“The door won’t budge? What a disaster!”
I was fidgeting with the door, biting back a sigh. Could I break it down? I quickly assessed the door’s durability, but without a proper weapon, it looked like a lost cause. Sure, I had my trusty dagger strapped to my thigh, but that was hardly going to make a dent.
Why on earth did they have to make classroom doors so ridiculously sturdy? I muttered under my breath and stepped back, shivering. It was cold. Had I been wearing these wet clothes for too long? I felt like my body heat was being siphoned away. Maybe sensing my distress, Yulia grabbed my sleeve.
“Why not just take your clothes off? At this rate, you’ll freeze to death.”
“Um….”
I didn’t have any spare clothes, though. As I pondered my options, Yulia blushed, ripped the curtains off the window to shake out the dust, and handed them to me. Surely, she didn’t mean for me to use that as a cover. Although she was keeping her lips tightly sealed, I guessed that was the intention. Still, that just seemed a bit much. To be honest, yes, I was scrawnier than Yulia, but I wasn’t completely lacking in shape. A curtain wouldn’t do….
“It covers well enough,” I sighed internally, gazing at how it enveloped my puny body.
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing.”
Honestly, I didn’t really care about my figure, but somehow it left me feeling uneasy. How could I explain this sensation of having lost a contest when I hadn’t even entered? Anyway, after ditching the wet clothes and wrapping myself in the curtain, I did feel a bit warmer. Of course, it wasn’t enough to combat the chilly weather. It was May, after all; it wasn’t exactly summer yet. The temperature dropped at night.
Plus, unlike back home in South Korea, where seasons were moderately mild, this place had a distinctly fluctuating climate—it was still way too chilly for May. There were still cherry blossoms blooming brightly under the setting sun, showcasing their fleeting beauty.
But really, it was freezing. I had trained in various aspects, but cold and heat are two things all humans inevitably feel. Endurance training taught me to withstand such situations, but it didn’t lessen the discomfort. It wasn’t sub-zero, so I wouldn’t freeze to death, but boy was it chilly.
What if I catch a cold? I thought as I slyly inched closer to Yulia. I whispered in her ear, “It’s cold.”
The silver lining was that I wasn’t in the maid outfit given to me by the princess. I had kept it well, but it was still second-hand so I had planned on washing it. Good thing I did.
…Actually, if I had that outfit right now, I wouldn’t be this cold. What a stroke of bad luck. Yulia seemed to notice my gloom and nodded.
“Okay… Let’s find a way out.”
As I looked around at her suggestion, I suddenly pointed at the original owner of the curtain wrapped around me—the window.
“Could we go out that way?”
“That looks pretty dangerous. We’re on the fifth floor…” Yulia replied, glancing out the window with a tinge of worry.
I had to admit, jumping from that height meant I’d better brace myself for at least a broken leg, so that wasn’t particularly appealing. After weighing my options, I nodded and shut the window.
“Right.”
Yulia agreed, deep in thought again. Following her lead, I suddenly blurted out another idea.
“What if we shout? There must be a supervisor around.”
“They won’t come here. The professor said this was an empty classroom.”
“Then…”
“There’s a chance they might patrol in the morning, but until then, relying on someone else for rescue isn’t a good idea.”
Curse it, if only I had my phone. I considered giving the door a kick. The door didn’t budge an inch. What is with this classroom door being so darn sturdy? I grumbled inwardly, wrestling with the door to no avail, only tiring myself further.
Honestly, I was starting to feel just as cold as Yulia. This wasn’t a dorm with temperature control; it was an empty classroom, and none of the uniforms were particularly thick.
Eventually, the meaningless minutes trickled away, and before long, the sun had fully disappeared, leaving only the round moon to boast of its presence. Well, saying all this just meant it was night now.
The temperature had dropped so much that the curtain alone couldn’t keep my scrawny body warm any longer. At this rate, I might freeze to death. While I was lost in thought, Yulia suddenly hugged me tightly.
“Yulia?”
“I’m cold….”
I thought she was hugging me because I looked chilly, but no, she was just cold herself! How selfish of her, calling me her friend yet only thinking of herself! But I was feeling the cold too. I thought about it and opened my arms to embrace her.
“This is warm.”
“Right?”
Well, it was spring, not winter. We could snuggle a bit and warm each other up. The real issue was that I was only wrapped in a curtain and that the chilly breeze made… personal things… noticeable through the single layer of fabric that was brushing against Yulia.
Yulia was properly dressed, so she probably wouldn’t feel it; still, it felt a bit strange to me. Being a bodily thing, I was hoping it would soften up once warmed, but for now, it was quite rigid. I tried my best to stay still in Yulia’s embrace.
It might smell a bit, but the maid outfit would dry overnight. In the morning, I could quickly change and call a patrolling guard. Once I sorted that out, a sigh escaped my lips.
“Ah, that tickles.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“If an apology is all you have, then what’s the point of laws?”
“It doesn’t seem like there’s any law applicable in situations like this.”
“That’s sexual harassment.”
“… It’s same gender, though.”
“Still.”
Of course, in the empire, sexual harassment between the same gender is still a crime. I looked at Yulia, who had a sheepish smile, and I wondered what she was trying for, but I definitely wanted to prevent anything weird from happening. Just being held close by a flourishing young lady was already stimulating enough; I wasn’t looking for any more strange business.
Suddenly, a sound came from the direction of the door. Oh, is someone there? I glanced towards the door, and it swung open with a bang. A beautiful young lady holding a lantern appeared—it was my Young Lady, Lilian.
“… What are you two doing?”
“Huh? Uh?!”
Seeing Yulia jump in surprise, I slowly dropped my arms. This is embarrassing. Lilian alternated her astonished gaze between me and Yulia, her mouth dropping open.
“Don’t tell me you two are in that kind of relationship…?”
“Not at all!”
“Absolutely not, I assure you!”
“Sounds suspicious…”
“It’s really not! Lilian, you saw the door was locked.”
“And what about that?”
Yulia explained the situation to her friend, who seemed to slowly understand, nodding her head. I let out a huge sigh.
“So why did you come this way? It looked like you didn’t even suspect we were trapped.”
“Oh… No, I knew you were trapped. But I was so shocked by what I just saw that I forgot!”
“Huh? How so?”
“I had no idea where you or Catherine were, so I was just taking a stroll around the campus, and those kids walked by and said they locked you up here.”
… Does Lilian have no friends? What kind of life does she have when Catherine and I aren’t around?
“Hmm, but what about Catherine? I didn’t bring any change of clothes.”
“Just wear your wet clothes; it’ll be quick anyway.”
As I carefully put on the maid outfit I had laid out, a chill ran through me from the fabric. Lilian looked at me with concern.
“Aren’t you going to catch a cold?”
“If that happens, I can’t take care of you for a bit.”
“What? Is that disappointing?”
“Yes, it is.”
With that, Lilian’s ears turned bright red, and she turned her head sharply. What was that about?
“Alright, let’s hurry back. It’s about time for dinner.”
“Ah, right. Let’s go quickly.”
Lilian and Yulia headed toward the dormitory at a brisk pace. I quietly followed them, watching their backs.
