WICE 34

#34.

It was the voice of Sharon Bernick, the star of the day, who had the same blonde hair as Ian.

At the mention of “a drawing,” Ronnie’s face flushed red in surprise. The moment I saw her expression, I knew.

My cute Ronnie had drawn me again. It was hard to hold back the smile tugging at my lips.

You’ve always been like this—you never give me a chance to let go of you. You just make me wait to be abandoned. That’s why I hate you so much… and love you so much at the same time. Even I don’t understand my own feelings.

I could feel Ian’s gaze from beside me, but I couldn’t help it. Just knowing she had thought of me while drawing was enough to make me ridiculously happy.

A little later, I left the party and climbed into a tree in front of a brightly lit room. Inside the window, Ronnie and Sharon were talking.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I liked seeing her bright, smiling face. I stayed there for a while, just looking at her.

When I first entered the Shaligan family, I thought I was lucky. You have to take an opportunity when it comes.

I told myself that being under this vicious woman would only last until I went to magic school. Once I enrolled, I would break off the engagement and cut all ties. That was the plan. But then—

“I missed you.”

Why… am I saying something like that?

At my words, Ronnie’s eyes wavered violently. For five years you tormented me as if it were nothing, and then for another five years you doted on me as though none of that had happened.

Is it because of that gap? I no longer know what your true feelings are. It drives me mad.

Whether you meant to or not, I had already fallen completely for you.

“My Allen, walking around with flower petals on you—just like a flower yourself.”

She seemed oblivious to how hard it was for me to hold back. She would slip into my heart so easily, stir everything up as she pleased, and then, when I reached out, she would run away.

She must have been slightly flustered by her own actions, because she hurried to return to her seat. Without thinking, I grabbed Ronnie as she tried to move away.

What am I going to do?

She looked at me with an unreadable expression. Why do you always make that face, when I’m going crazy over you like this?

At that moment, I hated her so much I wanted to torment her. On purpose, I turned the wrist I held and pressed a deep kiss into her palm. Her hand trembled faintly.

Yes… keep being that aware of me.

I, too, found it hard to think straight with the scent that was uniquely Ronnie lingering on my lips. I didn’t want to let go.

When I finally pulled away, her face was tinged with red. That alone satisfied me—like a madman.

“So why doesn’t my Ronnie come flying over, even after seeing the flower?”

Even I thought it was an embarrassingly cheesy line, and I chuckled inwardly. I could see she was nervous.

The only reason I’d changed this much was that cute Ronnie in front of me, blushing because of me.

You’ve always been a mystery to me. Especially the you from the past five years—you’ve changed me.

Nothing went the way I wanted. Before I knew it, I was chasing you with my eyes, and while you would smile brightly at me, there was always a hint of discomfort in your gaze.

Why is that…?

The school was bustling with festival preparations. Vienna suggested we go buy some supplies. I didn’t really want to, but the gray eyes she made reminded me of Shasha, so I followed along.

The gray-haired girl seemed to be having fun. I planned to buy the items quickly and then go see Ronnie.

Then Vienna dropped something and looked troubled. I turned back to help her, and that’s when I felt a familiar presence in the distance—it was Ronnie.

Was she sneaking out again?

She might have thought she was hiding it, but there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize her presence. Was she… following me? Why? Because of me?

I looked at Vienna. For some reason, I felt it had something to do with her. That same unpleasant feeling I’d had before came back. This time, I intended to ask Ronnie directly if she knew this woman.

That’s when Shasha came over to me—wearing a strange hat and pretending not to know me. Did she really think that would disguise her?

I couldn’t help but laugh at her pitiful attempt at stealth. Why are you so unbearably lovable that you drive me insane?

“Oh? Allen? Wow, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?”

Acting wasn’t her strong suit—it was too obvious. But I went along, pretending not to know her, smiling naturally. Right now, it was more important to keep her with me.

She and Vienna crossed paths. Vienna seemed to be seeing her for the first time, but Ronnie’s reaction was odd.

It was clear Ronnie already knew Vienna. She tried to hide it, but I could tell just by her face.

So she did know Vienna. Since when? Did the Armis and Shaligan families have some connection?

I was confused. Was she really the same vicious woman I had known?

That confusion only deepened when I later saw her in the student council room with Hadelio. Ronnie looked shocked at the sight of him.

Why?

Hadelio winked at her. It was obvious they already knew each other. But hadn’t he said he’d only just come to the capital from the provinces?

At that moment, Ronnie felt like a stranger. The fact that there were things about her I didn’t know was disorienting.

It felt like someone might take her away from me, or that she might vanish altogether. I stepped in front of her, shielding her from Hadelio, and glared at him.

Illusion magic. Honestly, I thought it was boring. I assumed Ronnie would think so too—but apparently not.

“Hic… I hate this… I got eaten by a monster…”

She was terrified. Normally, she would have scoffed at such a monster, but not this time.

With everyone’s eyes on her, I scooped her up and hurried to the classroom. She didn’t resist, only kept trembling.

Even in the classroom, she stayed in my arms, still shaking. I stroked her back, feeling the rapid beat of her startled heart.

My own heart was pounding too, but she didn’t seem to notice. I felt both protective of her and strangely happy to hold her like this.

I resolved never to play such a trick on her again. She seemed… unstable.

She had been the same when we went to see the stars—restless, as though she were about to leave, as though she were trying to confirm her place.

I’d always been watching her. The moment Vienna started talking about Sirius, I could see Ronnie’s expression turn sharply grim.

As I looked at Polaris and Sirius, I wondered about the fear she felt. I couldn’t figure it out. It was frustrating—those stars seemed to hurt her somehow.

I didn’t know what it meant to her that it wasn’t widely known Sirius was brighter than Polaris. I only thought that their relationship was no different from how I recognized Ronnie for who she was.

I wanted her to think the same and feel at ease, so I just blurted out whatever came to mind. She looked more relaxed after hearing me. That was a relief.

Ian has been glancing at me a lot lately. If he has something to say, I wish he’d just say it instead of beating around the bush.

“If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

“Huh? Haha… Can I really?”

“I’ll listen and decide whether to kill you or not.”

“Never mind. Better not.”

He looked a little sulky, but I didn’t really care. I had more important things to do—like planning to dance with Ronnie.

When I heard from Gale that Ronnie and Sharon were looking around the festival, I used stealth magic to follow them. I only intended to watch briefly and get rid of any pests nearby… but unexpectedly, Hadelio approached them.

Ronnie greeted him rather warmly. Since when were they so close?

More and more, there were people she knew that I didn’t.

That guy Hadelio… he felt dangerous. My instincts told me so—ever since our first meeting, he’d given off a bad vibe.

Sharon, on the other hand, seemed to be meeting him for the first time. I couldn’t tell what Hadelio was plotting, so I stayed on guard.

He met my eyes and winked. I knew then that he had inserted himself there on purpose.

When I heard she had promised to dance with Ian, I could barely contain my emotions.

Why do you keep… running away from me?