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Um... why am I...?

The shock had erased his memory of the last few minutes. He stood in the hallway, one hand raised, trying to piece together what had happened.

I was definitely walking down the hallway... and then I heard rumors about that annoying girl...?

What happened next was unclear. His thoughts were hazy, but the voice from behind him brought him back to reality.

"Yes, I was living in the town... I didn't have any siblings. I wasn't very close to my adoptive parents either."

"...!"

He remembered. The "annoying girl" was Maris, who had walked up from the other end of the hallway, and he had tried to call out to her. But Maris had passed by, chatting amicably with her friend without even looking at Alec.

"Hey...!"

As soon as Alec understood the situation, his head boiled with rage. He had been ignored and belittled. A junior girl had snubbed him.

"Hey! You, stop!"

"Speaking of which, the teacher for the next class is..."

"I said stop! Hey!"

Enraged, Alec strode towards Maris, trying to grab her arm.

"..."

"...!?"

But Maris deftly lifted her hand, avoiding his grasp with the grace of someone sidestepping a puddle.

"Do you need something?"

"You... if you can hear me, stop!"

"Even if you say that... I didn't realize you were talking to me."

Maris narrowed her eyes suspiciously, looking up at the much taller Alec.

"Even if an unknown senior calls me 'you,' I wouldn't think it's me. If you have business with me, could you please call my name?"

"An unknown senior...?"

"...right?"

Maris tilted her head in confusion, genuinely puzzled by Alec's outburst.

You don't know me... are you kidding?

Alec felt as if he had been struck. Indeed, they had only exchanged a few words before and hadn't even introduced themselves. But he had been concerned about her safety... and she didn't even recognize him.

"Lady Maris... that gentleman is Alec Grey, a senior."

"He is the young master from Grey Noble House and a senior one grade above us."

Maris's classmates on either side of her explained. Nodding at her friends' words, Maris turned to Alec.

"So, you are Senior Grey. I am Maris Rainsa. Now, what business do you have with me?"

"...!"

Reintroducing herself, Maris's politeness made Alec's forehead throb with anger. He clenched his teeth, desperately suppressing the urge to yell.

Calm down... it's unseemly for a man to lose his temper at a woman... stay calm. Stay calm...!

"Y-you... recently, you were attacked by some strange people, weren't you?"

"Attempted, yes."

Maris corrected him, frowning slightly. For a woman, the difference between being "attacked" and "almost attacked" was significant and non-negotiable.

"That's not the point! You were targeted because you let your guard down, weren't you?"

"Huh? I wonder if that's true?"

"Well, even an unpleasant girl like you is still a junior. If you really need it, I could be your bodyguard from now on."

"No, thank you. I appreciate the thought, though."

"...what?"

"Well, if that's all you needed, I'll excuse myself. The next class is in another classroom."

Maris slightly bowed her head and walked away from Alec. Her two friends followed, glancing back at Alec as if he were some strange animal they'd just encountered.

"W-wait!"

Alec's face turned bright red with anger as he chased after Maris.

"I'm from Grey Noble House, one of 4 Great Noble Family offered to protect you! How can you refuse?"

"Even if you say that... I don't need to be looked after by a senior I'm not particularly close to."

"Don't mess with me! Hey, stop right there!"

Annoyed by Maris's continued walking, Alec grabbed her shoulder to stop her forcibly.

"Desperato!"

Just as Alec's hand was about to make contact, a small, sinister-looking marionette with sharp, glowing eyes appeared from the folds of Maris's cloak. The marionette had an unsettling grin and emitted an eerie, almost malevolent aura.

It spun around Alec's arm, tightening its wooden fingers around his wrist with surprising strength.

"Ga...!?"

Alec's bravado crumbled as the marionette squeezed tighter, its hollow eyes seemingly staring into his soul.

Maris turned around, her expression perfectly serene. "Oh, Senior Alec, I wouldn't recommend touching me without permission. Desperato can be a bit... overprotective."

The marionette gave Alec's wrist one final squeeze before releasing him and disappearing back into Maris's cloak as quickly as it had appeared.

Alec staggered back, his heart racing.

"Ah, Senior Alec," one of Maris's friends called out, snapping him out of his daze.

"Senior...?" Alec repeated, still disoriented, before collapsing in the hallway.

As the world went dark, Alec could hear the soft giggles of Maris's friends, and the last thing he saw was Desperato's eerie grin fading into the shadows.