Even though both sides intended to draw closer to each other, what had happened last night and their behavior this morning still made Flora and Aurora instinctively respond to one another with restraint.
Flora knew clearly—this wasn’t the kind of development she wanted.
If things kept going like this, the result definitely wouldn’t be her and Aurora becoming friends, nor would it be like Aurora hoped: getting to know her, deepening their relationship, and becoming so-called lovers.
Although now, the state between them was no longer the awkwardness between new friends, but more like the embarrassment of two naïve young people forced into a blind date.
Still, Flora could be certain: neither Aurora’s wishes nor her own desires would be fulfilled.
[This is really awkward…]
Flora sighed helplessly in her heart.
But seeing Aurora not showing much displeasure and instead looking full of expectation, she couldn’t help but feel she was just overthinking.
Was Aurora’s wish truly impossible to fulfill?
Not necessarily.
She probably understood better than anyone that what Aurora wanted was simply to play house with her—not to really fall in love.
After all, whether the one dating was her or Frost, Aurora could accept either.
This girl didn’t truly want to build that kind of bond with her; she was just curious, and, because of her father’s advice, wanted to find someone to become a couple with.
Trying it out…
No, it was the same as her own current attitude toward life—a “let it be” sort of resignation.
Just picking someone she found passable and muddling along.
Because of this, she could feel a special closeness to Aurora.
But if she were to accept Aurora, to actively respond to her, based solely on these careless thoughts and feelings…
Flora could only imagine herself gaining a fragile and false emotional bond, and then, once Aurora lost interest, losing the spiritual support she might otherwise have had—leaving nothing at all.
In her past life in this world, the family she’d hoped for had ended up betraying her.
The friends she’d tried to make turned her into who she was now and brought her pain.
That was enough to make her doubt any new bonds she might attempt to form in the future.
[What am I even thinking…]
Flora felt helpless at her own string of aimless thoughts.
She knew it was the aftereffect of being utterly disheartened.
She didn’t even have the confidence to gain the bond of friendship, let alone the courage to respond to Aurora’s confession.
With such thoughts, from finishing breakfast with Aurora to the end of the meal, she didn’t take the initiative to talk to Aurora at all.
And her silence successfully led Aurora to believe it was Miss Flora’s dissatisfaction with her poor performance last night and her inept reaction this morning.
The increasingly uneasy Aurora bit her lip, racking her brain for a topic they could talk about.
But it wasn’t until they walked together to the doorway that Aurora found her chance to speak.
“Ah… right, Flora…”
She quickly put her hand on the door handle, forcing Flora to shift her gaze to her.
But the moment she met Flora’s eyes, she, who harbored the intention of dating, couldn’t help but get a little nervous.
The smile she struggled to raise was stiff, and she hurriedly lowered her head, lacking confidence.
“You just arrived at the Academy—you’re going to the registration office, right…”
Looking into Flora’s clear blue eyes, she couldn’t help but fear that this forced conversation would make Flora unhappy and distance them even more.
“Mm.”
Flora, lost in her own thoughts, responded more calmly than she thought she would.
She had no mind to be surprised at herself.
Knowing that Aurora wanted to help her—hoping to create more opportunities to be alone together, a classic relationship-building ploy from romance novels—she simply brought up what had happened yesterday.
“But Miss Kate already helped me with that, so I just need to find her. No need to worry about it.”
“Eh?”
Aurora blinked in confusion.
“Then I’m a step behind…”
Flora, who’d been thinking of avoiding Aurora to find somewhere to calm down, was caught off guard by her words.
“Eh… What do you mean, a step behind?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she understood what Aurora meant.
But Aurora had already stepped forward, somewhat annoyed, and clasped both her hands in hers, pulling Flora in front of her.
“Isn’t that how it goes in novels? The love strategy is to create more chances to interact… Dad also said that to see if someone’s suitable, you have to spend more time together. I may just want to get to know Miss Flora more, but I do have those feelings too. So, I should be spending more time with you, using various ways to get your information directly or indirectly, and…”
She puffed her cheeks; her earlier restraint had vanished.
“And, helping you with things like this should be my job. That way, we can grow closer. But Miss Kate beat me to it.”
“Is that so?”
Flora wanted to deny it, but didn’t know how to respond.
Aurora wasn’t wrong.
Isn’t that how romance goes?
But the more she thought about it, the more Flora felt something was wrong.
“Yes, so, Teacher Flora, did you think of Miss Kate the moment you arrived at the Academy?”
“Wait, how did you come to that conclusion?!”
“It wasn’t an Academy teacher who brought you to the dorm, but you specifically went to find Miss Kate…”
The more Aurora spoke, the more sour her tone became.
This strange rhythm of interaction left Flora more and more at a loss.
Wasn’t supposed to be like this, was it?
Was Aurora really this type of person?
Had she misjudged again?
No…
Looking at the girl tightly gripping her hand, Flora suddenly calmed down.
It was still the most fundamental problem.
Aurora was just like her—her current mindset was also “let it be,” so they were both the kind of people with insecurities, hoping others would provide them with a sense of security.
She only needed Aurora to be a reliable partner to feel secure herself, while Aurora needed her to be a one-and-only lover to ease her own inner lack of security.
You can have more than one friend, but you can’t have more than one lover.
“Um, listen to me…”
Flora cried bitterly inside, blaming herself intensely for not responding to Aurora or making things clear last night.
She should have known.
Aurora was an idiot.
A pure love fool, wanting to follow what novels described, trying to play the romance game with so-called strategies like some silly girl.
“That’s not the right way to think about it.”
“Not right?”
Aurora blinked in confusion.
Flora took on the air of a senior, putting on a serious face.
“Yes, completely wrong. Aurora, deepening a relationship isn’t like that. Set aside those ideas. Interacting with someone isn’t a math problem—you don’t just do X and get Y, and it’s not that if I seek help from others it means I dislike you…”
She proactively denied Aurora, hoping this girl could find the right mindset.
“Teacher Flora, do you have a lot of dating experience?”
“……”
This retort made Flora fall silent.
“If not, then what you said just now is groundless… which means Teacher Flora doesn’t understand either. If you don’t understand, how can you say I’m wrong?”
Materials Magic—was it a subject for the most argumentative of science students?
Flora couldn’t help but think this, while Aurora, puffing her cheeks in dissatisfaction, took a step closer, pressing the hand she held to her own chest.
She could feel the calm heartbeat, and a warmth that belonged solely to Aurora—something Flora couldn’t forget.
“Or… or… Teacher Flora, do you actually have a lot of dating experience?”
She stood on tiptoe, bringing her face closer to Flora.
“I…”
Just as Flora was about to reply, Aurora let go of her hand and instead hugged her, pressing her face to Flora’s chest, not looking into her eyes again.
“If so, then who was it? Were there many…? Was Mr. Frost among them? Her or him, or them—how did they date Teacher Flora? If Teacher Flora is so experienced, and I don’t perform well, will you get annoyed with me, and then I…”
“No… Aurora, I don’t have any such experience. I just think it shouldn’t be like that.”
Pressed so close, Flora’s voice naturally grew weaker.
She had no confidence at all.
Naturally, she had no dating experience.
But when Aurora questioned her like this, she couldn’t help but think of Moria, Tatashimi, and Elka.
Now that she’d hidden away at this Academy, she would eventually have to go out and face them.
If she responded to Aurora before that day came, what would happen then?
What would Aurora do?
If her identity as Frost was revealed, how would Aurora see her relationship with Moria and the others…?
No, Aurora was actually asking her about her current relationship with the Emerald Heart squad members.
After all, at the ball that night, Moria’s interactions with her had been so ambiguous.
Flora suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.
“I don’t know either, so Teacher Flora, please don’t deny what I’m doing. When it comes to love, can’t we learn from each other?”
She looked up at Flora, whose face was uneasy, and what she got was a tiny, mosquito-like apology.
“Sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
Aurora hugged Flora even tighter.
“I realize, I might not be able to…”
Flora couldn’t say the words of refusal.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
There were other people outside.
It was no longer appropriate to continue their conversation.
What Flora was about to say caught in her throat.
Aurora didn’t open the door immediately; she just watched Flora, who hesitated to speak, for a long while.
More thoughtful than Flora had expected, the girl rubbed her face against Flora’s chest.
“Teacher Flora, you’re an idiot too.”
She whispered, then reached out to open the door.
Flora wasn’t wrong after all.
What Aurora wanted to ask was exactly about her relationship with Moria and the others.
Even if Flora didn’t answer directly, her reaction was already the best answer.
Aurora wasn’t sad, nor was she angry.
Everyone has their reasons; Teacher Flora’s behavior wasn’t like someone who already had a lover.
Knowing that was enough.
She’d also heard that Moria treated Teacher Flora like a little sister.
Even if Flora had those suspicious collars and anklets, so what?
Love is something that, as long as both sides are sure of what they want, can ignore all obstacles.
Since Flora had come to her side, and she’d resolved to pursue her relationship with Flora, she wouldn’t give up so easily.
But even with her optimistic attitude, she couldn’t help but be surprised by how many people were waiting outside when she opened the door.
“Uwah?! Why is everyone…”
Somehow, all the residents on this floor had gathered outside their door.
By now, Flora had recovered her composure.
She cast her gaze at the embarrassed Kate standing at the front of the crowd.
Obviously, it was Kate—who had volunteered to handle her freshman registration—who had started all this commotion.
Feeling Flora’s gaze, Kate quickly bowed.
“Ahaha… Sorry to disturb you two so early.”
She gave an awkward laugh.
“Word got out that Miss Flora had come to the Academy, and your living here isn’t exactly a secret, so everyone asked me to bring them to see you… Anyway, anyway! Here’s your student card, please keep it safe, I—I’ll be going now.”
Kate stammered as she shoved the card into Flora’s silent hands, then fled.
After being pestered for days about news regarding Flora, she dared not linger any longer.
“How awful!”
Aurora, quick to grasp the situation, shouted disdainfully at Kate’s retreating back.
She looked at the students gathered at the door, but they didn’t look at her—instead, all eyed the ever-expressionless Flora with curiosity.
A subtle atmosphere lingered in the dormitory hallway.
As students of the Imperial Academy, whether commoner or noble, they all held a certain pride.
Each of them knew just how rude it was to crowd around and gawk at someone.
So their embarrassment was no less than Kate’s.
And Flora’s silence, paired with her uniquely aloof aura, carried an air of pressure that left everyone at a loss.
Thus, a silent standoff of more than half a minute unfolded among the crowd.
Fortunately, before things could turn truly awkward, someone stepped forward.
“Mi-Miss Flora, the teacher from the administration office said a freshman would be arriving, so as dormmates, we came to say hello. We only found out the new student was you because we saw Miss Kate helping you with the student card.”
The speaker was a tall woman with curly gray hair—taller than any of the others.
Flora looked at her calmly, and this proactive student shyly looked away.
“Ah, right, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Zilan Tals, your classmate.”
“Flora—Jade… sigh.”
Flora couldn’t help but sigh, taking the initiative to say her name.
“I didn’t expect my freshman welcome to be so special. I appreciate everyone’s kindness, but I’m really not someone so unusual that you all need to go to such trouble. If your normal study routines are disrupted, I’ll be quite distressed.”
Everyone nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Seeing this, Flora breathed a sigh of relief in her heart and was just about to keep up this tempo to casually brush them off so she could go to class.
But at that moment, someone took her hand.
She looked immediately to her side and saw Aurora watching her, those beautiful heterochromatic eyes now filled with a heavy shade of reproach.
Just as before, when the door hadn’t yet opened.
Even if she didn’t say a word, Flora understood perfectly what that look meant—
“Teacher Flora barely speaks to me, but she can say so much to them. How nice.”
The girl she relied on for emotional support was now clearly dissatisfied with the difference in Flora’s treatment.