Chapter 28: A Special Day (3)
“…If it’s your request, I’ll agree, but there better not be a single lie in your words.”
“I swear. It’s just to retrieve something from an unused storage room. Nothing shady, purely a part of my hobby, I assure you.”
Hoyeon reverted to her imperial princess demeanor, as if reassessing her surroundings. But to me, it felt unnecessary.
She claimed to care about others’ opinions, yet she had been holding my hand all day. Why cling to her regal act while being so openly familiar?
Since morning, she hadn’t let go, not even during lunch. She’d asked to hold hands at the cafeteria too, and I’d had to tell her to tone it down because of all the stares.
Only then had she seemed to realize, blushing faintly and eating in silence. It was… adorable.
Today, she seemed like a lonely little niece, though her appearance was anything but childlike.
A child starved for companionship.
Despite being the confirmed heir, could she have no friends at all? That seemed unlikely.
Perhaps she had been surrounded by people but, for some unknown reason, ended up at this academy. Maybe she’d caused trouble or her father, determined to raise her strong, had sent her here with minimal protection.
That might explain her initial hostility and the occasional vulnerability she’d shown me.
Being far from home, in a place filled with people of a different race, left her with only her authority to rely on. Naturally, she’d used it as her shield.
It was probably the only method she knew. Given her parents’ tendencies, diplomatic approaches likely weren’t in her repertoire.
Her father was a conqueror, and her mother—well, she’d caused a landslide just to test me when we first met.
Still, one thing puzzled me.
Why had she been kind to me, despite her bristly demeanor toward everyone else?
I hadn’t told her my parents were from the Eastern Continent. Yet, she’d called me over and handed me bread out of nowhere.
Was it my looks? That seemed doubtful. Even in our class, there were several who were better-looking than me.
No matter how I reasoned it, the answer wasn’t clear. I could only guess that she was inherently kind beneath it all.
“If it’s just an empty storage room, you could’ve gone alone. Why did you call me?”
The truth? I needed to retrieve evidence—proof that Stefania was creating demonic magic users—for Gloria later. But that storage room was sealed with magic, and I needed Hoyeon to open it.
Of course, I couldn’t say that.
Still, I did need her to unlock the door.
My suspicions had started when she opened my room door too easily. Watching her also unlock others’ lockers had confirmed it.
For some reason, she could bypass magical seals effortlessly.
Thanks to her, I could skip an entire section of frustration where Stefania’s schemes were revealed piece by piece. There was no way I was missing this opportunity.
And I had the perfect excuse.
“There’s a rumor that the place is haunted. Honestly, I’m a little scared to go alone. Besides, we’re friends, right?”
“Friends… Ehe, ahem! Hmm. Yes, that’s right. Because we’re friends. Fine.”
Her demeanor changed in an instant. Just the word “friend” had her practically glowing with delight.
It made me think she might be even easier to please than Exipri.
She wasn’t even in the original work, so calling her a “heroine” felt strange.
A moment ago, it had seemed like she was reluctantly helping me. Now, her steps were light and cheerful.
Suddenly, I felt a pang of guilt. Was it really right to lie to someone who trusted me so much?
But I had no choice. Who would believe me if I said this world was a novel and that I was pulled into it from a place called Korea?
Even my parents, if they were here, would probably just tell me to rest because I looked tired.
Let alone someone who’d only been my friend for a day.
If the time ever came when I could tell her everything, I would. For now, I matched her pace.
And, of course, I kept holding her hand.
***
Even though Dogeon was the protagonist of a harem story, I couldn’t help but feel cautious when he asked me to go to an empty storage room.
When I had wandered into that alley earlier, it had been purely to apologize to him. But when a harem protagonist suggests going to a secluded place, it’s hard not to be suspicious.
Still, when he called me his “friend,” nothing else mattered. And no, it wasn’t because of my heat cycle. I had my own reasons.
Friends don’t do that kind of thing.
Honestly, maybe the heat cycle wasn’t such a big deal after all. My baseless confidence drowned out any inner voice of caution.
Besides, I hadn’t expected Dogeon to be scared of ghosts. Sure, in a world where spirits were real, it made some sense. But they weren’t usually harmful.
Most spirits just needed someone to listen to their grievances and would move on after being appeased. There was no real danger.
What kind of man feared ghosts?
Well, I was a woman now, but I still thought of myself as a man.
“We’re here.”
Why did he need me to open this door? It didn’t seem to have any locks, magical or otherwise. Why not just open it himself?
“You can open this much on your own, can’t you? Are you seriously going to ask a woman to open a door for you?”
“Ah, well… It’s just…”
Dogeon hesitated, dragging his words out. It was as if he fully expected me to do it for him.
“Could I… ask you as a friend?”
“…Are you serious?”
Sigh. Fine. Just this once. At this rate, he’d probably ask me to fetch water for him next.
Then again, hadn’t he done that before, when I was a guy? He’d once come to my house, taken over my computer to play games, and demanded water when he got thirsty.
I’d been so annoyed, but then he’d thrown me 50,000 won. “I’m your servant,” I’d declared, grabbing the water.
But Dogeon wouldn’t do something like that. He was kind.
The storage room door, though rusted, opened without a sound. The academy’s wealth never ceased to amaze me—even a neglected room like this was meticulously maintained.
Capital was truly a marvel.
“…It’s cleaner than I expected.”
I knew saying that would tempt fate, but I couldn’t help myself. The room was far too well-kept for a supposedly unused space.
“Yeah, it is.”
“There’s no one here, so you can talk normally now…”
Outside, there were appearances to maintain, but here it was just us. There was no need for her to play the princess.
“If you say so. Hmm, I’ll start looking for what I need.”
As she let go of my hand and began searching, I grabbed her hand again before she could leave. She turned to me, confused.
“…I’ll come with you!”
“There’s really no need…”
“You said you were scared of ghosts. I can talk to them, you know. If one shows up, I might be able to help.”
I didn’t want to miss the chance to impress my friend. Besides, I didn’t want to be alone today. It had to be because of the heat cycle—when I was younger, I’d always slept with my parents during this time.
This loneliness was impossible to overcome.
“Oh, right… Thanks. Let’s look together then?”
“Yeah!”
Despite my bold words, the storage room wasn’t very big, and there weren’t many items. Dogeon quickly found what he was looking for.
It seemed to be a stack of documents. I skimmed through them, but nothing stood out as important.
“…So, this is what you came for?”
How anticlimactic. I’d thought he was after some rusted legendary sword or a secret manual from a senior.
You know, the usual stuff you find in academy settings. But instead, it was a boring stack of papers.
“Yeah, it was a huge help! Thanks, Hoyeon.”
“Oh? Uh, sure… No problem…”
I wasn’t sure it was worth such gratitude, but it felt good to be helpful.
As we were about to leave, I tugged on Dogeon’s hand again, stopping him.
“Now what…?”
“Quiet.”
He seemed to sense something was wrong too, falling silent.
Someone was approaching, heading straight for the storage room.
I hoped it was just my imagination, but if they came in, we’d be discovered.
The only exit was the door we’d entered through. Where could we hide?
As the footsteps grew closer, I spotted a tall locker. It was narrow but just big enough for two people to squeeze inside.
“…Get in here!”
“Whoa?!”
There was no time to explain. I pulled Dogeon into the locker with me, and shortly after, the door to the storage room creaked open.
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