WFCA 03

Chapter: 03

Before long, Aiden returned after perfectly removing the cursed cloth and carefully placed it by the window—without forgetting to give Sonnet a smiling glance.

As soon as he sat beside her, Sonnet spoke.

“Are you really dating me?”

“You said you liked me.”

Their gazes met calmly. Aiden’s eyes sharpened in a strangely dangerous way.

“You’re not joking about something like this, are you?”

Sonnet parted her lips at that, then closed them again.

She was reminded of something she had heard in front of the grade board.

“Cased’s been seeing a girl lately and dropped ten ranks.”

Come to think of it, people did say your grades fell when you started dating.

If I stick close to Aiden, watch how he studies, and maybe even interfere…

It didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Though the current situation was unfolding far more strangely than she had expected.

“Joking? I’m serious.”

Sonnet lied.

It was the best answer she could give right now.

Besides, there had to be a reason Aiden suddenly acted like this.

Why would he easily accept Sonnet’s insane confession when he had rejected all the other girls?

Who knew?

Maybe Aiden, like her, intended to eliminate a rival.

I’ll pretend to date Aiden and figure out what he’s really up to.

Sonnet barely steadied her thoughts and firmed her resolve.

Soon, Professor Doriders—with his long beard—entered the room.

Aiden pulled out the Temple Ancient Texts book, along with a weapon-related book. Naturally, he opened the weapon book first.

Sonnet sneered inwardly.

Professor Doriders spoke quickly and rarely wrote on the board, which made note-taking extremely difficult.

She didn’t know about Aiden’s overall grades, but she believed that in this class at least, he ranked below her.

Quickly picking up Doriders’ tone and repeated phrases, Sonnet diligently filled her notebook.

When she glanced sideways, Aiden was writing notes—but he didn’t seem very focused.

In the first place, his gaze kept drifting toward the silver weapon.

Silently looking down on him, Sonnet refocused on the professor’s lecture.

Just then, the ink bottle on her desk fell.

Sonnet bent down and searched around, but the bottle had rolled somewhere out of sight.

Sighing inwardly, she straightened back up—

—and found a finely wrapped ink bottle placed in front of her.

Without thanking Aiden, Sonnet removed the wrapping.

She quickly opened the ink and resumed writing at a rapid pace.

After a while, she felt a gaze from beside her.

Even when she tried to ignore it, Aiden’s stare was blatant.

Distractingly so.

At the unfamiliar sensation, Sonnet’s hand paused mid-writing.

Is this what it’s like when you date a guy?

It was her first time receiving this kind of attention. She felt awkward.

No—very awkward.

With Aiden sitting right next to her, his presence felt stronger than ever.

She could even smell the faint scent of mint coming from him, which gave her a strange feeling.

Her seat had always been empty. Everyone disliked her so much they wouldn’t even sit nearby.

But now Aiden was right beside her.

It felt suffocating—almost breath-stealing.

Especially since the mint scent from him happened to be one she liked. It was oddly something she kept wanting to breathe in.

He just played a Madou match, yet he doesn’t smell like sweat—only mint?

At that moment, Professor Doriders said,

“I’ve said this twice, so you understand how important it is, right?”

Sonnet’s pen lost its way.

This did happen sometimes, but never like this.

She had missed the professor’s words because she’d been thinking about Aiden.

Just then, a neatly written notebook slid into her view.

When Sonnet turned, Aiden naturally smiled and gestured toward it.

Hiding her fluster, she examined his notes.

The handwriting was beautifully spaced—and the content was perfect.

How did he extract only the key points like this?

Admiration slipped out of her before she could stop it.

He had even seemed to be reading the weapon book earlier.

She felt Aiden’s gaze again.

Suppressing the subtle awe rising in her chest, Sonnet stiffly copied the notes.

I’ll just take whatever’s useful like this.

Her pen moved busily.

Mechanically, she handed the notebook back to Aiden and looked toward Professor Doriders.

Strangely, every time she tried to focus on the lecture, she could feel Aiden’s eyes on her.

Her cheek practically tingled.

Unable to concentrate at all, Sonnet turned to him.

It was time to settle this.

The moment their eyes met, Sonnet flashed a bright smile.

Usually, people hated that expression and recoiled.

But Aiden was different.

As if moved, his eyes lit up and the corners of his lips lifted.

Sonnet’s face froze for a split second.

She immediately turned back to face the professor.

Aiden always moved in ways she didn’t expect.

This was the first time in her life she’d experienced something like this.

She couldn’t predict what would happen next.

The feeling that nothing was under her control made her chest feel tight—like she’d fallen into a ditch.

What is this…?

Even she was flustered by herself.

It wasn’t like Aiden had done anything improper.

He was just persistently staring at her.

And yet Sonnet felt shaken.

Since entering Rossfield, she had never felt this out of control.

Her grades always reflected the effort she put in.

Her school life always went as expected.

But today, that had completely fallen apart.

It almost feels like I’m the one caught in a trap.

And Aiden Rossfield’s trap, at that!

The more she thought about it, the more negative her thoughts spiraled, so Sonnet forcibly stopped thinking about him and focused only on the professor.

She still couldn’t concentrate.

Strangely, whenever her focus slipped, Aiden would quietly slide his notebook toward her.

Each time, his handwriting was perfect—and filled with exactly what she needed.

Eventually, Aiden simply rested his chin on his hand and watched her.

As if every one of her actions was adorable and fascinating.

Sonnet deliberately avoided looking at him, maintaining an indifferent attitude.

Soon, Professor Doriders finished speaking and left the classroom.

Students hurriedly rose from their seats, sneaking glances toward where Aiden and Sonnet sat.

Feeling oddly liberated, Sonnet quickly closed her notebook.

Just then, Aiden stood.

After rummaging in his pocket, he held out a ticket in front of her.

When Sonnet looked at him in confusion, he smiled naturally.

“Make sure you come.”

When she only stared without taking it, he placed the ticket on her desk, picked up his bag, and left the classroom.

Sonnet stared at the ticket he’d given her.

It was for a Madou match tournament.

A ticket people had wailed about not being able to get—sold out in great success a week ago.

Judging by the seat, it was practically in the front row.

Well, he was from the Rossfield family and the captain of the Madou team. It made sense he’d have premium tickets set aside.

After a moment’s hesitation, Sonnet slipped the ticket into her pocket and stood.

She briskly pushed past the students glancing at her and exited the classroom.

The looks of obvious dislike directed at her were just a bonus.

She was far too used to that kind of negativity to feel anything.

But the way Aiden looked at her…

Sonnet suddenly stopped in the middle of the busy corridor.

Was I mistaken?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she remembered the notebook he had offered—perfectly organized in handwriting even she had admired.

Sonnet soon shook off the stray thoughts and strode forward with squared shoulders.

In the long run, this fake relationship with Aiden would be very helpful.

If she was being affected like this, what chance did Aiden have?

It would surely interfere with him in many ways too—as long as she kept her head straight.

Sonnet deliberately ignored the feeling that she had fallen into a trap.

This was, after all, nothing more than a strategy for honor and survival.

The next day, Sonnet happened to overhear a group of students talking in the dormitory hallway.