VII. The Moment Seasons Change

“Ruby, where are you hiding? Meow, meow—”

After calling meow-meow several times, a tiny kitten crawled out from under the wall, making real meowing sounds. The cat approached Florencia happily, rubbing its head against her knees and the hem of her skirt.

“Have you been well? Let’s eat dinner now.”

Florencia took out several foods suitable for the cat from the basket she had brought and set them under a tree where autumn leaves had accumulated abundantly.

“Tonight’s dinner was prepared by Father Ludwig, who asked me to send his regards to you. Who is he, you ask? The person I love most in this world……”

Though no one was watching, she became unnecessarily shy, covering her mouth and giggling.

“Is it delicious? Eat a lot and grow quickly, okay?”

Perhaps because it was a place no one visited, Florencia, feeling at ease, was much more lively than usual. Though the cat only made meowing sounds and pleasant purring noises, she continued to stroke its head and talk to it.

“Ruby, there are scratch marks on the tree—did you make them? Can you climb up there too?”

That’s when it happened. Though she had thought no one was around, suddenly an angry voice came from above, startling Florencia almost to the point of fainting.

“Seriously. You’ve been making so much noise I can’t sleep. Who are you?”

Someone suddenly jumped down from the tree where she had thought no one was present.

“Eek!”

The person who jumped landed lightly on the ground, but Florencia, who had been crouching under the tree, was so startled that she lost her balance and fell backward.

“What are you? How did you get in here?”

Cassian, a boy with black hair tinged with red and burning crimson eyes, was extremely annoyed at having his rare moment of solitude disturbed. He glared at the unwelcome intruder who sat pathetically on the dirt ground, trembling.

She looks young…… Has word already spread even to the new students?

‘This is really becoming troublesome.’

Having returned to the capital after nearly a year, Cassian was completely fed up with the existence of women, which had been unfamiliar to him to begin with. As soon as rumors spread of his return from his territory, love letters and gifts poured into both the Esteban mansion and the Academy. The senders ranged from young ladies barely twelve years old—too young to even be called ladies—to debutantes his own age, and even noblewomen of the capital who were more than ten years his senior.

The prestigious Marquis Esteban family were owners of vast northern territories rich in resources. And the young head of that family was the 19-year-old Cassian von Esteban.

Considering that the aging emperor was already quite old and his heir, the crown prince, was grown with a spouse and children, Cassian was currently the most eligible bachelor in the capital. Most nobles used marriage as a means of forming alliances between families and for mutual benefit. This was especially true the higher one’s rank. Since quite a few students at the Academy were already engaged, it was quite rare for a high-ranking noble like him to not even have a potential match being discussed.

The problem was that he himself found such matters annoying and didn’t even want to know the details.

Recently, he had grown weary of energetic ladies who, not content with just sending letters, came directly to the marquis’s residence begging to meet him just once or to be their partner at a ball. He had thought the Imperial Academy was fortunate for prohibiting outside visitors, but that was a grave misconception. Though male and female classes were separated, every time Cassian walked down the corridor, headed to the dormitory, or exited the main gate, he was followed by the admiring gazes and squealing sounds of young ladies his age. Their goals were all the same. Since his personality kept him from appearing at social gatherings or parties where men and women mingled, they wanted to somehow capture his heart within the Academy and eventually become the marchioness.

‘Are women naturally such shameless beings? I should make myself clear this time to prevent more trouble.’

He glared at Florencia, openly displaying his anger. The old, unused garden was a rather satisfying retreat Cassian had recently discovered. He had been extremely pleased that no one came there and had decided to use it until graduation, but now even that was being disturbed.

“I asked who you are. Answer me.”

“……”

Florencia extended her trembling hands behind her, trying to avoid him as he approached more intimidatingly, gradually backing away. Though the crimson-eyed boy, much taller than other young gentlemen his age, was objectively quite handsome, his hostile gaze made such considerations completely irrelevant.

In truth, young ladies who had grown up as nobles without any hardships, receiving only love, tended to be attracted to things like forbidden love or the charm of bad boys. For example, they found more appeal in cold-mannered boys who seemed wounded than in neat young gentlemen who displayed predictable chivalry and manners. Especially if the subject was far more handsome than fumbling boys their age and had a background like a protagonist from a novel…….

If Cassian had known this fact earlier, he might have taken a different approach from the beginning and lived more comfortably, but unfortunately, despite his appearance, his inner self was merely an awkward boy with no such sophistication.

“I, I’m a student at the Academy…… you see?”

“Obviously. But how did you get in here when it’s blocked off?”

Thud, her backside hit the tree trunk. That meant there was nowhere left to retreat.

“Over there……”

Florencia carefully extended her hand, pointing to a small hole under a crumbling wall. Looking in the direction of her trembling finger, Cassian said incredulously,

“Ha, you crawled through a hole like that, which looks like only a cat could pass through?”

“……”

“Seeing that you attend the Academy, you must be a noble lady, yet you abandoned your pride for a man you fancy. Do you have no minimum self-respect as a lady?”

It wasn’t a lie that she had entered through the hole in the wall—Florencia’s knees were covered with round dirt stains. As far as Cassian knew, ladies were beings who abhorred the very idea of dirt on their hands and feet. Yet she had endured such a thing to meet him?

He shook his head with an expression of complete disgust.

“And how did you know I was here? Did you think I’d agree to meet you if you followed me, getting dirt on your hands? Whether you crawled through or climbed over the wall, I don’t care—just leave immediately.”

“……Pardon?”

“You don’t understand? I have no intention of going to a ball with you, so stop dreaming, stop bothering me, and get out. And never come back here.”

“Never come back, you say?”

“Yes.”

Cassian’s voice was extremely cold. At this point, Florencia sensed something was wrong. This place had been her private space where no one had entered until now, yet this arrogant boy who suddenly appeared from nowhere was acting as if it were his home.

Moreover, leave immediately? And never come back? Though currently unused, wasn’t this officially property of the Imperial Academy, not private property? The entrance was blocked, so he must have climbed over the wall too…… Does he think this garden belongs to him?

Florencia was dumbfounded, but thinking she should calmly clarify the situation, she carefully began to speak.

“Um, I think you’re misunderstanding something…… I have no intention of going to a ball either.”

But Cassian interrupted her with a snort.

“Ah, a new student? Since you haven’t had your debutante yet, you can’t attend balls, so you came to ask for a date instead? These days even young ladies know no shame, I swear.”

Even the typically docile Florencia began to grow angry at these repeated misunderstandings. Judging from what he was saying, she could guess what he was thinking. He must have been avoiding ladies who pestered him due to his popularity, and now finding Florencia here, he assumed she was one of them. However, she too wanted no part in this kind of misunderstanding.

Besides, this boy seemed to have a twisted personality somewhere, so it would be best not to get involved with him…….

“I think there’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t come here to meet you, young gentleman. I especially have no desire whatsoever to attend a ball with you or go on a date, so you needn’t worry about that.”

Um….. Though her voice was very quiet, was it okay to speak so bluntly?

Having never had a lengthy conversation with a boy her age, much less expressed her thoughts so directly, Florencia felt suddenly frightened inside.

‘But… since he was rude first, this level of response should be acceptable, right?’

Though her heart trembled, she kept her eyes lowered to hide it, but as expected, this crimson-eyed boy had a strange personality.

“You didn’t come to meet me? Then what are you doing here?”

At his genuinely incredulous voice, Florencia was at a loss for words.

Just then, baby kitten Ruby, who had darted behind the tree in fear of the boy’s sharp tone, cautiously crept out.

“Oh! Ruby!”

“……”

“Look! I didn’t come to meet you, but to see this little one.”