The beautifully crafted Basamiel fountain glimmered softly in the shadowy forest.
Two stones thrown in by Adrian splashed as they hit the surface of the water. He gazed down at the clear pool, watching the stones slowly sink. He had used the “All-Seeing Eye” so many times now that it had grown tiresome.
“That’s goodbye, then.”
With a sense of release, he looked over at the Basamiel fountain. It felt like pulling out a tooth that had ached for a year—refreshing and clean.
If two All-Seeing Eyes—one even belonging to Mikhail—were to be found beneath the bed of a missing student, it’d likely cause quite a stir. Adrian clapped his hands together lightly, brushing them off.
With this, the disappearance of Adrian Heather, first-year student at Basamiel Academy, was perfectly staged.
Of course, when a student vanished suddenly, the Academy would be thrown into chaos—if only briefly. But… it really would be just briefly.
At that moment, a memory flashed through Adrian’s mind. Mikhail’s face, cheeks faintly flushed as he confessed to him. And at the same time, he remembered Mikhail’s relentless habit of showing up to the training grounds every single morning without fail.
Hmm. Brief, huh…? Adrian narrowed his eyes slightly. But then, he let out a dry chuckle. Royalty or not, not even a prince could track down the dead Adrian Heather. This was precisely why Adrian had gone to such lengths to tie up every loose end.
“Well, it’s not like we’ll ever see each other again anyway.”
He shrugged and slowly wandered through the dark forest.
Now and then, an owl would swoop low overhead, circling around him, and a fox kept trailing nearby, brushing deliberately against his pant leg. Yet somehow, their footsteps never clashed, as if keeping rhythm together.
The crescent moon, bright yellow and sharp, adorned the dark night sky in breathtaking beauty.
***
The sun rose on the day of their long-awaited expedition.
Adrian got out of bed and grabbed the luggage he had packed the day before. He glanced across the room to check on Mikhail and saw that he too seemed ready. Mikhail wore simple everyday clothes, but they bore the subtle craftsmanship of a master’s touch.
“You all set?”
Mikhail averted his eyes slightly as he answered Adrian’s question.
“…Yeah.”
“……”
Adrian looked at him for a moment, then slung the bag over his shoulder with a soft thump. With a resigned shake of his head, he sighed.
“Alright, let’s go.”
He could hear Mikhail’s footsteps behind him, following close with his own luggage in tow. Since that sudden confession yesterday, Mikhail had remained in this same state—acting like some poor, pitiful puppy.
Adrian lifted his empty hand and rubbed his eyebrow with his index finger, visibly troubled.
Hmm. I’m about to leave Basamiel for good…
What made this situation so complicated was the same reason he had helped Kyle as a research assistant and handed Mikhail the sword of Fellen Deeps. He didn’t want to end this game on a lukewarm, half-hearted note.
Walking ahead, Adrian stole a glance back at Mikhail.
“Mikhail, you’re not just coming along because I asked, are you? If you’re only trying to match my pace—”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that.”
Came Mikhail’s curt reply from behind.
“Right… if it’s really not like that, then… good.”
Adrian muttered with an awkward expression.
Normally, when someone got rejected after a confession, they either got angry, accusing the other person of leading them on and cutting ties, or they’d be so embarrassed they’d never show their face again. That was the typical response. But Mikhail was different. Even after being rejected to his face, he didn’t seem to have given up.
Maybe I need to be clearer in turning him down.
As Adrian mulled this over, they arrived at the main building’s garden. There, a grand carriage stood tall, hitched to a large cargo wagon. Even Adrian had only ridden such a carriage a handful of times before. Kyle, leaning casually against it, waved his arm wide.
“Hey, over here! You’re early.”
Kyle’s bright voice cut through the awkward tension between the two. Adrian welcomed the relief like a breath of fresh air in a suffocating room.
“Good morning, Sunbae.”
Kyle waved back and grinned, “Yeah! Perfect weather for a journey today.”
As Adrian and Mikhail drew closer, Kyle finally picked up on the strange tension hanging between them. Most people would have sensed the awkward atmosphere and kept their mouths shut…
But not Kyle.
With a goofy grin, he spoke up.
“You two are acting kinda weird today. What’s going on?”
Huh? He gave Adrian a playful punch on the arm, clearly trying to tease something out of him. But that was a very bad move. Mikhail’s sharp glare instantly shot in Kyle’s direction like a blade.
Who said you could touch his arm— Even without words, it felt like Mikhail’s voice rang in Kyle’s ears. Whatever it was, the vibe wasn’t good. Sensing this, Kyle slowly lowered his fist and mumbled,
“Uh… roommates fight sometimes. It happens.”
At that, Adrian merely gave a vague shrug with a strange expression on his face.
They hadn’t exactly fought, but it was close enough. The two exchanged a glance before quickly turning away from each other. What had happened—Mikhail’s confession—wasn’t something either of them intended to share with Kyle.
***
The inside of the carriage was as comfortable as its size promised. Adrian lounged against a plush sofa, resting his head by the window as he watched the Basamiel forest drift by. He had spent countless walks through that forest over the past year. Propping his chin on his arm, which rested on the window ledge, he kept his warm, amber gaze fixed on the woods beyond.
Ah, come to think of it, I planted a few saplings out there…
And now he was leaving without ever seeing them bear fruit. Still, those saplings would likely prefer the freedom of the wild forest to the suffocating confines of a greenhouse. A faint smile touched Adrian’s lips as he thought of the garden in his lair. Everything there must be patiently awaiting their master’s return.
Just then—
Ahem. Kyle cleared his throat, loud enough for everyone in the silent carriage to hear, and began speaking.
“It’ll take us a full day’s ride to reach Hildeke. I booked some decent restaurants and inns along the way. We’ll be stopping at Tamahild soon for lunch.”
“What’s on the menu?”
Mikhail’s voice suddenly cut into the conversation. Kyle blinked, surprised for a moment, then replied with his usual confidence.
“There’s this super famous smoked steak place in Tamahild.”
Adrian nodded slightly at that.
A solid choice—he knew Mikhail always picked Course A whenever the academy dining hall served steak. Mikhail, meanwhile, shot a quick glance at Adrian, who was still staring dispassionately out the window.
He doesn’t even like steak. So why isn’t he saying anything? That’s how he is with everything…
Mikhail’s brows furrowed in quiet irritation. He pursed his lips briefly, then finally gave in and opened his mouth. At this rate, the carriage really was going to head straight for that steakhouse.
“…I’m not really in the mood for that. Let’s go somewhere else.”
“Yeah?”
Kyle tilted his head in confusion. It wasn’t hard to change destinations, but hearing Mikhail turn down steak of all things—that was odd.
Kyle quickly snatched up the folded paper he’d left on the carriage shelf and spread out a large map across the table in front of them. It was so big it completely covered the table between the three passengers. Both Adrian and Mikhail turned their eyes toward it, momentarily drawn from the window.
“Alright, this place could work… Oh! I heard good things about this one too.”
Kyle slid his index finger across the map, pointing out several restaurant options. Mikhail studied the places Kyle indicated, then asked,
“Which one do you like?”
“Huh?” Kyle looked up, thinking the question was directed at him. But he quickly realized Mikhail had meant Adrian. So they did have a fight before leaving, Kyle concluded on his own, looking between them with a hopeful smile, wishing they’d just make up already.
Adrian caught that smile and glanced at Kyle, who raised both palms in mock innocence and gave an exaggerated shrug. Now stuck picking the lunch spot, Adrian scratched his cheek with a finger, clearly not thrilled.
“…You want me to choose? I’m good with anything.”
“So which of these is your favorite?”
“……”
Adrian’s lips twitched faintly. Then he pointed at the first restaurant that had caught his eye from the ones Kyle had mentioned.
“…This one.”
“Then let’s go with that.”
Mikhail glanced at the tip of Adrian’s finger and replied with a look that said I knew it. Kyle clapped his hands together, clearly pleased with the choice. It almost felt like the two had patched things up.
“Nice, nice. I wanted to try that place too. It’s a classy seafood restaurant.”
Hearing that, Adrian replied, “Sounds good.”
And it just so happened that he did prefer seafood over steak.
