Looming Shadows and a Startled Sound

With that one casual remark from Donovan, the movements of every club member in the room came to a dead halt.

“……Did I say something wrong? Why is everyone reacting like this?”

Donovan pulled his upper body back, unsettled by the unexpected silence. Snapping out of it first, Lily let out a despairing cry and began tugging at her hair.

“Ahhh! Why would you remind us of something we were trying so hard to forget?!”

“I haven’t even finished my experiments yet, and now exams? I can kiss sleep goodbye tonight,” Luke muttered grimly.

“……I’ll probably be exempt due to my practical credits. Right? I’ve been so busy with requests from the Holy Kingdom lately; it wouldn’t be a manageable schedule if I had to sit for exams too, would it?” Cyril added hopefully.

“Oh, come on, what are you all talking about? Exams? Since when does the Iglia Academy have such things?”

Titania burst into a fit of giggles as if hearing a funny joke. Everyone shook their heads. The “Final Boss” of reality denial had arrived.

“Titania. Did you not study?”

Ensi, who had been listening to the blatant avoidance of reality, asked in a low voice. Titania flinched, her shoulders jumping, and she slowly turned her head away to avoid his gaze.

“Titania.”

“But Ensi! I’ve been busy!”

Unable to withstand Ensi’s silent pressure, Titania finally confessed. As she let out a small, whining sound, the soft-hearted Cyril stepped in to defend her.

“Now, Ensi. Titania has been quite busy. Romance is supposed to be a whirlwind that leaves no time for studying, you know.”

“Exactly. Suddenly Herdin was acting up, and more importantly, lately Sirius has been coming over so often that I can’t even attend class— mmpf!”

“Okay, that’s enough. Everyone here knows your genre is a 19+ rated R-rated angst novel,” Lily said, clamping a hand over Titania’s mouth for the sake of Donovan, who was turning bright red at the mention of “steamy nights.”

“And let’s stop talking about exams. There’s nothing to gain from it right now.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Lily. For various reasons, everyone was less prepared than usual, and continuing the conversation was only making them more depressed.

“Setting that aside, Ensi, has there been any sign?” Cyril asked, clearing her throat to shift the mood to something that could instantly brighten the dark atmosphere.

“Sign of what?”

“Oh my, are you playing dumb? From Agniele, of course. Saint Lundrail’s Feast is also a day for lovers’ blessings.”

“Ah.”

At Cyril’s somewhat sly laughter, Ensi let out a short exclamation. Come to think of it, was the Lundrail Feast similar to Valentine’s Day on Earth? Belatedly remembering this, Ensi thought back to Agniele, with whom he had been until earlier that afternoon.

A sign, a sign…

“I don’t think there was one.”

“Nope, nothing. Truly, absolutely nothing. So give it up, Cyril. That ship hasn’t even left the dock,” Lily replied firmly.

Having been stuck between Ensi and Agniele herself, Lily’s denial was absolute. It had been quiet—so quiet it felt desolate. What “sign” could there be? Cyril, knowing Lily usually loved talking about other people’s romances, didn’t press further. If Lily felt that way, it likely wasn’t a mistake.

“Then this feast will be quite dull compared to last year, won’t it?”

“I don’t know. Looking back, I think last year’s feast was just weird,” Luke remarked.

He looked disgusted as he recalled the chaos of last year: Cyril, whose original story events had triggered; Titania, who had been scrambling because choosing the Academy to avoid Herdin had caused a new plot branch; and Lily, who had been putting all her effort into seducing her ideal type.

At Luke’s transparent reaction, the culprits who had made last year so noisy all looked in different directions, feigning ignorance. To be fair, romance is supposed to be loud and dramatic, as if it’s the love of the century.

Clink. The sound of a teacup being set down felt unusually loud. The reason was likely the man sitting across the table, who was exuding an aura so dark he seemed to be digging a hole into the floor with his gloom.

Since Agniele rarely requested a meeting first, Genea had dropped everything to come out, but within an hour, he was regretting that choice. If I knew it would be this suffocating, I wouldn’t have come. He’d heard Agniele had gone on a practical in the same group as Ensius and expected some interesting stories, but instead of fun, it seemed a disaster had occurred.

“So, uh, Agniele.”

“……I’m listening.”

“Are you? Then could you tell me why you’re acting like this?”

I’m going to suffocate because of you. Genea swallowed the last part and endured the twisting sensation in his chest. Just as he was reaching his limit, Agniele, having finally prepared himself, spoke up.

“It seems I have… made a mistake.”

Genea was briefly lost by the sudden statement without any context, but he quickly found the subject. Normally, even if Agniele made a mistake, he didn’t get this depressed. He was the type to solve the problem immediately, saying moping was a waste of time. For Agniele to act like this, there had to be a significant reason—and there was only one person capable of changing him like this.

“Why? What did you do to make you call it a mistake?”

Genea quietly moved the cups on the table further away, making sure Agniele wouldn’t accidentally break one like last time.

“I acted like a fool.”

“Meaning how, exactly?”

Agniele hesitated, but under Genea’s prodding, he confessed the events of the practical one by one. Specifically, when he got to the part about picking Ensius up without permission, he exuded the aura of a criminal confessing to a capital offense.

“Ah, I see…….”

Genea, who had been listening seriously at first, felt his expression souring as the story continued. By the end, he was wondering if he had ever done anything wrong to Agniele to deserve listening to this.

However, seeing Agniele’s expression and the atmosphere he projected, Genea realized the man was discussing his “sins” with absolute sincerity. He lamented inwardly. Is this the thought process of someone who has never dated in their life?

“Well, Agniele. You said your memory of Ensius’s reaction is blurry, so let’s skip that… how was it when you returned to the Academy?”

“In what sense?”

“I mean, was there anything different from usual? Did he subtly keep his distance? Did he seem burdened by you? Anything like that?”

“No. There wasn’t. He was exactly the same as always.”

“Then it’s fine. You did well. That’s how you close the distance.”

It felt a bit rushed, but everyone has their own pace. More importantly, it was quite a move for Agniele, who usually had no clue how to handle romance. Genea waved his hand, telling him to stop worrying about nothing.

“He might have been hiding his discomfort on purpose.”

“Ensius? I don’t think he’s the type to go out of his way to do that… or do you have a reason for thinking so?”

“Because Ensius is kind…….”

Seeing Agniele trail off vaguely, Genea burst into laughter. It was a somewhat mechanical laugh, as he wasn’t laughing because it was funny.

“Whatever the reason, the fact that he didn’t show it means there’s a chance. Agniele, you said he’s never once shown a sign of rejecting you. You’re already halfway to success at that point.”

Telling him to have confidence, the parched Genea pulled his teacup back from the corner. He drank the tea, which still held a lingering warmth, to soothe his battered soul.

“More importantly, Agniele, you don’t have much time.”

“That is…… true.”

Since it was a fact unknown to the public, Genea whispered in a low voice. Agniele’s expression darkened as he recalled the one-year deadline set by the Duke.

“Exactly. Your situation doesn’t allow for slow, careful steps. This isn’t the time to hesitate; it’s the time to be proactive.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Don’t let every little thing get to you, and have confidence. Have you prepared for Saint Lundrail’s Feast next week?”

“Mmm. I’m debating. He seems to dislike crowded places.”

No matter how monumental the day was, Agniele didn’t want to do anything Ensius disliked. However, he also didn’t think it was a good idea to let the day pass without doing anything, so he was stuck.

“You know him better than I do, so I don’t think I can advise you on the specifics. But generally…… it’s better to at least have a meeting.”

“Understood. I shall handle that matter myself.”

“Good. You’ve done well so far, so it’ll be fine this time too. Aside from that, I think the Duke is being too much. How are you supposed to find a cure for Utia disease in just one year?”

Genea sighed, feeling overwhelmed just thinking about it.

“He didn’t say to find a cure. He told me to prove that I can continue the lineage.”

“Isn’t that the same thing? Anyway, even if you finally connect with Ensius, if you can’t conquer Utia disease, you’ll be forced to part wa—”

Hic!

The sudden sound of a hiccup cut through the air, and the conversation between Agniele and Genea stopped dead.