You Can't Catch the Wind - Chapter 35

“Of course. It will be issued in Miss Ael’s name.”

“In my name?”

“Yes. The academy library is quite strict and doesn’t issue cards for general company use. They said only up to five people can get cards at once, and I believe apart from Branch Manager Nisha, no one else has needed one yet.”

Kalon’s explanation didn’t quite register in Ael’s ears.

‘They can make an ID for me?’

Something she always had to secretly steal and take out, and now they’re going to make one for her.

She wanted to hug Kalon and jump for joy right then and there. If it had been Jena in front of her, she might have done just that.

Feeling like she was walking on clouds for the second day in a row, Ael recalled an important point from his words.

“Does Ash Company bring in Imperial books for the academy?”

“Yes. Not just for the Kingdom of Denertum, but also for academies in other kingdoms…”

“Oh! Then, could I possibly order some books too?”

Ael had to speak urgently, even before he finished his sentence.

She had been thinking about what to do with the money she received yesterday.

Pay wages, buy food, fix the house. And then…

‘I need to buy the torn books again.’

The books her family had completely torn apart.

She had to get them back and return them to the academy library.

Fortunately, the loan period was long, so there was still time to return them, but even with time, how could she get the money to buy those books, and even if she did, where could she place an order to buy them?

Now that she had some money, she was planning to inquire about buying Imperial books at a bookstore, but to think Ash Company was in charge of that.

“Of course, that’s possible. Some of our employees from the Empire order books they want to read. What books are you thinking of ordering?”

He picked up a pen from the table as if ready to take the order right away.

Ael named the books she had borrowed. His hand, which had been busy writing, stopped the moment Ael mentioned the name of the last book.

“This book… it’s the one you threw that time, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

“Did you lose the books? And they’re all Imperial books… It’s hard for so many books to be damaged at once… If it’s just smoke damage from the recent fire, you could just return them as is. Of course, you’d have to pay compensation, but if the damage isn’t too severe, they might be able to restore them.”

“But they’re all torn…”

Ael blurted out and then closed her mouth. But it was already too late.

“Torn? All ten of those books?”

“Well…”

“Please be honest with me, Miss Ael.”

At his firm voice, Ael hesitated. She hadn’t meant to tell the people at Ash Company, as it would only bring shame to her family.

Besides, who would sympathize?

They would say it was her fault for secretly taking the ID in the first place. And she thought so too.

My fault.

The disastrous consequences it brought.

So Ael had intended to bury everything about the books within herself. But… there were times when she wanted to speak out. About the resentment piling up inside her.

At that moment, Kalon reached out. He gently grasped Ael’s chin and lifted it.

The hair she had deliberately lowered flowed to the side, revealing her round forehead.

Without hesitation, Kalon extended his other hand and placed his finger on the inner part of Ael’s forehead, where it met her hairline.

“Here too.”

His voice came from a distance so close that it seemed they would touch if either moved even slightly.

“You’re hurt.”

Too close.

That was the only thought in Ael’s mind.

A distance so close she could count his eyelashes. His thick, straight eyebrows, his piercingly blue eyes, even the small mole beside his eye that she hadn’t known existed were all visible due to their proximity.

She had never been face to face with anyone like this in her life. Not even with Jena.

It was the first time anyone had treated her this way, so Ael didn’t know what to do or how to react.

Someone else might have been startled and quickly backed away.

But Ael didn’t want to do that. The touch, like handling a thin glass, was careful and slow.

The wound where his long fingers touched tingled. That sensation, starting from the point of contact, quickly spread throughout Ael’s entire body.

It felt as if her sight and hearing were cut off, leaving all her senses focused solely on that spot.

If she had to put a name to this unfamiliar sensation…

‘It’s warm.’

The body heat of another person touching her was warmer and more pleasant than she had imagined.

Ael recalled the sight of people who easily made contact with others. Friends holding hands, parents kissing their children, and even lovers linking arms.

Seeing these seemingly natural scenes, she had never understood why everyone was so close, but if it felt like this… she could see why they couldn’t help it.

Kalon’s finger traced over the scabbed wound.

She felt a throbbing pain where it hadn’t fully healed yet.

“Ah…”

A soft moan of slight pain escaped her lips.

Kalon, too, was experiencing a strange emotion at the warm breath touching his wrist.

From the moment he heard about the torn books, he had, as always, thought of a particular person. The image of an arrogant, vulgar, and ignorant individual.

It was Viscount Aradis.

A man who wouldn’t hesitate to hurt others, even his own daughter.

The books Ael mentioned were ten volumes. Some of them were quite thick. Books that could never be torn by accident.

If Viscount Aradis was angry enough to tear all those books, where would that anger have been directed after the ten volumes were torn?

Anger flows from high places to low.

Though he had only visited once, Kalon knew well who was at the lowest place in that house.

There was someone there who couldn’t show their face even when guests came.

The anger that had exploded enough to tear ten books would have sought something else to consume, unable to burn out completely.

“So he threw the books at you.”

“…”

“I thought it was a bruise from something blunt, but I didn’t think it would be from the corner of a book.”

The finger tracing the wound brushed aside the nearby hair. It was an attempt to see further inside.

Long fingers delved between the strands of hair. Was there a wound there?

Feeling a bumpy area, Kalon leaned in closer. Even he thought it was more than necessary.

Just as this was Ael’s first experience of such close contact with another person, it was also the first time for him to examine someone so closely.

The traces of anger kindled new anger within him.

‘That bastard.’

Viscount Aradis, who had drooled like a starved dog at the sight of the gift he had brought.

For a moment, Kalon imagined all the harm he could inflict on such a vile person.

Though he was now disguised as a mere company employee in a small country, hiding his identity, he could at any time return to being Kalon Ash, capable of toying with the entire continent.

How much more despicable would Viscount Aradis, who groveled for money, appear before the name of Kalon Ash?

All the methods Kalon could imagine flashed through his mind.

These base imaginings evoked an equally primal satisfaction.

The increasingly cruel fantasies were interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps followed by a knock.

“Miss Ael! May I come in?”

At the sound of Ino’s voice, the two people who had been frozen as if time had stopped suddenly came to their senses.

The hand touching the wound retreated, and the feather-light breath on the wrist drifted away.

Ael and Kalon simultaneously felt a sense of loss.

They quickly composed themselves. There was nothing wrong with their appearance. Only the awkwardness between them remained from their recent actions.

“Miss Ael? Are you not there?”

“I’m here! Come in!”

Ael hurriedly responded to Ino’s voice. Before her voice had fully faded, the door swung open.

“Hello! I’m here!”

Ino entered with a bright smile.

“…Huh?”

He froze at the subtle gazes directed at him.

Ael with her face strangely flushed, and beside her, Kalon glaring coldly despite having done nothing wrong today.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

But no matter how much he thought about it, there really was nothing he could be scolded for today. After all, he was meeting both Kalon and Ael for the first time today!

‘Why have they been glaring at me like this so often lately?’

He wondered if Kalon had suddenly developed homesickness, but knowing full well that was impossible for such a person, Ino shook his head.