Few hours earlier, before Rin woke up...
Leona’s eyes fluttered open exactly at 7:00 AM. No alarm needed. Her body was simply trained to rise with the sun.
Wake up. Train. Study etiquette. Eat. Train again. Sleep.
That was her life back home—a noble lady’s regimented routine drilled into her from a young age. Cold mornings, tighter corsets, perfect posture, and zero room for mistakes. Even after arriving at Velcrest Academy, that internal clock hadn’t changed.
No longer was she waking up to the stiff silence of her family estate. No more curt nods from maids or lectures from her tutors. Instead, she now shared a dorm room with a certain someone who snored softly and drooled just a little on his pillow.
Her eyes drifted toward him.
He was still asleep, his face half-buried in the sheets, one arm dangling off the edge of the bed like he’d fought a dragon in his dreams and lost. His hair was a mess, sticking up at odd angles. He looked completely unguarded.
’Right... today I’m supposed to go shopping with him.’
A faint smile tugged at her lips as she sat up and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
It was strange how quickly things had changed.
Not long ago, she wouldn’t have even looked twice at someone like him.
But now? She found herself watching over him. Worrying. Laughing. Wanting to be close, even if she didn’t always understand why.
Leona got up quietly, careful not to wake him, and went about her morning routine with practiced grace. After a quick wash and a change of clothes, she was ready for a day.
Leona still remembered the first time both of them went outing, she was so awkward and don’t most of come things that anyone at her age should know about it.
She thought that Rin would make a fun of her and would even be suspicious of her behaviour.
But she was wrong. Rin didn’t make a fun of her.
Instead, he thought her how to enjoy a holiday.
Still, Leona was disatisfied with results.
It’s not because she didn’t enjoyed it. It just felt like that she doesn’t know most of things that teenagers around her age do.
So, after that day she studied everything that what ...normal teenagers did during their outings. From casual greetings and popular snacks to trending stores and dating customs—yes, even those. Leona had read forum threads, borrowed gossip magazines from Nora (without telling her), and even snuck into a student group chat using a fake account just to observe their conversations.
She was determined to be ready this time.
Because today wasn’t just another casual outing. Today, she had planned the whole thing herself—from where they’d go, what they’d eat, and even the spots she wanted to "accidentally" run into people so they’d see them together.
It wasn’t some battle or mission.
But for Leona, it was war.
And she refused to lose.
She adjusted her collar in the mirror, patting down a stubborn strand of hair. Then her eyes returned to the figure still sound asleep on the bed.
"...Idiot," she whispered under her breath, though there was no malice in her tone.
Leona turned around, crossed the room, and gently poked his cheek with a finger.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. We have plans, remember?"
Rin groaned, rolling over and mumbling something incomprehensible about monsters and cafeteria food.
Leona sighed, but a soft chuckle escaped her lips.
It’s seems that Rin won’t wake up.
At that moment, A plane form in her head.
She walked over to kitchen and write a note.
She looked over sleeping figure of Rin and mumbled herself.
"It’s going to be fun."
Saying that, Leona walked out of the apartment and started to walking towards their meeting spot.
"Rin, you don’t have any plans now, right?"
"What? Ah, I was going to use the potions..."
"That’s good. It’s a bit of a shame to part ways so soon day is long, so let’s enjoy it today."
Huh...? Did I say I didn’t have any plans? I didn’t think so. This was strange.
Why she was talking about something like enjoying this day?
This wasn’t her character.
Something was definitely strange here
I blinked, trying to process her words.
"...Enjoy it today?" I repeated, narrowing my eyes slightly.
Leona smiled at me, but it wasn’t the usual sharp, confident grin I was used to. This one felt softer. Almost... bittersweet.
She turned ahead and kept walking.
"I just meant," she said, her tone light but noticeably forced, "you’ve been through a lot lately. Thought you deserved a break."
That would’ve worked on someone else.
But I wasn’t someone else. And this wasn’t like her.
Leona didn’t care about ’breaks.’ Hell, she didn’t even believe in taking it easy. She was the type who’d say ’rest is for when you’re dead.’ And now here she was, sounding like a motivational poster with existential undertones.
She flinched, almost Her shoulders stiffened just a little—just enough for me to notice.
"Leon," I repeated, stepping a little closer, my voice low. "Is something going on?"
She kept walking for a second longer, pretending to browse the window of a passing shop. But I saw her reflection in the glass.
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
"...No. Not really," she replied, still not facing me. "Can’t I just want to spend time with you?"
I let the silence hang for a moment. Let it weigh between us like the tension in the air before a storm.
"...You’re acting weird," I said flatly.
She finally turned to look at me, folding her arms across her chest like she always did when she was trying to look unaffected. "I’m always weird, Rin. You’re just slow."
Then I let out a long sigh and looked away, brushing a hand through my hair.
"Alright, fine. You want to enjoy the day, then let’s enjoy it."
"Hey, it’s not like I want to enjoy it," she huffed, crossing her arms. "But it’s a holiday, and I know you’re just going to lie around and waste it. So I figured, since we’re already out here, we might as well do something."
Whoa. Defensive much?
I wanted to say, Relax, I get it—you’re embarrassed, but I kept my mouth shut. No way was I about to tease her. Not when she was clearly trying so hard to play it cool.
I mean, who knew how she’d react?