Harvey regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.
Not because he had spoken his true feelings, but because he had been so blunt about it.
He didn’t even know where he’d found the nerve.
Maybe it was because of what Evelyn had just said. Maybe it was because she was sitting too close to his bed. Or maybe it was because, even now, she still hadn’t shown any real disgust.
But he kept his head up.
Since he had already confessed this much, he had to keep his eyes on her, no matter how hard it was, and wait for her judgment.
Running away over and over would never lead to any progress.
Evelyn didn’t speak immediately.
She just looked at him.
Her cool, dark eyes remained calm on the surface, the faint ripples that had stirred beneath them now completely gone.
After a moment, she spoke flatly.
“So you finally said something worthwhile.”
Harvey froze.
That assessment wasn’t exactly kind, but it didn’t sound like a rebuke either.
He didn’t know how to respond.
“I…”
“Since you’re aware of it yourself, then you need to learn one thing.”
Evelyn cut him off. “Stop turning into a fool every time you get near a woman.”
Harvey wanted to argue, but he didn’t know how to phrase it.
At least in front of Evelyn, he really was that pathetic.
Evelyn watched him for a while, then suddenly raised her hand.
Her long fingers, sheathed in black gloves, stopped quietly in front of him.
At the edge of the glove, a slender white wrist was visible, and further back, the faint outline of her forearm disappearing into her sleeve.
The cool fragrance she carried drew closer as well.
Harvey instinctively held his breath.
But she didn’t touch his face or do anything more intense. She simply extended her hand flat toward him.
“Hold it.”
Harvey was completely stunned.
“…What?”
“I said, hold it.”
Evelyn looked up at him, her expression cold.
“Weren’t you the one who said you’d only look at me like this? What, you can’t even bring yourself to touch?”
The heat on Harvey’s face spread all the way to his ears.
This wasn’t a question of courage or not.
How could she say something like that so casually? He recalled the descriptions of fairies from the books, and they seemed to have been twisted somehow.
“Head Maid, this kind of thing…”
“What kind of thing?”
Evelyn’s tone made it sound like she was just asking him to pass something. “It’s only holding hands.”
“Or is even that too much stimulation for you to handle?”
Harvey was left speechless.
He was silent for several seconds before slowly lifting his hand.
Evelyn frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with his attitude.
“Are you heading to the execution ground?”
“…No.”
“Then relax.”
Harvey’s throat tightened.
He wanted to relax, but the person in front of him was Evelyn.
The Head Maid who would coldly scold him and ruthlessly point out his thoughts.
Now she was sitting on his bed, and somehow the distance between them had shrunk.
How was he supposed to relax under these circumstances?
Evelyn didn’t bother waiting for him to adjust. She simply grabbed his wrist.
The moment she took hold of his hand, his entire back stiffened.
Even through the thin black gloves, he could feel the coolness of her palm.
It was a chill like metal, yet it made his chest burn.
Harvey’s breathing faltered for a beat.
“Head Maid…”
“Shut up.”
Evelyn interrupted him flatly.
“I’m just helping you get used to women. Just focus on feeling it.”
“…”
Harvey’s ears burned even more.
Evelyn paid no attention to his embarrassment. She turned his hand over, pressed her fingertips against his palm, and slowly interlaced their fingers.
“Remember this feeling.”
“Contact with a woman isn’t something to make a big fuss over.”
“If you can’t even handle this, you’ll fall apart when you encounter it later.”
Harvey stared blankly at their intertwined hands, not catching a word of what the Head Maid was saying.
He only felt as if his palm had been branded.
Even through the gloves, her presence was more vivid than direct skin contact.
Seeing him like this, a trace of helplessness flickered deep in Evelyn’s eyes.
“Harvey.”
“Yes.”
“What are you thinking about now?”
Harvey opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to answer.
He couldn’t very well tell her that all he could think about was how small the Head Maid’s hand was.
And how cold.
And that he couldn’t bear to tighten his grip or pull away.
When he didn’t answer, Evelyn didn’t press. She said calmly, “The reason you can do this right now is because it’s me.”
“If it’s someone else later, and you lose your composure like this, you’ll only end up at a disadvantage.”
Harvey was taken aback. He looked up.
“Someone else?”
Evelyn met his gaze. “You can’t spend your whole life only seeing one woman.”
Those words pierced his chest like a needle, softly but sharply.
Harvey’s fingertips twitched involuntarily.
But before he could dwell on it, Evelyn let go.
The moment her palm left his, an indescribable sense of loss washed over him.
Evelyn took in his expression, but acted as if she had seen nothing. She stood up coolly.
“All right.”
“That’s enough for today.”
“…”
Harvey stared at her blankly, completely unable to process what had happened in the last few minutes.
Evelyn turned her head slightly, her black hair sliding over her shoulder.
“What, you want to learn more?”
“I don’t—”
“Good, because that’s not what this is.”
Her tone was cold. “You need to understand: this is education, not something for you to indulge in.”
With that, she turned and walked toward the door.
But just as she reached it, Evelyn paused. She didn’t look back, only spoke flatly.
“Also.”
“If you ever look at me like that again, wait for me in the garden at night.”
The door closed softly.
The room fell silent again.
Harvey didn’t care about the threat Evelyn had left behind—in fact, he hadn’t even registered it.
After a long moment, he looked down at his own palm, somewhat dazed.
There was nothing left on it.
Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that the Head Maid’s warmth still lingered there.
‘I… I only wanted the Head Maid to teach me about magic, didn’t I?’
…
Meanwhile.
Inside the Magic Instructor Mei Li’s laboratory, in a standalone building on the Academy grounds.
Transparent glass containers were neatly arranged on tall shelves, and a few crystals radiating cold air sat nearby.
The entire lab was illuminated only by a continuously glowing Light Crystal embedded in the ceiling, but it was not dim.
Lavia stood in the testing area in the center of the room. She pointed a finger forward.
A wisp of ice-blue magic coalesced in the air, instantly forming several thin, sharp Ice Shards that shot forward.
Crash!
The ice crystals shattered against the wall, scattering into glittering fragments.
Mei Li, sitting on a high-backed chair nearby, looked up and nodded lightly.
“Your control is more refined than last time.”
Mei Li was already old, and her voice carried the unhurried calm of age.
“It’s passable.”
Lavia dispelled the magic and responded flatly. “It’s because you pointed out my compression error last time.”
“You catch on fast.”
Mei Li smiled, then casually tested her on a couple of fine control points regarding Ice Element Magic.
Lavia answered swiftly and executed the spells with almost no hesitation.
Everything was perfect.
But precisely because of that, her distraction was all the more noticeable.
After the last Ice Mist dissipated silently in the air, Mei Li set down her pen.
“All right.”
“That’s enough for today.”
Lavia nodded, but then Mei Li added slowly, “Help me organize these Frostscale Herbs and White Sun Powder.”
Lavia’s expression darkened slightly, but she complied.
A clean white cloth was spread across the long table, beside which were several categorized wooden boxes.
She reached out and began separating the bundles of processed Frostscale Herbs with practiced, smooth movements. Her ice-blue hair fell over her shoulders, but her face was expressionless.
Her instructor was usually careful and responsible, but it seemed every diligent magic researcher had a messy lab.
Lavia hated being cooped up in such a confined space.
That was one reason she rarely visited that Private Library.
Mei Li watched her for a while, then smiled gently.
“You’re a bit distracted today.”
Lavia’s fingers paused slightly.
“I’m not.”
“If you want to fool others, you’d better not try it on an old woman like me.”
Mei Li teased her mildly. “I’m just curious.”
“Why did you choose someone with no magical aptitude to be your assistant?”
Lavia’s expression changed abruptly. She snapped her head up to look at Mei Li.
“How do you—”