Chapter 122

Ariel woke up at ten in the morning, right when her magic class was beginning. She stretched under the warm sunlight streaming through the curtains and tossed off her blanket.

Right then, Canon came in with breakfast.

As her personal maid, she always seemed to know exactly when she would be up. She placed a tray on the table with creamy coffee, sweet bread, and some fruit.

Ariel ate a piece of bread and half a tangerine, then picked up her coffee and spoke up.

“I’ll finish this, then go back to my room.”

“His Highness the Grand Prince seemed to wish you’d stay a little longer, my lady.”

“But I’m not even sick. It just feels weird to stay in the infirmary when there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“If that’s what you want, my lady… Shall I move your belongings right away?”

“Could you?”

“There are only a few items to gather, my lady.”

She quickly started gathering her things. A few outfits from the drawer and three books from the table, that was all Ariel had brought with her.

Canon put all the small amounts of luggage into a single bag.

“May I leave ahead of you?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to come back for me.”

“All right. I’ll go ahead and start unpacking your things.”

“I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Lifting the bag easily with one hand, she headed out the door.

Left alone, Ariel opened her bedside drawer and pulled out the one item she hadn’t asked Canon to pack. She held her coffee in one hand and turned on the screen. In the top right corner, she could see the new item window that had appeared just yesterday.

She wondered who she should use the ‘bonus favorability fever time’ she received as a reward on, and when.

‘Skylar’s at two and a half hearts, Lexius has two, and with Devoncia… since the good ending’s gone, raising his favorability without thinking is dangerous…’

To be honest, Racine was her only real option right now. With her mind made up, she took another sip of coffee and put her cup down.

Once the maid waiting outside the infirmary cleared away the breakfast tray, Ariel stepped out of the room. The corridor was almost empty. Since few people used this dormitory, it was always quiet, and that very silence made any stray noise instantly noticeable. She heard footsteps by the stairs on the way to her room. Even though the sound wasn’t loud, the steps were firm and confident. They didn’t sound like the staff, who always tried to muffle their movements.

She paused and waited for the person coming down.

“Senior.”

Ariel called out to him easily, recognizing him from nothing but his legs on the stairs.

Lexius was smiling as he came down, but the moment he spotted her, his expression hardened. She had expected a friendly greeting, so she was caught a little off guard.

“…Senior Lex?”

“What are you even wearing right now?”

His tone was just as rigid as his expression.

She glanced down at herself after his comment. She was wearing a white nightgown made of fairly thick fabric. While it wasn’t exactly formal, there was nothing inappropriate about it. Since the dormitory was a private living space, there weren’t any strict dress codes. Even Devoncia used to wander the main hall in his robe.

She didn’t understand what the problem was. None of the maids or servants seemed to care about what she wore, either.

“Is there something wrong with my outfit?”

“That’s not the point. Why are you walking around like that?”

“Oh… I just moved my belongings back to my room. I was going to change once I got there.”

“So you’re just walking around in your pajamas?”

“It’s not like I’m leaving the dormitory. I’m only going a short distance.”

When Ariel spoke as if it were nothing, Lexius’s face darkened. Seeing his expression change, she immediately fell silent.

With a sigh, he took off his jacket and wrapped his white school blazer around her shoulders, buttoning it up for her. Because he was so much bigger than her, the blazer looked more like a cape or coat on her. Now, just in his shirt after giving her the blazer, he rested his hand on the stair railing and spoke in a low voice.

“There are two guards at the main entrance behind you.”

“….”

“If either of them had looked over at you, I might have gone down there and beaten them half to death.”

His eyes made it clear he wasn’t joking.

Ariel knew this wasn’t the moment to argue back.

“…I’ll dress more carefully from now on.”

“Good. Be cautious, and get upstairs quickly.”

Lexius’s voice softened just a bit. She hurried up the stairs, leaving him standing there. He stayed there, watching her until she was out of sight.

When she reached the second-floor hallway, Ariel slowed down, catching her breath. She squeezed the edge of the white blazer around her shoulders.

Just thinking about what happened sent a chill down her spine. To think he threatened the lives of the knights just because she briefly walked around in thick pajamas that didn’t even violate any rules. And all the knights in this dorm were members of the imperial knights.

‘Jealousy is a scary thing.’

Despite the fact that Lexius only had two hearts, his behavior had changed a lot. Ariel realized that even a single heart’s worth of favorability could drastically affect the target’s actions and attitude.

That thought made her a little uneasy.

‘Maybe the three-heart limit set by the game was actually a built-in safety net.’

If someone’s favorability went beyond three hearts, it probably wouldn’t be just a passing feeling anymore. It could turn into a bond that couldn’t be broken. That was what she thought.