A Public Confession

“I honestly don’t understand why you waste that brilliant talent of yours.”

Lily paid no mind to Ensi’s lack of response. Skillfully feigning ignorance of his dismissal, she plowed ahead with her usual topic.

Ensi tossed a handful of pills into his mouth and chewed them with a loud, crunching sound before giving a half-hearted nod. Perhaps because he had tried so blatantly to change the subject, Lily was making sure to finish her nagging.

“I know your talent is better than mine, which is why it feels like such a waste. Do you understand how I feel? Huh?”

“I wonder.”

Ensi replied dismissively, even as Lily emphasized her point with a deliberately rowdy attitude.

In truth, he found it dubious whether he even possessed the ‘talent’ she spoke of. Taking advantage of the fact that they had entered the training grounds, he nudged Lily’s back toward a group of students who were busy warming up. To avoid hearing any more nagging, he needed to send her far away.

“—What about you?” she asked, looking back.

“It’s still cold out.”

Sweating only to have it cool down later was a recipe for agony for someone with his condition. When Ensi shrugged, Lily let out a hollow sigh.

“I can’t even push you when you put it like that.”

Grit her teeth, Lily muttered a promise to “see what happens when summer comes” and moved away to begin her exercises.

Ensi headed in the opposite direction, searching for a spot with good sunlight. It was clear that today’s class, under the guise of swordsmanship instruction, would once again consist of individual training.

Most students had already learned swordsmanship from their families or through private tutors. Consequently, the Academy’s classes focused on teaching the basic forms that served as the foundation for all styles or consisted of sparring sessions to maintain one’s intuition. Occasionally, there were practical combat drills.

Regardless, as long as one had a bit of tact, it was a department where it was easy to slack off. Ensi didn’t even consider drawing the sword at his waist and instead pondered how to kill time.

The key was to stay out of the professor’s sight. It didn’t matter once class was well underway, but if he stood out right at the start, he would be forced to move his body.

Ensi fiddled with his cold fingertips, occupied by these thoughts—which were important only to him.

Actually, Ensi was quite famous within the department for being a walking contradiction: a student of the Knight Faculty who hated training, yet somehow maintained excellent grades.

Perhaps that was why no one bothered him. Whether they were warming up to a rhythmic count, swinging their swords lightly, or moving through their own rigid routines, everyone—as if by silent agreement—ignored the boy sitting quietly by himself. To them, Ensi being still was a natural law of the universe.

However, today was different.

The anomaly started with the fact that Agniele—who was usually the first to arrive and train—was the last one to enter the training grounds.

Agniele appeared later than usual, his face tense as he gripped the sword at his waist and scanned the crowded arena. His classmates cast curious glances at his late arrival but soon returned to their own tasks. He was known for being early, but arriving late once in a while wasn’t unheard of. Besides, class hadn’t officially started yet.

Just as the attention on him began to dissipate, Agniele’s eyes suddenly lit up. He had found his target.

‘He came today.’

Even as someone who paid little attention to his surroundings, Agniele knew that Ensi skipped class from time to time. Whenever they sparred in class, students were paired with those of similar skill levels; since Agniele was always paired with either Lily or Ensi, it was impossible not to notice his absence.

Fixing his gaze on Ensi, Agniele strode forward without a hint of hesitation.

Perhaps it was because he only had eyes for Ensi, but Agniele’s abrupt trek across the center of the training grounds drew everyone’s focus once more. This time, the attention didn’t fade; it only intensified, but Agniele didn’t even blink.

He was simply focused on executing the plan he had been ruminating on since last night. Reaching Ensi in a few short strides, he immediately dropped to one knee to bring his eyes level with Ensi’s.

“Gasp—!”

The sound of several people sucking in their breath rang out clearly. It was a shocking sight—so much so that Lily, who had only been away from Ensi for a moment, contemplated whether she should charge back over immediately.

“Ensius Alemire.”

Ensi, who had been about to take more medicine, was equally baffled. He stood half-dazed, then reflexively turned his head at the sound of his name.

“I like you.”

“—Excuse me?”

“If it is alright with you, would you consider dating me? ……Ah, preferably with the intention of marriage.”

Clang—! Clatter.

The bombshells dropped in rapid succession. The classmates who had been standing frozen finally reacted; swords slipped from their trembling hands and hit the floor, creating a cacophony of metal.

As if reacting to that noise, Lily—who had also been stunned by Agniele’s sudden words—unconsciously blurred out the thought that had popped into her head.

“……The morning drama vibes are insane.”

With Lily’s colorful commentary as the final touch, a heavy, suffocating silence descended upon the training grounds.

Ensi looked down at the pill that had slipped through his fingers and fallen to the floor, then at Agniele, who was still kneeling before him, and finally at his classmates, who were frozen like stone statues.

Only then did he fully process the situation. He hadn’t misheard.

“……Are you truly speaking to me?”

“Yes. Ensius Alemire, I am speaking to you.”

Ensi’s hope that Agniele—the man legendary for not remembering the face of a servant who had served him for three years—had simply confused his target was instantly crushed. Reading the unwavering light in Agniele’s eyes, Ensi felt even more confused.

‘He likes me? Me? That Agniele?’

‘Why?’

What kind of change of heart could he have possibly experienced in a single night to suddenly confess? Did he, Ensi, miss something? Just how intense of an event would it take for someone to suddenly propose to a classmate they hadn’t had any interaction with for an entire year?

And with the intention of marriage?

Countless question marks bubbled to the surface. Ensi cast his gaze downward to hide his eyes, which were trembling for multiple reasons.

“Ensius?”

Agniele spoke in a puzzled voice at Ensi’s prolonged silence. He began to scrutinize Ensi closely, worried that he might be feeling unwell.

Ensi let out a faint groan under the weight of that unignorable gaze.

A confession? Fine, that could happen.

But why on earth did he choose to do it in the middle of the training grounds right before class started? No matter how Ensi responded, a burdensome and awkward situation was guaranteed to follow.

“For now—”

“Ah, no! You can’t!”

Just as Ensi was about to voice a rejection—since he couldn’t possibly accept—Lily, who had been watching from afar, suddenly cut him off.

“Who do you think you are, trying to take away my precious Ensi! Absolutely not! Over my dead body!”

Lily rushed over and wedged herself into the tiny gap between Ensi and Agniele, her eyes wide and glaring.

“What exactly… does that mean?”

Agniele’s voice trembled. It was hard to say if he was just incredibly unbiased or if he was taking her exaggerated words literally.

“I have no memory of being raised by you, Lily.”

Ensi spoke up quickly before the misunderstanding could deepen, but Lily merely twitched an eyebrow at him as if he were the one in the wrong.

“Just stay quiet. Why? Are you actually going to date him?”

Well, that was a no.

Ensi fell silent at her sharp, whispered rebuke and glanced around. Even with a quick look, he could feel the concentrated heat of everyone’s stares. Suppressing a sigh, he closed his eyes briefly, wishing he could escape reality.

“And what is with this public confession? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

Lily suppressed the urge to scream and whispered so only Agniele could hear. Since her past life, campus couples were a taboo!

Of course, Lily herself was part of a campus couple, but at least they were in different departments! Agniele confessing to Ensi, who was in the same department, was as different as heaven and earth.

And a public confession? In a training ground filled with nothing but their peers! Even though she wasn’t the target, she felt like screaming.

“What does that matter?”

“Of course it matt—! Sigh, I can’t talk to you.”

He didn’t even realize he had done something wrong. It would have been malicious if he had planned this to force a situation, but his mistake born of pure ignorance was problematic in a different way.

Her head felt so dizzy that it wouldn’t have been strange if she fainted on the spot. Lily pressed her hand to her forehead, letting out deep sighs before waving her hand dismissively.

“For now, this is void. It never happened.”

“……That is for Ensius to decide.”

Agniele found it difficult to accept Lily taking over the conversation instead of Ensi. He frowned slightly, but Lily met his gaze with a bright, defiant smile.

“Yeah, no.”

“Lily.”

Ensi, who had been watching Lily’s behavior, called her name softly as her responses became excessive. Lily clicked her tongue, crossed her arms, and lifted her chin slightly.

“Ensi doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention. Look at the result of your actions.”

She gave a small tilt of her head, gesturing for him to look around. When Agniele followed her lead, he saw dozens of unfiltered stares directed at them. A few turned away awkwardly when they met his eyes, but most were watching the trio with intense curiosity.

Seeing the scene with his own eyes, Agniele unconsciously bit his lip. He realized what he had overlooked.

“If your feelings are sincere, how about you figure out the other person’s personality before you go around confessing?”

Agniele dropped his head, unable to say a word in response to Lily’s final, crushing blow.