Episode 24
“…Insane.”
Unusual making sound with his footsteps, Aidan stepped into the carriage and buried his face in his thighs. Clearly, his thighs had been burning until a moment ago, but for some reason, his face felt hotter now.
It was certainly not due to a burn. Not a single drop of black tea had splashed onto his face, after all.
From the moment Cynthia asked how he knew she drank awakening tea during exam periods, the sound of his heart had been pounding in his ears.
‘What if she found out I thought of her as my rival?’
Driven by a single-minded obsession to win no matter what, he hadn’t left his seat until Cynthia left the library.
That was also why he always chose to sit right in the seat behind her to find out what she was studying.
Because analyzing a rival was only natural. Is there not an old saying that knowing your enemy and knowing yourself guarantees victory?
Therefore, to find out what problem books Cynthia referenced, Aidan secretly checked during her absence, bought the exact same problem books to solve them himself, and tried using the pen she frequently pulled out to write with to see if the writing feel was good. Though it was a cheap pen that only hurt his fingers, so it didn’t last long, in the end.
Seeing her drink it every day whenever exam periods came around, he wondered if it was a tea that helped with concentration, tried drinking it to follow suit, ruined his palate immediately, and washed his mouth out with black tea.
‘She didn’t notice everything, did she?’
If she were to find out that despite going to such lengths, he hadn’t been able to beat Cynthia for all three years attending the academy and was perpetually in second place, he might die of embarrassment.
“Young Lord, what is the matter?”
The faithful escort knight knocked on the door and asked. After encountering Aclo, his father had attached several escort knights to him.
“It’s nothing… No. No.”
“Pardon?”
“I said it’s not nothing.”
Aidan raised his head irritably.
“I spilled black tea on my trousers.”
“Are you alright? Is it an injury?”
“I’m fine now. Even so, the clothes have gotten dirty, so bring a new pair of trousers.”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
Leaning his head back, Aidan closed his eyes for a moment.
Still, he rather liked the gaze with which she had looked up at him worryingly earlier.
What should he call it—the mind of a faithful subordinate worrying about a superior? Like that escort knight, for instance.
‘Hmm, come to think of it, it feels a bit different from an escort.’
If an escort was his to begin with, Cynthia was—how should he put it—a person he could never catch up to his whole life. A person he couldn’t beat no matter how hard he tried.
Because even if he studied while cutting back on sleep, he couldn’t beat Cynthia. To the extent that he wondered if this was the difference between a mediocre talent and a genius.
Was that why he felt that way toward a child who felt like she could never be overcome his whole life?
“Incomprehensible.”
Muttering, he looked down at his thighs. Because they were dark-colored trousers, it didn’t show, but wearing wet clothes continuously felt uncomfortable, nonetheless.
“Tsk, spilling black tea all of a sudden.”
Now cooled completely, it felt cold rather than hot. Aidan carefully brushed over the wet spot.
“How could a girl touch a man’s thigh…”
He stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth. His ears growing hotter than before, he stroked them with his hand.
“Well, she touched it without a thought, I’m sure.”
Of course, he had no thoughts either. Then, he was unfazed.
“I’m completely unfazed.”
“Pardon?”
At the voice heard suddenly, Aidan startled in surprise and looked to the side. Before he realized it, the escort knight was standing by his side.
Holding out a bag, he spoke.
“I brought the trousers you mentioned, as well as ointment to apply and bandages in case you might feel uncomfortable. Shall I treat you?”
“Forget it, I’m not a child. I’ll do it myself.”
“Understood.”
Aidan carefully lowered his wet trousers. Fortunately, the injury on his thigh was not severe. Still, he applied the ointment the escort brought and wrapped a bandage. Because this would be better than the wound becoming inflamed.
‘If left untreated and the wound worsens, how much that girl would worry.’
Checking once more that there were no wrinkles in his trousers, he moved his steps back toward the laboratory.
Thinking cold-headedly, he and Cynthia had spent most of their time at the academy in the library anyway. Thus, even if he knew about Cynthia drinking awakening tea, it wasn’t strange.
Because if one merely smelled the scent wafting from tea, one could tell whether it was top-grade black tea or cheap tea imitating black tea, after all.
So if Cynthia asked how on earth he knew, it was enough to make an excuse like that.
And if she asked why on earth he had rushed out…
‘I’ll just say I went to change my clothes.’
Is it not a given that a noble cannot continuously wear wet clothes without dignity? Having finished organizing his thoughts perfectly, Aidan opened the door to the laboratory without hesitation.
“Ahem-hem.”
Silver hair sparkling as it caught the sunlight dazzled Aidan’s eyes. Her head tilted slightly to the side.
It was a habit she took whenever she was contemplating something. When a problem wouldn’t solve, Cynthia tilted her head to the right by about 25 degrees, bit her plump lower lip, and then rolled it inward. The habit of rolling her lips inward was also a habit shown when she had nothing to say or wanted to change the subject.
Whenever her red lips revealed themselves once more along with a friction sound, Aidan felt a tickle at the back of his neck alongside a feeling of not knowing where to place his gaze.
Yet it was strange. It was about time she startled at his presence and turned back around.
It was about time she opened her round eyes wide, blinked, and pouted, asking where he had been.
What was this? Why was there no word from her? Could she be concentrating immensely on something?
Could she have caught a clue to an equation that wouldn’t resolve?
Fearing he might break her concentration, Aidan held his breath once more.
“…”
It was only thirty minutes later that he realized something was amiss.
Cynthia’s head began dropping downward, nod, nod. And the hand holding her pen was not moving at all.
‘Don’t tell me… she’s sleeping?’
I rushed outside because someone touched my thigh, didn’t I? Furthermore, weren’t we doing quite an important task right now?
It was absurd, but come to think of it, it made sense that she was sleepy. Because she had stayed up all night, after all.
‘Should I bring awakening tea?’
Though made merely to wake someone from sleep, possesses an unethical taste, and its exact components are unknown—making it something one wouldn’t particularly wish to drink—since Cynthia said she wouldn’t get sleepy only if she drank that, it couldn’t be helped.
If possible, he should try asking the chef to make something similar to awakening tea components, but with a good taste.
“Hmm, sleeping soundly indeed.”
He should wake her.
Yet she was sleeping far too soundly to wake her.
‘Doesn’t her neck hurt if she sleeps like that?’
To maintain her head without even leaning on her arm. It seemed it would hurt quite a bit.
“…”
No, it would certainly hurt. Because if she woke up like that and her neck hurt, affecting the experiment, that wouldn’t do.
Aidan quietly shifted his chair next to Cynthia’s. Fearing Cynthia might wake up, he sat lightly on the edge of it with his hips.
Stealing a glance to the side, she was still sound asleep. Straightening his back and leaning his upper body, before long, a weight was felt over his shoulder.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly. Of course, Aidan possessed 0g of ulterior motive. This was for the greater good. Because if her neck snapped while sleeping or she bumped her forehead against the desk, it would cause a setback to this research, so it couldn’t be helped.
Because if this electric lamp Cynthia was trying to develop succeeded, it was certain to bring about a grand innovation to the Empire, after all.
Aidan lowered his gaze slightly to look at her face. Although her face wasn’t properly visible due to the position, loose stray hairs fluttered in accordance with the wind.
“Mmm.”
Whether the stray hairs fluttering in the wind tickled Cynthia’s cheek, she tossed and turned.
Clearly, it was Cynthia’s face that the hair was tickling, yet…
“…”
Strangely, his own face felt ticklish.
Aidan stroked the back of his neck without a word.
Somehow, the laboratory felt a little hotter than usual.
