Fallen In Love

Kaelith strolled through the academy garden, her thoughts swirling around the strange encounter she had just experienced with Maruti. She spotted a random student—a petite girl with short brown hair—sitting on a bench, happily munching on what looked like a flaky pastry. The bench was one of those public-use chairs scattered around the garden for students to relax.

Kaelith's tall figure loomed over the girl, her shadow stretching across the bench. The girl paused mid-bite, her chewing slowing as she noticed the dark shadow creeping over her. Slowly, she tilted her head upward, her eyes meeting Kaelith's piercing gaze.

"Um…" the girl blinked nervously, her mind already screaming, Danger! Run! Run NOW!

But before she could even think about bolting, Kaelith extended her hand toward her. "Umm… I'm Kaelith Maranthia," Kaelith said in an almost hesitant tone.

The girl froze. Her eyes widened like saucers, and the color drained from her face. It was as though the name "Kaelith Maranthia" had triggered every alarm bell in her brain. The pastry slipped from her hands onto the bench as panic set in.

Sweat beaded on her forehead, and her hands began trembling uncontrollably. She quickly scrambled to her feet, almost knocking the bench over in her haste. "I-I-I… um…" she stammered, her voice quivering like a leaf in a storm.

Kaelith waited patiently, her hand still extended.

The girl gulped, her throat dry as sand. She tried to say her name, but her lips just wobbled. "I-I am… uh… uh…"

Her knees buckled. Her trembling increased to the point where it looked like she might vibrate right off the ground. And then—*thud!*—she fainted on the spot, landing back on the bench with a small, unceremonious flop.

Kaelith stared at the unconscious girl, her silver eyes blinking slowly. She glanced at the girl's half-eaten pastry on the bench, then back at the fainted figure sprawled awkwardly before her.

She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Huh. Making friends is harder than I thought."

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Inside Esdeath's dorm room, the air was filled with a faint, floral fragrance. Esdeath sat in front of a large wall mirror, her chin resting in her palm as she gazed at her reflection. The room around her looked like a boutique, cluttered with cosmetics, jewelry, and clothes. It wasn't from Trynne's treasure room, but from Lortell's storage-type essence stone, which Lortell had personally given to her.

The essence stone held countless valuable items—ancient, rare rank-D essence stones, magic formulas, and even high-grade mana-increasing potions. Some potions boosted mana temporarily, while others did so permanently. Esdeath, however, hadn't taken everything out. She knew that exposing such valuable items would draw unwanted attention. Instead, she had only retrieved the fashion-related items.

Though Esdeath wasn't particularly concerned about how she looked or what she wore, she couldn't ignore the fact that these things were from Lortell. That alone made them precious to her.

For the past thirty minutes, Esdeath had been indulging herself by smelling the clothes, accessories, and cosmetics, all of which carried a faint scent of Lortell. A satisfied smile graced her lips as she finally put them down and focused on the jewelry.

She picked up a set of earrings—six pairs in total. Esdeath frowned slightly as she held them up to the light. "I only have two ears. How am I supposed to wear all of these?" she muttered to herself. After a moment of deep thought, a mischievous idea crossed her mind.

She decided to wear *all six pairs* at once. Carefully, she arranged the earrings along her ears. Small studs sparkled near the top, while a long, bell-like earring dangled dramatically from the bottom. She tilted her head and examined her reflection. Surprisingly, the chaotic arrangement actually looked quite good on her.

Meanwhile, Selene sat quietly in the corner of the room, her nose buried in a science book about human anatomy. She flipped a page and paused, her eyes narrowing as she read something interesting.

"Mother," Selene called out, her voice calm yet curious. "It says here that all mothers feed their babies with breast milk. But… I don't remember you ever doing that for me. Why?"

Esdeath froze. The question hit her like a bolt of lightning. Her mind instantly flashed back to that chaotic day when she had accidentally spilled milk all over Selene. She gulped nervously, trying to maintain her composure.

"Well… uh…" Esdeath began, forcing a tight smile. "You grew up so fast that I didn't have time to do anything like that!"

Selene tilted her head thoughtfully. "Oh, I see," she said, nodding in understanding. For once, she didn't ask any follow-up questions, much to Esdeath's relief.

Taking advantage of the moment, Esdeath grabbed a lipstick from the pile of cosmetics. It was a deep red shade, one of Lortell's favorites. As she applied it to her lips, she began humming a little tune to herself.

"Lalalala… Lalala…"

Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud BANG!

"FABLLEEEE!" a voice bellowed, startling both Esdeath and Selene.

Esdeath yelped, immediately shoving the lipstick back into her drawer in a panicked rush. Her heart raced as she turned to see who had stormed in.

Selene's face lit up with excitement as she recognized the intruder. "It's Aunt!" she exclaimed, her usually calm demeanor replaced with pure joy.

Esdeath, still recovering from the shock, muttered under her breath, "Couldn't she knock first?"

Who else could it be but Maruti? Her tall figure entered the room confidently, her sharp eyes immediately scanning everything. Without hesitation, she rushed toward Esdeath.

"Fable! What happened to yo—wait, what's this?" Maruti froze mid-sentence, her gaze bouncing between Esdeath's messy face and the cluttered room.

"What?" Esdeath asked, raising a brow.

Maruti squinted at her, crossing her arms. "Did you drink blood or something? Why are your lips covered in red stains?"

Esdeath blinked, confused, before glancing at the mirror. Her eyes widened in shock. While she had been dazing off earlier, she hadn't realized that she had smeared lipstick all over her lips—and even a little around them. It was an uneven, messy disaster.

She groaned and quickly grabbed a cloth to wipe the lipstick off. After scrubbing furiously for a moment, her lips were clean again, but they were naturally so red and soft that it still looked like she was wearing lipstick.

"Now what?" Esdeath asked, a little annoyed by Maruti's intrusion.

Maruti placed her hands on her hips, her tone rising with exasperation. "What? Are you seriously asking me what? What was all that earlier? Was it one of your dramatic acts or something? Care to explain why you went completely red and froze like a statue?"

Esdeath's mind wandered back to that moment with Lortell. Her face flushed bright red again as her heart raced. To silence her embarrassment, she slammed her head against the wall several times, earning a concerned look from Maruti.

"Oi, calm down! What are you doing?!" Maruti exclaimed, half-panicked.

Finally, Esdeath stopped, her hands still on the wall as she turned her face toward Maruti. Her cheeks were glowing, her lips slightly parted, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She looked so shy, so innocent, so *adorably vulnerable* that even Maruti, who wasn't easily moved, found herself stunned for a moment.

If Lortell had been there, she would've melted on the spot. She probably wouldn't have been able to resist pulling Esdeath into a kiss. But unfortunately—or fortunately—it wasn't Lortell standing there. It was Maruti. And instead of feeling touched, she was left feeling annoyed and irritated.

Esdeath finally spoke, her voice quiet but filled with a strange mix of joy and nervousness. "What you said before… you were right. I think… I actually have fallen in love."

Maruti: "...….."

At once, Maruti's brain seemed to give up on processing everything, and she fainted on the spot with a soft thud, her tall frame slumping to the floor.

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Maruti slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the dim light in the room. She sat up groggily, only to see Esdeath and Selene sitting beside her, watching her closely.

"Finally awake, huh?" Esdeath sighed, crossing her arms.

"So… it wasn't a dream, huh?" Maruti muttered, rubbing her forehead as she sighed in disbelief.

"Don't be so dramatic," Esdeath said, rolling her eyes. "It's not my fault, you know. This is all because of this *Esdeath girl*! She had such a deep crush on her, and now I'm here, taking her place. It's messing with me!"

Maruti blinked in confusion. "Uh… what?"

Esdeath groaned and tried to explain further. "Our personalities are merging! I didn't talk about it with you before, but I've been feeling it more and more. I'm guessing you must be facing similar problems, right?"

Maruti stared blankly for a moment before shaking her head. "What? No way. I'm perfectly fine! No weird personality issues here!" she replied confidently.

Esdeath tilted her head, genuinely surprised. "Really? Huh… so I'm the only one dealing with this? Why is my luck always so bad?" she muttered to herself, letting out a long, frustrated sigh.

Maruti shrugged as she stood up, brushing off her clothes. "Well, you're definitely… unique," she teased.

Esdeath ignored her and clapped her hands together. "Whatever, whatever. It's going to be night soon. We need to go talk to Lilith and get a personal dorm room sorted out as soon as possible!" she declared, extending a hand to Maruti to help her up.

Maruti grabbed Esdeath's hand and stood up. "Fine, fine," she said, stretching lazily.

Just then, Selene, who had been quietly sitting on the bed, looked up with her usual curious expression. "What's love?" she asked out of nowhere, tilting her head innocently.

Maruti smirked and glanced at Esdeath mischievously. "Oh, love? That's the same thing that happened between your daddy and mama," she said with a cheeky grin, indirectly mocking Esdeath.

Esdeath's face turned red in embarrassment. "Stop saying unnecessary things and let's go already!" she snapped, quickly turning to open the door.