Holding the key Tracy had tossed him, Wendy fled the classroom almost desperately under the tearful gazes of Athena and the others, who were saying, “Boss, take care.”
He just wanted to find a place to let his aching back and battered nerves rest. Every step he took now sent a dull ache from deep within his lumbar spine.
‘Damn Astraea and Laxana!’
The prince cursed the two Demon Queens in his mind.
Last night’s “Partition Ritual” was the most absurd nightmare of his life. Especially that Siren’s Embrace… The feeling after wearing it…
Wendy shivered and quickly shook off those unbearable fragments of memory.
A musty smell hit him. In the most secluded corner of the third floor of the library, several rows of tall bookshelves divided the space into several reading rooms.
The moment he pushed open the door, a wave of aged book scent mixed with the smell of wood rushed into his nostrils. It felt like a private corner; the afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
Wendy glanced around and immediately locked onto an old velvet sofa by the window.
‘To hell with it!’
Without looking, he flopped onto it, ready to take a good nap.
However, the moment he touched the soft velvet, Wendy’s body stiffened.
After wearing the Siren’s Embrace, his senses had been amplified to a terrifying level. Even though he had taken off that strange battle suit, there was still some kind of “aftereffect.”
Every fiber of the velvet sent faint electric currents across his skin; the dance of dust motes in the sunlight became exceptionally clear in his vision, rippling and continuously stimulating his tired nerves; the faint sound of pages turning in the distance also transformed into distinct waves reaching his ears.
Wendy lay helplessly on the sofa, covering his eyes with his arm, trying to calm these hyperactive senses with deep breaths.
Gradually, weariness overcame the discomfort.
The prince’s breathing gradually became calm, and his consciousness began to blur.
And just as he was half-asleep, a scent completely different from Astraea and Laxana’s quietly crept into his nose.
It was the elegant fragrance of lavender—light, graceful, with a hint of mysterious allure.
“Mm…”
Wendy frowned in his daze.
This scent… last night those two Demon Queens, one had the crispness of a snowy pine forest, the other the sweet stickiness of violet milk candy—neither had this lavender scent.
But his brain was already a mess from last night’s ordeal.
“No… don’t come again… I really have nothing left…”
This shameless remark made the pink-haired figure hidden behind the bookshelves pause slightly.
Holding a heavy tome, she carefully peeked out.
She saw that the boy lying in a messy posture on the sofa had blue short hair plastered messily to his forehead. That exquisitely almost demonic face had a sickly pallor in the sunlight.
Most importantly… what he had just said.
‘Interesting.’
The pink-haired girl’s lips curled up slightly, and then she put down her book and slowly walked toward the sofa, her steps so light that they made no sound.
And just as she reached out, ready to “inspect” this interesting boy—
hehehe
“?!”
Wendy shot up from the sofa like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his hair standing on end. That sudden laugh triggered an intense stress response in his hyper-sensitive body. His heart rate instantly shot up to a hundred and eighty.
“Who?!”
The prince frantically looked around, finally locking onto the pink-haired figure not far away.
She was a tall, exquisitely featured girl.
Pink long hair fell like silk to her waist, and violet eyes sparkled with intelligence. She wore the academy’s uniform skirt, but her elegant aura made even ordinary clothes seem noble.
The most impressive thing was her intellectual charm.
Like an exquisitely bound classical poetry collection, quietly emitting a mysterious allure that invited exploration.
“S-sorry!”
Seeing that Wendy had been so frightened by her that he almost fell off the sofa, the pink-haired girl stepped back repeatedly, an apologetic smile on her face.
“I… I just wanted to cover you with a blanket!”
She pointed to the thin blanket in her arms.
“You were sleeping here. I was afraid you’d catch a cold.”
Only then did Wendy fully wake up.
He looked at the tall, sexy, and intellectual pink-haired girl in front of him, instantly realizing his embarrassment.
‘She definitely heard those shameless words just now!’
‘Social death! Complete social death!’
Wendy forced himself to calm down and squeezed out a stiff smile.
“Sorry for scaring you. I just had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
The pink-haired girl blinked, her expression innocent.
“What kind of nightmare would make you say something like ‘I really have nothing left’?”
“…”
Wendy’s face instantly turned so red it could drip blood.
“Cough! That… a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding!”
He fumbledly tidied his messy clothes and hair.
“I dreamed I was lost in a desert, my water bottle was empty, so…”
“I see.”
The pink-haired girl nodded, seemingly accepting this explanation.
“No wonder you look so tired and your complexion is so bad.”
She stepped closer and looked at Wendy with concern.
“Which branch are you from? Why are you here sleeping at this time?”
Wendy reluctantly stood up and gave the girl a simple bow.
“My name is Wendy Black, from the Military Branch. Class was dismissed for the afternoon for some reason, so I came here to rest.”
“Wendy Black…”
The pink-haired girl repeated the name thoughtfully.
“Long time no see. I’m Xi Ya, the librarian for this area.”
She extended her slender hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
Wendy lightly shook her hand.
Those hands were soft and delicate, the fingertips slightly cool, with a faint lavender scent.
“Senior Xi Ya, sorry for disturbing your work.”
“Not at all.”
Xi Ya shook her head, her smile gentle.
“This place is usually empty. Having someone to talk to actually makes me happy.”
She paused and added, “But you really do need to rest properly. I’ll stand guard at the door for you—I promise no one will disturb you.”
With that, she picked up the tome and walked toward the reading room door.
“Thank you.”
Wendy watched the intellectual girl leave, a warmth rising in his heart.
‘This world finally has a normal person.’
He had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to lie down again.
But a teasing yet familiar voice sounded behind the prince like a ghost:
“Oh? Having a secret meeting with another girl in the library, my prince—”
“Is this you seducing another girl again?”
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