I was walking alongside Charlotte through the academy corridors.
There was no clear destination, no conversation guiding our steps. Just walking… as if it granted us a temporary escape—from the classrooms, from watching eyes, from everything piling up inside our heads.
After a few minutes, we stepped outside.
The air was mild—not cold, not warm. The outer courtyard was less crowded than usual. A few students passed here and there, but the distance between us and them was enough to create an unspoken sense of isolation.
Then I noticed something.
Charlotte… was looking at me.
Not once. More than once. Brief, hesitant glances—then her eyes would return forward as if nothing had happened.
At first, I ignored it.
But after the third time… it became impossible to overlook.
I slowed my steps and asked calmly,
"Is there something on my face?"
She froze.
She looked at me as if she hadn't expected me to notice, then said quickly,
"Oh— I'm sorry."
She went quiet for a second, then added,
"I was just… spacing out."
I didn't comment.
We resumed walking.
A few seconds passed in silence—not an uncomfortable one, nor a heavy one, but the kind of silence that belongs to someone organizing their thoughts before saying something they're not sure should be said at all.
Then she suddenly asked,
"Are you okay?"
I looked at her, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
She hesitated before answering.
"I don't know…" she said slowly. "You just… seem different."
I stopped walking this time.
"Different?" I asked. "In what way?"
She shook her head lightly.
"I can't really explain it." Then she added, "But I feel like you changed after you came back from that break."
I didn't look at her.
I kept walking—but the silence deepened.
"So…" I said after a moment, my tone light, without real accusation. "You've been watching me?"
She stopped abruptly.
"What? No—!" she said quickly. "I'm not watching you!"
Then she paused, as if realizing her reaction had been too fast.
"I mean… we're in the same class, right?" she continued, calmer now. "I see you every day. But after you disappeared for almost a week… I just felt that something about you was different."
Then she looked straight at me.
"Did something happen when you left the academy?"
Without warning, my mind returned to Valsmeer.
The nonstop fighting. Brushing against death. Blood.
The moment I was forced to kill other humans.
The sword I obtained… without gaining what I had truly wanted from it.
"Nyx?"
Her voice pulled me back to the present.
"Are you okay?" she asked, clear concern in her eyes.
I took a slow breath.
"Sorry," I said. "I just remembered… a bad memory."
She looked at me for a moment, then nodded.
"I see."
She didn't press. She didn't ask more.
And that… made it easier.
I stopped walking and turned to face her.
"So," I said calmly. "What did you really want to talk about? I doubt you asked me to come just to check on me."
She hesitated.
I saw it—in her eyes, in the way her fingers tightened slightly before relaxing again.
"Yes," she said at last. "That's not why I asked."
She went silent for two seconds.
Then she said,
"I want to ask you… if you'd like to be my partner for the freshmen ball."
She said it directly.
No buildup. No retreat.
My thoughts came to a complete stop.
I didn't have an immediate answer.
Not because I didn't understand the question… but because I hadn't expected it.
Charlotte Astria.
In the novel, Charlotte wasn't social at first.
She leaned toward isolation—not out of arrogance, but because she didn't trust people easily.
Then the assassination attempts began.
Multiple criminal organizations tried to abduct her—not because she was weak, but because she was the academy director's daughter. Her name alone was enough to make her a target.
As the attempts repeated, she changed.
She didn't just become distant… she became cold. She placed a clear boundary between herself and everyone else, as if she'd decided that safety only came from keeping her distance.
But that didn't last forever.
At some point, Leander became the exception.
He never wanted anything from her. Never treated her as someone important's daughter, nor as a girl who needed special protection. He helped when she needed it, stepped in when things were dangerous, then left—without expecting thanks or reward.
Over time, he was the only person who treated her with unconditional kindness.
And from there, Charlotte's feelings toward Leander began to change.
At first, it was simple gratitude. A natural feeling toward someone who stood by her when she was alone.
Then that gratitude became genuine admiration—admiration for someone who didn't change, who asked for nothing, who never took advantage of his closeness to her.
And slowly, without her realizing it, those feelings grew… until they passed beyond admiration and settled somewhere deeper.
A place without an easy name—but one thing was certain.
It was love.
Charlotte was not the kind of person who casually asked someone to be her escort.
Which was why I couldn't hide my surprise.
"Why… me?" I asked finally. "There are plenty of students who could go with you."
I paused, then added,
"I'm sure they'd line up for the chance."
She shook her head slowly.
"I don't want them," she said simply. "I want you. If you're willing."
Her tone wasn't emotional.
Not shy.
Not pleading.
It was honest.
"But…" I said hesitantly. "I don't know anything about these kinds of parties. I don't even know how to dance."
She didn't hesitate this time.
"It doesn't matter," she said firmly.
I took a deep breath.
I could have refused. I could've made up an easy excuse—said I was busy, uninterested, that this wasn't my place.
But… I didn't.
"Alright," I said at last. "I'll go."
A warm smile appeared on her face.
Not a big one. Not exaggerated. But genuine enough that I noticed it immediately.
"But," I added, "I don't have suitable clothes for an event like that."
She nodded as if she'd expected that.
"No problem," she said. "You can go shopping this evening. Even I'll need a proper dress."
I looked at her for a few seconds.
"Then…" I said, "shall we meet tonight?"
"Yes," she replied. "See you later."
She gave a small smile, then turned and walked away.
I stayed where I was.
Staring at the spot where she'd been standing moments earlier.
I didn't feel happy.
I didn't feel anxious.
Just something in between.
Something like standing at the edge of a decision that doesn't seem dangerous… yet might change more than you expect.
"Was that the right choice?"
I didn't have an answer.
But I knew one thing.
Since returning from Valsmeer—since everything that had happened—I'd been trying to distance myself from anything that might tie me to others.
And yet…
Here I was, agreeing.
Not out of curiosity.
Not out of desire.
But because some part of me…
perhaps no longer wanted to be alone all the time.
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