Chapter 11: 11

Chapter 11

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[Lexus] “Hello.”

Valentia sat in the lecture hall, preparing to attend when someone called out to her with a low but pleasant voice.

No one ever called out to her like this, so at first she was a little confused. Then she was confused again because the voice was somehow familiar and then a third wave of bewilderment hit her because this person’s voice was also pleasant.

[Valentia] “What are you doing here? You don’t take this lecture.”

If this were one the Prince was attending, the hall would have been overflowing with students that the walls might’ve burst. But even if it meant facing difficult studies and strict professors, it was all worth it if it meant being in the same room as the Prince.

[Lexus] “I’m going to listen in on this lecture.”

[Valentia] “Why are you suddenly trying to sneak in……..Ah, nevermind.”

Valentia suddenly stopped talking.

She realized she was getting involved with him again, responding back to his words without even realizing it. But it was better for her to not even speak to this attractive troublemaker. 

That was a conclusion Valentia came to awhile ago.

[Lexus] “Why else would I? I want to take this lecture.”

[Valentia] “Then please stop talking to me. You’re interrupting my studies.”

[Lexus] “We’re classmates now, and it’s normal to chat with the person sitting next to you. There’s no need to be so heartless.”

Even though Valentia was acting cold, the Prince replied with a jovial voice. 

His attitude allowed him to so easily and gently work around her heartlessness, to the point where she felt embarrassed for having told him not to disturb her.

Somehow, she was getting the strong sense that this would become a great hindrance to her. Wanting to make sure, Valentia decided to entertain his chattiness for a moment.

[Valentia] “Didn’t you hear what I said yesterday?”

[Lexus] “What? ‘I don’t have time to play around with you and I do not wish to get to know you any further. Goodbye.’ Like that?”

[Valentia] “Oh good, you remember it exactly.”

[Lexus] “But did I agree to that?”

[Valentia] “What?”

[Lexus] “I never said I’d go along with that.”

[Valentia] “Excuse me, Prince…”

[Lexus] “And didn’t you say the other day that I shouldn’t be called a Prince because I’m a student while at the Academy? How can you call me that when you slapped me not too long ago?”

The way he was talking was a strange mix of softness, playfulness, and a large heap of sarcasm. It was almost impressive, the level of skill required to sound like that. But regardless, he wasn’t wrong, causing Valentia to bite her lip.

Playful attitude or not, Valentia was realizing that this impressive Prince was quite the formidable opponent. With a glowing face, he had no qualms about repeating her words and throwing them back at her.

[Valentia] “Why are you doing this?”

[Lexus] “What?”

[Valentia] “I want to know why you’re doing this. Are you hoping to get an apology from me?”

[Lexus] “What’s the point in getting an apology from you if it’s just going to be insincere?”

[Valentia] “. . .”

Seeing how her mouth was tightly shut, not even uttering the words ‘sincere apology’ to refute him, Lexus gave a laugh.

But Lexus was no different. He apologized to her, but he did it so vaguely and insincerely that she didn’t want to accept it. And now he was trying to have a bit of fun by cozying up to someone who so clearly didn’t like him and wanted to be away from him.

…….This man might be ruder than she originally thought.

[Lexus] “But what you said to me was very shocking.”

[Valentia] “What did I say?”

[Lexus] “‘You’re able to speak so freely. You must have broken a tongue’.”

[Valentia] “What?”

[Lexus] “That’s what you said. I kept thinking about it, I couldn’t even sleep at night.”

[Valentia] “That….”

Hearing what she said coming out of the mouth of another person, even she felt like it was a little harsh and untoward.

[Lexus] “Oh, but don’t think I’m complaining about it. I’ll admit, I deserved to hear it.”

Such arrogance, and she couldn’t understand why he had to do this to her. But entertaining him was too much of a pain to deal with, and so she didn’t say anything back.

But unfortunately, thanks to him, the people around her were starting to pay more attention to her than usual, and that was beyond troublesome. And oh, how  Valentia disliked annoying things.

Just in time, the professor entered the lecture hall, and Valentia kept her eyes trained forward.

[Professor] “I don’t think you usually attend my lectures, do you?”

The professor immediately noticed Lexus’ presence.

There were plenty of students enrolled in the Academy, so knowing the faces of every single one was difficult, if not impossible. But even so, there was no way the Prince would escape anyone’s notice. Especially since he was sitting right in the front row like this. That would make even pretending not to see him difficult.

[Lexus] “I’m in the mood to listen. That’s cool, right?”

[Professor] “If a student is eager to learn, I cannot refuse.”

Normally the seat next to Valentia was always empty, and she was realizing now that she had adapted too well to learning in those conditions. Now there was a tall man sitting next to her, so even when she kept looking forward, she could constantly see him in her peripheral vision, and he could not be more in the way.

And this rogue student wasn’t even listening to the lecture. She could feel his eyes boring into her the entire time.

That was true of her first lecture, her second, lunchtime, and even her final lecture as well. Starting from the second lecture, she didn’t even bother answering him when he spoke to her, but even so, Lexus was not deterred.

[Lexus] “Where are you off to now? Your lectures are all done for the day.”

This was when Valentia reached a breaking point. How did he know she didn’t have any more lectures for the rest of the day? 

The Prince’s interest in her was suspicious, uncomfortable, and certainly unwelcome.

[Valentia] “How did you know that?”

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[Lexus] “I was interested, so I found out. So where are you going?”

[Valentia] “If you’re so interested, then you probably already know.”

[Lexus] “The library?”

She was annoyed he actually knew, so she glared at him before turning around and heading off to the library. Once there, she went to her usual spot.

Perhaps it was originally a design error during its construction, but the library had these small spaces inlaid between the bookshelves. Someone must’ve thought it was a shame to waste that space, so they fit a desk and two chairs in the empty spots.

Valentia really liked it when she accidentally came across it one day. It was a nice little place to quietly study by herself.

[Lexus] “I didn’t know there was a place like this.”

[Valentia] “You’re not going to sit down, are you?”

[Lexus] “Why? I can’t?”

[Valentia] “It’s uncomfortable.”

[Lexus] “The library is meant for public use, so bear with it.”

With a smile, he calmly took the seat next to her, gesturing with his chin towards the table. Valentia stared at Lexus, eventually sitting down too. She did so with her head held high, for some reason feeling like she would lose if she avoided her seat.

Valentia took her book out of her bag, turning it to the bookmarked page.

But it wasn’t just this man’s presence that was bothering her. Soon enough, other troublesome things started rearing their ugly heads.

This was making things very difficult.

Not only was this man staring at her from the side, but other people were coming up too, watching the two of them through the gaps between the bookshelves.

She knew he was popular, but doesn’t this seem like too much?

[Valentia] “Can you go away?”

[Lexus] “Go where?”

[Valentia] “To a different seat. There are a lot of empty ones.”

[Lexus] “Why would I do that?”

[Valentia] “It’s too crowded here.”

There’s too many people.

[Lexus] “What does that have to do with me?”

Valentia understood what he meant by that right away. He meant that to mean he lived under these intense gazes all the time, so it was not worth mentioning. Already Valentia was so tired of this, so she didn’t bother saying anything back.

He has a greater presence than I thought.

It was the same as when they were in the lecture hall, and she was becoming overly conscious of another person in the same space as her. And he wasn’t even doing anything. He was just sitting there, staring at her.

What is he even doing? Valentia just ignored the man sitting near her, focusing her attention on her writing.

She could still feel his burning stare from the side, but eventually it became easy to ignore and focus on her book. And after focusing for a long time, Valenti rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

[Lexus] “You’re studying really hard.”

Valentia gasped, surprised for a second as she looked up at the man in front of her.

[Valentia] “You’re still here?”

[Lexus] “This is the first time I’ve been ignored so intensely.”

[Valentia] “Yes, I suppose it would be.”

Valentia listened to Lexus’ words, in one ear and out the other as she organized her things and cleaned up her workspace. As she collected her bag and quietly went to leave the library, that man also followed her.

[Lexus] “Where are you going? Aren’t you going home now?”

She was still surprised at how he had memorized her schedule.

[Valentia] “How did you know that? Did you get my timetable from the assistants?”

[Lexus] “I just asked the other students and they told me.”

She thought maybe he’d used the power of the Imperial family to pressure the staff into giving up her schedule, but apparently that wasn’t the case. If it had been, she probably would have gotten very angry.

[Lexus] “Why don’t you ride a carriage on your way home?”

It was a valid question, but it was one that no one had ever asked her before. It was, after all, the kind of question that would only be asked by those close to you, and Valentia had no one like that.

[Valentia] “……..I ride a common carriage.”

[Lexus] “Why?”

[Valentia] “It’s more comfortable. Goodbye.”

[Lexus] “Let me take you to the station.”

[Valentia] “You’re not honestly telling me to ride in an Imperial carriage to the station, are you?”

[Lexus] “…..Guess not. Then let me walk with you.”

[Valentia] “That’s fine, have a good day.”

There was a carriage marked with the Imperial crest waiting in front of the Academy for Lexus. Once the coachman caught sight of him, he opened the door, but Valentia couldn’t hear the sound of him getting inside.

Instead, the constant sound of footsteps chasing after her remained. With a sudden stop, Valentia sharply turned around.

[Valentia] “Stop following me.”

[Lexus] “I’m not following you. I just so happen to be walking the same road.”

And his excuse was something even an innocent child would not believe.

[Valentia] “Are you making fun of me right now?”

[Lexus] “Of course not.”

Valentia roughly turned away from Lexus, leaving him behind as she walked ahead with slower steps. It was just as she arrived at the station that the puppy who always found her easily came running.

[Dog] “Bark! Bark—!”

Every time, without fail, he would always do this. Whenever he saw her, he’d run up to her with his short little legs, pushing himself as hard as he could. But he was on the other side of the road, and as he went to cross, it was at the exact same time that a carriage was starting down the street. 

Before she even realized what she was doing, Valentia threw her bag to the side and charged forward.

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