Chapter 62: Only just now thinking about it, darling?
Eiros realized he’d genuinely gone stiff in front of Erness. Thinking back to the past, he’d handled himself so much better than he was managing right now.
Just the fact that Erness wasn’t smiling at him anymore was enough to leave him thoroughly confused, unable to react the right way at all.
Erness sat across from him now, staring out at the dormitory’s spacious courtyard. Flowers and small apple trees were tucked into every corner and edge of the yard.
A few small statues were on display as well, along with a fountain sitting right in the middle, showing a bird perched comfortably atop it.
Magic lamplight in this world wasn’t just bright—it also gave off a warm atmosphere that made the night air feel lighter.
The night sky itself was scattered with stars, a crescent moon sitting right at its center. A handful of students still lingered around, watching, but most had chosen to leave to give them some privacy.
Either way, this was someone’s personal business.
Eiros stayed quiet for a fairly long stretch, drawing in a deep breath before looking at Erness hesitantly.
"What?" Erness stared back at him, tilting her head with an air of indifference. "Darling, I’m honestly a little hurt, you know? Instead of coming to find me right away, you went off playing with your friends. Guess I really don’t mean much to you, huh?"
The words came out in a tone that sounded relaxed, yet cold at the same time, leaving Eiros with a genuinely strange expression on his face.
’Of course,’ he smiled awkwardly, studying Erness’s attitude. ’Honestly, have I ever really understood Erness? No, because that’s just impossible.’
He couldn’t make sense of her. If Erness was mad about falling into the river, and then also mad that Eiros hadn’t come looking for her right away, hurting her feelings...
Did Erness actually harbor some kind of feelings for Eiros?
If so, that would explain why she was acting this way. But at the same time, Erness didn’t exactly come across as someone who loved him with genuine, pure sincerity either.
Wasn’t that just how it was supposed to be, though?
He and Erness had this kind of relationship purely because of the whole Seed of Corruption mess. And then there was Erness’s actual main goal, honestly still hunting for a way to kill him—to release him from that immortality.
Their relationship was fundamentally awkward and strange, which meant every loving word Erness ever spoke felt off somehow, never quite convincing Eiros it was genuine. But at the same time, it was Erness’s own behavior that made this so difficult for him.
’This girl... what is she actually thinking? Every single thing she does is genuinely questionable.’
She seemed to flip back and forth. Sometimes she looked like a girl who was in love with Eiros, wanting his attention, terrified of being left behind. But often, her actions seemed to run in the opposite direction, as though she were treating Eiros like a prisoner who had to be handled with extreme care.
Which one was the real her?
Those two personalities genuinely clashed with each other.
"Not gonna say anything?" Erness murmured beside him, still staring at him with those white pupils of hers. "...Guess I’ll head in then?"
Eiros let out a long sigh.
"What about the date?"
"...?"
"Yeah, didn’t you say we’d go on a date once the beginning-of-semester exams were over?"
The moment that came up, Erness’s expression darkened, a sweet smile crossing her face, though laced with a certain irritation.
"Ah! That one?" Her voice sounded a touch more cheerful, but somehow it felt off.
Eiros didn’t need long to figure out the answer.
"That’s exactly why I said, why haven’t you ever come looking for me, right? I’d been waiting for you, you know, but..."
There was no need for Erness to keep going, since Eiros already understood exactly what she meant, his expression darkening, cold sweat breaking out all over his face.
He shook his head, an awkward, forced smile on his lips.
"...There’s no way, right?"
"..."
"You were... waiting for me?"
Right then, Erness’s smile widened across her face—that same sweet, cheerful smile Eiros had always seen from her before. But unlike usual, this time that smile made his whole body tense up.
"Only just now thinking about it, darling?"
That explained it...
Erness probably wasn’t all that mad about falling into the river. But being left waiting on the very day they’d promised to go on a date...
’This one’s genuinely on me...’
Eiros thought, since Erness had been upset, their date had likely gotten pushed back at the time.
Honestly, he himself had been a bit busy too, having to go through several procedures for his class transfer, and had genuinely forgotten all about Erness.
Eiros immediately looked at Erness, and since things had come to this, he no longer held back—he was about to apologize, but right then, Erness raised a finger and pressed it against his lips.
"Shh... Don’t apologize," Those words left Eiros speechless. "Instead, you’re willing to do something to make up for it, right?"
"Like what?"
Erness smiled, her pupils narrowing into crescent moons, radiating a softness that could make anyone fall for her—even Eiros himself never quite got used to just how unfairly perfect she’d been made.
"Tomorrow. We’re going on a date and skipping class, and you’re not allowed to say no this time."
Her gentle voice filled the silence surrounding them. Eiros couldn’t say anything at all, just staying quiet, listening to those words.
Feeling his heart pound, leaving nothing but an awkward smile and cold sweat on his face.
"...So now, you’re asking me to skip class?"
But Erness’s body vanished right then, making it clear she had no interest in negotiating.
Eiros was left alone, frozen in place on that wooden bench. The smile lingered on his face while cold sweat kept spreading across it.
That night, he headed back to his dorm, sleeping comfortably after finally settling the matter that had bothered him for a good while.
In short, his sleep quality actually improved.
***
The academy’s location sat right at the southern edge of the Augusta Empire. Nestled fairly deep in the middle of a vast forest, positioned right under the rule of a young Duke based in the city of Clathria.
The distance between Clathria and the Stigma Academy itself wasn’t particularly far. It could be described as perfectly balanced, keeping the academy isolated enough to stand on its own, without making it so remote that it looked like some abandoned structure standing alone in the wilderness.
Traveling by magic carriage, one could typically reach Clathria from the Academy in about four hours. On foot, it’d probably take roughly twice that long.
But, here Eiros was.
"...Erness, you don’t come from some wealthy background, do you?"
Erness sat across from her, smiling sweetly, positively glowing. She wore an outfit that looked simple, yet genuinely showcased her beauty, blending midnight blue with a white scarf that matched the color of her hair.
"Hehe, surprised?"
Well, why wouldn’t he be?
Not only was Erness dressed in jewelry that looked genuinely expensive, but there was also the fact that the magic carriage they were riding in clearly wasn’t the regular kind.
As he looked out the window, he saw trees blurring past beneath them. Right, not beside them—beneath them!
Their magic carriage was actually flying!
This was the first time Eiros had ever ridden something like this, so he was genuinely stunned. Not only was the carriage flying smoothly, but its speed felt incredibly gentle too, without a single jolt or shake.
Of course, if he kept staring outside, he’d probably start feeling a bit nauseous and dizzy.
So Eiros stopped looking out the window and turned his attention back to Erness.
"...Isn’t this incredibly expensive?" Eiros spoke, his voice sounding a little strangled just thinking about the cost. "A magic carriage fitted with stigmatic power like this... I’d guess this is something only nobles would ever get to use."
What Eiros said wasn’t just a reasonable guess—it was the plain truth. A magic carriage capable of flying, moving at a speed this astonishing and, frankly, terrifying, was something only nobility could afford.
But Erness just smiled innocently without offering any answer at all, clearly not wanting to talk about it.
"Darling, you’re being boooriiiinnggg. Forget about that! And look at me, shouldn’t you be saying something?"
"...Saying what?"
Erness huffed, staring at Eiros as if demanding something from him.
"My look today, what do you think?"
Only after she said that did Eiros finally understand. He smiled awkwardly.
It was hard to put into words how to even begin describing Erness’s appearance.
Her white hair was braided, draped down her chest, reaching almost all the way to her waist, a crescent-moon-shaped ornament tucked into it. She wore a midnight-blue gown, her makeup minimal, doing nothing but highlighting her natural beauty.
All of it felt like something too perfect to have actually been created.
So, seeing Erness’s face looking back at him with eyes sparkling and bright, his lips twitched.
***