Chapter 4

“Gilrota. Is Gilrota here?”

Throughout the last class, there was no response to the professor’s calls for Gilrota. Students whispered briefly but quickly fell silent. Damian was lost in thought. In his hand rested a yellow butterfly. It fluttered its wings and flew off somewhere. Damian watched it disappear, only responding when he heard his name called.

“Damian.”

“Yes.”

Ayla saw the butterfly flying across the classroom. The shimmering butterfly was invisible to everyone else. It was Damian who had sent it. She couldn’t tell where it was heading as it left the room.

“Ayla.”

“Yes.”

After dutifully responding to the professor’s roll call, Ayla whispered to Damian beside her.

“What was that?”

“What?”

“That butterfly just now. You sent it, didn’t you?”

“Ah. Well… let’s call it a guide.”

“A guide?”

“Yes, a guide.”

Damian’s answer did nothing to satisfy her curiosity. Was it related to magic? Despite having two magicians close to her, Ayla knew next to nothing about magic. She wanted to ask more about where and why he had sent the butterfly, but seeing his enigmatic smile, she knew he wouldn’t give her a straight answer. Instead, she focused on the professor’s lecture. It probably didn’t concern her anyway.

That’s what she thought at the time.

* * * 

One day. Two days. Then three.

“Gilrota. Is Gilrota absent again today?”

The professor’s call was met with silence. It had been three days since Gilrota last attended class. Most students paid little attention, assuming he would soon submit a leave of absence or withdrawal form.

But not Damian. An unshakable, odd feeling continued to warn him. Of course, it was too early to jump to conclusions after only three days. And yet…

“Ayla, do you remember what that herbal scent was like?”

Ayla, engrossed in a Radian language text despite Damian’s head resting on her lap, lifted her book and looked at him quizzically. Damian’s gaze was fixed on some distant point. Ayla knew this meant he was deep in thought.

“Well, it seemed both familiar and unfamiliar.”

“Would you recognize it if you smelled it again?”

“Probably, I think.”

At her response, Damian’s eyes met hers. Looking into those amethyst irises, he felt a stirring in his heart. A desire to possess.

“But why are you asking?”

It was unlike Damian to ask such things out of the blue, and his unusually serious expression suggested this wasn’t a casual inquiry. It felt as if there was something complicated behind it. A chill ran down Ayla’s spine as she recalled the yellow butterfly Damian had sent off three days ago. A guide, he had called it. Where had it gone?

Ayla set her book aside and faced Damian.

“Damian.”

“Yes, Ayla?”

“What’s going on?”

“Well… It’s just a suspicion for now, but…”

Damian’s voice trailed off before he continued.

“Anyway, you’ll help me, won’t you?”

His question brimmed with certainty that she wouldn’t refuse. Faced with those sparkling, lake-like eyes, Ayla found herself unable to say no.

…No, Ayla. Get a grip. You’re about to fall for it again. Ayla steeled herself. Just as she was about to speak, those lake-like eyes drew closer, and she inhaled sharply. A breeze stirred his silver hair.

The rustling leaves tickled her ears. Damian reached out towards her. Ayla couldn’t even blink.

Damian called her name with a bright smile.

“Ayla.”

“Huh? What?”

“There was a leaf in your hair.”

“…”

Only then did Ayla notice the large, vibrant green leaf in Damian’s hand. She inwardly cursed herself. She must have lost her mind for a moment. What on earth had she been thinking? They were friends. Well, she didn’t consider him a friend, but by Damian’s definition, they were.

Ayla tried her best to maintain a facade of nonchalance.

“Right. Thanks for getting it out.”

She was grateful she hadn’t closed her eyes when Damian’s hand approached. Her face felt a bit hot, but that puppy wouldn’t notice anything.

As the clear lake in his eyes receded, Ayla quietly exhaled the breath she’d been holding. Her heart was racing. She reassured herself it was just a physical reaction from holding her breath.

“Ayla.”

“…What now?”

For a moment, Ayla felt irritation rising.

“Your hand.”

She stared blankly at the white hand extended towards her. It wiggled impatiently, as if asking for something quickly. If she was right, he was asking for her hand. Ayla hesitated briefly. It wasn’t about holding hands. She wondered if taking his hand was the right thing to do. She had been confident it wouldn’t matter, but now she wasn’t so sure.

The image of the fluttering butterfly was still vivid in her mind.

While she hesitated, his hand enveloped hers. Ayla startled, looking up at him. She found herself at a loss for words.

“Let’s go, Ayla.”

His sunny smile resembled sunlight itself. She didn’t want to get involved, didn’t want to fall for it, but she couldn’t look away.

Her heart began to race again.

* * * 

Damian led Ayla to the Pharmaceutical Department building. He strode in without hesitation, while Ayla followed silently behind him, lips tightly pressed together. Her heart was racing, and her mind warned her to break free from his grip, but her body wouldn’t listen. She felt like she had returned to being young Ayla again. At six years old, Damian would lead six-year-old Ayla around the imperial palace. They played hide-and-seek and even dared to enter the Emperor’s office, getting scolded by Her Majesty the Empress.

All those moments with him were stored in her memories.

What snapped Ayla out of her reverie was the pungent smell of herbs that assaulted her nostrils. Caught off guard by the sudden odor, Ayla instinctively covered her nose. Damian was talking to someone—a face she had seen before. As a noble, she had memorized the nobility almanac, so she searched her memory. He was the youngest son of Count Bertan, a year younger than her.

Having finished his conversation with Damian, he noticed Ayla standing beside him and bowed politely.

“Hello, senior.”

It was a courteous greeting. Her impression of him improved due to his good manners.

“Hello, Michael.”

At her greeting, Michael glanced furtively at Damian. In an instant, cold eyes were directed at him. Michael cleared his throat and averted his gaze from Damian.

“Then, I’ll guide you, seniors.”

Michael glanced at Damian and Ayla’s still-joined hands, deciding to forget what he had just seen as he led them. The place Michael took them was a storage room that housed all the medicinal ingredients handled by the Pharmaceutical Department.

“Wow…”

Ayla couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. It felt like when she first saw Caelum. If Caelum was filled with books, this storage room was packed with herbs and medicinal ingredients. Like books classified for easy searching, all the ingredients were neatly categorized.

“We have all the ingredients used by our Pharmaceutical Department here. Each one has a preservation spell cast on it.”

“That must be expensive then?”

The words slipped out unconsciously. Realizing what she had said, Ayla quickly shut her mouth. Michael’s gaze, which had been focused on Damian while explaining, briefly flicked to Ayla. Michael replied casually.

“I’ve heard that half of the Pharmaceutical Department’s budget goes into preservation spells.”

“So. What about the herbs I mentioned?”

Damian’s voice, directed at Michael, sounded oddly cold to Ayla’s ears. Although it was puzzling, it wasn’t something she particularly needed to worry about. Michael’s gaze once again fleetingly moved to their joined hands. It’s strange that they say they’re not dating when they’re like this.

Michael wasn’t particularly interested in gossip, but rumors about these two reached his ears even when he wasn’t trying to hear them. They were seen walking hand in hand. They looked very close. The Crown Prince was seen resting his head on Lady Ayla’s lap on a bench. The first and second-ranked students in the Literature Department claim they’re not dating, but they’re secretly in a relationship, and so on.

It was true that they weren’t actually dating. He had heard it directly from the Crown Prince himself. That’s why he was being so wary of someone like Michael. Meanwhile, Senior Ayla didn’t have the slightest interest in him. Michael could guarantee it. The only person in this academy who had Senior Ayla’s attention was the Crown Prince.

“If you wait here, I’ll bring them to you.”

It was a place with a long table and several chairs. The pristine white tabletop was absolutely spotless. Michael added that the color was like this for distinguishing and identifying medicinal ingredients before he left.

Ayla was about to sit down. But something felt oddly warm in her hand. Ayla slowly turned her head. Only then did she realize that she was still holding hands with Damian. Ayla looked up at Damian. When their eyes met, Damian smiled brightly. His face showed no sign of discomfort.

Feeling her face flush, Ayla quickly let go of his hand. However, Damian immediately grabbed it again.

“Let go already!”

“I don’t want to.”

“Are you crazy? Everyone can see!”

Ayla shouted as quietly as possible so that even Michael couldn’t hear. Damian, on the contrary, held her hand even tighter.

“Hey, Damian!”

“It’s punishment.”

“What?”

“Punishment for looking at someone else.”

Ayla was so dumbfounded she could only gape. Looking at someone else? What nonsense is this? Who did she look at? Besides, what kind of relationship did Damian think they had to use such words? They weren’t even lovers!