The Villain’s Aide Has Run Away - Chapter 25.1
At Kailos’s words, Leslun only gave a small smile.
It wasn’t as though he could attend even if he wanted to, so was there really any need to imagine such a thing?
“If I were able to study here… I think it would be wonderful.”
He pictured himself, books stacked high in his arms, crossing the lawn on his way to a lecture. The image of himself wasn’t all that different from now, but the feeling in his chest would be—an excited anticipation.
There was a library boasting a collection far surpassing the National Library, and on top of that, instruction from lecturers with distinguished backgrounds.
Having studied alone up until now, Leslun couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
Only then did he realize the emotion he had been ignoring: he was envious of the students who would soon attend this place.
Reading the sentiment flickering across Leslun’s face, Kailos asked in a deliberate tone,
“How wonderful do you think it would be?”
“Very wonderful.”
“And what exactly does very mean?”
How should he put it? Leslun hesitated for a moment, then lifted Blue slightly.
“As wonderful as Blue.”
Kailos’s mischievous expression twisted strangely, much like his reaction the last time Leslun had said Blue was well-behaved.
At present, Leslun liked Blue very much. Without thinking too deeply, he had simply chosen the closest comparison.
The response he received was flat.
“Enough.”
Though it had been Kailos who had started the conversation, it was also he who ended it so abruptly.
Unable to continue the exchange, Leslun all but gave up halfway. But Robin, who had been silently listening, sent Leslun a glance of approval, as if to say he had done well.
Ever since Kailos had fastened that necklace around Blue, Robin had been harboring a quiet dissatisfaction. Uncharacteristically, he even reached out to pat Leslun’s shoulder.
“Don’t take your eyes off Blue.”
And, in a voice low enough that the Crown Prince would not hear, he murmured the same words he had spoken before they boarded the carriage.
“The Dean must be waiting.”
When Kailos began walking, Robin followed casually behind, as if he had said nothing at all.
Why must he keep watching Blue? The reason was unclear, and Leslun felt a twinge of regret at not knowing, but he didn’t let his doubts show. Instead, he carefully kept pace so that no distance would form.
Still, looking at Blue always lifted his spirits, so it wasn’t as if Leslun lost anything by it. Adjusting the way he held the creature so that it was more comfortable, he suddenly froze as if a sharp needle had pierced his heart.
“What’s wrong?”
Robin, noticing the change in him first, quickly asked. Even Kailos, walking ahead, turned to look back.
Caught under both their gazes, Leslun hastily shook his head rather than dwell on the sensation.
“It’s nothing.”
Acting as though nothing had happened, Leslun managed to pass it off. Kailos turned away almost immediately, resuming his stride, while Robin studied Blue closely in Leslun’s arms.
Could that necklace be having some effect on Leslun as well?
But since nothing concrete had manifested, he could take no action yet. Robin’s face, however, still carried a shadow of unease.
***
“That seat suits you well, Dean Kelly.”
At Kailos’s words, the woman seated behind the desk lifted his head. His hair was drawn up tightly without a strand out of place, and his deep navy ceremonial uniform radiated the dignity of a high-ranking official.
From the tall windows rising behind his chair, a soft light spilled in, framing him in such a way that he seemed more like a figure in a portrait than a living person.
This was the Dean’s office, occupying the top floor of the main building of Wisley Academy.
The heavy darkwood desk, the shelves lined with old tomes, the artworks displayed along the walls, and the leather sofas all lent the space a weighty atmosphere.
“I am still only a candidate,” Dean Kelly replied with a brief but formal politeness, his tone nonetheless firm.
“There’s no need for modesty when you’re already sitting in that seat. Only the paperwork remains.”
Kailos leaned back lazily against the leather sofa as he regarded him. His confident gaze and the casual way he crossed his legs betrayed not the slightest tension. He carried the ease of one long accustomed to taking control of every situation.
Standing just behind him were Robin and Leslun.
Robin carried the documents; Leslun cradled Blue carefully in his arms, the small creature’s warmth seeping into his chest.
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