It was like she had forgotten how to breath.
Her thoughts tumbled around in her head like a tornado, and she was extraordinarily aware of how close she was to him.
She supposed it was because he was whispering in her ear. It was cheating that he looked as handsome as he did.
"What are you so surprised about?"
"You suddenly appearing right behind me."
"I called you from a small distance but you didn't seem to hear me, so I thought you must be looking at something interesting."
"Well, I was–"
Louise nervously twirled a lock of hair.
Ian watched her curiously then looked at the bookshelf where Louise's gaze had been.
"You read books like this?"
Louise nodded despite being ignorant of what he was looking at. She couldn't very well say, "I was spying on a person, not books."
"Oh, yes. I've been interested in the topic lately, so I've been looking into it."
"Interested? Really?"
he asked again with narrow eyes, and she nodded shiftily. What kind of book was he reacting to? Well, this was the Academy library–there were only books of scholarly value here.
"How astonishing. I didn't expect my fiancée to stab me in the back like this."
"What?"
Stab him in the back? He wasn't looking at something like "The Fall of the Monarchy," was he? Ian opened his mouth and read the title out loud.
"'I'm So Flustered! A Horoscope of Love For When You Want To Confess To Him Immediately.'"
"…"
What the hell? What kind of scandalous title was that?
"That's an interesting title."
Interesting? The title was longer than any other book title she had ever seen.
Ian pulled out "I'm So Flustered! Love Horoscope" from the bookshelf and began to flip through the pages.
"Leo, where is Leo…"
He muttered those horrible words.
"I'm—I'm just going through it as a joke."
"But you were looking so intently at it."
Ugh! Why was he saying that?
"It doesn't matter."
Louise snatched the book away before he could look up his astrology sign.
"Are you going to borrow it?"
Louise nodded indignantly.
If she didn't check it out, Ian would be happy to take it instead and use it as an excuse to tease her. But why did she catch him here?
"I'll help you sign up for a library card."
"I can ask a teacher to help."
"I can help you."
"What for?"
"Well, I'm looking forward to hearing you say my name as you thank me."
She pouted at him. It was nice to express her feelings more openly at the Academy where no one could protect him.
"You look so depressed."
Ian pinched her cheek again.
"Because I just lost my status and identity when I completed the entrance ceremony. Anyway, why don't you find someone else to help in this library? "
Louise cast a sidelong glance at Stella. Thankfully she was still there, absorbed in her book.
"Like who?"
"Well, there may be other first-years that need help."
Ian looked around for a moment, then his gaze finally fell on the red-headed girl reading her book.
Louise folded her hands on her heart and she stared at Ian's face longingly.
'Are you in love?'
Of course he was in love! Stella was the heroine of the world! And she was so beautiful!
"Like her…"
Ian stared at Stella for a long moment before walking over to her.
Was this the law of attraction? They were pulled to each other like magnets…!
Ian stood face to face with Stella, the two of them bathed in the sunlight from the window. Oh, Louise had seen this before in an illustration!
After approaching her, Ian would say the first words.
"Are you a first year?"
Louise swallowed hard as Ian opened his lips.
"It is against the school regulations to take out more than three books."
…Wait.
Hero! Your lines are wrong!
But Louise hung on a little more with patience. There was still a second line.
"This is interesting. There not a lot of students who enjoy getting cooped in a library like this.
He would say the line with an easy smile. He was smiling now.
All right. Perfect!
Please say it correctly this time.
"Please put the other books back in the cart."
Ian then turned his head and nodded at Louise as if to say "Am I done now?"
Louise banged her forehead on the bookshelf in frustration.
She could see why Ian first told her where the infirmary was.
She wanted to go a lie down for a while.
*
*
*
Louise quickly went to her room to unpack. The high-rise dormitory buildings were on one side of the school and each student had a private room. She went up to the girls' dormitory on the third floor and found a door labeled "Louise Sweeney." It contained a small room with a bed, a desk, a closet and a simple bathroom. Her luggage had already been brought inside.
Louise sank back onto her single bed without opening a single case.
The day wasn't over yet, but she was already exhausted.
'Why don't I just sleep for a while.'
She would figure out the layout of the school later with the help of her map. She needed to network with the other students, but she didn't have the motivation for it right now.
It was all the Crown Prince's–no, Ian's fault.
Why did he talk to the heroine like that? None of it was romantic. No one would want to read a novel like that.
'And if this novel doesn't come true, what will happen to this world? '
It was a problem she had never considered before. She was a little worried.
If this world disappeared would she go back to her life in Korea? She had almost forgotten what it was like there. She had forgotten the names of her classmates she was so envious of. Of course, now she didn't envy anyone now.
'Anyway, for the sake of my well-being in this world, Ian needs to be in a relationship with Stella.'
But how? Their first meeting was completely contrary to what happened in the novel.
Louise picked up the horoscope book she had borrowed out of frustration. She turned the pages, looking up Leo and mumbling the entry she found there.
'The more you desire to show off, the more likely will your lover sabotage you."
God, this book was so accurate.
It was only after another side character confessed to Stella that Ian had come to realize his feelings.
"When the Leo's love begins to focus on one person, they will become blind to anything else."
Louise nodded, read a few more sentences, then soon closed the book.
This was the goal. Ian needed to be able to focus on Stella.
'I need to do this.'
Louise closed her eyes for a moment and thought about Ian's behavior.
The man was still brazenly calling her "my fiancée" even at the age of eighteen. Of course he did it to make fun of her and they were never really deeply involved. But that might not be true from the perspective of others. Moreover, he was the crown prince. His status wasn't completely forgotten, even here at the Academy.
Stella could get caught up with other people's misunderstanding. Louise couldn't allow that happen.
Louise sat up when she made her decision. She would have negotiate with him before anything else irreversible happened.