HLM 04

Chapter 4

Just as I had hoped, morning arrived in the blink of an eye.

Dressed in my academy uniform, I weathered the affectionate nagging of Lucas and the maids before climbing into Bill’s waiting carriage. Chatting lightly with the driver as the scenery rolled by, we arrived at the academy grounds before I knew it.

“Bill, I have to write a report with my partner today, so I might be a little late. But I won’t be as late as yesterday.”

“Please take your time, My Lady. I shall be waiting for you in the exact same place, at the same time.”

“Thank you. Have a wonderful day!”

Bill offered me a warm, grandfatherly smile and a gentle wave.

I was just stepping onto the campus, my heart fluttering with anticipation over what the day might bring, when it happened.

Rattle, clatter!

A loud, atrocious noise suddenly erupted from behind me, followed by a thick cloud of dark exhaust smoke. As the vehicle lurched to a halt with a horrifying, metallic screech, the surrounding students grimaced and hastily stepped out of its way.

‘Who is that? All the private carriages are painted black, so I can’t tell them apart.’

For some reason, I couldn’t just walk past. The sight snagged my attention, rooting my feet to the ground as I waited to see who would step out of the dilapidated carriage.

The driver climbed out first, hurrying to open the rear door with a deep bow. And then, a familiar figure with shaggy blonde hair emerged.

‘Martin?’

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Even amidst the sea of students, his blonde hair caught the morning light, shining brilliantly.

But something felt off.

‘Was his carriage in that state yesterday? Did I just not notice because it was already parked and waiting?’

Watching the screeching black vehicle sputter out of the academy gates, I tilted my head in confusion. I was just about to weave through the throngs of arriving students to greet him when—

“Hey, you little punk! Get that piece of junk fixed, will you? The exhaust is practically choking us!”

“Seriously, I can’t even figure out where this bastard crawled out of. His family name isn’t on the roster, and the professors claim they don’t know either. You’re just some commoner, right? How did a rat like you even get in here?”

“But if he’s a commoner, his driver changes too frequently for him to be entirely destitute… Then again, seeing him drag around that rusty bucket of bolts, his family can’t be anything special…”

A group of rowdy boys began to circle Martin the moment he quietly stepped onto the grounds. They must have been infamous within the academy, because the other students were busy keeping their heads down and scurrying away, terrified of catching a stray spark. And, conveniently, there wasn’t a single teacher in sight to intervene.

Seeing Martin trapped in the center, his head bowed as he practically withered under their harassment, an inexplicable fury surged from the pit of my stomach.

‘Those little bastards…!’

How dare they pick on my friend?! (Even if the friendship was currently entirely one-sided on my part.)

Rolling up my sleeves, I prepared to march right over there and give them a piece of my mind. But suddenly, the boys grabbed Martin and dragged him out of sight.

“W-what the?!”

Panicking, I quickly took off after them. For a split second, I wondered if I should find a teacher first, but the terrifying thought of what they might be doing to him right now overrode all logic. I just started running.

My breathing grew ragged as I watched them drag Martin further and further into a secluded, shadowy corner of the campus. The rough, practiced way those brats handled him made it obvious this wasn’t their first time doing this.

I gritted my teeth and sprinted harder. Having finally found a suitably isolated spot, they roughly shoved Martin to the ground. They were just rearing back to hit him when—

“You absolute bastards!!! Move! Get out of the way!!”

“W-what the?! Who is she?!”

Startled by the sight of me charging at them like an enraged bull, a boy with messy red hair stared at me in pure shock.

Without slowing down, I body-slammed the boy standing right in front of me and snatched Martin’s wrist in a vise grip.

“Hey, get up! Hurry! Run!!”

“H-huh? What?!”

Martin seemed utterly bewildered by my sudden, chaotic entrance, but he quickly snapped out of it and scrambled to his feet.

“Run, Martin! Move your legs!”

Honestly. I usually found Martin’s slow, gentle demeanor endearing, but this was not the time for it. Yanking the bewildered boy along, I urged him to run faster.

Behind us, the bullies finally seemed to process what had happened, and angry shouts erupted.

“Hey, catch them! What are you idiots standing around for?!”

At the redhead’s furious command, the rest of the group scrambled to give chase. Seeing them sprinting toward us at full speed, Martin and I ran for our lives.

“Hah, hah! M-Martin! Are you okay? It’s over if they catch us! We have to run faster!”

Hearing my desperate plea, Martin, who had been lagging slightly behind, suddenly accelerated.

I was certain I was the one dragging him by the wrist just a moment ago. But somewhere along the line, Martin had adjusted his grip. Now, he was the one pulling me forward, navigating the path with startling speed.

“Hurry, Lindsay! We can hide if we go over there! Just a little further…!”

Gasping for breath at his sudden encouragement, I forced my trembling legs to keep moving, running with every ounce of strength I had left.

Wait…

Did he always speak that fluently?

Ragged breaths burst from my lips. My chest heaved up and down in an uncontrollable, frantic rhythm.

And against the crown of my head, I could feel the soft flutter of someone else’s exhales.

“Hah, hah…”

“Haa…”

We had done it. We had successfully managed to lose the redhead’s gang and find a hiding spot.

Of course, I hadn’t realized the ‘hiding spot’ would be a gap between the walls so agonizingly narrow that our bodies were pressed completely flush against one another. Trapped in the cramped crevice, we had no choice but to stand completely still, unable to put even an inch of distance between us.

“U-um… L-Lindsay…”

“Yeah?”

Was he really that out of breath?

Flushed a deep, startling crimson from his neck all the way to his earlobes, Martin tilted his head up and whispered frantically.

“C-could you… stop m-moving? I-it’s just… a bit…”

“I’m sorry. But I’m so out of breath I can’t help it. I’m not doing it on purpose!”

Martin simply let out a heavy sigh at my defense.

‘Is he that uncomfortable?’

Honestly, I was a little exasperated. He was the one telling me not to move, yet he was currently squirming with all his might, twisting his entire body as if something was terribly agonizing for him.

“…Martin, aren’t you the one who needs to hold still? I think you’re moving way more than I am…”

“S-sorry… I-I was worried y-you might be u-uncomfortable…”

“I’m not uncomfortable at all. If it bothers you that much, I’ll try to shift my body a little to the side.”

We were both wriggling in the tight space, trying our hardest to create some distance, when—

“Hey, did you find that girl and the loser? Dammit, I know they disappeared somewhere around here…”

“Nothing. Why the hell is Thomas suddenly so obsessed with that nerd today…? He always drags us into this exhausting crap.”

“When I catch him, he’s dead meat. Ah, seriously, where did they go?”

The redhead’s cronies were suddenly prowling right in front of our hiding spot.

‘Oh, no… I think they might see me…!’

I should have just stayed perfectly still. Because of my desperate squirming to put distance between me and Martin, it felt like my shoulder was entirely exposed to the path.

I froze, absolutely terrified, not knowing what to do.

“…Lindsay. J-just come b-back this way. They’ll s-see you if you stay there.”

Martin reached his arm out, wrapping it firmly around my shoulder, and pulled me flush against him once more. Yanked back into my original position, I tilted my head up slightly to look at him.

Martin was just staring down at me, his expression unreadable.

Well, I assumed he was staring at me. His shaggy bangs completely obscured his eyes, making it impossible to tell exactly where he was looking, but his head was definitely angled in my direction.

‘Ah, so this is why…’

This must be why he said he was uncomfortable.

A sudden, intense wave of embarrassment washed over me, and I hurriedly dropped my gaze.

I desperately tried to think of something else. I started counting the individual bricks on the wall right in front of my nose, distractedly noting that Martin’s shoulders were surprisingly broad. I marveled at how meticulously the bricks had been laid, suddenly recalling how large and firm Martin’s hand had felt when he pulled me against him.

‘So much for thinking of something else…’

Feeling an undeniable heat rising throughout my entire body, I whispered cautiously to Martin.

“U-um, Martin… Do you think it’s safe to go out now? I think they’ve left.”

Martin, evidently sharing my desperation to escape, nodded so vigorously his hair bounced.

“R-right… L-let’s do that… I-I think we c-can leave…”

Twisting and contorting our bodies once more, we finally squeezed out of the suffocating gap in the wall.

Brushing the dust off my slightly crumpled uniform, I tried my hardest to calm my still-pounding heart.

Beside me, Martin simply stood there, staring intently at the narrow crevice we had just emerged from, lost in thoughts I couldn’t even begin to guess.