NOVEL NEXT Chapter 111
“Is it just for me…?”
Yeriel’s voice was as tender and pure as her snow-white image, gently resonating.
The little hint of embarrassment she showed was the point.
If she were a doll, it would be a voice you’d want to poke at the belly just to hear again.
In that moment, my brain hit a freeze,
“…”
As I maintained my silence, unable to find a proper answer, an awkward air began to swirl around us.
“Lev…?”
Yeriel, who had just confidently commanded me, now wore an expression of ‘Could it be…?’ like she was shy.
Interpreting her words, it was not a bad suggestion.
The thought of being able to playfully tease a character I adored, like Yeriel…
As I chewed on the meaning, she stumbled her words.
“Th-That was just a joke…! Forget it!”
“…”
‘Lev keeps messing around…! It’s because of that…! It made me feel bad…?’
‘Something… is hard to bear.’
It’s like I wasn’t even consumed by dark magic, yet my mind was sparking with impulsive emotions flying around.
Blood rushed to my head.
‘Anyway, I’ll have to give her the Elixir of Immortality…’
I wanted to leave my footprints on the white snow.
With that, every breath, every small gesture, every movement of Yeriel had my full attention.
“Lev…?”
“……”
Just as I instinctively tried to move closer to her neck,
“Cough, cough.”
-!!!!!
Familiar presence echoed from the entrance.
Silver hair, lake-like bright eyes. Dark purple beret.
The girl who always appeared to cool down my excitement at crucial moments…
Aria Bluebell.
*
Finally, today.
Aria was going to Sellafi Black House.
‘Barely got permission…’
– Aria? Did you have any discomfort at Yegudi Hall? You can share anything you find lacking, you know?
– No, I was fine… Thank you for your support all this time.
– Aria! If it’s an outstanding student like you, you’re always welcome back! I’ll be waiting!
She had finally convinced the dorm supervisor at Yegudi Green House to be able to switch dorms.
The simple reason Aria had made this decision was…
Lev Denec’s watch.
In other words, for some reason, Lev had chosen the Black House even after clearing all his demerit points.
But if someone were to ask, ‘Is that the only reason?’
Aria knew she’d have to think twice, hesitate, even.
This complicated feeling had taken root since the day Lev went off for the raid practice.
That day at the lounge, what Yeriel had asked Aria…
– Aria… do you have someone you’re interested in at the Academy…?
That was the reason.
‘…Is it someone I care about?’
In a situation where even Melissa was in self-reflection, if Aria had a person of interest, it would undeniably be Lev Denec.
He wields dark magic.
And he uses it to help others, no less.
Truly, the more I learned, the more complicated he became.
So could this feeling be translated to love?
If Aria looked back to the times spent with Lev…
Without a doubt, their first meeting didn’t go well at all.
Above all, seeing him during that night stroll made her think he could perhaps be the Great Demon Andras.
But why had things turned out this way?
Unbeknownst to her, Aria was coming to accept that…
Lev Denec was a good person and that she might harbor different feelings for him.
Most importantly, when she heard that this time Yeriel and Lev would be together in the Black House, she found herself feeling an uncomfortable sensation that she couldn’t explain.
Thus, she had to verify it.
Her true feelings.
-Kiiing…
But the moment Aria opened the door to Sellafi Hall, what she faced was…
‘…!’
Yeriel and Lev closely huddled together.
That sight felt like a way to expose what she had been trying hard to ignore, sending a wave of tangled thoughts through Aria’s mind.
What was the situation? Was Yeriel in danger…? No, Lev wouldn’t do that…
Then, did she… interrupt something?
Fortunately, the shock of the moment passed quickly.
–Thump. Thump. Thump.
What remained instead was the emptiness left behind after her heart dropped like a stone.
‘Lev…?’
Above all, what stung Aria’s heart was the moment their eyes met, Lev’s gaze looked so painfully earnest.
For Aria, it was the kind of look she could only see when he was consumed by dark magic.
…
Yeriel noticed my gaze shifting towards Aria and,
“Ah… Aria…?”
We instantly pulled away from each other.
Then, Aria’s mouth opened heavily.
“…Was it an interruption?”
“Ah, no! An interruption…!”
“Or was it that Lev couldn’t hold back his impulsive behavior…?”
“That’s not it…! Lev just helped me dry my hair…!”
“…I see.”
“I’ll get you something to drink…! Aria, just talk to Lev for a bit…!”
And with that, Yeriel headed inside the dorm, leaving only Aria and me.
She was looking at me with quite a frosty gaze…
As if questioning whether I had laid a finger on Yeriel.
“You’re wrong.”
My excuses weren’t particularly needed, or maybe she’d come to some understanding, as Aria nonchalantly took a seat.
“…”
Was it just me, or did her hands resting on her lap seem a bit tense in their grip?
“Here…!”
Fortunately, Yeriel soon returned, presenting us with tea cups,
–…
We sipped tea to ease the atmosphere.
The first to break the silence was Yeriel, having regained her composure.
“Aria? What’s going on in Sellafi Hall…?”
“…It’s about this.”
–Swoosh.
Aria, in response, handed a document envelope to Yeriel.
It wasn’t hard to guess what it contained.
It was probably the application for residing in the Black House.
When I first came to stay here, Aria had tried to enter Sellafi Hall after me.
“I want to live in the Black House too. Is that okay?”
“Of course! If it’s you, Aria, you’re always welcome…!”
Yeriel immediately welcomed Aria’s application but still, she and I exchanged peculiar glances.
As if questioning what the other was trying to do.
To change the mood, I decided to ask something else.
“So, is it just the three of us living in the Black House for the second semester? No other freshmen?”
“Well… it’s not really good for transportation…”
The Black House had limited capacity, and only first-year students were allowed to live there; probably, those who wanted to impress Yeriel had given up seeing the accessibility issue.
Especially since a demon appeared in the Black House…
That rumor must have spread like wildfire.
It seemed Yeriel wasn’t mentioning it out of consideration for me.
“Edwin was going to join us, but I declined, saying the training facility would be too far… Let’s just make the best of it ourselves…!”
“Okay.”
“Yes.”
Still, with a 50% increase in capacity, it seemed to lift Yeriel’s spirits.
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she looked at me and asked,
“By the way, I was meaning to ask… does Lev like to travel? Oh, Aria too…!”
Traveling.
An unexpected question that felt a bit awkward.
“Well, I think it depends on who you’re going with.”
“I haven’t really traveled anywhere.”
Aria’s reply sounded a bit sad, prompting Yeriel to suggest gently.
“Then, how about we go somewhere during the remaining vacation period…? I think it would be nice to go with the group that went to Hwangdo…!”
“Suddenly?”
“U-uh, yeah?”
In that instant, Yeriel seemed flustered, her hand holding the teacup freezing.
Maybe it was from having just dried her hair, but the silly hair on her crown seemed to stick out a bit…
Anyway, it felt like she was hiding something…
“…”
But perhaps Aria thought differently.
“Do you have a place in mind…?”
Caught by the idea of traveling, her expression remained neutral, but her eyes showed curiosity.
“Yeah! How about we all go to the Reconta Festival…?”
The Reconta Festival…
This festival was one of the locations mentioned in [Hwanseangyongsa].
While there were grand festivities in Hwangdo every season in the north, the south had hardly any, so the festival was aimed at balancing that out.
The essence of it was that the five major duchies in the south collaborated to hold a grand festival.
In a nutshell, it was a harvest festival comparable to that of Hwangdo.
Since Yeriel’s Artina family territory was located in the south, she likely often received invitations to it.
“And…! If we go to the south, I want to invite everyone over to Artina…! There are plenty of delicious fruits in the Artina territory…!”
“Invite?”
“Yes, yes!”
Now that I thought about it, there was no story in [Hwanseangaka] where Yeriel invited friends to her family’s mansion.
The closest similar story had been when Yeriel misunderstood Edwin’s feelings and was going to have an engagement ceremony with the Haisman family, a prestigious family known for magical resonance, which Edwin then goes to rescue her in a cliché narrative.
Of course, that was also a story that emerged after the emotions of the characters heightened in the second semester.
Yeriel turned between me and Aria with a questioning look.
“Would it be alright to invite…?”
The Artina family was known for its war hero…
If lady luck smiled, we might gain a hidden peace.
‘Oh, I had forgotten that.’
If we were going that far south, there were some things I also needed to check.
There was no reason to make an excuse to decline.
“Sounds good.”
When I accepted the proposal,
“Thank you for agreeing…!”
A sigh of relief and a bright color spread across Yeriel’s face.
‘Is it because of this that she seemed more flustered today?’
Just as I finished that thought, Aria quietly observed Yeriel’s expression,
-*!
And once more, our eyes met.
Aria’s cheong-geum-seong eyes…
Reflected a multitude of emotions, as if they were expressing her complicated feelings.
–…!
And then, as if making a decision, they became clearer.