Adrian could see Mikhail’s beaming face from the very front of the stands as he celebrated his victory with a bright, carefree smile. The cold, distant expression Mikhail usually wore was nowhere to be found—instead, he was grinning radiantly as he looked right at him.
Adrian did his best to return the gaze with a smile of his own.
Well, he did come in first, so of course he’s in a good mood. He’s finally seeing the results of all that training for himself. Still… this feeling…
His lips, which normally curled into a smile without much thought, barely moved.
He wasn’t even surprised—he’d known all along that Mikhail would win. There was only pity left for someone like Mikhail, who was charging forward exactly as Ordinas wanted him to.
Mikhail gradually noticed the strange look on Adrian’s face. Standing tall at the center of the arena, he raised an eyebrow as he watched Adrian, the only one among the spectators not celebrating.
Waaaah!
The students in the stands, oblivious to the frozen exchange between Mikhail and Adrian, had their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, whistling and cheering as they celebrated the first day of the Serichane Festival.
…This won’t do anymore.
Adrian abruptly stood up. Weaving through the noisy crowd of students celebrating the victor, he crossed the stands.
“What the hell?”
Mikhail, who had kept his eyes fixed on Adrian, muttered to himself as he watched Adrian’s back disappear into the crowd of students exiting the arena. Just then, Catherine—who had been energetically waving her arm toward Hans in the stands—turned her head.
“Mikhail, aren’t you even the least bit excited about taking first place?”
She laughed heartily and gave a light shrug. The duel had been fun enough that Catherine, who’d come in second, was fully satisfied. But Mikhail—who had just claimed the top spot—had that kind of reaction? It had to be because he didn’t realize how incredible it was to win a tournament like this.
Mikhail tilted his head at Catherine’s playful jab and parted his lips to speak. A furrow formed between his brows as if he genuinely couldn’t make sense of the situation.
“It’s not that… Something’s just bothering me.”
Adrian’s back, now swallowed by the crowd, vanished completely from Mikhail’s view.
***
He’d left the arena and, before long, reached the central garden. Since nearly all of Basamiel’s students had gone to watch the finals of the tournament, Adrian was the only one there.
Right. I need to go back to my room and check the All-Seeing Eye right away.
Yesterday, he’d been able to lift it to knee height without trouble. Since Mikhail had won today, it should surely rise to about waist height.
But in focusing on other thoughts, Adrian failed to notice something important—someone was tailing him closely. With every hurried step in pursuit, the sword belt around the figure’s waist rattled softly.
It was Mikhail.
He stared at Adrian’s back disappearing behind the neatly trimmed tall hedges of the central garden and called out.
“Adrian.”
But whatever Adrian had gotten lost in, he didn’t even look back. He simply continued walking as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Gritting his teeth, Mikhail rushed forward, pushing through the hedges. Where the hell is he rushing off to like that?
He was within arm’s reach now. Mikhail shouted his name and reached out.
“Adrian!”
Mikhail’s hand caught Adrian’s arm. He’d noticed this before, but Adrian’s skin always carried a chill, cooler than most. At the same time, the heat radiating from Mikhail’s palm snapped Adrian out of his thoughts.
He was just standing in the middle of the arena a moment ago—how did he catch up so fast? Adrian slowly tried to push Mikhail’s hand off and spoke. With his arm caught, there was no ignoring him and heading back to the dorm.
“Mikhail? What are you doing here?”
“…Why? I’m not allowed to be here?”
At Adrian’s usual, unfazed tone and expression, a sharp gleam flickered in Mikhail’s eyes. He slapped Adrian’s hand away before the other could pull free, his voice cutting with irritation.
“That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“…Ah. Congrats on the win.”
He tossed out the congratulation like it was nothing, shrugged as if to say happy now?, and began turning toward the dorms. But just then, Mikhail’s hand—still tightly gripping Adrian’s arm—began to tremble faintly.
“…‘Congrats’?”
“Ugh—”
Adrian winced, his eyes widening slightly as his back suddenly pressed into the hedge wall behind him. Mikhail had shoved him hard against it while still gripping his arm. Trapping Adrian between his body and the wall of foliage so he couldn’t slip away, Mikhail continued in a sharp, irritated tone.
“Who congratulates someone with a face like that?”
Adrian had been about to demand why he’d been shoved, but froze at the unexpected jab. That kind of face? He quickly tried to picture what kind of expression he might’ve had. He thought he’d hidden it well… Hadn’t he?
Mikhail studied the strange expression up close. From afar, Adrian had seemed warmly composed, but standing this close now, something about those bronze-hued eyes felt inexplicably cold.
“You’re…”
Mikhail’s lips parted slightly, his mouth fumbling as he searched for the next words.
I’m what.
Adrian kept quiet, waiting for Mikhail to finish. Fine, let’s just hear what you’ve got to say, he thought.
“You’re… weird.”
“…”
Adrian quietly lifted his head and stared directly into Mikhail’s scowling face. The look in his eyes must’ve made Mikhail realize how strange that statement sounded—he quickly looked away.
Hah. Gotcha. Let’s deal with that before anything else, Adrian thought, shaking the arm Mikhail still hadn’t let go of.
“…What are you talking about? Anyway, fine, I get it. So just let me—”
“I’m not done talking!”
Before Adrian could even finish his sentence, Mikhail clenched his teeth and gripped tighter. Huh? If he kept pushing like this…
Adrian was leaning against a hedge wall made of interwoven branches and leaves, not a solid stone wall. Clearly, Mikhail hadn’t considered that.
Wait—
By the time Mikhail realized his own body was also tipping toward the hedge along with Adrian, it was already too late. Of course, Adrian could have easily twisted out of the way and avoided it, but doing so would’ve looked unnatural. So instead, he let himself fall with Mikhail as if overwhelmed by his force.
“Ugh!”
Thud.
Their bodies crashed through the hedge with a dull thump, tumbling through to the other side. A gaping hole was left in the carefully pruned hedge wall—one that Basamiel’s gardeners maintained with such care each dawn.
Adrian sighed inwardly and glanced at Mikhail, who had landed sprawled across him. Thanks to the uniform that usually hid it, Adrian hadn’t expected the solid muscle pressing against him. Mikhail was heavier than he looked, and Adrian would very much have liked him to get off—quickly.
“Mikhail, are you okay?”
“…Yeah.”
Mikhail didn’t lift his head right away, catching his breath instead. He couldn’t wrap his head around what had just happened. Amid the confusion, something else crept in—the scent of Adrian.
Even though they used the same supplies in the dorm baths, Adrian somehow… smelled different. Clean and faintly sweet. It wasn’t overpowering, just—distinct.
As his thoughts veered sharply off track, Adrian gave his shoulder a subtle shake.
“Then, would you mind getting off?”
“Ah—yeah. Just a sec.”
Mikhail stammered slightly as he quickly pushed himself up with both hands, lifting himself off of Adrian. He mumbled, “…Sorry,” in a barely audible voice, then cleared his throat awkwardly. The tips of his ears, barely visible through his silver hair, had turned red again.
Now free, Adrian rose with his usual impassive expression and brushed the grass from his uniform. Glancing sidelong at the embarrassed Mikhail, he thought:
Seriously. Learn to control your strength. Just because you’re pissed off doesn’t mean you get to slam people into walls.
And just then—
—“Let’s sit here on the bench and talk. So, you’re going to join the royal research project?”
The voice of Headmistress Declaire floated in from beyond the hedge wall. Both Adrian and Mikhail immediately turned their heads toward it. They could clearly hear the conversation from the other side of the hedge they’d just barreled through.
—“Yes. So I may not be able to teach next year’s classes. It’s a rather urgent matter, and the royal family made a strong request.”
The person speaking with the principal was Olivia Riney, the professor from the Spirit Department. Not teaching next year? Adrian raised a finger to his lips and gestured at Mikhail with a shhh.
What they were overhearing was something incredibly important—for the dragon.
