As she finally settled in, she noticed a book resting on the other end of the table.
Its pages were turning lazily with the wind and the owner nowhere in sight.
Did someone leave their book?
She looked at the abandoned item with a narrowed, cold gaze.
However, she didn’t give it much thought and simply started reading her own book.
Time passed.
Minutes slowly became an hour and eventually, she finished reading her text.
Her gaze drifted back to the stranded book on the table.
She finally reached over, grabbed the book from the other side, and became curious upon seeing the title, Ancient Treasures.
She turned the book toward herself, opened the cover, and quickly became completely immersed in its contents.
After she was done reading for a while, she closed it.
“This book looks costly.
There is no way someone would just carelessly leave it around.”
She turned to the front page, assuming there must be a name written on it.
“Who could be careless enough to not even write their name inside such an expensive book?” she muttered to herself.
In a distant corner of the academy grounds, Minato suddenly let out a loud sneeze.
She stood up from her chair.
It’s been hours, and nobody has returned for it yet.
Someone else might take it.
I should report it to the lost and found, It would be better for whoever was careless enough to lose it.
Holding the book firmly in her hand, she was about to leave the gazebo when her gaze suddenly fell upon a face lying on the grass nearby.
She stepped out of the gazebo, walked around the side, and looked past a large bush.
There, she saw a young boy sleeping under the tree, looking almost completely careless.
She looked at the book in her hand, and then looked back down at him.
“Is it his?
Likely.
It matches exactly how carelessly he left the book on the table and how carelessly he is dozing off in the open.”
She moved closer to him.
Within a few seconds, she reached the base of the tree and crouched down.`
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Then she blinked in surprise.
“…It’s him.
The kitty boy.”
She recognized him immediately.
It was the same boy she had seen playing with the kitten a few days ago from her carriage window.
“Is he also a student here?
He seems so young.” She muttered the words quietly.
She had intended to wake him immediately, but instead she found herself glancing closer at his innocent, sleeping face.
A few quiet minutes passed by as she kept staring at him, his hair drifting softly through the wind.
And for some strange reason…
seeing him sleeping so peacefully made her feel completely relaxed.
Without even realizing it, a small, gentle smile appeared on her own face.
Then, suddenly, she frowned.
Wait…
why is he sleeping out here for so long?
Her gaze drifted down to his hands resting on his chest, which were tightly clutching the bouquet of flowers.
Wait…
did he fall from the tree?
She instantly came to that conclusion, as the flowers in his hand perfectly matched the blossoms on the branches above him.
But the similarity was just in color not in shape but she didn’t focus on that.
She reached out and gave his shoulder a small wave to wake him up.
Because his survival instincts had been strictly honed through countless dangerous nights on the streets, Shinazu instantly snapped awake.
But to his surprise, this wasn’t a random street thug trying to kick him awake.
It was a girl, A beautiful girl.
His heart skipped a beat.
She was crouched exceptionally close as well as leaning towards him, possessing a commanding, intense look in her golden eyes.
Her silky black hair was perfectly styled to match her striking appearance, the strands faintly drifting with the wind.
She had attractive, sharp facial features and was dressed in an elegant white dress decorated with fine ornaments, looking exactly like a royal princess.
And she was staring directly into his eyes. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Shinazu’s mind went completely blank.
Meanwhile, she blinked.
Their eyes met, and neither of them moved a single muscle.
For several long seconds, an absolute silence filled the garden courtyard, Only gentle wind blowing.
He had never seen such a beautiful girl in his entire life.
He wanted to capture all of her beauty in just a single look, completely forgetting to even blink his eyes.
…
Suddenly, a strong breeze swept fiercely through the garden.
Her silky hair briefly blew across her face, while his own messy hair fell over his eyes.
The spell broke, and time seemed to resume.
As the eye contact was disrupted, Shinazu became so overwhelmingly shy that he immediately looked down at the grass.
His chest tightened, his heart rate began to skyrocket, and a nervous sweat started to pour down his neck.
He had absolutely no idea what to do, so he just kept his head glued downward.
She readjusted her hair, clearing it from her vision, and finally spoke.
“What were you doing out here in the open?”
He took a pause and opened his mouth to reply.
Nothing came out.
His soul had effectively left his body.
His ears turned a bright red, and his entire face flushed a deep crimson color.
He kept looking down, unable to speak.
“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning in a bit.
“Your face is completely red.
Are you sick?”
She reached out her hand, pressing her soft, gentle palm directly against his forehead to check his temperature.
The moment her skin touched his, his heart started pounding like a frantic drum.
Badum!
Badum!
Startled by the sudden touch, he instinctively scrambled backward to get away, but he moved too fast and hit the solid trunk of the cherry blossom tree directly behind him.
The impact shook the branches slightly, causing a shower of pink flower petals to fall gracefully all over both of them.
“…Be careful,” her soft, melodic voice murmured.
The sheer gentleness of her tone nearly finished him right then and there.
Shinazu sat there completely stiff against the bark, the pain of hitting the tree trunk being the absolute last thing on his mind.
“Are you really okay?” she asked again, her voice laced with concern.
Unable to look directly at her, and entirely unable to speak a coherent word to her, he simply nodded his head slowly and shyly.
“Really?”
He nodded again, keeping his eyes glued to the dirt, completely unable to match her golden gaze.
She narrowed and read his erratic body language for a moment why is he acting so weird?
Then asked, “What were you doing out here lying on the open ground anyway?”
He heard the question and tried desperately to come up with an answer.
His eyes wandered frantically around the grass, then, he noticed the bouquet of flowers clutched tightly in his hands, and he remembered exactly what he had been doing before he fell asleep.
Right.
Flowers.
For his depressing shack.
Without thinking it through, he picked up the bouquet and awkwardly raised it straight toward her face.
“I…”
She blinked.
Her eyes widened slightly in sheer surprise.
Flowers?
For me?
Why is he suddenly giving me a bouquet?
For a few quiet moments, she looked at his incredibly nervous face, and then down at the beautifully decorated flowers in his hands.
She had received countless grand bouquets throughout her life from nobles, receiving flowers wasn’t inherently a big deal to her.
Yet somehow…
Perhaps it was because this boy looked so endearingly nervous, or perhaps it was because these flowers weren’t an expensive, manufactured gift.
They had been meticulously picked and trimmed by hand.
She glanced at the blossoms.
Although she didn’t understand his true meaning or intentions, but she could tell there wasn’t a single shred of ill intent in his heart.
Her hand reached out and gently took the bouquet from his trembling hands.
“..Thank You!”
Shinazu froze completely.
Wait…
she just accepted them.
Why did she accepted them???
She actually accepted them.
His pupils trembled in absolute horror.
I JUST GAVE FLOWERS TO A GIRL!
NO!
THAT MEANS I PROPOSED TO HER!
His entire body turned bright red, practically radiating heat.
To her, as a princess, receiving flowers was just like any other ordinary day, but to him, the gesture carried a massive, terrifying weight.
With his mind completely short-circuiting, nothing came to his thoughts except for one definitive solution, the one thing you do when you have absolutely no other options left.
He instantly scrambled to his feet and ran away as fast as his legs could humanly carry him.
She blinked, thoroughly stunned.
“…Eh?” She held the flowers up.
“Wait!”
But he was already completely gone, sprinting past the courtyard gates.
Only the falling cherry blossom petals answered her voice in the quiet garden.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
After several long moments, her eyebrows narrowed in confusion and anger.
“Why did he run away like that?” She tilted her head.
“…wait was he hiding something that he got scared that I found him.”
Eventually, she let out a sigh.
“whatever, why should I care?”
Then, her gaze fell to the heavy text in her other hand.
“Ah, I forgot to give his book back.
He just ran away so fast…
he didn’t even tell me his name.” She sighed gently.
“I guess he is also an incoming student here.
I’ll just give it back to him if I see him around again.”
She then looked down at the hand-picked bouquet in her grasp, her sharp gaze faded and her expression became calm.
“What a strange boy.”
Meanwhile…
Shinazu burst through the door of his old wooden shack and slammed it shut with a loud crash.
He leaned his back heavily against the wood, breathing frantically as he tried to catch his breath.
He moved his shaking hand to his chest, but his heart completely refused to calm down, hammering wildly against his ribs.
“What on earth have I done?!” he cried out, burying his flushing face deep in his hands.
“I just gave flowers to such an incredibly beautiful girl…
and she actually accepted them!”
His head reeled, his heart beating dangerously fast.
“What am I even supposed to say to her if I ever see her again?!”
He ran his fingers through his messy black hair in absolute panic, but the moment he closed his eyes, he immediately remembered her intense golden eyes, her soft voice, and that gentle smile.
His face instantly turned a dark crimson all over again.
Then, unable to handle his own thoughts, Shinazu threw himself onto his bed.
“…She is so beautiful.
Was she a princess?”
He buried his head deep beneath his new pillow, letting out a muffled groan.
“…Girls are scary.” He shifted around, pulling the blankets over his face.
“…Especially beautiful girls.” he said that in a soft shy voice.
And for the entire rest of the day…
no matter how hard he tried to focus on his exercises or his chores…
the clear image of the mysterious princess and her radiant smile completely refused to leave his mind.