Cæ simply stared at her unconscious form with a severe expression.

His stormy gray eyes were hazy.

Hazy with concern, fear, confusion, and introspection.

The atmosphere in the air was a little dark despite the bright light of the morning sky illuminating the medical room where she was. The air was rather tense despite the fact that the threat had already passed, while the sterile odor of medical alcohol hung in the air, tickling his nose.

Try as he might, he was unable to answer the question as to why he had chosen to do something as risky as use pure magic to save her.

He didn't know if it was because he valued her enough as a friend to be worth taking that risk or whether it was simply because he hadn't conducted enough of a risk analysis due to the shortage of time.

Would he have made the same decision had time turned back?

Would he have made the same decision if he had gotten to think about it for ten minutes beforehand?

He didn't know.

He didn't understand himself as well as he might have suspected.

He wasn't eager to jump to the conclusion that he simply valued her as a friend enough to find it worth taking the risk of having his pure magic be divulged and having his life derailed. He had only strictly known her for a week; it would make no sense that he had cultivated a bond worth risking his greatest secret for.

Most likely, he simply hadn't thought his actions through, completing the actions on reflex before his instincts could warn him otherwise.

'But then…' he gazed at his hands. 'Why don't I feel any belated regret at having done something that impulsive?'

Perhaps because it was successful?

He certainly would regret it if his secret had gotten out.

"Huff…" He shook his head lightly, trying to get the complex introspection out of his head.

He had more important things to do now.

He needed to verify how much of Serulia understood about what had happened. He had entered her field of vision without so much as an incantation or magic circle, but the question was how clearly she had seen what was happening.

There were elemental spirits brightly and noisily converging upon her from all directions.

On top of that, she was undoubtedly in a state of panic.

She had also been struck by the concussive force of the impact between Cæ's barrier and her magic and knocked out.

Cæ needed to understand what she remembered and whether he got to her to keep quiet if she remembered anything that could derail his life. He put aside his darker instincts of wanting to kill her.

There was absolutely no way he could possibly get away with it unless he used pure magic again, which was risky given that he was within the eye of the surveillance division and how powerful the Vritra Family was. More importantly, he truly did not wish to kill someone he was indebted to and someone who had earned his trust.

He also enjoyed her company and her friendship.

'Killing is out of the question. I just hope that she will keep it a secret because I saved her life.' Cæ heaved a deep, shaky breath. 'If worst comes to worst, I will have to just accept the consequences of my actions.'

"Don't worry." The consoling voice of the nurse in the room drew his attention as she smiled at him sweetly. "She's just unconscious. She will be perfectly fine. You are sweet for being so concerned and caring about your girlfriend."

Cæ's eyebrows knitted as he turned to Serulia with a hint of realization dawning on him.

She had mistaken his concern about what Serulia had seen for some kind of romantic affection between partners. He didn't bother trying to correct her, of course. The nurse might try to kick him out if she found out that they weren't in a relationship, which was something he wanted to avoid.

"Mmmh…" Serulia stirred in her bed as her eyes slowly opened.

Cæ's eyes lit up as he felt a tinge of nervousness bubble up in the gut of his stomach. He heaved a deep breath, leaning closer towards her with a concerned expression. "Hey…"

Her expression was lost for a few moments as her vision grew clearer.

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She slowly turned towards Cæ as her light blue eyes bore deep into his stormy gray eyes.

Then, her expression lit up.

"Cæ…" A soft whisper escaped her as she gazed deep into his eyes with a hint of delight and affection.

He nodded at her gently. "…How do you feel?"

A pure and sincere smile bloomed on her face as she gazed at him with a deep intensity.

"I am alive because of you."

Her tone was one of deep gratitude and affection.

Cæ simply gazed at her in a loss for words as she gazed at him differently from how she had in the brief time they had known each other. Her expression and tone towards him had softened considerably, while her eyes were filled with a different emotion.

"I am…" Her voice was reduced to a whisper. "I am so happy that you are here."

The nurse simply smiled at the two of them sweetly before leaving the room to give them privacy.

Serulia simply gazed at him with intense eyes.

"Thank you, Cæ."

Her gentle smile deepened.

"Thank you for saving my life."

The first question Cæ had wanted to ask was what she remembered. And yet, when she gazed at him like that, his attempts to bring it up immediately simply melted in his mouth.

He gazed deep into her eyes as the smallest of smiles cracked at the edge of his mouth for a brief moment.

"I'm just glad you're okay."

Their deep gazes lingered in each other's eyes for several moments as the air grew charged with emotion. Serulia beheld his form as she studied his dichromatic gray eyes, his silver hair, and the scars that ran across his face and neck.

She found him to be beautiful beyond words in a way that she hadn't before.

Just gazing at him filled her heart with a warm and bright emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on, the same warmth she had felt when he protected her, pulling her body into his with a powerful, yet gentle tug.

The memory of it was rooted in her mind.

Her nerves tingled in his presence.

Her heart pounded against her chest.

'Ah…' Her light blue eyes lit up in self-realization as the dark skin of her cheeks flushed red. 'This… This is…'

It was ephemeral.

She felt like she could stare at him all day.

Cæ, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable with how intently she gazed at him, leaning away from her as he heaved a deep breath. "Don't feel too burdened, you would have done the same. I don't want you to feel like you owe me or need to pay me back."

Under normal circumstances, Cæ wouldn't have minded using her gratitude to get some pretty good merits in return, but at this point, he only wanted to try and steer the conversation towards what she had seen and understood shortly before she lost consciousness, but the air made it difficult to approach the topic.

"…I owe you my life." Her tone was low.

"I just told you," Cæ insisted with a firmer tone. "You don't need to feel that way."

Yet, she refused to relent.

"It is not about how I feel," she replied even as her deep gaze bore into his eyes. "It simply is the way it is. You saved my life and that is a debt that I will repay, you have my word as the daughter of the Vritra Family."

Her voice was clear, highlighting her Durmen accent clearly.

Reminding him of her family only made him even more weary inwardly.

They were undoubtedly going to demand every detail about what had happened. Cæ really needed to understand exactly what she knew so that he could prepare to avert or accept the inevitable.

He just needed to direct the conversation in that direction organically, without making it too obvious what he was after.

He heaved a sigh. "You say you're indebted to me, but do you even remember what happened for you to be so indebted? You did suffer blunt force trauma that knocked you out, after all."

She simply smiled at him as she closed her eyes, recollecting everything that had happened.

"I remember everything."

'Damn it!' he cursed inwardly even as he heaved a sigh of relief on the exterior. "That's good to hear… I'm a little surprised, it all happened so quickly that no one would blame you if don't, you know, remember."

She opened her eyes as her gentle gaze rested on him and only him comfortably.

"I could never forget. Every time I close my eyes…" she continued, doing just that. "I remember your warm presence. I remember your gallant figure. You were so fast, like a blur. I remember…"

Her cheeks flushed red.

"I remember you."

Her expression grew bashful as she averted her gaze with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.

To even speak the sincere but heartfelt words was difficult. They were words that conveyed her newfound emotions without actually saying the words.

They were raw, intimate words.

A tender moment.

And yet, that was now how it was to Cæ.

In his eyes, her words were akin to a death sentence. They brought out the same emotional reaction that being told 'you're under arrest for murder' might bring out in a normal person.

An intense dread and nervousness.

What was an intimate and romantic moment for Serulia was nothing short of a nightmarish moment for him.

"Is there anything that…" He stirred, trying to choose his words carefully, "…that stood out to you as unusual or, you know, significant?"

He was hardly being subtle, but the urgency of the matter was pushing him to cast aside his tact.

"Unusual…" she whispered the word. "Significant…?"

She turned towards him with gratitude. "I suppose the fact that I am alive is unusual and significant."

Cæ's eyebrows twitched as he nodded with a gentle expression that he put on to hide his inner groaning. He appreciated Serulia's honesty, but he wished that she would quickly confirm or deny what he needed to know.

"Do you remember what… Miranda did to you?"

Her expression darkened.

Cæ cursed at himself upon that reaction, realizing how tactless that was.

"…I will definitely pay her back for her attempt to kill me in cold blood," Serulia's tone was murderous. "I am not the kind of person who simply overlooks such a transgression."

Cæ's eyes narrowed at those words. "…I get your rage, but don't do anything stupid."

"Relax," she reassured him, returning more to her old self at the thought of Miranda. "I have no intention of losing control and lunging at her. I will make sure that she regrets this for the rest of her life."

Her words were scary.

Cæ noted to make sure to never get on her bad side.

She turned to him as her expression softened and a smile emerged on her face, content with just gazing at him deeply. Cæ wasn't sure what to say to her at this point without coming off as extremely suspicious for probing her so much. However, she didn't appear to be in a state of mind where she would necessarily grow suspicious of him.

CLACK

The door to her medical room opened as the trainer returned, gazing at Cæ with pointed eyes.

"Headmistress Lenolia wants to speak with you, Cæ. Urgently."

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