Lily’s face turned red.
At this short sentence, I was utterly shocked by the implications.
“…Lily…? That Lily??”
Confused by the unimaginable scene, my thoughts were interrupted briefly.
Something began to rise from deep within my chest.
I was at a loss for what to do with the ticklish, fiery emotion swelling inside me.
“Er…”
As my lost sanity returned, I reflected on what I had done.
“…What the hell?!”
The overwhelming sense of embarrassment was like a storm.
Even if I had lost my sanity to competitiveness, the realization that I had kissed Lily hit me like a fever in my skull.
“…But was it really competitiveness?”
Was the intense emotion that drove me to lose control truly competitiveness?
The warmth lingering on my lips felt as though it were burning.
Glancing at Lily, I saw her covering her face with both hands. Muffled muttering seeped through the cracks between her fingers.
“…No…I can’t…I have to endure…ugh…”
Seeing something off about her state, I pressed down on my racing heart and reached out to her.
“Hey…are you okay, Lily-”
“Get off me!”
Her sharp shout halted my hand mid-air.
“Now… just leave me alone…”
It was a first.
Not just her blushing,
but also Lily yelling at me.
Everything was new.
“Are you alright?”
“…Huh…Yeah…I’m just…uh…shocked…so…do you…mind if I go brush my teeth?”
“Eh…Yeah.”
Though it was clearly an excuse to avoid me, for the sake of Lily’s precarious state, I obediently went into the restroom.
Looking into the mirror, I saw my face was flushed red.
And when I glanced down…
“…Damn. Again?”
—
“Hack…Hack…”
Breathing was difficult.
My heart pounded, making my eardrums feel like they were ringing. It was all new.
That I’d ever felt this way about anyone,
and that I’d ever been so overwhelmed.
All of it was unprecedented.
“I can’t… I need to control myself… ugh… I have to endure this…”
The composed reflection in the smooth shell on the dining table didn’t look normal.
My eyes were bloodshot, and saliva uncontrollably dribbled from my lips, making everything messy.
My gaze unconsciously wandered to the restroom.
The one who had put me into this state had gone into the restroom.
“…Arthur.”
My adorable and beloved contractor.
This was the first time he had approached me of his own will out of desire.
He had kissed me before, but this time it wasn’t wrapped up as a meal or any other excuse.
The way he embraced me, exploring my lips, was unmistakable. As he said, this was definitely not something I could categorize as a meal.
My body quivered with heat.
“…Should I…right now? No, I can’t! I have to endure…I don’t want to look like one of those easy girls…”
Besides, we had the wall of family between us.
Even with a good family relationship, it was impossible to do what I wanted now.
But a sudden thought struck me.
“…Isn’t a spouse also a family member?”
At this lightning-fast realization, my body trembled.
“Yeah…if I became a wife…Arthur’s wife…”
I imagined a morning where a mature Arthur greeted me as I left home.
-“I’ll be back, sweetheart.”
“Hack…This isn’t good for my heart…”
Certainly, even an outsider’s heart shouldn’t have been strained this much.
But I could feel a similar sensation to the emotions I’d never felt before.
Thinking about it made my heart flutter, and I felt full of happiness.
“…For the sake of that future…maybe today…yeah, I can endure today.”
With the goal set, there was only resolution. Just…
“…I guess I need to find some relief first.”
—
As I emerged from the restroom following Lily’s instructions, I was stunned by the scene before me.
“…Lily?”
“Yeah? Is there anything?”
Lily spoke as if nothing happened, sitting confidently with legs crossed and holding a coffee cup that seemed to have appeared from nowhere.
She was both noble and flirtatious, but to me, it was baffling.
“Wow…Are you really okay with this?”
“What?”
“You acting as if nothing happened?”
Embarrassment aside, I felt I had won against Lily for the first time.
But her pretending to know nothing was too much, wasn’t it?
Looking at her, I almost believed nothing had happened.
“Do you want to try drinking this? It’s sweet and delicious.”
As she gestured to me, I stared at her before sitting across from her.
“Be careful, it might be a bit hot. Puff-puff… Would you like me to blow on it for you?”
“Sure, blow it for me.”
Though it was slightly taunting, Lily smiled softly and blew on the cup.
“Hoo…hoo…Here.”
Gazing at the cup for a moment, I sighed heavily and relaxed.
Fair enough. What could I do?
She was an outsider.
If I pushed any further, our harmonious relationship might be strained, and I could potentially be ejected into outer space. Rather, it might be better to keep things as they are.
Resigned, I lifted the cup.
“Hmm…”
The sweetness tickled my tongue, mingling with a slight bitterness.
“Coffee.”
“Yep. It’s coffee.”
Surprisingly, it was rather plain coffee.
Of course, it was the best coffee I’d ever had.
“I heard it’s good to drink after a meal. Do you like it?”
I gave her a thumbs-up.
“It’s good, very sweet.”
“It tastes good because of the love I put into it.”
“Pfft! Hack…Hack…”
“Oops, sorry.”
“Cough…L-Lily… Please don’t say things like that suddenly.”
The coffee must have gone up my nose.
“Actually, I added a spoonful of golden honey mead, which made it delicious. Sorry for surprising you~”
…She doesn’t look at all sorry by the way.
But seeing Lily trying to suppress her laughter seemed somehow reassuring.
“We’ve eaten now. What would you like to do next?”
“Huh? Do you not…um…eat?”
Ah, the earlier scene came to mind, interrupting my words.
“Hmm…”
Lily stared at my lips for a while before speaking.
“Well…I’m fine today.”
“Really?”
“Yeah…”
Though she turned her head stiffly, I sensed some awkwardness, but it wasn’t my place to force her if she didn’t want to eat.
‘Feels a little regretful…am I crazy or what?’
“Arthur, let’s go for a walk and digest our meal?”
“A walk? Sure.”
Trying anything new with Lily was always welcome.
Especially if it was an ordinary thing families commonly do, like a walk after dinner or any other healthy activity with Lily for the first time.
‘There’s no reason to say no…This really is a first. Doing something healthy with Lily…’
Though everything we’ve done so far wasn’t necessarily bad, I looked forward to feeling truly like a family this time.
The only issue was…
“Um…Lily.”
“Are you worried about getting caught?”
Yes, spot-on.
…And you claim not to be able to read minds. That’s not a lie?
“Oh, right. I haven’t even applied for cohabitation yet…”
At the academy, cohabitation is allowed upon application.
Most noble children are useless without someone to attend to them, so maids or butlers from their families are usually the cohabitants, though occasionally, students do apply to cohabit with each other.
‘Apparently it’s possible though I haven’t seen it happen.’
Anyway, cohabitation is possible, provided you apply first.
But our relationship being hard to prove, I’ve put it on hold for now.
If somebody were to spot Lily and me together…
…My expulsion would be imminent.
“Relax. Do you know who I am?”
Lily confidently leaned forward.
The substantial weight I could see at a glance momentarily distracted me, but I quickly recovered and averted my eyes.
“I told you, I am also the Goddess of the Night. Only those I permit can see me at night.”
Indeed, Miss Outsider.
To magic users, replicating such an effect would require a grand sorcerer on par with the Chancellor…and yet she said it so nonchalantly.
“I see, in that case, for life~”
“Yes, definitely.”
For life…
At that word, a mix of uncertainty and curiosity arose.
‘What kind of significance does my lifetime hold for Lily?’
—
Once outside, the sky was already pitch black.
It should have been impossible to see, but the magic lamps scattered throughout the academy allowed us to walk comfortably through the most popular path beside the dormitory park, sharing casual chatter.
…Well, the content wasn’t exactly casual.
But this felt normal enough to me.
“Why did you choose to transform into a cat?”
“In Dreamland, cats are the most common animal, so it served as my kind of disguise.”
Stories from our first meeting.
“You like books, don’t you?”
“Yes. I find the process of reading something and discovering new insights incredibly fun.”
“Actually, I’m not that into books. Didn’t really get much of a chance to read them anyway.”
Stories about our preferences.
Honestly, I had a bit of unease when we started our walk.
Would something as simple as a walk with Lily escalate a bit…inappropriately?
Fortunately, Lily engaged well with my normal small talk, sharing her opinions intermittently and making me laugh.
“Puahahaha! Really?”
“It’s true!”
A warm sensation filled my chest.
A warmth I thought I’d never experience.
Savoring the cool night air and strolling leisurely under the light of the magic lamps filled me with contentment.
It was all thanks to Lily that I could feel this.
While expressing my gratitude to Lily and mulling over the next topic, a sound caught my attention.
“Clink!”
“!!!”
Something soft and warm was now clasped in my hand.
Glancing down, I saw Lily’s pristine white hand.
“Li-Lily? Why the sudden hand hold?”
“I just felt like it. Are you embarrassed?”
Judging from Lily’s amused grin, my face must have turned bright red.
“Considering all the more intense things we’ve already done, why fret over this~?”
This was entirely reasonable, leaving me without a counterargument.
And frankly speaking…Lily’s hand was so incredibly soft, I didn’t want to let go myself.
At first, it was just a simple clasp, but when I came to my senses, our fingers had intertwined.
The close contact conveyed warmth and gentle softness. And…
– Thump…Thump…
A mild, rhythmic pulsing.
I couldn’t tell if the heartbeat I felt was mine or Lily’s.
Lily also seemed to focus on the sensation, falling silent.
An odd silence set in, and I felt an unfamiliar unease.
As I reflected on the question I had at the start of our walk:
What kind of significance does my lifetime have to Lily?
Naturally, as an outsider, Lily is destined to live an eternity.
Her lifetime must far surpass anything a mundane human like me can even imagine.
Compared to that, my lifetime was fleeting, like a flicker of an instant.
‘Could this hand clasp be meaningless to Lily?’
I feared it.
I dreaded that my lifetime held no weight for her.
I was anxious.
That this indescribable emotion I felt might simply be an illusion born of my own delusions.
I was too afraid to ask directly, for it might shatter our relationship and this peaceful time.
So I resigned myself to the warmth I felt through my hand, and prepared for another round of small talk.
“Lily-”
“Huh? Isn’t that a troll over there?”
Just as I was about to reopen our conversation, someone emerged from between the shadows of the lamplights.
“Troll, no doubt! Hey!”
The figure stepping under a lamplight was someone very familiar.
“Hey, Louis.”
“Hey is what? What are you saying being so familiar, you troll? Disgusting.”
None other than the most persistent noble bully with his bleached-gold appearance, who has been tormenting me since we joined the academy.
“Hey Louis.”
He’s my classmate and…
