I could feel their eyes on me as soon as I entered the classroom. I couldn't tell if it was due of my new look or the fact that I had been gone for three days. I couldn't blame them, though, for their shocked looks; I had totally changed the Karina Azalena they knew. She used to wear a plain, dark-colored sleeves and pants making her presence barely perceptible, her long hair partially covering her face, and she wore contacts to hide her stunning eyes. Her makeup was minimal, just enough to complement her warm ivory skin—a light touch of nude lipstick and a hint of powder, nothing to distract from her natural beauty. But right now, the Karina Azalena in front of them looked like a totally different person. In addition to cutting her hair short, I decided to change her style to fit my preferences: a cream-colored, belted jumpsuit that contrasted perfectly with my warm complexion, paired with a navy-blue turtleneck that matched my own skin tone. It brought out the subtle warmth in my features while adding an edge to my understated elegance.
"Good morning." I casually greeted them, something that the original Karina wouldn't do, as I strutted to a desk next to the window where she usually sat and stared outside the glass window while patiently waiting for the professor to come.
I shut my eyes for a moment while the classroom filled buzzed with low hum of chatters as the students filtered in, finding their seats. The space was average, with rows of desks arranged in a stadium seating facing the front, where a large whiteboard stretched across the wall beneath a mounted projector. Glass windows lined in one side of the room, letting in soft, natural light, while the other walls where one side is partially decorated with bulletin boards pinned with announcements, colorful charts, and remnants of past projects, the other portion of the wall is another window where other students could be seen chattering in the hallway. The air smelled faintly of coffee and textbooks, mingling with the cool, clean, and slightly sterile scent of the air-conditioning.
I looked around for a while when I felt eyes on me, and let out a chuckle when they looked away upon meeting my gaze, some even hunched on their laptops, typing away, while others flipped through their notes just to avoid my gaze. I assume that my sudden change is quite too much for them to handle, so I let my eyes drift back to the window glass beside me. Watching the little world beyond the window glass feels distant yet it provides a fleeting tranquil, distracting me from everything around me. Back in my world, I never had the leisure to watch the clouds slowly move across the horizon, shifting and stretching, as if dancing in the breeze. Since I came into this world, I find myself enjoying doing things that I couldn't before because of my obligations. Each moment feels like a small victory, as if I've unlocked parts of myself that were always there, but were locked up because of my standing.
Everyone took their seats as the professor entered the room, the door clicking shut behind him. I exhaled a deep sigh, holding myself back from chuckling as the realization hit me when the person who had just walked in looked strikingly familiar. Standing at the front was a man in his mid-forties, his sharp, analytical gaze scanning the room. His salt-and-pepper hair was neatly combed back, and thin-framed glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, giving him the distinguished air of an academic person. Dressed in a white collared polo shirt and beige chinos, he carried himself with confidence, as if letting everyone know that he is someone used to being in front of a classroom. It took only a moment before I recognized him—Eliott Hartman, the royal physician is 'her' favorite psychology professor whose lectures had once filled her afternoons with complex theories and probing questions.
Our eyes locked and all I could manage was a modest smile. He furrowed his brows as he looked at me, adjusting his glasses in the process. Some of the students followed his gaze and landed on me, which somehow made me feel a little uncomfortable. After a moment of contemplation, he finally asked the question that everyone in that room had been eager to ask since I enter the class.
"I believe that is my student—Miss Azalena's seat." In his deep voice, professor Eli's uncertainty was evident, as he struggled to recognize his student due to my sudden change. "Are you perhaps a new student of mine?" He added, clearly unsure.
"…" I opened my mouth to say something but ended up closing it again, unbale to articulate an explanation.
From behind me, a baritone voice spoke up for me in a sleepy tone, "She's Karina, sir. She just cut her hair, change the way she dressed, and reveal her pretty eyes." I turned my gaze to see who had spoken on my behalf.
I frowned as I realized I had no other memories of the person behind me, except for the original Karina's recollection of him. She had often seen him sleeping through every class, yet somehow, he always managed to score the highest on every exam. He's a man in his twenties with a relaxed, almost nonchalant demeanor that she always sees playing around with other students from different colleges, that contradicted his academic success. His jet-black tousled hair, often in disarray, and a slight stubble on his face gave him a laid-back, effortlessly cool appearance, making him look like he's easy to get along with. And despite being in an affluent family, he dressed up casually —distressed jeans, a classic white tee and sneakers. Despite his seemingly indifferent attitude, he had a sharp, observant gaze that hinted at his underlying intellect.
He gave off the impression of being inattentive in class since he frequently leaned back on his chair or hunched on his desk, sleeping, and showed a half-hearted interest in lessons. Sometimes he would mischievously engage in discussions to fight off his drowsiness or scribble absentmindedly on his notebook. In contrast to how everyone sees him, his grades were always excellent, making everyone perplexed by his ability to do well despite appearing to put in minimal visible effort.
My thoughts about him ceased when the professor and her classmates collectively voiced the same question in unison: "She's who?"
I turned my gaze back in the front, feeling a bit embarrassed upon realizing that I have been staring at the man behind me, making the latter showed a not so annoying grin before yawning and benched back to his desk.
"It's as this man said," I replied politely to everyone, gesturing towards the man behind me with my thumb.
Everyone except me and the man behind me made a surprised sound. They started complimenting my looks, totally criticizing how I was in the past, but I only gave them a modest smile until the professor hushed them and finally started his lesson in Abnormal psychology. I was ready to listen to Professor Eli's discussion when I heard the man behind me chuckle softly before brushing gently his fingertip against my back, prompting me to turn slightly at him.
"What?"
He tilted his head slightly, still hunched over, and murmured with a hint of mischief in his voice, "Kai, Alaric, or Ashford. Choose one."
"Why?"
My unsure response caused him to straighten his back and rest his chin on his hand, staring at me with furrowed brows. "Calling me 'this man' sounds so distant. We've been classmates for three years now—surely you know my name by now. We've been seatmates since freshman year."
I'm quite astonished, if I may say. I never encountered this man in the world I came from, we never met, yet I felt a deep sense of debt to him upon finishing Karina's novel. He is the Duke of the Northern Region, renowned for his fierce reputation and hatred towards the nobilities. He is known by the ominous alias 'Savage Hunter.' Due to his notorious reputation, he never attended any of the balls I hosted at the palace, including the grand event held in his honor after his victory in a war a year before my death. Through her story, I discovered that Duke Ashford was the one who restored my family's reputation. It was also mentioned that he is a friend of my twin and the only person outside my family who knew my twin's identity. Although the details of their meeting were only briefly noted from Achilles' point of view, it left me intrigued and grateful. That is why I felt quite embarrassed to finally meet the face of the person behind that name in Karina's story.
I exhaled, "Pick."
"…"
"You pick what should I call you." After speaking these words in a soft voice just loud enough for him to hear, I turned back to face the front and listened to professor Eli's discussion attentively when he didn't respond.
The discussion fascinates me. I never attended the academy because I privately tutored and the subjects are totally different from what we had in the kingdom. The professor's enthusiasm was contagious, and despite the serious nature of the topic, I found myself drawn into the discussion. His passion for the subject was evident, just like when he was still my tutor in medicine and healing back in the kingdom before he became the royal physician.
When the class ended, professor Eli glanced at my direction and smiled, "I must admit, your drastic transformation did concern me for a moment." He uttered, drawing everyone's attention focused on me. His next set of words confirmed my suspicion that he was aware of the original Karina's mental health issues, "You seem like a completely different person now, Miss Azalena. It appears that whatever was troubling you before has been resolved." He said before leaving the class.
Some of the good people around my creator are quite perceptive, that somehow, it's making me want to applaud them for seeing through me. It put me at ease knowing that she is not completely invisible like she always thought. I exhaled a sigh and casually gathered my things and was about to leave for my second class when a cold hand grabbed my wrist firmly, stopping me in my tracks.
Unlike the natural revulsion I felt whenever the Achilles from this world touched me, I don't feel the impulse to pull away from this man who dared to lay a hand on me. I looked at him and patiently waited for him to speak, fighting my urge to ruffle his unruly hair that I used to do to my twin brother.
"Kairos." Finally, he spoke in a lethargic tone without taking his hand off of me. He raised his head and met my gaze; his light brown eyes were laced with amusement. "It's an alias I made for you to call me."
For the first time, a genuine smile spread across my face. It was a smile that came from deep within, unforced and sincere. I withdrew from his grip and extend my hand for a handshake, another first taken by this man.
"Karina."
The smile on my lips faded instinctively when, instead of shaking my hand, he gently took it and pressed the back of it to his lips. The gesture seemed deliberate; an elegant reminder of the social etiquette practiced by nobles in my world, momentarily brought me back to the refined customs and traditions that I was familiar with.
He let go of my hand and playfully smiled at me. "I'm counting this as our first."
I frowned, confused on what he means. "First what?"
"First encounter."
The creased on my forehead deepened, "O…kay? –but why?"
He gently tucked the loose strand of hair behind my ear before crossing arms on his chest. "What do you want? The simple or the complex explanation?"
Unknowingly, the corner of my lips raised due to amusement as I checked the watch in my wrist. "Make it simple, it's almost time for my next class." I answered, going along with his humor.
The smirk on his face slowly dissolved, it was replaced by a more neutral expression. This subtle shift in his demeanor left me feeling a twinge of unease, as if the sudden change in his expression had exposed a layer of unspoken tension or hidden emotion. "You finally cut your hair."
"My hair? What does it have to do with my –" I trailed off, my words faltering as the realization of what he was implying finally sank in. The crease on my forehead smoothed out, and to everyone's surprise, I burst into genuine laughter. The sound of my hearty laugh brought the smile back to the man's face.
I nodded in agreement, though the mystery of how he knew that the original Karina had only Achilles Dimitri on her mind, completely disregarding everyone else, puzzled me. The realization that he was aware of such a specific detail about her fixation towards Achilles still left me intrigued. How could he have discerned that her attention was so singularly fixed on one person, without seeming to notice the others around her? However, may it be because he's naturally perceptive or Karina just particularly caught his radar, is something that I have no desire to know.
"It's nice to meet you, Kairos." The way his name rolled in my tongue gives a familiar feeling. It was the same name that I thought I've long forgotten. I shook my head and focused on the person in front of me. I'm sure that it's only a coincidence that he used that name. As far as I know, the duke of the north never had an alias. And about that person…
My thoughts were interrupted when I felt the cool touch of his hand against mine. He looked at me with a gaze that carried a hint of mystery, his eyes gleaming with an unreadable expression. "The pleasure is mine," he said, his voice smooth and enigmatic. "It's nice to finally meet a new version of you, Karina." His last set of words before he led me to our next class, left another mystery that I would never dare to solve.