Chapter 118

Ariel spent the weekend in a private hospital room.

Even though her body had been completely recovered since the moment she regained consciousness, she found herself confined for two days, thanks to Lexius’s stubborn insistence. Over those two days, he came and went from the hospital room, checking on her condition.

His visits were always brief. He would appear just long enough to show his face before departing again, but even that struck her as unusually attentive.

“It seems His Highness the Grand Prince is rather fond of you, my lady.”

“Canon…”

“Well, with my limited perspective, that’s the only way I can interpret it.”

Canon offered this conclusion after observing Lexius over the past two days. Ariel couldn’t find it in herself to argue, though she wasn’t entirely convinced by her maid’s words, either.

She recalled the knowing look Lexius had given her when he handed her the key to the annex. He had, without a doubt, set up some kind of trap and lured her into stepping right into it. Ariel hadn’t been completely oblivious; she had known, and still, she had stepped forward willingly.

At the time, meeting Racine had seemed far more important. Had she known she would be hurt so badly, she never would have gone through with it. In the end, she had been injured and hadn’t even managed to meet Racine, so the whole affair had cost her twice over. Even so, she doubted that Lexius’s trap had been meant to hurt her this badly. When she regained consciousness, his demeanor was heavy with guilt, as if he hadn’t expected things to escalate so far.

“I don’t understand.”

“Understand what, my lady?”

Canon asked, prompting Ariel to gaze thoughtfully into the distance.

“The Grand Prince’s actions… I just can’t figure them out.”

“Well, I have always been a bit unpredictable.”

At the sudden sound of the door bursting open and a voice calling out, Ariel and Canon spun around in surprise.

Lexius, clearly amused by their startled reaction, strode over to Ariel. Sensing the mood, Canon quickly slipped out of the hospital room. Once the door closed and they were left alone, Ariel avoided his gaze, feigning nonchalance. With a faint smile on his lips, he let out a low, familiar chuckle.

“Why are you acting like you’ve been caught doing something wrong? Were you talking about me behind my back?”

“It’s not like that… I’m sorry.”

“If you weren’t badmouthing me, why are you apologizing?”

“Still, even if it wasn’t anything bad, I did say a few things about you when you weren’t here.”

“You really do apologize for everything. If you’re going to say sorry, you might as well have said something truly scandalous about me.”

His hand reached out and gently tousled Ariel’s hair. She looked up at him in silence, his handsome face graced by a quiet smile. Yet, as always, his expression remained unreadable.

“Ah, that’s right. I have something for you.”

Finishing his words, Lexius withdrew his hand from her hair and reached into the inner pocket of his blazer. A moment later, he pulled out a slip of white paper, holding it out between his fingers.

Ariel reached out and accepted it.

It was a timetable, dividing the week from Monday to Friday into hourly slots. Her academy class schedule. She glanced over it in confusion, surprised to see her own schedule emerging from his pocket. Apart from Magical Theory on Monday and General Studies on Friday, there were no other classes at all.

“Why is it so empty?”

“I thought it might be too much for you otherwise.”

This, from the very man who once wouldn’t let her change a single class, yet now he’d cut out great swathes of her schedule before handing it over.

Lately, Ariel found Lexius’s behavior increasingly strange. According to her phone, his favorability still hadn’t budged from two hearts, but his actions had changed so much. She found herself growing ever more suspicious of this unpredictable man.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

With that, he handed over what was practically a blank timetable and left the room. His departure was as nonchalant as ever.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Ariel lay on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling as she prepared to spend her last night in the private room. Before she slept, Lexius visited her one final time, telling her to skip her morning classes the next day before taking his leave.

‘If I skip tomorrow morning’s classes, I’ll only have general studies left on Friday this week.’

That meant she would have the whole week free. In any case, the current timetable was still provisional, so it didn’t matter whether she attended the classes or not. Now that her schedule was so open, missing a day of Magical Theory wouldn’t set her back at all.

“Tomorrow, I can sleep in, have a leisurely meal, and just enjoy myself a bit… That should be fine.”

She rolled onto her side and drew back the curtain beside her bed. Through the window, she could see the rear garden. Under the bright moonlight, the flowering trees were awash with pale blossoms, glowing white. It was a dreamlike scene that seemed to beckon her out for a midnight stroll.

Midnight had long since passed, but Ariel felt no need to sleep. With no reason to wake early, she allowed herself to simply linger and enjoy the view.

Even if she couldn’t make sense of Lexius’s behavior, Ariel found herself content with the way things were now. Truthfully, her packed schedule had been a heavy burden. Now that it was completely cleared, she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest.

It had only been two weeks since she arrived at the academy, but already, she had been through so much. Trouble seemed to follow her everywhere, and far from making any progress, she was simply overwhelmed by endless assignments. Now, thanks to her revised timetable, she finally had some breathing room and felt a newfound sense of relief.

Looking back on it now, she almost felt grateful for having gone to the annex and getting hurt.

With a peaceful expression, she gazed out the window. The midnight air was deep and tranquil, and she let herself be soothed by its stillness.

“Maybe I’ll go out for a bit…”

Ariel murmured to herself. The academy, especially Dormitory 1, was so tightly secured that it was almost suffocating, but that meant it was also perfectly safe. There would be no trouble if she ventured out at night. After spending the entire day in her private room, she suddenly found the urge to step outside irresistible.

Once she made up her mind, she immediately sat up. Climbing out of bed, she searched among the clothes Canon had prepared for something light to throw on.

As she rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a shawl, there came a gentle knock at the door.

Puzzled, Ariel turned her gaze to the firmly closed door.