Chapter 273
'Their date is tomorrow. It has to go smoothly. There must be no interference.
But what about Aldraya? Should I ask her to come along and scout with me? Or should I tell her to stay in the dormitory instead?'
Fuuuuuh!
'Taking her along is definitely risky. But leaving her alone… she certainly won't be pleased. And I still can't predict what she might do afterward.'
Returning to the present, inside a classroom that was beginning to empty, Theo slowly shook his head.
The motion was not one of refusal, but an attempt to clear the stream of memories that had just passed through his mind.
Tomorrow.
The word floated in his thoughts with a certain weight.
Tomorrow was the day when the plan—or more precisely, the narrative he knew—would reach an important moment.
The date between Ilux and Erietta.
In his mind, his resolve hardened.
No matter what happened, that meeting had to proceed smoothly.
That smoothness was not merely about the happiness of those two individuals, but possibly a crucial stepping stone within the greater storyline he was trying to save from total collapse.
He viewed it as an unseen escort mission, an obligation to ensure that this particular red thread of fate did not break.
At first, his thoughts were focused solely on the two main figures.
He did not imagine any significant disturbance.
In the scenario he remembered, this moment was supposed to be a calm point, a natural romantic development following the storm of betrayal and rescue.
No external threat came to mind, as if the world itself would pause briefly to make room for two hearts drawing closer.
That faint confidence nearly put him at ease.
However, that calm was soon eroded by a shadow that was closer and far more unexpected.
Aldraya.
The figure with white hair and red eyes appeared in his mind like a point of light that also carried unease.
A dilemma began to gnaw at what had initially seemed like a simple decision.
Should he bring Aldraya along in this silent surveillance?
Or would it be better to instruct her to remain behind, dutifully guarding the dormitory?
The first option felt like carrying an unstable artifact onto a fragile field.
The second sounded safer, yet felt like leaving something living and thinking alone inside a cage.
The deeper he thought about it, the clearer one undeniable conclusion became.
Leaving Aldraya alone was not a good idea.
An entity with boundless curiosity and still-developing emotional understanding was unlikely to be happy, or even willing to accept, being left behind without a proper explanation.
There was a risk she would come looking for Theo, or worse, decide to investigate on her own in ways that could be unexpected and potentially ruin everything.
Yet bringing her along was a leap into uncertainty.
Theo realized bitterly that his control over Aldraya was extremely limited.
He could not yet predict, let alone prevent, every action the girl might take.
Aldraya might suddenly interrupt the date with an innocent yet lethal question, draw unwanted attention, or misinterpret the situation and act based on that misunderstanding.
The risks were enormous.
Bringing her meant introducing a wild variable that could destroy the very moment he was trying to protect.
'Would she just stand there, waiting, as usual—without emotion, without any intention to interfere?'
That deep spiral of contemplation did not completely paralyze him.
While his mind churned within the dilemma, his right hand moved automatically, as if it possessed a will of its own.
The textbook he had closed from the very beginning lay untouched beside him, while a small yellow notebook, no larger than the palm of his hand, lay open on the desk.
The pen in his grip continued to move, dancing across the thin paper with a fast, pressured rhythm.
Black ink flowed into lines of sentences, fragments of thought, scenarios, and worries spilling from his mind.
He wrote down every possibility, every risk, every path related to Aldraya and tomorrow's date.
Two full pages were already filled with dense handwriting, a chaotic mental map riddled with large question marks, while the third page was nearly half full.
Suddenly, without any warning, an unnatural silence seized the classroom.
It was not merely quiet, but a dense, oppressive stillness, as if even the sound of the pen scraping against paper had been sucked into a vacuum.
Theo's reflexes froze.
The pen stopped mid-word.
What startled him even more was his body's own reaction.
His eyes, which had been fixed on the scribbles in the small notebook, widened as they caught a reflection in the glossy classroom window—or perhaps simply sensed a presence that should not have been there.
His brow immediately furrowed, deep lines forming between his eyebrows.
A cold, urgent question crept into the deepest part of his heart.
Was it possible?
Had she—Aldraya—been standing there, right behind him, the entire time he was drowning in his turbulent inner debate about the girl herself?
The possibility felt both terrifying and disturbingly plausible, making his heartbeat hitch for a brief moment.
With movements that were almost stiff, filled with a mixture of curiosity, anxiety, and a faint, unfounded sense of guilt, Theo slowly turned around.
His gaze rotated away from the narrow world of his notebook and swept across the space behind his chair.
And there, at a distance so close it was nearly inappropriate for silent observation, stood the very figure he had been thinking about.
A girl with silver-white hair, untouched by dust or time.
"How long have you been standing there, Aldraya?"
"Since the previous teacher left the classroom, just before the break."
Although his mind raced to solve the logistical puzzle, Theo could not find a satisfying answer.
The classroom entrance was currently completely blocked by a group of boys chatting loudly.
Aldraya, with her firmness and her unshakable character as a former teacher, was clearly not the type to force her way through such a crowd or draw attention with her striking presence.
That would contradict her essence, which favored efficiency and silence.
Yet the fact remained—she was here, standing right behind Theo, as if she had materialized from thin air itself.
Whether miracle or oversight, her presence could no longer be denied.
Realizing that silence would only make the situation stranger, Theo gathered what remained of his composure, scattered by contemplation and shock.
Making an effort to sound casual, he greeted Aldraya.
The greeting was simple, perhaps only her name, yet it carried a restrained tremor of astonishment.
A moment later, the question followed, an attempt both to reach out and to gauge the situation.
He asked, in a tone he tried to keep flat, how long Aldraya had been standing there, motionless like a guardian statue behind his back.
The question itself was an admission that he had been completely unaware of her presence, a sudden gap in his vigilance laid bare.
"Let's move somewhere else. Too many eyes are watching."
Fuuuuh!
"So… you were looking for me just to ask me to eat together? At the cafeteria, or somewhere like that?"
Theo let out a long, heavy sigh, as if expelling all the shock, confusion, and pressure from the gazes that were beginning to crystallize around them.
He realized that they had become an unwanted center of attention.
Aldraya's presence in his classroom, combined with his earlier greeting, had drawn the notice of nearly everyone inside.
To be continued…