I managed to cover my bruise with a huge amount of makeup. My right wrist is bruised too, but luckily, my dress sleeves are long, so no one will notice. I put on a couple of bracelets just in case, though. I showered three times this morning, but it didn’t make me feel any better. I barely slept st night. I was too scared. It felt like every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was him grabbing and touching me.

  I open the potion department door and go straight to work. If I just work normally, no one will notice that anything is off.

  “Morning, Elena!”

  I turn to see Ayas approaching and force a smile.

  “Morning, Ayas.”

  “You won’t believe what happened yesterday!”

  My heart stills. Surely he doesn’t know what happened to me?

  “What?” I ask, my voice a little shaky.

  “I finally beat David when we sparred! I’m truly the best.”

  “You beat the bookworm? You'd better be proud.” I try my best to fake an amused tone.

  “Hey! You know that David is skilled when it comes to magic.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Way to sour my mood, Elena.”

  “Sorry. You’re just too easy to tease. And I’m pretty sure that if I had honestly just congratuted you, you would’ve been more shocked.”

  “Good point. Well, I’m off to work. See you at lunch.”

  “See you.”

  I let my body rex. That was nerve-wracking. But I think I did well. I don’t think he noticed.

  As I work, I keep repying yesterday in my mind. Thinking about what I should have done differently. Thinking about all the things I did wrong.

  I’m so anxious that I honestly just want to paint it out. But before that, I need to clean the atelier. And I don’t feel like going there alone. It feels like the pce is haunted. Maybe I could ask someone to come with me. If I just say that I had an accident and need help cleaning it up.

  Yes, that’s a great idea.

  When lunch comes, I’m already sitting down with Myrin and Ayas when David and Angie approach us.

  “Hey, everyone!” They both greet us.

  David and Ayas start chatting about yesterday’s spar. Annie soon joins us and chats with Angie. Myrin stays silent as always. I just focus on eating, trying to act normal.

  “Elena, is everything okay?”

  I lift my gaze to look at Angie.

  “Wh-what? Of course, everything is okay. Why would you ask that?”

  “You’ve barely said a word. I think we all know that’s rather unusual.”

  I try to force a ugh. “I know. I do bbber, don’t I?”

  “So, is there something wrong?”

  “Actually, I do want to ask you guys something. Are you free after work?”

  Everyone nods in unison. Perfect.

  “I had a little accident in my atelier yesterday and caused a bit of a mess. So I thought that if someone wanted to join me, they could help me clean?”

  They all look like they’re about to refuse, so I keep going.

  “It could be fun, though. We could even paint together after! I have one huge canvas. We could soak our hands in paint and paint it together. Like making some friendship art. I have a music box there too, so we can listen to something while we do it. Maybe even grab a bottle of wine and just have fun.”

  “I don’t know, you know I’m not a fan of painting,” Ayas speaks up first.

  “Me neither. I don’t even recognize a brush from an easel,” David joins.

  I look at Angie, hope in my eyes.

  “I’m leaving on a monster campaign soon, so I’d rather spend today with David.”

  I turn to Annie.

  “Please, Elena, don’t use those puppy eyes. I’m sorry. The only thing I use for painting is cum.”

  Some of them ugh at Annie’s words. Hardly surprising. But I really need a friend to come with me. And I know Myrin will never come, so I’m not even trying to ask him.

  “Please. I really don’t want to go alone. Just this once. Let’s all go together and spend a fun evening. We can have dinner after, my treat? Please, please, please.”

  They look at each other.

  “Please, guys. I promise this is the st time I ask you to come paint with me.”

  “Okay, okay, we’re in.”

  I feel my muscles rex. I’m so gd I have friends in situations like this. Even though I can’t tell them the truth, I’m gd they’re willing to help me.

  After work, I rush to my room to take another shower. It’s still not helping. But I have to try. We’re meeting in the Tower yard at five. I promised to teleport us there. I probably won’t have enough mana to teleport all of us back, so I grab a mana potion just in case.

  It’s 4:45 PM, and I’m already waiting for them to arrive in the yard. First, I see Ayas approaching me. I smile.

  “Hey, Ayas!”

  “Hey, Elena. Actually, I can’t make it. I bumped into Filo, and he was looking for a sparring partner. And I’m still so fired up from yesterday’s victory, so I agreed to spar with him.”

  “Oh… okay.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have more fun without me. I’d probably just stumble and make a mess, right?”

  “Right,” I try to sound amused.

  He leaves. No big deal. There’s still Annie, Angie, and David.

  Then I see Angie and David coming.

  “Hey guys! Ready to have some fun?” I ask.

  “Sorry, we need to bail. My mother gave us tickets to the theater for tonight, and it starts in an hour. But you still have Ayas and Annie, so you can still have your fun.”

  “Really? Do you really have to go?”

  “Yes. You know how much we enjoy the theater. You understand, right?”

  “Yeah, of course. You lovebirds go and have a wonderful date.”

  They leave.

  I guess it’s just me and Annie then. It’s still going to be fun. Annie is fun company.

  Time passes. It’s already 5:15, but there’s no sign of Annie.

  Did she bail out too? She could’ve at least told me she wasn’t coming.

  What should I do? Should I still go? I have to clean the room eventually. I can’t just avoid it forever. And I really need to paint this anxiousness out of me. Maybe it would help get rid of this disgusting feeling. I just really don’t want to go alone.

  I wait fifteen more minutes and then give up waiting for Annie. But just then, I spot Akira, the girl from the cooking department. I run toward her.

  ‘’Akira! Wait up!’’

  She stops and waits for me to reach her.

  ‘’What is it, Elena?’’

  ‘’I was just wondering if you are free today? I was hoping to have someone to come paint with me today. We could listen to some music and drink wine. I can even treat you dinner after.’’

  ‘’Sorry, Elena, my girlfriend is waiting for me back home.’’

  ‘’She can come too! It’s been a long time since I st saw her! The more the merrier!’’

  ‘’I don’t think she would be interested. Sorry. Maybe another time, okay?’’

  ‘’Okay…’’

  So it’s just me, then?

  Come on, Elena. You can do this alone. You’re a grown-up. It’s not a big deal. I draw a magic circle and teleport myself in front of my atelier. I take the key out of my pocket and stare at the door. My body just won’t move. Why is it so hard?

  What if he’s in there again? What if he comes back for me? Wanting revenge or something? Or wants to finish what he started?

  I peek through the window. The room is dark, so I can barely see anything. But it does seem empty. You’re just being sensitive. There’s no one there. There are no signs of a break-in. You have the only key.

  I lift my hand, attempting to unlock the door. But my hand trembles. My chest starts to heave, and my pulse rises. I feel like panicking.

  Come on, Elena. It’s just a door. It’s just a room. Just breathe and count to ten.

  “Elena?”

  I scream in panic and immediately form a barrier around myself. I’m not making the same mistake twice.

  But when I turn around, I see Myrin standing there.

  Oh no. That was so embarrassing. I remove the barrier and force a smile.

  “Oh, hi Rin. You scared me there. What are you doing here?”

  He just stares at me for a moment, staying silent. I keep smiling as brightly as I possibly can.

  “You’re acting strangely today.”

  “Me? Strangely? What do you mean?”

  “For starters, this is the first day ever when you didn’t say good morning.”

  Really? I would be happy he noticed something like that if I weren’t in panic mode.

  “Oh, sorry. I was just too eager to work.”

  “You’ve never been this silent. You barely talked the whole day.”

  “Did you miss my bbbering?” I try to force my teasing voice.

  “And you’re crying.”

  “What?”

  I raise my hand to touch my cheeks. Oh no. I really am crying. I didn’t even notice.

  I lift both hands to cover my face.

  “It’s nothing. Just leave me alone and go.”

  “What accident did you have yesterday?”

  “It’s nothing! Just leave me be. Go away.”

  I feel my tears starting to rise. I really don’t want to cry. Not like this. Not in front of him. Myrin is the st person I want to see me like this. He already thinks I’m small and weak. Now he’ll hate me even more.

  “Elena.”

  His voice somehow sounds like a threat.

  “What do you care?! You hate me anyway. You want me to go away from you, so why do you suddenly demand my company? Just go, you idiot!”

  “Either you tell me, or I will tell Enred about this.”

  No. Absolutely not. The st thing I want is for my family to know about this. Enred has always been a little overprotective of me, like my parents. If he finds out something bad happened, all hell will break loose.

  I wipe my tears with my sleeves and look at him.

  “No! Please don’t say anything to Enred. I beg you.”

  His eyes widen, his expression turning deadly. He just watches me in silence. What happened to him?

  “Who touched you?” His voice is terrifying.

  “What?” I ask, confused.

  “Your cheek. Who did that to you?’’

  “My cheek?”

  Then I realize I must’ve wiped some makeup off while trying to get rid of the tears.

  Oh no.

  “No one did. I just had an accident yesterday. My chair broke while I was painting. I fell on the easel, and that broke too. My cheek got hurt in the process.”

  He snatches the key from my hand, opens the door, and steps inside. He turns on the lights and stares at the mess on the floor. I follow him, gncing around to make sure there really isn’t anyone else there.

  He lifts part of the shattered chair and turns to face me.

  “You’re saying your chair broke like this just because you were sitting on it?”

  “Yes,” I say automatically, still just looking around, making sure no one is lurking here.

  He suddenly grabs my wrist, forcing me to face him. I flinch from the pain.

  “Elena, I need you to—”

  He stops mid-sentence, noticing my painful reaction. He lifts my arm and slides my sleeve up, revealing my bruised wrist.

  “Elena,” his voice is low and dangerous. “I’ll ask one st time. Who. Hurt. You.”

  I swallow hard. I’ve never seen him like this. It’s like a storm swallowed my calm mountain.

  “One… gallery owner wanted to see my paintings. He wanted to dispy them, but he wanted something in return…”

  “What did he want?”

  “Please don’t make me say it. I don’t want to.”

  My body starts to tremble from the memory.

  “Did he touch you?”

  I hate this. I don’t answer.

  “Who was he?”

  “Baron Louffer. I met him and his wife at the local gallery. But he came alone yesterday.”

  “So he did touch you?”

  “Yes. A little. But I managed to stop him before… You know...”

  “Go back to your room. I’ll deal with this.”

  I look up at him.

  “What do you mean? I don’t want anyone to know. Please don’t tell anyone.”

  “I won’t. I meant I’ll clean this. Do you have enough mana to teleport back?”

  I nod.

  “I’ll return your keys when I’m done. So don’t freak out when I come inside, I knock first.”

  “Okay.”

  I draw a teleportation circle and go straight to the shower. I sit on the floor, letting the water pour over me.

  My mind is a complete mess.

  I’m gd I don’t have to face the ruined atelier anymore. I’m gd Myrin didn’t mock me or yell at me. He was furious.

  Was he worried about me? He even touched me. He never touches me. At least not while I’m awake. What was he even doing there? He never agreed to come tonight like everyone else.

  I hate that he knows what happened. I hate myself for letting it happen. I should have been more careful. Smarter. I hate that I proved him right about me being naive.