“Oh my… Of course. But you’ll have Gong guide me around the school, right?”

“I’ll try my best to return as soon as possible.”

Although his words seemed to emphasize the possibility of not returning, no one objected.

Matian left the principal’s office with Rukna.

The gazes of the three women remained on Rukna’s arm until she completely exited.

Wondering what they were staring at, Rukna lowered her gaze and saw Matian’s hand grasping her wrist.

‘When did he even grab it?’

Recently, she had grown accustomed to holding hands or having her wrist held by him, so she must not have paid much attention.

As soon as they entered the corridor, Rukna shook off the captured wrist.

However, contrary to the loose grip, his hand did not easily release her.

“Matian, let go of this!”

“Does it hurt?”

Matian looked down at Rukna’s wrist that he was holding.

“No, but what if someone sees us like this?”

She couldn’t understand why he, who usually avoided being the subject of gossip, was acting this way.

“If I let go, you’ll just make excuses and run away. Right?”

“You make it sound like I have a reason to run away.”

“We’ll find out once I check.”

Walking along the long corridor, Matian entered a lecture hall at the end and locked the door.

The lecture hall, with dusty desks and chairs piled up in the corner, was a place rarely used, and Matian was well acquainted with such locations.

Although the afternoon sunlight crept through the gaps in the curtains covering the windows, it couldn’t fully illuminate the spacious lecture hall, leaving the surroundings dim.

As if avoiding the light, Matian settled in a corner and faced Rukna.

Then, after glancing at her hand he was holding, he pulled it forcefully instead of letting go.

“Matian? Ugh!”

Rukna’s feet, which tried to resist, couldn’t withstand the force and were dragged, barely regaining balance right in front of him.

‘I almost fell into his arms.’

What the hell was he doing, this damned guy! Rukna lifted her head and glared at him.

The face that had been smiling in front of the princess was now colder than the air lingering in this lecture hall.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Matian held Rukna’s waist with one hand to keep her in place, and with the other hand, he fumbled around her belt area.

He was determined to uncover any hidden secrets today.

“What are you doing, Matian!”

Despite Rukna’s protests, Matian’s hand continued to move down her leg without stopping.

The inner thigh, the back of the knee, even inside the military boots where a small knife could be easily concealed – his touch reached everywhere. There was no metal.

“This can’t be.”

His hand moved to the other leg.

But it was the same on this side too. This can’t be. Matian muttered the same words.

“Matian Wiegratz, I asked what you’re doing.”

Rukna pushed the shoulder of Matian, who was kneeling and thoroughly searching her body.

But his rock-solid body didn’t budge at all.

He stood up without answering. His expression was hidden under his black hair.

As Rukna tried to assess his condition, her body was suddenly pushed against the wall.

Ugh! Rukna pressed her chest tightly against the wall, supporting herself with both hands.

Her body was trapped between the wall and Matian.

His firm thigh wedged between her legs, pressuring her so she couldn’t easily escape.

At the same time, his large hand now searched her upper body.

It was ridiculous that his touch became more cautious than before, even after pulling this stunt.

As his hand lingered around the pendant, Rukna resisted by twisting her upper body.

“Why are you doing this?!”

Matian grabbed her slender neck and pressed down firmly.

Ugh! Rukna’s cheek was pressed tightly against the wall. Matian, who had lowered his head, brought his lips close to her ear.

“Where did you hide the holy sword?”

As soon as she heard that question, Rukna felt as if her breath had stopped.

It was the question she had expected when Matian suddenly started searching her body, but actually hearing it made her want to hiccup.

‘Does he remember being trapped in the girls’ school building?’

No, she couldn’t jump to that conclusion. If that were the case, he would have questioned her gender first, not just the holy sword.

Given Matian’s personality, he wouldn’t recklessly touch a woman’s body like this.

‘But his touch is excessively polite for handling a man.’

Even now, there was no force in the grip around her neck. It was just enough to warn her not to run away.

“Why are you looking for a nonexistent holy sword on me?”

As Rukna wriggled her legs to break free, his thigh that had been restraining her loosened and slightly retreated.

However, he didn’t completely release the confinement.

“If it’s not the holy sword, how do you explain this holy power? Didn’t you receive it from the high priest at the temple?”

“This is my own holy power.”

“What?”

“With the help of the high priest, I awakened my latent divine power. I had a request from the professor of divine studies.”

“Talk sense.”

Matian lowered the hand that had been holding her neck and placed it on the wall. Still, Rukna was not free.

He still had her confined between his arms. He lowered his head and rested his forehead on her shoulder.

“If that’s your own holy power, does that mean you’re a descendant of the extinct Closet family?”

“…!”

“I heard from the high priest. That you are a descendant of heroes. So at first, I thought you might be a hidden illegitimate child of the Golden family.”

Saying that, Matian let out a chuckle.

“But you were only good at magic formula calculations and couldn’t wield mana. In that case, there was a high possibility that you were an illegitimate child or a hidden survivor of the Closet family, known to be extinct.”

Matian’s deduction was quite close to the truth.

Rukna tried to hide her flustered emotions and put on a brave face.

“D-Don’t you suspect that I might be a Wiegratz? I could be your hidden relative.”

“Haha, yeah. That could be possible. But Rukna.”

Matian slightly tilted his head resting on her shoulder towards her neck.

He looked at the gentle neckline exposed above the jacket lapel and hooked his finger on the end of the jacket, pulling it down slightly.

As his gaze, close to being lethal, pierced the newly exposed pale neck, Rukna shrugged her shoulders.

Matian captured her every movement with eyes that seemed to penetrate even the pulsating blood vessels beneath her straight spine.

Suddenly, a silver necklace that complemented the white skin caught his eye.

He slowly caressed the metal chain with his finger and parted his lips as if he would bite into her neck at any moment.

“If you were a Wiegratz, you wouldn’t have shown me such a vital point. Wiegratz are born with beastly instincts.”

His finger slowly pulled the silver chain towards her neck.

At this rate, the pendant would be pulled out of the shirt.

No. She couldn’t be caught like this. Not only was it a problem that the lies she had been telling would be exposed, but Rukna didn’t want to show Matian that she could wield the holy sword that he couldn’t.

She was afraid to see him get hurt because of that.

“Is that so?”

Rukna quickly turned her body and kicked his side while giving a brief response.

At the same time, she struck his solar plexus and forehead with the palm of her hand, causing his large body to fall to the floor with a thud.

“Then if I knock down the esteemed young master Matian, can I be acknowledged as part of the branch family?”

Rukna immediately climbed on top of his abdomen to control his movements and pressed down on his neck with her forearm to subdue him.

Then she belatedly realized.

The reason the technique she learned in the hand-to-hand combat class worked was because he had no intention of counterattacking.

Proving that point, Matian was showing off his composure even as his neck was being pressed, saying, “You’re putting what you learned to good use.” The corners of his mouth, which had been stiff, curved up into a dangerous smile.

“But Rukna, you shouldn’t mount someone with a significant weight difference like me. Especially in this mount position.”

“What? Ugh!”

With a brief piece of advice, Matian grabbed Rukna’s hips with both hands and slightly lifted her body.

At the same time, he tapped her buttocks with his thigh to disrupt her center of balance, causing Rukna’s floating body to tilt and suddenly shift its weight forward.

‘I’m falling!’

Ugh, Rukna quickly propped herself up with the arm that had been pressing on Matian’s neck.

Opening her squinted eyes to check what was in front, she saw Matian’s face at close range.

She was now leaning over him with both arms surrounding his head.

Her surprised eyes widened. If she had extended her hand a little later, she might have ended up colliding her lips with his.

“See, you should have run away as soon as the opponent fell.”

Matian scolded Rukna for not escaping when given the chance.

“Ignoring the difference in strength and only relying on pride is not the Wiegratz way.”

Matian cupped beneath Rukna’s ear with one hand and grabbed her waist with the other, cutting off her escape route.

And he silently gazed at her face.

Rukna gulped as she faced Matian lying beneath her.

‘Is it because of the position or because I’m too nervous that my heart is pounding like crazy?’

Rukna wanted to avert her gaze, feeling that this thumping sound would echo in the look she was giving him, but it wasn’t easy to escape those ocean-like eyes.

But was Matian also feeling embarrassed?

“Damn it.”

With a quiet curse, the one who averted his eyes first was Matian.

“From now on, whether it’s in hand-to-hand combat class or anything else, don’t mount any other bastard’s body. If you need a technique to subdue others, tell me. I’ll teach you.”

“What are you saying right now… Huh?”

At the same time, her vision spun around, and the cold floor touched her back.

This time, Matian, who had reversed their positions in an instant, was on top of her.