“No. You go.”
Nigel said firmly. If Rowen stayed in the room, he couldn’t sneak out.
“There’s no need for both of us to skip it. We need to find the culprit too…. It’s an important party. Enjoy it for my sake too.”
“…I’m not really in the mood for that.”
“Wouldn’t it make me more uncomfortable if you didn’t attend because of me?”
“……”
“The second-year Mardinia Eve Festival won’t come back again. You’ll have fun even without me, I’m sure.”
Still. Rowen Ashfield pressed his lips shut at Nigel’s words, but it was clear he still wanted to skip it himself.
Nigel sighed and pulled out his last card.
“Go and monitor.”
“…Monitor?”
“Yeah. Since I can’t go, you go and watch the situation. See if the Alchemy Department guys or anyone else makes any suspicious moves.”
Nigel grabbed Rowen’s shoulder with a deliberately serious expression.
“The culprit is likely to use the festival chaos as an opportunity to move. If rumors spread that I’m sick and lying down, they’ll let their guard down even more. You watch for that opening.”
Those words had an effect. Rowen’s eyes changed.
“Got it. If you insist.”
Rowen nodded. He was about to take the box he’d brought with him again.
“…Leave that behind.”
“What, why this?”
“I’ll wear it on the next occasion.”
“……”
Why? As Rowen looked at him puzzled, Nigel added another word.
“The Head of the Ashfield House sent this to me. I should respect the gesture.”
Nigel avoided his gaze. Normally Nigel would have told him to take the clothes back, but because he was deceiving Rowen, he seemed to have said such things unnecessarily.
“Alright, alright. I’d appreciate it if you keep it. I’ll have something to tell Grandfather too. By the way.”
Rowen placed his hand on Nigel’s forehead to check his temperature.
“Does your head hurt?”
“……”
Normally Nigel would have angrily told him to remove his hand immediately, but out of guilt toward Rowen, he pressed his lips shut and endured it. Not knowing in his dreams that Rowen was misunderstanding that Nigel was sick enough to be this docile.
Rowen fussily tucked in the blankets thoroughly before leaving the room.
“Lock the door properly. Contact me right away if anything happens.”
Click.
As the door closed, Nigel couldn’t even breathe deeply until the footsteps completely faded away.
When perfect silence arrived, the weight pressing on a corner of his chest revealed itself. It was guilt.
Nigel got up from the bed and opened the box Rowen had left behind. A navy blue velvet formal outfit with a subtle sheen. Since it was clothes made by the Ashfield family, it would surely suit Rowen Ashfield well too. If they had stood side by side wearing this, it would have made quite a plausible picture.
“…Haah.”
Nigel roughly dry-washed his face.
To deceive the friend who believed in him completely during the hardest times. It wasn’t something a normal human would do. Moreover, from Nigel’s position of valuing principles, this behavior was nothing less than throwing his own pride to the ground—an utterly cowardly deception.
…It can’t be helped. Meeting alone without anyone else. That was the only condition Veil Khalid had set.
Nigel closed the formal wear box and pushed it deep into the closet. He thought that if he put it away out of sight, the guilt might fade a little.
Of course, that didn’t happen.
He lay in bed and spent a long night. The discomfort of having deceived Rowen and thoughts about tomorrow night’s Eve Festival wouldn’t leave his mind.
***
Loud fanfare sounds came from outside the window.
The entire Academy was buzzing with preparations for the festival Eve Festival. But Nigel’s room was quiet.
“……”
Since he’d lied to Rowen about being sick, it seemed he’d have to stay stuck in his room today until the Eve Festival party started.
Knock, knock.
—”Nigel? Are you up?”
It was Rowen. Nigel reflexively pulled the blanket over his head. Perhaps because he’d slept well, his physical condition wasn’t bad, but right now he had to act like a patient who couldn’t move because he was sick.
“…Come in.”
When he imitated a hoarse voice, the door opened and Rowen entered. A savory smell filled the room.
On the tray Rowen was holding was steaming soup and warm tea.
“I went to the dining hall and specially asked the head chef. For something easy to digest.”
“Thanks.”
His conscience pricked him even more needlessly. Rowen, who knew nothing of Nigel’s thoughts, pulled a chair over and sat by the bedside, saying,
“Your face looks a bit haggard.”
“Does it?”
Nigel swept his bangs covering his forehead with his fingers with a flustered expression. Since he wasn’t actually sick, he might look disheveled from lying down unnecessarily.
“I can eat by myself. My hands aren’t broken.”
“What stubbornness from a patient. I won’t move until you say ‘ah.'”
Rowen held the spoon up to his mouth.
“Come on, aah—.”
“……”
Nigel sighed and opened his mouth. As the warm and smooth soup went down, his stomach cheered.
“Tasty, right? The head chef said when they heard it was for you, they put in premium mushrooms.”
Rowen continued to spoon-feed him soup, smiling brightly as if coaxing a child.
It is tasty…
Nigel obediently ate while observing Rowen’s face. There were dark circles under his eyes. It was obvious he was tired from struggling alongside Nigel these past few days.
“…Aren’t you getting ready?”
At Nigel’s words, Rowen’s hand stopped. His expression darkened immediately. Rowen put down the spoon he was holding and said as if troubled,
“I should go. There’s Swordsmanship Department business, and I need to check the stage. But…”
Rowen added the last sentence while subtly avoiding Nigel’s gaze.
“I’m not going to go.”
“What?”
“I told you. I can’t bring myself to leave you alone. When you’re like this, what would I do going there. I’ll just stay here and take care of you.”
Rowen scratched his head as if troubled.
“Don’t talk nonsense and go quickly.”
Nigel straightened up with a serious face. If this guy didn’t go, the whole plan would fall apart. He needed to sneak out to meet Veil, but if Rowen was guarding the room, he’d be completely trapped.
“I want to sleep. If you’re rustling around next to me, I’ll be distracted and won’t be able to sleep. So get out right now and do what you need to do.”
“But…”
“Quickly.”
Nigel deliberately snapped more coldly and sharply. Rowen drooped his shoulders like a dejected puppy.
“…Fine. I get it.”
Rowen stood up as if reluctantly giving in.
“I’m really going?”
And then, as if still bothered about leaving alone, Rowen looked back several times with the door open. Nigel said “Take care” with his usual expression.
Click.
With the sound of the door closing, Nigel exhaled and laid his head on the pillow.
Knock, knock.
That’s when it happened.
Less than 5 minutes after Rowen left, there was a knock again. Did he come back? Did he leave something behind? Nigel on the bed sat up and said,
“Rowen?”
But whoever was standing outside the door said nothing for a moment.
“Rowen Ashfield?”
Unable to help it, Nigel had to repeat what he’d said. Only then did the owner of the knock speak.
—”Lord Nigel. It’s Eden Lake.”
The low voice flowed through the closed door.
“…Eden?”
Nigel, leaning his upper body against the headboard, smoothed his brow. He immediately said,
“Is something wrong? Come in.”
Nigel’s dormitory door immediately opened carefully. Eden Lake entered through it. Skin as dark as chocolate and black hair, rare to see at Kaiserion Academy.
Eden Lake walked in with his usual expression, seeming to subtly survey Nigel’s room.
His gaze went toward the folding chair beside the bed where Rowen had been sitting just moments ago, and the tray containing soup and water.
“…It seems Senior Rowen came by first.”
There were subtle thorns in his voice.
Saying this, Eden Lake looked over Nigel sitting on the bed. It was a sharp gaze as if trying to directly confirm whether something had happened just moments ago.
Nigel shrugged slightly with an unconcerned face.
“He’s always a bit fussy.”
And then he continued nonchalantly,
“So what brings you here, Eden?”
“I heard you’re not attending the morning meeting.”
“Yeah, I should have conveyed it through Lios, right? I’m not feeling well so I can’t go today.”
“I heard. And about the Eve Festival too.”
