Chapter 27: A Special Day (2)
“…Huh?”
How should one react when someone who had shown a shy, girl-like demeanor yesterday suddenly reverted to a high-handed imperial princess overnight?
“What are you staring dumbfounded for? I told you to come here.”
Baek Hoyeon’s tone left no room for refusal. Her demeanor made it clear that disobeying wasn’t an option. Regardless of what had happened yesterday, she had always been in a position of power. Reluctantly, I approached her.
And then… I didn’t know how to describe what came next.
“…What are you waiting for? Hurry and take my hand.”
In short, after calling me over with an even more commanding attitude than the day before, she wanted me to hold her hand. How was I supposed to interpret that?
“Oh, um, sure. Hoyeon…”
When I took her hand, it was warmer and softer than I had expected. It reminded me of the paw pads of a kitten.
Yet, despite the tenderness of her hand, the atmosphere felt as tense as if a blade were pressed against my throat.
“Address me as Lady Hoyeon.”
She really seemed to have two distinct personalities. One was the imperial princess, and the other was the girl. There was no other explanation for how someone could change so drastically.
“…Understood, Lady Hoyeon.”
No matter how beautiful she was, her imperial princess persona was still intimidating.
Of course, even in that state, she could occasionally be endearing. But it was like watching a tiger do something quirky—it might be cute, but it was still a tiger. And a tiger could kill with a single swipe.
For now, I had no choice but to do as she wished.
As we walked hand-in-hand, a sweet scent drifted through the air.
It didn’t seem to be coming from the dining hall, as there hadn’t been any food smells there yesterday or the day before. Curious, I couldn’t help but wonder where it was coming from.
“Lady Hoyeon, do you smell something sweet?”
It was definitely nearby, but I couldn’t pinpoint the source. The scent was oddly mixed with an animalistic undertone.
For someone like her, a beastkin with heightened senses, there was no way she wouldn’t notice such a distinct smell.
“You’ve been talking too much. I smell nothing. Keep walking.”
Strangely enough, she didn’t seem to notice anything. Based on her prior actions, she clearly possessed heightened senses, but maybe her sense of smell wasn’t as sharp.
Yet, the lore described beastkin as having their keenest sense in smell.
I supposed there were always exceptions. Just as not all elves were racists, not all beastkin had the same abilities.
In Hoyeon’s case, perhaps her hearing was her strongest sense. After all, she had picked up a growling sound from a high altitude with startling clarity.
As we walked, I fiddled with the state window scroll I had retrieved from the library earlier. However, for some reason, it wouldn’t activate.
Even when I channeled mana into it, nothing happened. Worried I might have picked up the wrong one, I mentally reviewed its description, but it matched perfectly.
There had to be some unknown condition preventing it from working.
Hoyeon’s piercing gaze wasn’t helping. Even someone oblivious would notice how intently she was staring at me.
I wanted to ask her why she was staring, but I knew she’d probably just order me to shut up and keep walking, like earlier.
Her shy demeanor from last night had been difficult to handle, but it was preferable to this.
Surrounded by the sweet scent and under her predatory gaze, I had no choice but to hold her hand until we reached the classroom.
I didn’t dislike it, but her overwhelming position of power made it a bit uncomfortable. It wasn’t bad to grow closer this way, but I wished we could be more equal.
Like friends.
Even after sitting down, the strange scent lingered, making it impossible to focus on the lesson.
It was a mix of sweet floral notes and a distinct animalistic scent.
And most notably, Hoyeon’s tail kept brushing against my leg.
I couldn’t tell if she was doing it on purpose or if she was unaware, but her tail had been brushing against me consistently since the first period.
As much as I didn’t want to upset her today, I decided I had to speak up.
“Lady Hoyeon, your tail has been brushing against my leg for a while. Could you please keep it still?”
She looked at me silently, and for a moment, I regretted saying anything.
“Oh, has it? …Sorry.”
To my surprise, she apologized. Her tone had softened considerably, and her face even seemed slightly flushed, though she avoided meeting my gaze, so I couldn’t be certain.
Yeah. If she could just stay like this, it’d be perfect—not too overbearing like her imperial persona, but not overly meek like last night either.
“Please refrain from idle chatter during class, Han Dogeon.”
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
The grumpy-looking teacher scolded me, but at least Hoyeon’s tail stopped brushing against me after that.
With one distraction gone, I still couldn’t fully focus on the lesson, but I was able to start planning what to do next.
Yesterday, I hadn’t had the chance to think about it because of Hoyeon, but starting today, I decided to give Exipri a candy each day.
Cecilia and Gloria weren’t relevant yet, as their time hadn’t come, and Iris was nowhere to be found, so she was out of the picture for now.
Anastasia had scolded me about valuing family, but given the many events we’d shared, I wasn’t too worried about her.
As for Camilla, we would naturally grow closer during the absurd midterm exam involving a three-day survival test in the wild, so there was no need to make extra effort with her.
That left Exipri as the most immediate priority.
Although my wallet wasn’t in great shape, I didn’t feel it was a waste. Raising favorability with just a piece of candy was a bargain.
Gloria, a late-stage heroine, required either slaying demon-worshipers myself or offering them to her, making her route much harder.
I wondered how difficult Hoyeon’s route was.
Based on how she acted last night, she seemed like an incredibly easy heroine who could be won over with just the word “friend.” But her usual demeanor suggested otherwise.
It was foolish to judge someone after just three days, but this world didn’t feel entirely real to me, so maybe that’s why I was treating it so lightly.
When lunch arrived, Hoyeon naturally grabbed my hand and started leading me somewhere.
This was odd—the dining hall was in the opposite direction.
With my senses on high alert, I checked for anyone around us, but it was just the two of us—Hoyeon and me.
Good. Here, we could speak freely.
“Uh, Lady Hoyeon? This isn’t the way to the dining hall. Did you perhaps mistake the path?”
“…I’m sorry!”
“…What?”
“I lied this morning when I said I didn’t smell anything! That scent—it’s probably coming from me. I was too embarrassed to admit it… And also, the way I spoke earlier…”
“Uh, Hoyeon? Could you slow down a bit? Are you saying that scent is from you?”
***
I had realized from the moment I first spoke to Dogeon this morning that I had messed up. But I couldn’t take it back without breaking the resolve I had steeled myself with, so I kept speaking high-handedly.
And when he mentioned the scent, it was obviously from the ridiculous amount of shampoo I had used, but my embarrassment made me deny it to the end.
Was it right to treat a friend like this, even with the difference in status? If someone had asked me to be their friend and then treated me like a subordinate the very next day, I would’ve felt betrayed.
And I had done just that to him.
The shame and guilt made me want to prostrate myself on the ground.
“Please… don’t hate me.”
Bowing my head, I spoke in a quiet, trembling voice. It was the best I could manage.
Even during class, I couldn’t stop my tail from moving. I didn’t know why I kept making such stupid mistakes today.
Could it be because of the heat cycle? But this hadn’t happened before.
“…First, take a deep breath and calm down.”
I inhaled and exhaled as Dogeon instructed, but it didn’t help much.
“So, the scent was from you. I thought it smelled nice and was just curious about where it was coming from. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Wait. That wasn’t what I expected at all. He thought the scent was nice?
My face grew hot with embarrassment. What was I supposed to say to that? I was secretly happy, but…
“B-but, friends aren’t supposed to lie to each other… I lied…”
“Well, friends can lie to each other sometimes too.”
Wow. You’re actually an incredibly kind person. Not only had you called me a friend yesterday, but now you’re brushing off my lie so easily.
Was this the kind of magnanimity needed to be popular?
“By the way, why were you talking like an imperial princess earlier, but now you’re acting like a friend?”
Oh, that…
…I guess it wouldn’t hurt to tell him. With his level of understanding, he’d probably accept it.
“Well… no matter how much we’re friends, you’re a commoner, and I’m a princess… So I was worried that people might spread strange rumors about us. You weren’t upset, were you? I’m sorry…”
“So that’s why. You’re saying you’ll act like a princess when people are watching to avoid strange rumors about a princess and a commoner being close, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Saying it like that felt like I was unilaterally declaring that I’d act superior in public. It didn’t sit well with me.
“So, the reason you brought me here was to apologize somewhere private?”
“…Yeah.”
“Then, could I ask you for one small favor?”
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