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chapter 11…
Creeeak—
The iron door, long without oil, made an unpleasant sound.
Almost at the same moment Tislin inhaled sharply, Damian grabbed her waist and pulled her close.
“Shh.”
With one arm wrapped around her waist and the other covering her mouth, Damian leaned against the wall at the corner of the hallway connected to the door. It wasn’t far from the entrance, but it was hidden from the sight of the people who had just come in.
Why?
Tislin whispered silently with her lips.
Through the thin fabric of her dress, she could clearly feel his arm around her waist. Just the warmth of his body made her fully aware of him.
Their bodies were pressed tightly together. Her cheek was pushed between his firm shoulder and chest, and even their legs were half tangled. His cool scent brushed against her nose. Tislin stiffened, not knowing what to do.
Was Damian really unaffected by this?
She didn’t dare lift her head and risk meeting his eyes in this position. She stayed frozen, barely breathing. Compared to her racing heartbeat, Damian’s heart sounded calm and steady. From that alone, she guessed that this contact meant nothing to him.
With an expressionless face, Damian glanced at her reddened ear, then leaned closer and whispered near it.
“You said you didn’t want to get caught.”
That was true. Tislin had nothing to say, so she just nodded. Even that small movement made her panic, wondering if it felt like she was rubbing her cheek against his shirt.
“What ghost would come here in broad daylight? There’s nothing to see anyway.”
“As if it’s a ghost. Someone’s probably sneaking in here to eat or sleep. If we catch them, then we—!”
The voices of chatting students came closer.
Tislin swallowed sharply and instinctively grabbed Damian’s arm tighter.
They heard doors opening one by one along the hallway. It seemed each time the students found nothing. Tislin was relieved they had hidden deeper inside, but every time a door handle clicked, she flinched.
As the students reached the end of the hall, they quickly lost interest.
“This building isn’t hidden, and it’s not unused either. If something was here, the seniors would’ve found it already.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Ugh, what a waste of time!”
Just as they were about to turn back—
“Huh? Isn’t that Senior Ksanov?”
Tislin froze. Damian’s back and profile were reflected in the glass window along the hallway. Luckily, Tislin herself wasn’t visible in the reflection… but if the students came any closer, they would definitely see her.
Damian seemed to realize that too and let out a quiet sigh. But if he pushed her away now, both of them would be clearly reflected in the glass. That would be even worse.
“Why would Senior Ksanov be here?”
“Maybe he’s secretly researching demon-sword techniques or something. Should we ask him to show us?”
Lowering their voices so they wouldn’t disturb Damian’s training, the juniors whispered among themselves.
Tislin looked up at him stiffly, as if asking what he planned to do.
A brief silence passed.
“But I’m kind of scared.”
“Yeah… me too.”
“I don’t want to get scolded for disturbing him.”
“He looks really scary when he’s angry.”
Damian didn’t say a word. But as the students continued imagining an angry Damian Ksanov, they quickly turned around and left.
Creeeak—the door closed again.
Only then did Tislin finally let out the breath she’d been holding.
“That was close. We almost got caught.”
She smiled brightly after confirming the door was shut. Then she turned to Damian—and suddenly remembered what the juniors had said.
“I’m kind of scared.”
Scared?
Tislin tilted her head as she looked up at him. Could someone really think that? From the time Damian grew from a pretty boy into a dazzling young man, she had never once found him frightening.
“You’re not very close with your juniors, are you?”
“Once I graduate, I’ll never see them again.”
He answered plainly, without a hint of a smile. It was simple truth.
She fell silent.
They were just students from the kingdom, not from Luxen. No need to build relationships with people he’d never see again. That was very like Damian.
“…You’ve always been clear about your priorities.”
She used to like that about him. But now, thinking about it, something in her chest felt cold.
Stop thinking about it.
“Anyway, I should go back. We might run into them again. I need to finish the assignment.”
She turned away, trying to empty her thoughts.
But Tislin had never been good at hiding her feelings. Damian looked down at the top of her head as she stubbornly avoided his gaze. She clearly hadn’t meant to show it, but it was obvious enough that he couldn’t pretend not to notice.
“It wasn’t even a big deal. Why did she suddenly look so down?”
Clear priorities. Why had that upset her?
He quietly made a mental note of it.
Because they stopped chatting, they finished the assignment quickly.
“You write the military and geography sections.”
Without complaint, Damian pulled the paper toward him and began writing down everything they had discussed. Aside from flipping through a book occasionally, he showed no hesitation.
Tislin glanced at him, then took out a blank sheet and drew a simple chart summarizing the differences between each region of Parfanan.
As she focused on drawing neat lines, she felt someone watching her.
“…What?”
Her tone came out sharper than she intended.
Damian, however, looked completely calm. Of course. She was the one who had judged and felt hurt on her own.
For five years of unrequited love, she had done the same thing—feeling happy and then disappointed over things he didn’t even know about. She knew she should stop by now. But it wasn’t that easy.
She sighed and corrected herself.
“Do you want to see?”
Her words were still short. Emotions didn’t just disappear cleanly.
“Interesting. We don’t do things like this.”
“Really? We always do.”
Maybe it was prejudice, but she couldn’t imagine the rough-handed students from the Knight Department carefully cutting and pasting papers for assignments.
“Wait. I’ll attach it here.”
After she pasted the chart neatly onto the paper, Damian carefully touched the corners so the ink wouldn’t smudge.
“It would be nice to include something like this in our reports. Maybe I’ll suggest it when I go back.”
“It takes too much work.”
“That’s true.”
He looked slightly disappointed but soon focused again. He seemed to genuinely like it, and Tislin couldn’t help the small smile forming on her lips.
This isn’t the time. Get a grip.
She pressed her lips together and finished her part. Soon, only the scratching sound of pens filled the room.
“That’s everything, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Tislin would submit the assignment. It was better that way, since Damian might not even be able to attend class regularly.
She put the papers into her bag and stood up. After sitting so long, her body felt stiff.
“Tis, do you have time?”
“Huh? Today?”
“Today.”
She nodded without thinking. Damian nodded back, satisfied.
“Then let’s talk for a bit.”
Ah. Right. She also needed to ask him why he had agreed to the engagement.
That was why she had come here in the first place. If not for the earlier incident, she would have remembered properly.
Now that she remembered, she had to stay focused. She couldn’t let herself get swept along again.
She clenched her fists and nodded firmly.
“Okay. I have something to say too, but you go first.”
Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Not here.”
There couldn’t be a quieter place in the school, but he left the building without hesitation.
She thought they’d finished quickly, but the sun was already halfway down. Time always passed quickly when she was with Damian.
They crossed the training grounds, empty because it was dinner time.
Just in case, Tislin walked very close behind him. Then she stopped suddenly when she saw a brick building ahead.
It looked grand, almost like a museum or palace—but its purpose had nothing to do with its appearance.
And more importantly, she knew this place.
“This is the dormitory!”
The same place where she had once come looking for Arkin Rudera and ended up facing dozens of stares.
Since they entered from the side, she didn’t attract attention like before—but it still felt like someone could walk out at any moment.
“…You want me to go inside?”
She looked back and forth between Damian and the building, mouth slightly open.
“I’m asking with absolutely no hidden intentions… but we’re not going to your room, right?”
If she was misunderstanding, this would be the most embarrassing question ever.
Truthfully, she had been curious about his room. At the grand duke’s mansion in Luxen, servants managed his space. But here, in the dormitory, Damian took care of it himself. What kind of things did he keep? Did he draw the curtains? What did his room smell like?
But right now, she absolutely did not want to satisfy that curiosity!
Damian laughed.
“Hidden intentions? You’d run away if it interfered with breaking off the engagement.”
That was true.
If anyone saw her coming out of his room, there would be no choice but marriage. Not to mention possibly getting expelled from the dormitory.
She didn’t think Damian was eager enough about this marriage to do something like that—but the thought still made her nervous. Her gaze kept flickering to his face.
With a short sigh, Damian took off his Knight Department jacket and placed it over her shoulders. Even though she wasn’t short, it covered half her thighs.
“This won’t make you less noticeable.”
Even as she said that, Tislin instinctively clutched the jacket tightly. Better than nothing. Maybe from a distance she’d look like a female knight student… though that was unlikely.
Still, they really entered the dormitory.
Tislin squeezed her eyes shut.
