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“I’m Looking for the Fugitive Princess – Chapter : 15”
After the performance ended, Eliziah and Rakan were swept outside the theater.
In the midst of the noisy commotion, the two of them said nothing.
Eliziah was lost in her confused thoughts, while Rakan looked around with an amused expression.
At that moment, someone who burst into loud laughter bumped into Eliziah as they passed. She stumbled.
Rakan caught her swaying shoulder and steadied her properly, then stepped back half a pace again.
It was an impeccably clean gesture.
“…Thank you.”
Eliziah muttered a greeting while fidgeting with the shoulder he had touched.
How should she put it? If nobility had been born as a person, wouldn’t it look like this?
Moreover, although he sometimes seemed playful and lighthearted, he always carried a healthy, composed atmosphere.
Is his neat demeanor because Senior has no interest in women… or because he has no interest in me?
Lost in meaningless thoughts, Eliziah walked on.
Then she realized something—she had been thinking only about Rakan for a while now.
She crossed her arms and wrapped them around herself, almost like a defensive gesture.
Come to think of it, recently she had been thinking about him more than her former crush, Damien.
No—if she didn’t deliberately think about Damien, she didn’t even remember him anymore. The person she thought of before sleeping was always Rakan, the man from an enemy country.
Rakan glanced at Eliziah.
A cold night breeze brushed through her hair as she shrank slightly.
Without hesitation, Rakan took the coat draped over his arm and held it out to her.
“It’s fine.”
But Eliziah firmly refused his kindness.
This kind of gentleness was becoming troublesome. Even though they had gotten closer recently, they should not get any closer than this.
She shouldn’t feel her heart race over such manners and that dazzling face.
Yes. She needed to shut it down in advance.
She wasn’t in love yet, nor particularly restless—but if she didn’t stop here, she might soon become exactly that.
Besides, she already had a fiancé, and he was even a man from an enemy nation.
It truly should not happen. At the end of an unattainable feeling, all that would remain was pain.
“How was the performance today?”
“It was a very new experience. Of course, I don’t mean I disliked it.”
“Right? I can’t forget the first time I went either. Everywhere was noisy, bustling, exploding with energy. It really felt like a whole new world.”
Eliziah smiled faintly.
Under the dim night that lingered quietly, the two stood in front of the girls’ dormitory entrance, having a simple conversation before going inside.
Rakan watched the moonlight reflecting off Eliziah’s hair. He loosened his sleeve cuff, shook it out neatly, then looked back up.
“By the way, Eliziah.”
“Yes.”
“That performance hall you went to today—you said you went with a senior, right?”
“Yes.”
His gaze drifted to the moon and then returned to her. His eyes shimmered darkly under the moonlight.
“Who did you go with?”
“Senior Sophie. You know her, right? My roommate.”
Unlike Rakan’s hesitant question, Eliziah answered immediately.
“Ah. Sophie.”
Rakan finally smiled loosely.
“Yes, Senior Sophie. But why do you ask?”
“Just thankful she showed me a good place.”
“A good place? You were squeezed into your seat because it was so cramped.”
Somewhere, crickets chirped sharply. Lights from the building seeped into the dark night.
Eliziah looked up at the blue moon above Rakan’s head. It was about time to go in.
But before she could say goodbye, Rakan spoke first.
As always, it was a sudden proposal.
“You gave me a good experience today, so I’ll treat you to dinner soon.”
Eliziah shook her head as if it were absurd.
“Final exams are coming up.”
“So?”
“So what? I need to study. I don’t have time.”
It was a firm refusal grounded in reason. She planned to study like it was grueling training—there was no time for dinner outings.
Rakan looked displeased at her blunt answer.
“Then I’ll do it too.”
“What will you do?”
“Prepare for exams.”
“Exam preparation?”
“Yes.”
“…Alright. Do it.”
Eliziah nodded vaguely, not understanding his sudden declaration.
Why announce that he was going to study?
Rakan leaned his upper body slightly toward her, arms loosely crossed, a relaxed smile on his face.
“What I mean is—we should do it together. You and me.”
“…Ah.”
Eliziah let out an awkward laugh. She hadn’t expected such an invitation at all.
Since they shared some classes, studying together might help both of them. Assuming he was actually helpful.
“Alright, let’s do it together. But senior, are your grades good?”
“Do you like people with good grades?”
Eliziah blinked a couple of times. The conversation had become increasingly unexpected.
What kind of maze-like conversation was this?
Still, no proper answer came to her mind. Instead of searching for one, she simply smiled faintly.
“No. I’d rather have my own grades be good.”
And that was her firm answer.
Rakan laughed lightly this time, as if to say that’s very you.
Eliziah looked around. A quiet night filled only with the sound of insects. It was time to go.
Though it felt a little regretful to say goodbye, she waved her hand.
“It’s late. You should head back now.”
Rakan looked up at the moon, hanging neatly in the center of the sky.
“So it’s bedtime for our proper princess.”
“What about you, senior? Then go out and enjoy yourself more.”
“I’m also a proper man.”
Saying so, Rakan lowered the sleeves he had been rolling up. They had become slightly wrinkled during the outing and the return trip.
Then he buttoned up the few undone buttons near his collar.
Eliziah stared blankly at his slow movements around his neck. The faint glimpse of his collarbone disappeared, and his neck became neatly covered.
It was just him tidying his clothes—but for some reason, it felt strange.
Her mind lingered oddly on his words, “I’m also a proper man.”
Why did she feel strangely flustered just watching him button up properly?
She swallowed hard and averted her gaze slightly.
“Anyway, I’ll be studying from tomorrow at the second-floor window seat of the western library. If you want to study together, come there.”
“Alright.”
After a brief farewell, Eliziah slipped into the dormitory as if fleeing.
Rakan also turned away shortly after. Only moonlight remained, quietly shining on the empty spot where they had stood.
