“So, what did you do in there? What did you do that tore your clothes up like that? Rowen, where did you sell your scabbard this time?”
“As expected of the Academic Department, such a rich imagination, Veil Khalid.”
Nigel interjected, pressing his forehead as if exhausted. He no longer had the energy to listen to this childish bickering. The heat from inside the maze still seemed to linger in his body, making him nauseous and dizzy.
“Move. I need to wash up.”
As Nigel tried to walk away, Veil persistently blocked his path.
“You didn’t answer. Are you two really in that kind of relationship?”
“…What would you do if you knew.”
“I’m curious. I’m wondering if the prince’s taste was really at that level.”
Veil sneered, gesturing at Rowen with his chin.
Nigel could see Rowen’s expression hardening. If he left things like this, a real fight would break out.
Nigel sighed and turned to Rowen.
“Rowen.”
“Yeah, Nigel.”
“You go back first. You need to find your scabbard again, and you’re a mess.”
Nigel gestured toward Rowen’s torn sleeves and bloodstained forearms.
“But… leaving you alone?”
Rowen hesitated, eyeing Veil warily. It was like leaving a rabbit in front of a wolf.
“Am I a child?”
“…Still.”
Veil’s voice cut between Nigel and Rowen.
“We have something to talk about between us. It’s Academic Department business, so move aside. I won’t lay a finger on your precious prince.”
“……”
Rowen silently looked back and forth between Nigel and Veil for a moment.
“He says it’s Academic Department business.”
Nigel shrugged slightly, as if telling him to listen to Veil.
Knowing he couldn’t break Nigel’s stubbornness, Rowen eventually sighed and nodded.
“Fine. Then I’ll wait in your room. Don’t be late.”
Rowen didn’t forget to shoot Veil a chilling warning glare.
“Don’t try anything funny, Khalid.”
“Don’t worry.”
“……”
Rowen walked away, unable to shake his uneasy expression. Nigel stood there until his figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Finally, only the two of them remained.
The surrounding air suddenly grew heavy.
“…Thanks for getting rid of Rowen Ashfield.”
Veil took a step closer. The playful mockery had disappeared, leaving only the eyes of a predator surveying its prey.
“You couldn’t have believed my lie. Well, I got you good. Who knew the prince could go for men too. Is this some late first love romance dilemma? I’m getting more curious about what we need to talk about separately.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t send Rowen away for that reason.”
Nigel replied coldly, gesturing toward Veil’s wrist with his eyes.
“That bracelet of yours. Hand it over.”
“…What?”
“A few days ago, in class, when you grabbed me, that thing you were wearing. That unpleasant sensation I felt then….”
Nigel stared directly into Veil’s eyes.
“It felt like my veins were burning. My body’s been strange since that day. The explanation about fluctuating mana waves was a lie, wasn’t it?”
Without waiting for Veil’s answer, Nigel abruptly reached out and snatched his wrist.
Snap.
“Is there some kind of curse embedded in it?”
At Nigel’s interrogation, Veil’s eyes widened. He stared blankly at his captured wrist and the bracelet on it. The red gem embedded in the center of the bracelet began pulsing and vibrating wildly the moment Nigel’s hand touched it.
Thump, thump, thump.
Like someone’s heartbeat. Fast, hot, and intense.
“…Ha.”
Veil let out an incredulous laugh. Without trying to free his captured wrist, he instead extended his arm further toward Nigel, closing the distance.
“I explained it then. This is an artifact from the Kingdom of Brion—”
“You’re hiding something. Back then and now, your expression is different from usual. Veil Khalid. Explain everything to me properly.”
Something hidden. Veil Khalid’s gaze shifted slightly in another direction. That reaction was definitely different from usual.
“……”
Veil Khalid’s mouth, which had been chattering just moments ago, clamped shut.
“I said explain.”
“…Curious?”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
After hesitating for a moment, Veil Khalid exhaled a long sigh and ran his palm through his hair. Then, as if he had no choice, he opened his mouth while confirming that Nigel was still looking at him suspiciously.
“This is the Guardian’s Eye.”
“…Guardian’s Eye?”
“Yeah. It’s an artifact that Brion’s royal family has used for generations for protection. It sends warning signals when there’s an unstable target nearby. The explanation about reacting to mana fluctuations wasn’t entirely wrong either. I didn’t know back then.”
Veil’s eyes sharpened.
“That your body was in such a tattered state.”
He was talking about that incident in the library. Veil Khalid smiled savagely, recalling Nigel’s corpse-like cold skin he’d felt then.
Nigel definitely hadn’t explained his physical condition to him.
Since Nigel wouldn’t show him his true feelings anyway, this made them even.
Veil’s explanation was only half true. In fact, the artifact he possessed was an object that detected the condition of someone the wearer liked. But using this as bait, he’d be able to stay by Nigel’s side and properly assess his physical condition.
…There’s no need to let Nigel find out about my feelings.
Veil shook his wrist with an indifferent expression.
Nigel’s gaze fixed on the leather bracelet wrapped around Veil’s wrist.
If what Veil said was true, that object was a detector that sensed the other person’s instability. Then he might be able to use it to check his physical condition in real-time.
The duration of the scales, and even the point when transformation was imminent.
He could see hope.
Nigel’s eyes changed.
“Lend it to me for a bit.”
Nigel extended his hand.
“I need to check something.”
“Ha! What?”
Veil made an incredulous expression.
“Hey, Your Highness the Crown Prince. Do you think this is a toy sold at some street market? I told you it’s a Brion royal heirloom. A national treasure-level artifact, and you’re asking to borrow it just like that—are you in your right mind?”
“I’ll pay a rental fee. As much as you want.”
At Nigel’s words, Veil Khalid scoffed.
“Oh, what to do. I have plenty of money rotting away too.”
Veil hid his bracelet-wearing hand behind his back and smiled mischievously.
“And this is an object bound to its wearer, so even if I take it off, you can’t use it. It only works when synchronized with the owner’s mana wavelength.”
Nigel anxiously chewed the inside of his mouth.
Then was there no way? Veil quietly looked down at Nigel. The sight of his rival biting his lip with a pale face. That desperation strangely stimulated both Veil’s sadism and possessiveness simultaneously.
“…It’s not like there’s absolutely no method.”
Veil casually threw out the bait.
“I just need to keep wearing it. And you stay by my side.”
“…What?”
“What are you doing tomorrow?”
“……”
“I’ll let you investigate all day. But you know there’s the Mardinia Eve Festival tomorrow night, right?”
Veil’s amber eyes gleamed. When Veil Khalid was this pleased, nothing good ever happened. Nigel stood still and stared at the bracelet on Veil Khalid’s gently swaying wrist.
“Come there as my partner. Then I’ll let you observe this bracelet throughout the festival. Even after the festival. Whenever you want, as much as you want.”
“Me with you?”
“If you don’t like it, forget it.”
Veil started to turn away.
Nigel hastily grabbed his sleeve. His pride was hurt, but now wasn’t the time to be picky. Before Her Majesty the Emperor arrived in a few days, he had to understand this situation perfectly, no matter what.
Veil Khalid, who had stopped abruptly, turned his head sharply and said,
“Seeing the desperate prince isn’t so bad either. Do you need my artifact that badly?”
His smile was full, as if something delightful had happened.
“…You’re insane.”
In contrast, Nigel’s face hardened.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Why?”
“You must know what it means to be an Eve Festival partner. You know better than anyone how obsessed the Academy kids are with it.”
Nigel said curtly. Veil’s smile twisted slightly. Of course, as a Kaiserion student, he knew how important it was.
“So what about it?”
“Give me a different condition instead. I have no intention of having a partner at the Eve Festival.”
Nigel said firmly. Veil’s smile twisted slightly.
“…Do you dislike having a partner, or do you dislike me?”
