The empty classroom was quiet and still.

Black hair swayed gently in the breeze. With half-lidded eyes, the figure sat slumped in a chair, leaning against the windowsill while gazing outside. His posture captured the languid mood of the afternoon.

The man’s gaze followed a woman heading toward the academy gates beyond the green trees. Her cream-colored hair, tied up in a single ponytail, bounced energetically with each step.

What carrot could possibly make this skittish filly—who had been so diligently avoiding him—run so eagerly?

He shifted slightly, propping his chin on his hand. The chair scraped against the floor with a grating sound.

The white filly stopped in front of a priest. More precisely, a male priest who appeared to be around her age. Judging by the green vine pattern embroidered on his cloak instead of the temple emblem, he was a priest who had only recently shed his apprentice status.

Rubellan’s expressionless eyes showed a hint of shallow curiosity.

The woman hugged the priest with obvious delight. At this, the corner of Rubellan’s mouth tightened almost imperceptibly, with a subtlety he himself might not have noticed.

She examined the priest’s body here and there, patting his arms vigorously like welcoming an old friend after a long absence. They clearly shared a comfortable familiarity.

The priest was unusually tall and handsome. His hair, more yellow-tinted and shinier than Rael’s, was almost blindingly bright under the midday sun.

There was something comical about Rael patting the shoulder of a man so much taller than herself. Like a child praising an adult.

Whatever they discussed must have been entertaining, as Rael burst into laughter and made playful expressions, despite the priest not saying much. These expressions, filled with a kind of ticklish delight, were quite different from any Rubellan had seen on her face before.

Still expressionless, Rubellan’s gaze moved from Rael’s flushed face to the priest.

And at that moment, his eyes met the priest’s.

The main gate and the classroom were quite far apart, beyond the range of normal human vision. Yet the priest’s gaze was clearly directed straight toward where Rubellan sat. At this, the corner of Rubellan’s mouth curved upward.

I thought he was just a puppy, but there’s something interesting sitting there.

Whether their eyes had truly met remained uncertain. What was clear, however, was that the priest’s gaze lingered on Rubellan’s classroom for a long while before dropping away.

The priest moved to Rael’s side. He embraced her shoulders and back while she chattered away, showing him something. The position seemed to deliberately block Rael from Rubellan’s view.

“Hmm.”

The pristine white priestly garments fluttering in the wind, concealing Rael, irritated him.

Very irritating indeed.

* * *

Rael ran down the tree-lined path in front of the academy toward the gate.

“Bastian!”

A bright smile bloomed on her fair, soft face.

“Rael.”

Bastian smiled as he watched her familiar face hurrying toward him.

“Wow! You finally finished your training and came back?”

“Yes. Have you been well?”

He had been an apprentice priest who had traveled far south for training and was now returning.

“Hey, you’ve grown so much in just a few months!”

Rael stood on her tiptoes, using her hand to measure and compare their heights.

“You seem to have gotten shorter.”

He was a childhood friend who had been with Rael since they were very young. Yumiel Village, where Rael grew up, was deep in the countryside. During a time when refugees overflowed from prolonged wars, it was a village built by people with nothing to eat who came to dig up tree roots from the mountains for sustenance.

Young Rael and Bastian had worked hard to escape that village. Now they were both in the Capital—she a mage, he a priest. Having spent so much time together, they were like family.

When Bastian left for his apprentice priest training, Rael felt somewhat lonely. Whether in Yumiel Village or the Capital, she was accustomed to having him nearby, making his absence particularly noticeable.

“Where did you go? You said the south, but it wasn’t a resort, was it?”

“A temple near the seaside. A more secluded place than here.”

“Wow! You must have eaten lots of seafood! Did anything interesting happen there?”

“What interesting things could happen to an apprentice priest?”

Bastian smiled gently as Rael spoke excitedly, already picturing the beautiful beach from just hearing about it.

“You mean you just worked in such a nice place? You should have gone out, met some women, you know…”

“You really say the most inappropriate things to a priest.”

“Priests these days are so open-minded. You need to keep up with the times. People might think priests can’t even marry.”

Temple priests weren’t prohibited from marriage or romance. Rael laughed loudly and hit his arm teasingly. Bastian brushed off his arm, which should have hurt, and spoke.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“Anything interesting happen to you?”

“Interesting things…”

There had been many things happening, just not interesting ones. For a moment, a troubled expression briefly crossed Rael’s face as she thought of a certain someone, and Bastian didn’t miss this subtle change.

“Did something happen?”

“What? No, nothing. Life here is always the same. Just bickering with Vivien, who’s always causing trouble…”

Even as she spoke, Rael’s mind occasionally drifted elsewhere.

A gust of wind from behind sent her ponytail swinging forward, hitting her cheek. When Rael squinted as hair brushed her eye, Bastian slowly removed his white glove and approached.

“Hold still. You’ll scratch your eye.”

He removed the hair. Bastian’s hand paused momentarily as he observed the delicate eyelashes trembling over Rael’s tightly closed eyes.

When nothing happened, Rael opened her eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Bastian’s face drew closer to Rael as she looked up with round eyes.

“W-what?”

When Rael stepped back hesitantly, Bastian took a step forward and grabbed her arm. His face remained close to her cheek.

Bastian took a deep breath.

“What perfume are you wearing?”

“Huh? Nothing?”

Rael was startled when he suddenly began sniffing.

Bastian’s eyebrows furrowed. He sensed a sweet, unpleasant scent. Simultaneously, he felt an intense gaze—dark, chilling, and ominous.

He raised his eyes toward the academy. Nothing was visible. The distance from the gate to the building was considerable, and trying to look closely only resulted in sunlight reflecting painfully off some windows. Yet his attention was drawn to one specific spot. This sensation transcended human intuition or feeling.

Something is definitely there.

Something his sacred power rejected.

Bastian pulled back.

“Rael.”

“Yes?”

Rael was sniffing her sleeve, wondering what smell he detected.

“Have you met anyone besides people from the academy?”

“What are you talking about? I’m either at the academy or the temple.”

“Tell me if you encounter any strange people.”

“There’s no one stranger than me around here.”

Bastian burst into laughter at her confident shoulder shrug. Rael’s complete lack of seriousness eased his tension somewhat.

Bastian reached out and pulled Rael’s clothes. She slid toward him effortlessly since she wasn’t resisting, and he muttered something while grabbing the nape of her neck with his other hand.

“What are you doing?”

Rael frowned at the stinging sensation on the back of her neck. Bastian examined her nape carefully, then withdrew the hand that had been holding her clothes.

“An insect.”

“Ugh! Did it bite me?”

Rael scratched the stinging spot on the back of her neck. The thought of an insect made her skin crawl. She shook her head vigorously, bouncing up and down as she tried to brush it off. She detested insects.

“It’s gone now.”

“Phew.”

Rael sighed with relief and fixed her hair.

“So you’re at the Capital Temple now?”

“That’s the plan going forward.”

“Wow, I just noticed your priest robe pattern has changed.”

Bastian smiled as Rael beamed at the embroidery on his priestly garments.

“Come visit me.”

“Shouldn’t I go to the temple to pray rather than just visit?”

“That’s not how you do it.”

Rael laughed at his playful words. If anyone knew her better than herself, it was Bastian.

“I should head back now.”

“Alright.”

Rael retraced her steps back the way she had come. The dangerous scent continued to follow her light footsteps.

* * *

‘Sigh…’

Standing outside the classroom before Magical Pharmaceutics class, Rael exhaled deeply.

This was the one class she wanted to avoid.

She trudged into the classroom with heavy steps. Her eyes quickly scanned the room. Her usual seat was empty, with no one nearby.

‘Is he not here?’

That was fortunate. Rael continued forward with anxious steps. The dream from last night had left her mind in turmoil.

She was concerned about her strange physical condition and deeply embarrassed that Rubellan had appeared in her dream. She knew she was conscious of him, but to summon him even in dreams? And in such an intimate dream, no less.

“Sigh…”

Rael felt miserable as she opened her book. Once her racing heart calmed slightly, another worry surfaced.

“Hey Bellin, who are you doing the assignment with?”

“Me? With Parshu. Why?”

“Ah. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Huh? Didn’t you say you’re doing it with Rubellan? Everyone thinks it’s already settled.”

Rael’s face crumpled at Bellin’s words.

“When was this decided? By whom?”

“What do you mean? Um… who said it again?”

“Right. I know about it too.”

“…Where did you hear it?”

No one in the classroom could say who they’d heard it from. They just all knew it was established fact that Rael and Rubellan would work together.

How is this even possible?

Rael was dumbfounded. She had never once mentioned anything about him.

The door slid open, and the face that made Rael tense appeared.

“Hello everyone.”

Rubellan smiled as he greeted Rael and her friends.

“…”

Heat rushed to her face the moment she saw him. Rael cupped her cheeks and turned away. She heard Bellin and others returning his greeting behind her, but she kept her lips tightly sealed and headed to her seat. As she nervously fidgeted with her book, the chair next to her scraped loudly.

“Senior, have you been well?”

His gently curved eyes were directed at Rael.

How should she respond? The embarrassing dream made her want to avoid him, but that was a secret she would take to her grave.

“…Yes.”

Please don’t ask why my face is red.

“Are you hot?”

“Huh? No…”

Rubellan’s finger brushed against Rael’s cheek. The cool sensation made her shiver.

This feeling… it was exactly like the coolness in her dream. Rael’s hand tightened around her pen.

“You might have a fever.”

Seeing Rubellan’s slightly upturned lips, Rael finally lowered her head. She felt heat rising all the way to the crown of her head.

“I’m not feeling well.”

To hide her flushed face and prevent her gaze from constantly returning to Rubellan, Rael laid her head on the desk. Her tied-up hair fell to the side.

Rubellan looked down at her. Following her slightly tilted head, black hair flowed to the side, fully revealing crimson eyes. Those red eyes had settled into an icy coldness, completely different from his gentle voice.

Rael’s somewhat rough breathing gradually stabilized. The sudden heat had genuinely started to give her a headache. Due to her poor sleep, drowsiness overtook her as soon as she laid down.

Being surprisingly carefree, she thought it better to just close her eyes, and instantly fell asleep.

Her breathing slowed to a gentle rhythm.

Rubellan’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched her.

This cute senior was truly fascinating. How strange that she could sleep so peacefully next to him after bristling like a hedgehog in his presence earlier. With a hollow laugh, his gaze fell on the nape of her neck.

His downcast red eyes took on a strange gleam. His hand moved to the back of Rael’s neck. Long fingers lifted her slightly raised collar. His fingertips brushed against her skin, covered with fine hair.

At that moment, the Goddess’s Blessing engraved on the back of Rael’s neck rippled and emitted light.

“Well, well…”

The corner of Rubellan’s mouth curved up elegantly.

“Our senior has a cute friend looking after her.”