Anything But Study - Chapter 43

***

After returning home, Melia tried on the dress.

He said he would come to pick her up in about an hour. Filled with excitement, she already stood in front of the mirror fully dressed.

She even lingered by the door, glancing out the window, wondering if Hailon might arrive early.

Yeah, this is too early, right?

Honestly, what am I doing, getting this worked up?

Just as she turned back.

“Huh?”

A white object entered Melia’s field of vision. Her hand paused as she picked up the item lying on the floor by the door.

“…Why is this here?”

It was a handkerchief.

Of course, it could have been an ordinary handkerchief, but Melia knew better.

This was one she used at the orphanage where she lived.

It did not have a special design, but the matron had embroidered the edge, so there was no way to mistake it.

More than half of the children at the orphanage owned one, so it was not the only handkerchief of its kind in the world, but still….

Why is this here now?

Questions filled Melia’s mind.

‘Ervan?’

When the civil war broke out and the number of people there gradually increased, they could not give one to all the children who came later, but Ervan and Melia had received theirs.

That meant her younger brother Ervan also had the same handkerchief.

But Ervan had been in the hospital the entire time and hadn’t come home at all.

Mine….

Huh? When did it go missing?

At that moment, a memory brushed past Melia’s mind.

“But you really look like a drenched little mouse, Calix.”

“What? A mouse?”

“Yeah. Your hair’s black too.”

“Isn’t it a bit much to call your friend a mouse? I fell in for your sake.”

“Ahahaha, but it’s so funny!”

Right. Calix.

She definitely handed it to him.

She didn’t think she ever got it back afterward.

Then maybe this handkerchief really belonged to Ervan.

Did he drop it here while tidying up the house without her noticing?

Have I been that scatterbrained lately?

So many thoughts piled up one after another.

…By the way, Calix.

A boy with black hair and black eyes, like Hailon.

He was the same age, too.

How’s he doing now?

If he were a noble, she would have met him at Erpen, but since she had not, he must have been a commoner.

There was no one named Calix at Erpen.

Suddenly, a ‘what if’ surfaced from her subconscious, imagining what it might have been like if she had run into him at Erpen.

‘…I don’t know.’

Melia could not easily find an answer in her heart.

But one thing was certain. It would have been difficult for them to become close again.

Especially when she thought of Ervan as he was now.

For some reason, memories of that boy had been resurfacing more often lately.

‘…Let’s not think about it.’

Melia shook her head. There were many happy memories with Calix, but the last one was not bright.

In any case, it was a connection from a past she would never meet again.

***

A short while later, Hailon’s carriage arrived in front of Melia’s house.

Melia, who had been glancing out the window again and again, stepped outside with hurried footsteps.

She was curious.

‘What will Hailon be wearing?’

Of course, anything would suit him, but she couldn’t help feeling excited.

The carriage door opened. And the Hailon who appeared was.

“Ah….”

Melia’s lips parted as she took him in.

He wore an outfit with a deep purplish hue that contrasted with her pale lemon-colored dress.

At a glance it looked black, but where light touched it, a subtle violet tone lingered.

Lighter colors would have suited him too, but dark tones suited him excessively well. Contrasting with his pale skin, they made his face stand out even more.

Beneath his slightly swept-back hair, his high nose bridge extended in a graceful line, and his jawline was firm.

When she met Hailon’s black eyes, which she had always thought resembled precious obsidian, Melia stared at him blankly, as if spellbound.

Melia moved her feet slowly. When she finally came to stand in front of him.

“You’re beautiful, Melia.”

He greeted her with a gentle smile. Heat rose to her face on its own.

“Y-you too.”

“At this rate, I might end up looking at only you the whole time.”

What on earth was Hailon saying?

When it was obvious that he would be the one drawing everyone’s eyes.

Not wanting Hailon to notice her flushed face from his needless remark, Melia hurriedly climbed into the carriage.

Unaware of the affectionate gaze Hailon cast toward her.

The carriage carrying the two of them slowly set off toward the hall where the party was being held.

The luxurious carriage was so well-made that even the sound of it rolling along was barely audible.

Sitting side by side, Melia lowered her gaze, unable to look at Hailon. Now that the moment had arrived, she felt nervous.

“Um, so….”

Carefully starting the conversation, Melia fidgeted as she hesitated, their joined hands resting lowered between them.

“Do you think we’ll have to dance there?”

At her question, Hailon tilted his head slightly and looked at her.

“Why, do you not want to?”

“N-no, it’s not that I don’t want to. I just never learned how.”

“Leave it to me. It’s nothing difficult.”

“How can I, when I don’t know anything….”

Even so, Melia could not feel reassured by his words. Going to the party itself was fine, but she had never learned dancing even once.

What if she ended up embarrassing herself?

Then Hailon lightly held out his left hand.

“Give me your hand.”

“My hand?”

Why all of a sudden? Melia placed her right hand atop his left. Immediately, Hailon closed his grip tightly around it.

“Like this, we face each other and hold hands.”

Pull.

“Ah!”

Without any warning, he pulled Melia into his arms.

Their bodies pressed together. Startled by the solid chest right in front of her, Melia gasped.

But Hailon paid it no mind. Still holding her hand tightly, he lifted her and sat her down on his thigh.

Facing him so suddenly, Melia could not hide her shocked expression.

“You’re doing great, leaving everything to me.”

At the clear meaning behind his words, Melia’s face turned red.

“Following my movements like this, you’ve already done that before, Melia.”

He acted as if there were no issue at all, as though they had already matched their rhythm countless times.

“Th-that’s different from this….”

A small protest slipped out, but Hailon didn’t accept it in the slightest.

“No, it’s the same.”

“…Really?”

He was always so confident and resolute. Enough to sweep away all of Melia’s hesitation.

“Still, if you’re worried….”

A sly smile formed at the corner of his lips.

“Then we can practice one more time.”

***

“Hh, ah!”

Inside the carriage, Melia and Hailon clung to each other, panting.

Each time his thick, solid shaft scraped against her inside, Melia’s body jolted as if it would spasm, yet she forced down the moans that threatened to spill out.

There were only the two of them inside the carriage, but beyond it sat the driver.

How did it end up like this? At the start, she was sure the concern had been about dancing.

Somehow, a strange atmosphere flowed between the two of them.

Melia knew exactly what it meant. She had been receiving that gaze for over a month now.

It was a look filled with arousal that appeared when the relic’s effect manifested.

Unlike Melia, Hailon often grew excited first and pulled her into his arms.

Melia could no longer even count how many times she’d tangled bodies with him by now.

Maybe because of that?

At some point, like a puppy that instinctively ran the moment a bell rang, the instant Melia met those eyes, her body began to react as well.

Even though the relic’s effects barely appeared on her.

“Hngh, ah…!”

Melia tried to forcibly hold back her moans, but it was not easy.

Instinctively, she sought out Hailon’s lips first.

Naturally, their lips collided. They exchanged hot breaths soaked in sticky saliva.

“Hh, ahng!”

Whether the silk dress became terribly wrinkled or not, neither of them cared as they clung to each other.

If Madame Charlette had known, she would have been horrified, but in this moment, none of that mattered.

The carriage continued to run, heading toward its destination.

And the two of them were also racing toward a different destination called climax.

Squish, squelch.

The sound of slick, wet flesh rubbing obscenely together repeated over and over.

The luxurious carriage did not shake much, but.

Thump.

“Hk…!”

Perhaps there was a large stone in the road they passed, because the carriage suddenly lurched sharply upward.