EMATEC Chapter 142

 

 

 

“You know how much money I poured into getting you into the Academy’s swordsmanship club? I used up everything I earned as a knight commander.”

 

Kane blinked slowly, then let out a deep sigh as if something had just clicked.

 

“No wonder… Even if it is the Continental Academy, the amount of support I received felt excessive.”

 

“…Wait, are you saying you believe me?”

 

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re not the type to lie.”

 

“So you’ve figured me out completely?”

 

“There wasn’t much to figure out.”

 

Kane responded curtly, but still glanced sideways at me.

 

“When did you start having your eye on me? What would you have done if I hadn’t chosen Emblem? You sent funding to the Academy first without even knowing that.”

 

“At first, it was just because I wanted to see you grow well. I didn’t send the support thinking you had to come to Emblem.”

 

A genius commoner who rose to fame like a comet in the Continental Academy’s swordsmanship department.

 

I knew just how much that title would bother the nobles—how they would go out of their way to emphasize the difference between them and a mere commoner.

 

That’s exactly why I sent support—not to get involved in that nonsense, but to let him focus on his studies and training without distraction.

 

That was all I intended at the start.

 

“But then…”

 

“One day, I got a letter from Enoch…”

 

I looked toward the training ground where Enoch was stretching out his sore body after getting pummeled by Grandfather.

 

“He wrote about this guy named Kane. Said he seemed like someone I’d get along with, and that I should check him out—and maybe consider sponsoring him if he seemed worth it.”

 

“….…!”

 

“Weird, huh? The only one who knew I was secretly sponsoring you was Olivia.”

 

Thanks to Enoch’s letter, I began paying more attention to Kane. And just like Enoch said, I started wanting to bring him into Emblem.

 

The way he never backed down, how he gritted his teeth and pushed himself to avoid yielding, and how he could be endlessly selfless when it came to the justice he believed in…

 

It all left a deep impression on me. I really felt like we’d have amazing synergy together.

 

“Enoch just knew me too well.”

 

It was honestly uncanny. How did Enoch know I’d like Kane—even before I knew it myself?

 

While I was still unaware of my own feelings, Enoch, who was far away and only kept in touch through letters, had already figured it out.

 

I found myself staring at Enoch again. Maybe he felt my gaze, because he turned his head this way.

 

He raised an eyebrow like he was asking, What? You got something to say?

 

I just shook my head without a word.

 

Then Enoch furrowed his brow slightly and mouthed.

 

‘What. Why.’

 

‘Nothing.’

 

‘…Creepy.’

 

‘Fine, I won’t look anymore.’

 

We didn’t even need words—just mouthing was enough to talk.

 

It struck me how effortlessly that worked between us. I narrowed my eyes, oddly amazed again.

 

Why is everything with him just so easy, so natural?

 

Maybe he sensed that something had shifted in the way I was looking at him.

 

“Cherrya!”

 

In the end, Enoch called out to me aloud.

 

“What!”

 

“Stop staring at me!”

 

“I’m looking at you because I want to! What’s the problem?”

 

“…Are you crazy?”

 

“I’m perfectly sane, thank you!”

 

Enoch’s face flushed red, and he scowled before turning his entire body away from me.

 

He looked like he was about to storm off the training ground, and something about that made me instinctively rise to follow him.

 

“Take some time to rest, too. Thanks to you, I’ve got my thoughts sorted out. I’ll be staying here until graduation, so once the ceremony’s done and things settle down, let’s head back to Emblem together. Start packing early.”

 

“…Okay.”

 

Smiling softly, I patted Kane on the shoulder a couple of times, then turned to go after Enoch.

 

“Commander.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“If I go to Emblem, I’ll be the person who knows you best.”

 

“Of course. You’ll be my second-in-command.”

 

“More than Senior Enoch.”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I’ll end up knowing you even better than Senior Enoch does.”

 

I blinked, unsure why he was saying something so obvious with such dramatic weight.

 

Assuming it was just a touching promise of loyalty from someone about to become my adjutant, I decided to support Kane’s enthusiasm.

 

“Then make sure you do.”

 

But Kane furrowed his brow slightly, like my answer hadn’t quite satisfied him.

 

Honestly, between him and Enoch, I didn’t know why every time I said something, their faces crumpled like that.

 

This had to be Enoch’s bad influence.

 

“Hey, Enoch! Wait up!”

 

I hurried after him before he got too far ahead.

 

When Enoch glanced back and saw me, he sped up—but no way he was going to shake me off.

 

He was injured. I wasn’t.

 

Catching up easily, I grinned as I teased him.

 

“You’re just jealous, aren’t you? That Kane’s going to Emblem.”

 

“Just so you know, I let him go.”

 

“Hmm, I don’t think so. He already had his heart set on Emblem—you just had no choice but to step aside.”

 

“Kane already said he was joining the Gray Order. That gave us the first claim. Once he’d entered, all that Emblem nonsense would’ve died out soon enough. He’d realize it was just a silly crush.”

 

“But in the end, he joined Emblem—and you lost him for good.”

 

“I never had him to begin with.”

 

As we bickered like always, side by side, the clutter in my head started to clear.

 

We had crossed strange boundaries together. We had faced the impossible and returned.

 

And yet, here we were, talking just like always—like nothing had changed.

 

It was… reassuring.

 

Maybe, deep down, I was scared. Afraid that something in my so-called stable life might be shifting.

 

“So why’d you follow me all the way here, only to start avoiding me now?”

 

“I told you, I came here to warm up too. I’ve said it more than once. We can’t have people at the Academy finding out that we’re both back safe yet. This is pretty much the only place we can go without drawing attention.”

 

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

 

“I’m not avoiding you.”

 

“Then what are you doing?”

 

At my relentless questioning, Enoch let out a deep sigh.

 

“Whenever I’m around you, I stop thinking. My mind just… shuts off. I know I need to get my head straight, but when I’m with you, it goes completely blank.”

 

“Isn’t that… a good thing?”

 

“I’m saying I don’t want to be thoughtless. Now isn’t the time to be mindless.”

 

“…Then what is it time for?”

 

“It’s time to think—about our engagement.”

 

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I gasped and widened my eyes.

 

Grandfather had spoken to me about the necessity of this engagement before he left… but I hadn’t told Enoch about that part. Especially not after he finally started acting like himself again.

 

“Were you eavesdropping on me and Grandfather?”

 

“What? No—you told me yourself. About how the Academy might try to blame our disappearance on some kind of fight between us.”

 

“That’s all I said.”

 

“But it’s obvious, isn’t it? The adults from both our families… they’re bound to push the engagement forward now. It’s the simplest way to avoid any further scandal—especially with us being from Emblem and Gray respectively.”

 

“…So, have you thought about it?”

 

Enoch looked straight at me. His voice dropped lower, steadier.

 

“I guess… we have to go through with it. The engagement.”

 

“……..”

 

“I think we forgot for too long that we were promised to each other. But from now on, you should probably start keeping that in mind.”

 

He looked at me with an expression I didn’t recognize.

 

It was so unfamiliar, so unlike him, that I felt my throat go dry. For the first time, I found myself at a loss for words in front of Enoch.

 

I tried to speak, to say something—but nothing came out.

 

“We can never be just friends. Not ever.”

 

~~~

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