Chapter 184: The Gap (9)
Rewinding time slightly, Yuran had calmly walked away, leaving the bewildered Cecilia behind.
It wasn’t that she didn’t feel guilty for leaving her alone in the whirlwind of unfamiliar emotions she was experiencing for the first time.
But the truth was, Yuran herself was no less overwhelmed.
More precisely, though she looked composed on the outside, she too was in such turmoil that she had no room to care for someone else.
Normally, she would’ve returned to her room and calmed her turbulent mind and body through meditation.
But now, there was something far more important than that.
No—perhaps…
Perhaps it was something that might become the most important moment of her life.
That was why she hurried her steps without a word.
Lian Gwendil.
She was on her way to see him.
“……”
There were many reasons why.
‘…Even if I meet him, what should I say?’
Should she apologize for her sudden actions and remarks just now?
Or now that things had come to this, should she be a bit more honest and have a sincere conversation with him?
Truthfully, even Yuran couldn’t come up with a clear answer.
She only had a vague feeling that if she saw him—if she looked into his eyes—everything would somehow become clear.
“Hmm.”
The words she had spoken to Lian.
The word marriage had come out half in earnest, half in a fit of emotion.
But the more she thought about it, the more she felt the scale tipping toward sincerity.
‘…Lian Gwendil.’
When she silently repeated his name, a ticklish sensation stirred in one corner of her chest—accompanied by a faint, stinging pain.
Her mind returned to the words she had said earlier, facing Cecilia.
It had been sudden—perhaps even reckless.
‘Why did I say that?’
As she scolded herself and walked in the direction where Lian might be, Yuran suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Then, without warning, she turned and headed toward a secluded corner where few people passed.
Only after ensuring she wouldn’t run into anyone by chance did she pull a small hand mirror from her bosom.
It was originally a tool she used for her rituals.
“Hm.”
Yuran gazed at her reflection for a moment, then began smoothing out her slightly tousled hair.
She even straightened her clothes.
She carefully checked to see if there were any food crumbs left around her lips, or if anything looked off.
When she finally finished her unusually fussy grooming, she gave a small nod and tucked the mirror away.
“Mm, hmm. Ahem.”
Clearing her throat with a quiet cough, Yuran began rehearsing what she would say when she met Lian.
“Um, Lian Gwendil. Earlier, I was too hasty. No, that’s not it…”
She shook her head firmly.
Too stiff.
And above all, that was the same tone she always used.
“...My savior, would it be alright to have a moment of your time? There is something I urgently wish to say to you…”
She fell silent.
That sounded utterly awkward, completely different from their usual conversations—and even to herself, it felt unnatural.
“That matter from earlier. I think I was in too much of a rush. I’m sorry.”
Would it be best to start by apologizing like this?
But she had no intention of ending it with just an apology.
She furrowed her brow.
“(Pardon me for interrupting, Lord Lian. There is something I urgently wish to speak with you about...)”
Muttering in the Garusol language out of frustration, Yuran let out a small sigh.
Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem—but now that she was trying to talk seriously, her clumsy command of the Imperial tongue weighed heavily on her, and she feared she might not be able to say anything at all if she faced him.
“……”
When things didn’t go as she hoped, she clenched her eyes shut in frustration.
Even if she hadn’t meant to, had she revealed her true feelings too rashly?
Was she acting too impulsively?
“...No, no.”
But since things had come this far, she decided it would be better to move quickly rather than hesitate, and gave a small nod.
Those who move fast claim the prize first.
An old saying from Garusol flitted through her mind.
If it had been a feeling she alone harbored, she might have taken more time and approached slowly.
But hadn’t she seen it with her own eyes?
That Cecilia, too, harbored special feelings for Lian.
The presence of a rival made Yuran impatient.
“Huu…”
That was how the people of Garusol were.
When they wanted something, they didn’t hesitate to act.
And Yuran, too, carried the blood of Garusol in her veins.
She steeled her resolve once again.
“……”
At the same time, she couldn’t help but chastise herself.
‘...How foolish.’
This wretched personality.
And those damned principles.
‘In a situation where there might have been a chance, I ended up creating a rival myself…’
She recalled how, just a while ago, she had helped Cecilia due to her own self-imposed rules.
Yet even if that help had been given almost forcibly, she remembered that the final words she’d spoken to Cecilia weren’t a lie.
“……Huu.”
Caught in the complexity of her emotions, she let out another deep breath with a sigh.
Being careful not to disturb the hair and clothes she had just tidied, yet moving as fast as possible, Yuran began searching for Lian.
“Hmm…!”
And it wasn’t long before she found him.
He was sitting on a bench with Allen, the two engaged in conversation.
Still, no matter how eager she was, she couldn’t just cut in while they were talking.
So she decided to wait for the right moment.
Thanks to that, she unintentionally overheard the conversation between Lian and Allen.
— The truth is, I was so focused on solving that matter that I didn’t give any thought to my surroundings or what came after.
— …But now, I’ve got something that makes me care not only about my surroundings, but also about what comes next.
Only then did Yuran recall an obvious truth she had been overlooking.
“……”
Lian wasn’t someone from Garusol.
He was a person of the Empire.
Someone who thought in the Imperial tongue and spoke in the Imperial tongue.
He was someone who had lived in a culture and environment entirely different from hers.
‘…More than anything.’
Lian, just like herself, had his own story—and problems that he had to resolve.
At that, Yuran took a moment to reflect on whether she had been approaching him too one-sidedly, and whether she had been accepting the situation too naïvely.
…In the end, Yuran had no choice but to quietly turn back.
The excitement and anticipation she had felt before meeting Lian had now turned into a deep, calm contemplation.
At some point, she had returned to her room, where she stood in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.
“……”
A woman with red eyes stared back at her from within the mirror.
And on her forehead, two large, straight horns protruded conspicuously.
After gazing at herself for a while, Yuran turned slightly to the side.
From between her waist and hips, a sleek yet sturdy-looking black tail swayed gently.
Her true form—unknown to Lian and everyone else.
But Yuran simply stared at her swaying tail, as if it were the most familiar thing in the world.
“Hm.”
She gave a quiet nod.
“Compose yourself.”
Speaking as though addressing the reflection in the mirror, she murmured.
At that, the red eyes, the pair of horns, and the black tail that had emerged from her waist slowly faded as if hiding their forms.
And finally, the Yuran that everyone—including Lian—remembered, appeared in the mirror.
Yuran quietly observed her own reflection.
“……”
Who had said it?
That dragons had a habit of hoarding treasure in their nests?
Though only half, dragon blood certainly flowed in her veins.
And she had just found something—something precious and dear—that she wished to keep safe in her own private nest.
That was why she resolved to be more deliberate, and more careful.
She didn’t want to startle or burden him by approaching too hastily.
She wanted to help Lian bring his own story to its proper conclusion.
And afterward, she hoped to be part of that next chapter he said he hadn’t even imagined yet.
So…
“…Good. Very good.”
Yuran nodded as she reached her conclusion.
Sometimes, the longest way around is the shortest path.
She sat down at her desk and pulled out a sheet of stationery.
She and Lian were still exchanging letters to teach each other their respective languages.
This time, she planned to write down a line from her favorite poem in the Garusol language and teach it to him.
With the hope that one day, he would not only think in the Imperial tongue, but also in the language of Garusol—and see the world through Garusol’s ways.
And…
“……”
She picked up her pen and began writing slowly, with care.
The quiet rustling of ink brushing against paper filled the silent room.
As soon as she returned to her room, Mercedes sat at her desk and picked up a quill.
With a soft scratch of ink, part of a complex magic circle was being drawn across the parchment.
Whenever she felt stuck or troubled, she would always resort to drawing and revising magic circles like this.
Her room, though nominally part of a dormitory, was assigned to royalty and was far more spacious and comfortable than any standard student’s room. From her window, one could take in the full view of the Academy gardens.
Naturally, the areas where royalty resided—including her own—were guarded with tighter security than anywhere else.
It was said that not even a shadow could trespass without permission.
“……”
Mercedes, deeply engrossed in her work for quite some time, furrowed her brows slightly and set down her pen.
“Huu.”
She let out a soft sigh, as if she had hit a wall with a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
That was when—
Creeaak.
The window in the hallway beyond her room opened with a barely audible sound.
Mercedes sighed again, deeply.
She hated bothersome things—but she also couldn’t leave the window open.
If she wasn’t careful, the parchment and papers could easily be scattered by the wind.
“……”
She rose from her seat and quietly walked toward the window.
Then, with her hand, she gently pushed the half-open window closed.
It shut smoothly, returning to its original position.
And just as Mercedes slowly turned her head, she saw it.
Someone she had never invited was quietly standing in her room—which, until just moments ago, had been occupied by her alone—and staring at her.