Care 2

 “What the…….. baby?”

The bewildered voice of the senior could be heard in the midst of the bright child’s laughter.

What excuse should I make here? 

Should I just say — I woke up in the morning and this baby was sitting next to me?

Will he believe me if I say this? 

I’d rather say, [Senior. It’s my son I’ve been hiding.] 

Wouldn’t that be more believable?

But every word felt ridiculous, and I couldn't bear to meet Senior's gaze. Instead, I turned my attention to the little boy, who had started babbling again. "Aww! Hvah!" he cooed, his lower lip pouting out.

I tried to hush him, but he continued to babble, drawing Senior's attention once again. "Be quiet, baby. Are you trying to wake people and say you are here?" I scolded, trying to cover up my embarrassment.

Senior looked at me with a blank expression, and I could feel his confusion. 

"The thing is I woke up this morning... hah?" I trailed off, unsure of how to explain the situation.

Suddenly, Senior seemed to snap out of his confusion. "It's a long holiday, so it must be hard to run errands in the morning. The stairs are dangerous, so be careful not to fall," he said in a tone that seemed oddly detached.

"What are you saying, Senior?" I asked, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"You were here on an errand, so I won't tell anyone that I saw you here," he replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Senior was already on his way. "Then, enjoy the festival, and see you in class later," he called over his shoulder, leaving me standing there in confusion.

I couldn't believe what had just happened. Had Senior really just brushed off the fact that I was hiding a baby? Or was he simply pretending not to know?

I bet it’s highly the latter.

But as I looked down at the little boy in my arms, I knew that I couldn't just stand there and wait for answers. With a deep breath, I pulled the blanket over the child and headed toward Felix's room on the third floor. There, I hoped to find some answers and maybe even a way out of this mess.

After ascending three floors, I found myself standing before Felix's room, my heart racing with anticipation. I took a deep breath and knocked on his door, hoping he would be awake. Felix's roommate had departed for home the previous day, so I had no cause for concern.

As I waited for Felix to answer, I grew increasingly restless. Why wasn't he responding? Just as I was about to knock harder, the door opened, and Felix appeared before me. His bluish-silver hair was in disarray, indicating he had only just woken up.

"What, at this hour?" he grumbled, scowling in annoyance. But his expression softened when he saw me standing there. He looked me up and down with his piercing, cat-like blue eyes, taking in my appearance.

"Do you know what time it is now? It's seven o'clock," he muttered, clearly irritated. As he spoke, a thought occurred to me: what did girls see in him? They always described him as cool and handsome, but in my opinion, he was cold and difficult to deal with. He was not mysterious, just moody and unpredictable. But I had no one else to turn to, so I put on a smile and tried to speak softly.

"Hey, Felix. I need to talk to you about something."

"At 7 in the morning?" he replied incredulously.

"Yes. It's urgent."

Felix sighed and opened the door wide, folding his arms and leaning against it. "So, what's this urgent matter that made you sneak into the boys' dormitory at 7 in the morning? Did you commit any crime?"

"I didn't come secretly, and I haven't committed any crimes," I replied defensively.

"You came to say that," he muttered, looking annoyed.

I took a deep breath and gathered my courage. "Actually, I came here because of this."

With trembling hands, I lowered the blanket, revealing the little boy nestled inside. He raised his head and looked up at Felix, waving his hands and babbling incoherently. Suddenly, he slapped me in the face with one hand and kicked his feet, causing me to recoil in shock.

"What the hell is that?" Felix demanded, staring at us with a mixture of confusion and terror. "Is that your child?"

I was taken aback. "What? No, of course not! Did you ever see me with a big belly? Did I disappear for ten months to have a baby?"

"Isn't the hair color too similar to say no?" Felix mused, grabbing a lock of my hair and holding it up for inspection. He then turned his attention to the little boy, scrutinizing his features with a furrowed brow.

As I looked at the little boy in my arms, I couldn't help but notice how his light blonde hair was similar to mine, but not quite the same. It had a different shade and lacked the dark gradient that characterized my hair.

“ What’s the same? I don’t have unusual hair color like you…….. blondes are common. And that kid’s hair is a lighter blonde than mine. Besides, if you say it like that, doesn’t his eye color look similar to yours rather than mine?”

“What.?”

I took the little boy close to Felix so that both their eyes could meet.

“ Baaaaaaaabu”

But the boy suddenly lifted his leg and placed it on Felix’s face.

Oh….even though it wasn’t intended…..Good job kid. 

That should put some sense into that senseless guy.

I took the little boy away from Felix, who was getting angry, and continued our conversation.

"How can I have a child when I don't even have a boyfriend? Did I make a child alone?" I asked, exasperated.

“Babababababbabu!”

The little boy looked up at me with a smile and gurgled, seemingly oblivious to our conversation.

Felix, however, seemed to understand my point, and nodded in agreement. "That's right," he said, his voice softening. Although I was glad that he believed me, I couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat. He had doubted me before, but now he was willing to accept my word without any argument.

"Come inside," he said, gesturing to his room. "Let's talk about the details inside."

⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ 

The dormitory assigned to the students was a humble abode comprising a shared living room, a shared bathroom, and two bedrooms. As all meals were served in the cafeteria, the space available for keeping simple food was meager, and the accommodation lacked a kitchen for cooking.

Felix gestured towards the couch and murmured politely, "Sit over there."

He added a couple of wood pieces to the fireplace before turning towards me. I hesitated, scanning the shabby couch. The living room was tidied up, but the couch was a jumbled mess. It was so cluttered that I wondered if it was in the same condition as my own room.

As if reading my thoughts, Felix quickly gathered all the clothes from the couch and disappeared into his room. With that, I sat on the sofa with the little boy, whom I had been caring for earlier.

"Are you comfortable?" I asked him, removing the blanket that had been wrapped around him. The little boy looked around, surprised by the change of scenery. I warned him to be careful and not to crawl and hurt himself. However, he was too curious and kept crawling around the carpet, exploring.

Felix entered the living room, carrying a kettle and a teacup. He took a seat next to me and inquired, "I'm out of milk, do you add sugar to the tea?" I shook my head lightly, declining the offer.

Felix placed his hand on the kettle, and the pendant hanging from his chest began to glow blue. Soon, white steam started to rise from the kettle. I couldn't help but click my tongue at the waste of magic. Felix poured the tea into the cup and gave it to me, crossing his legs with a smug expression on his face.

Despite my dislike for Felix's arrogance, I couldn't deny his exceptional magic skills. His affinity for mana was high, and he had a profound understanding of magical power. He even cast simple magic without formulas at the age of three. He claimed that the dean of the academy had come to request him to join, which demonstrated his prowess.

Maybe he can use any magic without formulas now.

It’s an unfair world, a bad-mannered boy like him knows everything, while a sweet girl like me could barely understand the theory behind the magic.

“Drink this first and warm yourself up. No matter how close we are, the thought of going out dressed like that in this weather, you are too…….bold,” said Felix, looking at my attire. 

I took the warm mug and checked my clothes.

I’m not wearing a coat.

“Ah….since everything was so crazy…..that I…”

Before I could finish my answer, Felix glanced at the blanket that I had wrapped the little one around.

“Yeah…After taking care of the little boy, I didn’t have time to think about my clothes.”

I don’t know why I’m making excuses, but the sharp gaze of Felix somehow made me feel embarrassed and I shrugged my shoulders.

I took a sip of the tea, trying to avoid his gaze. 

The warm tea that ran down the throat seemed to loosen the frozen body.

“Dadabu!”

Suddenly, the little boy crawled back in front of me and got up on the couch. 

The child reached out his hand towards the mug.

“Little boy, are you thirsty too?”

As I was talking to the little boy, Felix promptly went into the room and brought a mug of water and a small teaspoon.

“So what happened?”

Felix asked, placing the cup down on the table aloud.

“How did…. that happen……”

Felix pointed to the little boy with the teaspoon in his hand and asked for an explanation.

I began to recount everything that had happened since I woke up, starting with the sudden appearance of the child next to me with no indication of how he got there.

And up to how I got here after meeting with senior Danny Ann.

Once I finished my story, Felix remained silent, arms crossed and staring at the ceiling. Finally, he turned to me, meeting my eyes with a serious expression. 

"Anyone else?" he asked, his voice low and intense.

I was startled, but I continued to answer.

“Alice went home, and no one saw me other than Danny Ann…”

“No, not that, was there anyone other than the little boy in your room?”

(TO BE CONTINUED)