, her face flushed red.

“I’m crazy. I’m crazy.”

She hastily pulled the blanket over herself all the way to the top of her head.

Completely hiding her body, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to try to sleep.

Naturally, that night, Diana did not sleep a wink.

* * *

“What’s going on? Raymond Black skipped all the exams?”

The next day, Raymond did not come to school.

Whispering voices spread here and there around the examination grounds.

“Wow. That only works out great for Everhart.”

Half listening to the talk that had already flowed over to her, Diana adjusted her grip on her sword.

It would be a lie to say it did not bother her, but for now, Diana had to focus on the swordsmanship sparring exam right in front of her.

It was certainly beyond expectation that he would not come to the examination grounds at all, but as the whispering students were saying, it was also true that Raymond’s absence was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her.

“That’s enough!”

After the sharp sound of clashing swords rang out several times, the tip of her sword stopped precisely in front of her opponent’s throat.

The sparring without Raymond was surprisingly simple.

Rather, once he was gone, it felt as though the gap between her and the other students in the same class had really been this great.

Unlike before, when no victor had been decided until both of them were drenched in sweat, the outcome tilted before their swords had even crossed more than a few times.

“Ha.”

After neatly finishing even the final spar, Diana let out the breath that had built up.

Under the pouring sunlight, sweat ran down along her jawline.

If there was a problem, it was that no matter how much she wiped away her sweat with the back of her hand, her gaze kept drifting without her realizing it toward one side of the empty sparring grounds.

An overwhelming first place.

It was certainly a result she had long hoped for, but strangely, it did not feel as fulfilling as she had thought it would.

It only felt hollow, as though something inside had been emptied out.

And unfortunately for Diana, that strange feeling only grew larger as time passed.

Because Raymond Black still did not come to school for days afterward.

He was skipping not only the swordsmanship sparring, but every practical exam reflected in the end-of-term results.

Even she, who had thought he would rest for only a day or two, could no longer pretend not to know once his absence passed three days, then became five, and before she knew it, almost a week.

She had intended to defeat Raymond in the practical exams and take back first place.

She wanted to keep him clearly beneath her and make it so he could never again look down on her with that superior face.

‘At this rate, he might not even make the top ten at all.’

But this was not the picture she had wanted.

She had wanted to win, not to see him fall all the way down there in the first place.

“This isn’t right. I need to check for myself.”

In the end, on the day Raymond’s absence passed ten days, Diana got up from her seat, pressing a hand to her throbbing head.

Since Raymond usually went around alone without any friends, and even paid extra to use a private room in the dormitory, there was no one who knew what state he was in right now.

Even the professor merely brushed it off, saying it seemed his health was not good.

“Is there anyone who can bring some course materials to Black’s dormitory?”

Fortunately, the opportunity came soon enough.

Around the end of the last class, the professor lifted a fairly thick set of materials and spoke.

“Me! I will! I’ll take them.”

No sooner had those words fallen than Diana’s hand shot straight up, and all the eyes in the classroom turned toward her at once.

Since she normally did nothing but clash with Raymond, it was only natural that the students’ eyes held open suspicion.

But Diana acted as if it were nothing and smiled as she accepted the materials.

There could not have been a better excuse than this to go check on him herself.

Right.

This was not because of any special reason.

She was just going to check what kind of state her rival was in.

On the battlefield, examining the enemy’s condition first was the most basic strategy.

Even in that tactics book she had read before, some famous general had definitely said something like that.

She could not remember who it was, but anyway, if a famous person had said it, there was no way it could be wrong.

So the fact that she was now heading to Raymond’s dormitory with a stack of books in her arms was, to the very end, a strategic move.

Fortunately, Raymond’s room was at the far end of the first floor, so it was not difficult to find.

“Black! The professor told me to bring you the course materials!”

Standing in front of the door, she took one deep breath and knocked with the tip of her foot.

“Come out for a moment!”

But no matter how long she waited, no answer came back.

At first, she thought he would come out soon enough and waited, but even after knocking several more times, the room remained quiet.

Five minutes, ten minutes.

As time passed, Diana’s uneasiness gradually turned into clear irritation.

“Fine. Fine.”

Pulling herself off the door she had been leaning against, she clicked her tongue.

It did not seem likely that Raymond, who had no friends, would have dragged his sick body outside somewhere, yet the closed door showed no sign of opening.

She had endured for over ten minutes because now that she had come all this way, simply going back seemed as though it would only bother her more, but no matter how she thought about it, coming all the way here in the first place had been a mistake.

There was no way Raymond would obediently open the door for her, and she had expected too much for nothing.

At this rate, it would have been much better to return to her room and practice for the final practical magic exam instead.

And it was just as she was about to turn around.

Click.

From behind her came the sound of the door opening.

Startled, Diana turned back, and before her stood Raymond, leaning one shoulder against the half-open door.

“What.”

A sunken voice.

Leaning crookedly against the doorframe, he lowered his gaze and looked down at Diana standing in the hallway.

“……”

For a moment, Diana forgot her answer and looked up at Raymond.

It seemed the words that he had been too unwell to come to school were definitely true.

Because Raymond was drenched in sweat.

Sweat gathered at the ends of his black hair and slowly ran down along his jawline, and his shirt was darkly soaked from around the neck to the chest, clinging to his skin.

Was it because he had a fever?

His face was flushed red, and even his breathing was clearly rougher than before.

For an instant, that sight felt very stimulating…… no, unfamiliar, so Diana unconsciously averted her eyes.

The face that had stolen her sleep for several nights and the heated figure before her now kept overlapping, and she had to force the images that rose in her mind back down.

“Huh? Ah, no. I just…. The professor told me to deliver the course materials.”

The inside of her throat was so dry that the ends of her words naturally trailed off.

She hurriedly held out the stack of books, but because she had put too much force into her hands, they shook unsteadily as though several might fall at any moment.

Raymond was the one whose fever had risen because he was sick, but strangely, it felt as if that heat was spreading into her body too.

“Put them down and get lost.”

But since she, too, was a person with reason, when Raymond spoke in his usual rude, mannerless tone, her senses gradually returned to their proper place as well.

“……What? Ha.”

Right.

This was what he had always been like.