Leci was not afraid of death. This was not the first time she had stood on its threshold. Since childhood, danger had always brushed close against her skin — so close she eventually learned how to breathe alongside it.
Even if she wasn't saved this time, Leci held no regrets. She had a harmonious family, a kind older sister. Her school life, though quiet and imperfect, had been peaceful enough. She had lived without demanding more than what the world chose to give her.
Love? Whether sincere or not, the attention Kieron had shown her was enough to make Leci feel cherished. She wasn't greedy. So if this moment truly marked her end, she was willing to let everything go.
I wonder how people would react if I died, Leci thought. It wasn't that she had given up on living — she simply felt at peace with the idea of releasing everything she had been holding onto.
"—ara."
At a moment like this… it was almost laughable that Leci thought she was hallucinating the sound of a familiar voice. Her heavy eyelids fluttered open, the world distorted through wavering water.
"Leciara!"
The voice broke through the murk.
Along with that desperate call, Leci felt her body being pulled upward. For the first time, she became fully aware that she was being carried toward solid ground. Grass brushed her skin when she was laid upon it, though her eyes still struggled to open after staring too long into darkness.
Hands gently patted both her cheeks. Then her nose was pinched shut, forcing her parted lips to welcome something warm and wet pressing against them. Leci knew exactly what was happening. She was conscious — very conscious. But why… why couldn't her body move?
Air pushed into her lungs, coaxing them back to life. Moments later, a strong pressure against her back forced the trapped water upward until it burst past her lips in violent coughs. Only then could she move — barely.
The first thing she did was open her eyes. Through her blurred vision, she saw the silhouette of a man — stern eyes softened by worry.
"Leciara…" he whispered again, gentler this time. Her vision finally cleared enough to truly see him as he gathered her into his arms.
"You idiot. Why were you drowning in a pond barely one meter deep?"
There was no mistaking him. Even in her dazed state, Leci knew the warmth holding her belonged to him. For some reason, seeing him there made her chest loosen. This time, she didn't hesitate to return the embrace.
"The ghost held me underwater. We fought… until I ran out of breath," Leci rasped.
Kieron stiffened slightly. It wasn't her words that surprised him — it was the tone. She wasn't using formal speech. Had their distance closed that much?
"Why didn't you wait for me? Why would you go alone?" His hold tightened instinctively as Leci shivered in the cold night air, soaked to the bone.
Leci hadn't realized how warm it could feel to be in someone's arms. Kieron held her with careful gentleness, as if considering whether she could breathe properly. His demeanor had softened without her noticing.
"I looked for you everywhere, but you weren't there," Leci muttered, annoyed. The fact that he appeared only at the end left a faint sting in her chest.
Kieron chuckled, aware of his mistake. "The other teachers dragged me into having dinner with them. I couldn't refuse."
She pouted, then buried her face in his chest, her fingers lightly pinching his arm in mock protest. "Fine. It's over now."
"I should've come sooner. Did you get hurt?" Without letting her go, Kieron tried to examine her condition.
At the question, Leci instinctively checked her right hand — the one the curse had touched. The red bruise left by the orange was… gone.
"The curse disappeared. Did it vanish because the ghost was defeated?" she whispered. But their proximity was so close that Kieron heard every word.
"You were cursed?" His tone sharpened. Hearing that she'd been injured shifted his aura — his eyes grew colder, intent. "Who did it?"
Leci quickly shook her head, refusing to answer. Her thoughts drifted back to the ghost woman — her tragic past, her suffering. If she hadn't turned violent… Leci would have purified her, helped her cross to the afterlife.
But now? Her story had ended in tragedy — betrayed in life, erased in death. Wasn't that unbearably sad?
Kieron leaned closer when she didn't respond. "Who cursed you? Are you alright?"
Instead of replying, Leci released him and sat on the ground. She looked up at the sky — now swallowed completely by darkness.
"I have to go home," she murmured.
Ignoring the way Kieron's gaze lingered on her, Leci swept her eyes around, searching for her backpack. She had already assumed it must've fallen into the water as well, but seeing it actually floating in the pond still stung a little.
Her textbooks, her notes — even her phone — everything was soaked through.
Leci stared at the dripping items with a sorrowful expression. Her phone had shut down completely. She was definitely going to get scolded for this.
"What should I do, Teacher? I'll definitely get in trouble if I go home looking like this." Leci complained helplessly, asking Kieron for a solution while he continued watching her with intense focus.
The man fell silent for a moment… before unfolding his black wings. "I can dry you," he said simply.
Leci froze as Kieron turned around. And then—
Wuuussh! Wuuussh! Wuuussh!
It felt like being struck by a sudden storm. She never expected Kieron to beat his wings that fiercely just to dry her and her drenched belongings.
He could've warned me first, she grumbled inwardly.
But the good news was — Leci was dry. Her hair, however, looked like the wild mane of a forest king.
"Is that how you dry yourself when you're in your crow form?" Leci asked while finger-combing her tangled hair.
Kieron stepped closer again and helped smooth her hair. He combed through the strands with sincere, almost comical dedication. "Yes. When it rains," he replied.
Leci couldn't help imagining the crow from yesterday, flapping its soaked feathers until it dried. The thought made her chuckle softly without realizing it.
"…Beautiful."
Leci's entire body froze. That unexpected word slipped from Kieron's lips with no hesitation. Her mind went blank, her heart leaping violently inside her chest.
When she lifted her head to meet Kieron's eyes, she found the most breathtaking smile she had ever seen.
"Y-You said what?" Leci's voice trembled in disbelief. Surely she must have misheard.
Kieron lowered himself to her eye level as he gently fixed her bangs. "I said you're very beautiful," he repeated, this time with a wider smile.
Leci's face felt like it was burning. Her chest tightened with an overwhelming emotion she couldn't name. Her eyes prickled with warmth — she felt as if she could float straight into the sky.
Her stomach fluttered, as though dozens of butterflies had suddenly awakened inside her. Being complimented — it was embarrassingly overwhelming.
"Stop it. That's ridiculous, you know!" She quickly turned her face away.
"Why react like that? Doesn't everyone know you're beautiful?" Kieron asked, genuinely puzzled.
Is he seriously this clueless or just pretending? "No. No one has ever called me beautiful," Leci whispered softly. So softly it almost disappeared into the night.
Without Leci noticing, Kieron had stepped behind her, close enough that she could feel his presence brush her back.
"Maybe it's because of the protective spell you use. At first, even I didn't fully notice it," he murmured.
"But now… after seeing you up close every day, I realize you are the most beautiful. You're beautiful in your own way, Leciara."
Leci went still, touched by his words. Had she unconsciously been waiting for someone to say something like this all along?
Kieron wrapped his arms around her, patting her shoulder gently. "If you still doubt it, I'll compliment you every day," he teased, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Leci immediately shook her head. That would only make her even more embarrassed. "I'll get mad if you do that!" she threatened — though her cheeks were already a perfect shade of red.
Instead of being intimidated, Kieron laughed again, thoroughly enjoying how adorable Leci looked when she was flustered.
"Come on, I'll take you home," he said, extending his hand.
It was already late, so Leci really did need to head back. She reached for his hand — and gasped when he lifted her effortlessly in a princess carry.
Before she had time to process her shock, Kieron unfurled both black wings once more and shot upward into the sky.
Leci had said she wanted to fly, but she never imagined it would be like this.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
How could she not? From up here, she could see the Capital so clearly. Each building's lights shimmered like a blanket of stars scattered across the night.
If she were honest, this was the most beautiful night she had ever experienced.
Big respect for Kieron Branduff. "Thank you so much, Teacher."