Chapter 59 – How Could You, Between Us?

‘…Anyone would think I’d run off and left my lover behind.’

Evelyn, utterly bewildered, let out a dry laugh and asked.

“So you’re saying I just left without a word and came here?”

She tried to keep her composure, but her eyebrows, angled at ten past ten, betrayed her unease. Seeing that, Axion, who had been quietly observing her, curved his lips into a refined, amused smile.

“As if. What could possibly make me desperate enough for that?”

At his crisp, clear-cut manner of drawing boundaries, Evelyn let out a sigh of relief.

‘Right, what on earth would he have to be desperate for…? Wait, is that really true?’

Her pride faintly stung, she shot her fiancé a sidelong glance, though not with any real malice. Still, deciphering the true intentions behind his faint smile was no easy task. Some questions simply couldn’t be solved alone, so with newfound resolve, she pressed him again.

“Then why are you here?”

Axion tilted his head ever so slightly, replying in a tone completely devoid of emotion.

“Because I’m a new student here too.”

“…What?”

Evelyn’s green eyes wavered wildly, as if she’d just been struck by a bolt from the blue. The man flashed a leisurely smile as though he’d fully expected her reaction.

“You didn’t know? We’re classmates.”

“Stop it, that’s a lie. Your name wasn’t anywhere on the list at the entrance ceremony.”

Evelyn, looking as if her whole world might come crashing down, clenched her fingertips. He replied with remarkable nonchalance.

“As you can see, I’m skipping off with you right now.”

“Hey, at least tell it straight!”

Seeing her grit her teeth as if swallowing her anger, he gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“Relax. It’s not as if I wanted to come here either.”

“Then why did you enroll here?”

“Well—”

Ding, dong—

The clear, lively chimes of the bell tower rang out, cutting him off. Evelyn’s expression soured with dismay. The man, gazing steadily at her, lifted one corner of his mouth in a crooked little smile.

“Shouldn’t you be getting along, then?”

“….”

…There was no doubt about it. Today was clearly not her lucky day.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Her grand ambition to make plenty of friends at the academy barely lasted two days. After all, Axion turned out to be her constant companion in the core classes that would remain unchanged for the next three years. And not just anywhere… he sat right beside her.

Unable to hide her look of dismay, she muttered in a voice only her fiancé could hear.

“Hey, move over. Seriously, can’t you sit somewhere else?”

She had made it clear: ‘No pretending we know each other! Walk apart!’ However, he had completely ignored her request.

“How could you, between us?”

Though his words spoke of disappointment, there was a mischievous glint in his crimson eyes. That was hardly the face of someone who was actually hurt. Dealing with his nonsense, Evelyn already felt like skipping class altogether.

Pressing her throbbing temple, she let out a long sigh and spoke.

“Could you please stop saying such ridiculous things?”

Just then, she caught the sound of whispers directed at the two of them.

“What’s going on between those two?”

“I heard they’ve been engaged since childhood.”

She had longed for a peaceful, comfortable academy life more than anyone, but thanks to her fiancé, it seemed that hope was about to go up in smoke. By now, not only did the entire student body know about her engagement to him, but it seemed even Sebastian, the headmaster’s pet hedgehog, was in on the secret.

Why she had to endure such a fiasco, Evelyn couldn’t understand.

At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to grab Axion by the collar and toss him aside. But the man, utterly oblivious to her feelings, merely relaxed his lips into a faint smile and murmured in a low voice.

“Well, I do have something to give you.”

“Something to give me?”

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion, her brow furrowing as if to demand he get to the point.

Axion, in reply, casually pulled a velvet ribbon from his coat and handed it to her. Then, leaning in, he whispered softly in her ear.

“You left this at my house—”

“Oh my God, shut up! Just shut that mouth of yours!”

Why does he always have to say things in a way that makes people misunderstand?!