Chapter 106

Before she knew it, Ariel had lifted her gaze from the floor and met his eyes. Her expression was composed.

“I was just thinking about how you might be feeling.”

“Really? And what do you think I’m feeling?”

“Frustrated, angry, and kind of anxious… I thought maybe you’d feel the same. Like how I get nervous when everyone’s watching me.”

“So, you’re saying you projected your own experience onto me?”

“I imagined what it’d be like if I were in your place. I thought maybe then I could understand you better, even just a little.”

“Understand me? You probably just got creeped out hearing me swear.”

Lexius grumbled, sounding annoyed as if he could read exactly what she’d been thinking. Still, a part of him couldn’t help but feel glad that she had thought about him.

He studied her with a faint, unreadable smile before shifting the conversation.

“So, why are you here at the teacher’s building? It doesn’t seem like you came to see me.”

“It’s my day off, so I figured I’d get to know the campus better. I’m planning to look around, starting with the first building and then heading through the faculty wing.”

“That’s a pretty lame reason.”

Lexius sounded unimpressed by her plain answer and went quiet, shrugging disinterestedly. Meanwhile, Ariel still had plenty of questions she wanted to ask.

“Um… Senior, earlier you mentioned that the Crown Prince and the Prince aren’t here, right?”

“Why, are you curious?”

“Yeah. I saw them around just yesterday, so I was wondering where they suddenly vanished to.”

“They went abroad on a diplomatic trip. They’ll be gone for at least a week, maybe as long as a month.”

Ariel fought back the smile that almost crept onto her face upon hearing the news of their longer-than-expected absence. With the two most troublesome figures temporarily gone, it was the perfect window to execute her strategy. This might even be her last shot. That meant she needed to stay calm and tactical.

‘I’ve got to use this chance to raise Lexius’s favorability by at least half a heart, and Racine’s by a full heart or more…’

Between the two, Racine was the priority since his favorability was still at zero.

‘To do that, I either have to get him out of the annex or find a way to get in myself…’

But no matter how much she thought about it, Ariel couldn’t figure out a way to get Racine to come out. Honestly, it might be better to just go in herself and try to make some kind of connection, even if it means risking a drop in his favorability.

‘But they won’t even lend me the key from the admin office, so how am I supposed to get in?’

Still stuck on that problem, Ariel suddenly spoke up.

“Senior, how do you get into the annex?”

At her seemingly casual question, Lexius raised an eyebrow slightly.

“The annex?”

“Yeah. It looked kind of unusual, so I wanted to take a look inside, but it was locked.”

“Just ask the administration office for the key.”

“I tried that, but they told me Young Master Solem is using it, so they can’t hand over the key.”

“Oh, Ray’s using it?”

Lexius looked like he’d just put the pieces together. He didn’t seem too bothered. Then he casually told Ariel,

“Then forget it. You can’t go in.”

“…There’s no way at all?”

“No. Ray probably blocked everything.”

Lexius shut her down without hesitation. With the caretaker refusing and now even him, Ariel was just about ready to give up. What could Racine possibly be doing to lock everything up and barricade himself inside the annex?

“What is he doing in there that he needs to block everything off and seal the whole place for himself…”

“What do you think? That guy’s probably just sleeping.”

“Sleeping? The annex is… Solem’s private space?”

“Private space? Not at all. He just acts like it is.”

Lexius explained it like it were something that had happened many times before. That only made Ariel more uneasy. If this sort of thing were a regular occurrence, it would spell serious trouble for her plans.

‘He can’t possibly stay in there all the time, right? He’ll have to come out for class eventually, and when he does…’

Her thoughts raced. Lost in planning around Racine, her gaze drifted slightly out of focus.

“What’s got you so lost in thought?”

“…Huh?”

Ariel, who had been staring into space, turned her gaze. In doing so, she locked eyes with Lexius, who had been pushed down to second priority on her target list due to her focus on Racine. His expression, slouched on the couch, was filled with dissatisfaction beyond words.

“So now that you’ve gotten the information you need, I guess you’re done talking to me?”

“…What? No, it’s not like that. If it came off that way, I’m sorry. I just—”

“Ariel Huckley.”

He said her name in a voice she’d never heard from him before—cold and clipped.

That was enough to make her fall completely silent.

Seeing how visibly flustered and apologetic Ariel looked, like she was silently admitting fault, Lexius’s gaze grew even colder.

“You think I’m a joke, don’t you?”

“….”

“Just because you talk casually and call me by name, you think it’s okay to treat me however you want?”

“….”

“You find out what’s going on with the imperial family, start asking about Racine, and then once you get what you want, you don’t even look at me or say a word. I answer every single question, and now I’m just your walking information guide, is that it?”

It’s not like that.

Ariel wanted to deny it and defend herself, but she couldn’t. Lexius didn’t seem like he was in the mood to hear her explanation. When she opened her mouth to say something, she hesitated. His brow furrowed instantly.

With the silence pressing down on her, Ariel could only watch him nervously.

Lexius wasn’t even looking at her anymore. He stared out the window instead, his face unreadable but clearly irritated, like he was trying to hold something in or perhaps brooding over their conversation.

“If you’re going to talk to me, then actually focus on me.”

He muttered the warning under his breath, almost like he was talking to himself, then stood up from his seat.

“Wait, senior…”

Ariel called after him urgently as he turned to leave, but he didn’t so much as glance back. He flung the door open and stormed out of the hall.

Right then, her phone started vibrating.

Bzzzzzz—

The sudden noise in the already tense atmosphere made Ariel flinch as if she’d been shocked. In her panic, she even smacked her shin on the edge of the table.

“…Ow!”

A sharp jolt of pain shot through her bones, but she didn’t have time to worry about it. Right now, there was something more urgent than her leg.

Grimacing, she roughly rubbed her leg and fished her phone out of her pocket.

‘This is bad!’

To lose favorability now, of all times, during this golden opportunity when the imperial family wasn’t around, was a disaster. Her head was spinning.

“I need to fix this.”