*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
Someone knocked on Evane's door, Evane, who was busy with her painting, frowned, she then stood up and opened the door.
"Who is i- hmm?"
"Princess Evane, I am back."
Nux, who was wearing Armour while carrying a helmet in his hand spoke with a smile on his face.
"N-Nux?"
Evane blinked a few times.
"Hmm? Why that expression? You did not forget about me, did you?"
Nux questioned with a playful smile on his face.
"Of course not."
Evane's answer was instantaneous.
Hearing those words, Nux nodded to himself as well,
"Indeed indeed, there is no way your mind would forget about me, right, Princess Evane?"
Nux's smile widened.
Evane snorted and nodded to herself.
"Well, you are Nux alright."
Nux had that unique way of talking, a little arrogant, a little playful, it wasn't disrespectful in any way, rather, it had its own unique charm and was like his identity. Evane, who was missing this for a while now smiled inwardly.
"It is good that you recognized me."
Nux nodded and then, he extended his hands towards Evane,
"So? Where is my Welcome Back hug?"
"H-Huh?"
Evane frowned at the sudden request.
"Well, I returned after fighting a long, tiresome, and cruel war and you are the first person I reported to,
Princess Evane, your knight is back,
He deserves a Welcome Back hug as a reward, does he not?"
Nux questioned with a playful look on his face.
Evane blushed a little and didn't move. She just stood there with an embarrassed look on her face and hesitated.
Nux, however, had a very thick skin.
Nux just stood there with his hands extended towards Evane
Something like this won't make him feel awkward at all.
"Princess Evane, you aren't planning to abandon your knight, are you?"
He questioned.
"W-What's with that Princess Evane this Princess Evane that you are talking about? This is the Royal Academy, I am not a Princess but a Teacher here.
So don't call me that."
Evane retorted.
"My hug, Princess Evane."
Nux, however, did not listen to Evane's words at all, he just stood there with his hands extended towards Evane, and this time, he even closed his eyes.
His intention was clear, he would stay in this place as long as he does not get the hug he wanted.
Evane understood that as well, therefore, in the end, she finally gave in, and with a face as red as a tomato, she finally moved and hugged Nux.
With the thick armor he was wearing, Nux wasn't able to enjoy this hug at all.
However, he was not annoyed by that at all.
It was all for the greater good after all.
This little sacrifice was worth it.
Nux then moved his hands and hugged her back.
Evane's face turned even redden when she felt that thick armor all over her body, especially on her breasts.
For some reason, she felt very comfortable and safe in this situation.
She did not hate this feeling at all.
'!!!'
Soon, however, Evane's eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head repeatedly.
'Evane! Just what are you thinking!? He is your student!
Your Student!'
However, while she was lost in her own thoughts, Nux place his chin on Evane's shoulder and whispered softly,
"It feels good, Princess Evane."
"T-That's Teacher Evane for you."
Evane retorted.
"Well, to be honest, I am fine with Evane as well. Only if you would allow me to call you that, of course."
"W-W-W-What are you talking about?"
Nux's words were like a jumbled puzzle for Evane's mind, a mind that was already a big mess right now.
"Teacher Evane, after participating in this war, I realized something."
"W-What is it?" Evane questioned back.
"In these last few days, I have killed a lot of people, I have seen many enemies and allies dying on the battlefield, I have even picked up bodies of my allies to whom I talked with just a day before the battle and while going through all of this, I realized.
I realized that life is too short to hold yourself back in fear of what others would think.
We might be alive and doing well today, however, the next day, someone might assassinate us and take our most precious thing away from us.
Therefore, it is better to just do what you want and live however you want.
And this is exactly how I will live from now on."
Nux smiled.
"That sounds like a good way to li-H-Huh?"
Evane nodded and agreed with Nux's words, however, before she could even complete her sentence, Nux moved and tightened his hug around her.
"Therefore from now on, I will not hold back my thoughts and do exactly what I wanted to do since the first day I met you."
Nux whispered, this time, however, Evane noticed the change in his tone.
His words sounded…
Possessive…
It was as if Nux was trying to say something to her, and of course, Evane had a rough idea of what it was.
That was the reason why she was so flustered.
She wasn't ready to hear those words right now, however, Nux didn't seem to know about her thoughts and continued.
"I know what I am going to say is morally wrong since we are teacher and student, however, the moment I laid my eyes on you, my heart started beating unnaturally and I fell in love.
Everything happened so quickly that I was unable to react in time.
I know that what I am saying might strain our current relationship, however, if I don't say these words when I have the chance, I will regret it for the rest of my life."
Nux then released Evane from his hug and grabbed her shoulders.
With his golden eyes shining brightly, he looked straight into Evane's eyes and,
"Evane, I love you."
*Ba-dump*
Evane's heart skipped a beat.
She had already guessed what Nux wanted to say and was already thinking about different replies in her mind, Should she accept it? Should she reject it? How should she reject it? Should she be strict and yell at Nux for thinking about something so wrong? Or should she reject him politely while being considerate of his feelings? Actually, why even reject him? Should she just accept his proposal and live a whole new life? No no no no, it was definitely better to reject him, or maybe accepting it was better. Or…
Yes, her mind was a big mess right now and she wasn't able to come up with a certain, fixed answer.
However, in the end, when she heard the three magical words,
The Mess in her mind cleared up.
And now,
Her mind was completely blank.
She wasn't able to think about anything at all.
"…"
Therefore, she just turned silent and didn't reply.
Nux, of course, expected something like that.
He just stepped back and smiled,
"I know this is all too sudden for you, Evane.
I don't want you to rush it. Think things through at your own pace, you can answer me whenever you want.
I will wait for your response."
After saying that, Nux turned around and left.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
The heavy armor he was wearing produced different sounds as his body moved, those sounds echoed inside Evane's mind, and seeing his walking figure, Evane felt a strange pain in her heart.
She wanted to stop the man who was walking away, however, the thought that this man was just an 18-year-old boy and her student stopped her steps.
Just like Nux said, this wasn't something she could think about in just 5 or 10 minutes, she needs to think about it thoroughly and then come up with a good answer.
Evane nodded to herself and with a heavy heart, she walked into her room.
There, her eyes fell on a certain painting, a painting where a man wearing thick armor was walking toward a woman wearing expensive-looking clothes.
This painting was about a Princess meeting the Knight who has just returned from war.
This was a painting she drew.
The story behind this painting was simple,
The Princess and the Knight loved each other, however, due to the difference in their status, they couldn't get married to each other. The Knight, however, still dared and confessed his love for the princess, the princess accepted and the two of them lived happily ever after.
How they lived, and where they lived didn't matter.
The only thing that mattered was that they lived together, overcoming all the hardships they faced.
'Living happily ever after huh…'
Evane thought about it for a while and turned silent.
With heavy thoughts weighing her mind, she decided to call it off and closed her eyes.
…
The next day, Evane woke up, took a bath, ate her breakfast, and then, she walked toward her class.
As she entered the classroom, she noticed that many girls were standing around a certain seat and, on that seat,
There sat a boy who was smiling at her.
"Oh, Teacher Evane is here.
Good Morning, Teacher Evane."
For some reason, seeing that sight in front of her,
Evane felt annoyed.
