The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

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The girl got out of bed earlier than the boy.

The chilly morning air brushed against her skin, causing her to shiver for a moment, but thanks to that, she regained her senses and began to recall what had happened.

‘…So, Dokan was inside me…’

Ah, right. The girl remembered that she was still a virgin and that there was something she needed to do right away.

But it seemed like she had forgotten something more important. Well, it wasn’t her concern.

As she tried to pull on the underwear she had tossed aside, she noticed a warm liquid flowing down her groin, and the memories of last night began to flood back.

Not satisfied with just the initial act, they had gone at it again, twice, three times…

Now that her heat was over and her mind felt considerably clearer, she couldn’t handle the rising shame. In the end, she had intertwined her fingers with him, whispering sweet nothings as she rode him.

She didn’t regret rolling around with him, but she did regret collapsing without cleaning up afterward.

That was quite intense. Looking at the stains of liquid and blood on the bed, she took a tissue to clean up the mess.

She wasn’t quite sure what to do, but at least she had to wipe it away. Wait a moment. Blood? As she saw the dark red marks, she tried to recall just what had happened.

There was so much that it was hard to believe it had come from her.

The girl’s gaze landed on the boy. And what caught her eye was the boy’s body, covered in scratches and bite marks.

Silently, she licked her fangs. They tasted faintly of blood.

…This is something I need to apologize for. It seemed that the strange magic didn’t recognize this as a wound as it idly slept within him.

Finally, the girl hurriedly put on her underwear, covered the boy with the blanket, and rummaged through the pile of items.

The weapons her father had packed for her were simply heavy, and she pushed aside the drawings she didn’t know why she had packed. She was sure she had placed it somewhere around here.

After digging through the clutter, the girl finally found what she was looking for.

From a pouch filled with various drugs, she pulled out a pink pill. When her mother had given it to her, she couldn’t comprehend the intention behind it, but now she had a feeling she understood.

Her mother had a plan all along. She popped the common post-coital pill into her mouth and swallowed it.

She’d been told that as long as she took it within 24 hours, she’d be safe. The girl didn’t dislike the idea of having a child, but right now, she wasn’t in the mood. There were emotional issues, and she thought it would be best to wait until after the ceremony.

“…Ugh, what time is it now…”

Hearing the rustling of movement, the boy woke up late. He groaned at the pain from his battered body as he forced himself upright, immediately jolted to awareness by a strange sensation in his back.

“Hang in there. Just stay still. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with scars.”

Despite his excitement at the girl’s touch and disheveled voice, he was simultaneously pleading inside for the pain to subside.

Even with a body reinforced by magic, he had been pushed to the limits last night, causing the boy to groan in pain as he tried to lift his head.

“…Ugh.”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t know I had such a habit… Well, it’s not that ignorance means everything is forgiven… Could you overlook it…?”

At her words, the boy merely let out a soft groan and nodded.

However, the boy couldn’t bring himself to face the girl; when the time came to meet her gaze, he turned away. Enjoying the sensation of her hand on the back of his neck while trying to calm his excited self, he felt a chill when he saw the clock.

The hour hand pointed to 8 o’clock. Adding to the panic about Jeongho and the Black Wolf, fear crept in about what the East might be like layered with new, tangible dread.

“…Ho-Yeon. I appreciate it, but I think we need to get dressed right now. Just look at the clock.”

The girl’s pulse quickened as well.

– – –

By the time she recalled what she had forgotten, it was already too late for a shower or that sort of thing. All she could do was slap a band-aid on and hurriedly wash her face.

Her clothes were a bit wrinkled, but she thought that it was better to hold her head high and push forward. After all, if she was bold and shameless, no one would dare to say anything.

…However, opening the door and walking in felt hesitant. At least those with brains would immediately know what had happened. Was it really okay to go in like this?

Also, there was still something inside her that might spill out if she wasn’t careful. No one might notice, but just the possibility made it feel too reckless.

Dokan seemed hesitant too and couldn’t bring himself to step out. Should he just run away?

But then, a line from a comic popped into his head. There’s no paradise waiting at the end of escaping─was it?

“…Let’s go.”

“Should we…?”

He took a deep breath and opened the door. All eyes turned to us.

From the homeroom teacher who was handing out test papers, to the startled churchgoers, and the girls who shyly turned their heads, to the guys who stared at us with wide eyes.

…So what? The one clear takeaway from my academy life was that no one would dare say anything to me.

Except Georg. That guy was definitely a lunatic. Even if a student asked, how could he conduct biological experiments?

“…Um, Ho-Yeon… and Dokan. W-what’s the reason… for being late…?”

Caught between being assertive and bowing down, the homeroom teacher welcomed us with an awkward demeanor.

It wasn’t that difficult to understand. I somewhat knew how humiliating it was for a teacher to bow to a student.

A year younger than myself had asked to call him brother, and I’d just thrown my resignation down and walked away.

Maybe that’s why the homeroom teacher seemed a bit sympathetic.

“…We overslept.”

“I also overslept, so I’m late. Sorry, Professor Dorothy.”

A blatant lie. The homeroom teacher momentarily lost her composure as though she were questioning if we were serious.

“…I see. From now on… make sure to manage yourselves so that such incidents don’t happen again…”

Trembling, but managing to convey her responsibilities, she seemed genuinely dedicated to her work. I’m sorry. We just lost our heads and couldn’t help it.

…But it felt good.

I wiped the faint smile from my lips as I took a seat. A glance at those still sneaking glances at us was enough to make them scuttle back into hiding.

Except for the churchgoers. They avoided our gaze but didn’t stop observing us. It felt unpleasant, but I couldn’t express anger after being late, so I stayed quiet.

The test, after all, was easy. A bit leaked out during the exam, making me anxious, but it wasn’t enough to hinder me.

“…Really, you went through a lot, Dokan.”

I told him he did well for pushing through until last night. Although we still had the gym test left… they said this time it would be conducted indoors to avoid any issues like what happened during midterms, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

“…Oh.”

Dokan responded a bit half-heartedly, but he certainly looked on the brink of exhaustion, so I decided not to bring it up. It was strange that he didn’t use that strange magic.

“…Umm, that pseudo-magic… are you not going to use it?”

I asked curiously, having seen him recover so quickly with it before when he almost died from exhaustion.

“…There’s that, but I just want to sleep.”

Ah, I thought I understood. So I’ll just comply and send him back to his room. His steps were so weak that it felt like I was supporting him.

Today, I’ll let it slide.

– – –

Cecilia and Ethan were leaning in close, wearing serious expressions at the café. The topic was obviously about what had happened between Ho-Yeon and Dokan.

“…Ethan. So… Ho-Yeon and Dokan really… did it… didn’t they?”

Cecilia, not ignorant just weak to the castle’s charm, had accurately pieced together what had transpired between them.

The disheveled outfits and their awkward gait. And their exhausted faces, as if they hadn’t slept properly, and even the smell was evident.

It was almost more difficult not knowing. The rumors had already started to spread slowly, but Ethan was solemnly pondering the meaning behind it all.

What could be in their minds that led to such actions? No matter how he thought about it, the only conclusion he could reach was one.

“…Yeah. They did. And I think they might be trying to flaunt it. Like ‘this is mine.’”

Having caught even the faint smile on his face, Ethan arrived at this conclusion. It was all about showing off to everyone.

If that’s the case, what would she gain from flaunting it?

“Flaunting it…? But there’s no benefit to that…”

Ethan found Cecilia’s reasoning reasonable. There was nothing to gain from showing off. Unless she just wanted to draw attention.

Besides, there was no reason for her, who usually didn’t care about others’ gazes, to suddenly act this way, leading Ethan to scratch his head in confusion.

“…Hmm. I have no idea. Cecilia, do you have any guesses?”

“Me? Well… maybe after it all, she just ended up oversleeping… and rushed here?”

If that was the case, everything would make sense. If they simply arrived late because they were in a hurry, it wouldn’t be strange, but Ethan hadn’t entertained the thought that they would make such a basic mistake.

He overlooked the truth right in front of his eyes.

“…That sounds plausible, but I don’t think they’d make such a fundamental mistake.”

“Really? I thought something felt off too. Then… what could it be…?”

“…Who knows.”

In the end, they were left idly sipping their drinks, wasting time.