You're going with me even if it's over?

"I feel like throwing up."

Avian groaned while holding her stomach. It was at night, and everything felt messy once she woke up from her short nap. 

Due to the sudden change of her environment three times within one day, Avian's sensitive stomach decided it was the correct time to mess with her. 

Since it was nighttime, Avian forced herself out of bed and put on her clothes again. The tight suit hid her chest again, but she felt her urge to puke attack her harder. 

'I wish I could just walk around wearing a woman's outfit for a change, but then I'll feel like I'm naked.'

Flowy dresses, tight dresses, or even those fitted dress suites the women around her wore always made her curious. However, Avian had never tried any. She felt exposed whenever she thought about being a woman, and even with her body covered from head to toe, she felt uncomfortable. 

Shaking those thoughts away, Avian left her room and went to the balcony. 

'The room even has a balcony. And the view… amazing.'

By simply leaning on the railing, Avian's vision was blinded by the capital's vibrant lights. The capital was erupting with noises and people singing and dancing together. Despite the distance that made them appear very small to her, Avian was able to tell their situation. 

"A festival, huh?"

From what she heard, the capital always had some sort of event going on. From small night festivals to big national celebrations, the nighttime had never been silent. 

"It sounds like a good place to be."

Being too new in this academy, Avian wished she could join them. But unfortunately, she was running out of time. The festival would not continue till dawn. By the time she arrived, it would have been wrapped up. 

At the end, Avian sighed and closed her eyes to indulge herself in the cool breeze of the night. Just as she was feeling herself getting comfortable and about to drift into sleep, a voice reached her ears. 

"Wow. I didn't expect you to be here," Zenith appeared seemingly out of nowhere, with a lopsided smile that threw Avian off. 

"What the- why are you here?" 

Avian turned around, both glad and terrified. Glad that she wore a male outfit before leaving for the balcony, and terrified at how Zenith was able to bypass the harsh security of the royal academy and reach her room. 

Zenith smiled more as he guessed what she was thinking. He laughed to himself and spoke softly, although amusement dripped from his every word. 

"I chased you up and down and could never find you. You hid yourself too well, but you ended up coming straight to me. If that wasn't fate, what could it be?"

His words unknowingly itched Avian's heart a bit. She went together with the Crown Prince, which meant nobody was going to be able to find her. 

'Were they worried about me? Did they come looking for me?'

As silly as that sounded while they had just abandoned her, Avian could only think that way. Albeit wanting to leave everyone and escape, they were her entire existence. 

So, when Zenith came saying that, she felt a mixture of weird emotions. 

"Don't joke around," she snapped lightly. 

To which Zenith approached her, cornering her against the railing. 

"I'm not joking, though."

"Huh?"

"At least in the first part. I've been looking for you since you ran away," he chuckled. "You left a very strong impression on me. When dad was going to send a searching squad behind you, I told him I'd do it personally."

Zenith started at Avian and shook his head internally. 

After arriving at the Maximilian Duchy, Zenith found out that the only people who had accepted him were the Duke and the Duchess. They had accepted him with open arms and immediately transferred everything to his name. 

But the servants and the other branches of the family had all shown obvious rejection towards him. Even more, they said he would never be as qualified as Avian. 

Something like that was within his expectations, but what he heard made him only more curious. 

Avian Maximilian did not seem to be amazing in any aspect aside from appearance and possessing enchanting charisma. Aside from that, there was nothing special about Avian Maximilian. 

'Then what were the qualifications everyone was talking about?'

Curious about that, Zenith decided that he needed to observe Avian closely. 

The Duke and the Duchess told him that he could ignore this issue and focus on his study, as they just enrolled him in the royal academy. 

So, he reluctantly let go of his curiosity and ventured toward the royal academy. 

Zenith did not expect to be pleasantly surprised after waking up in the middle of the night. The person he wanted to see the most was standing on the balcony next to his room; such a coincidence could only be fate. 

Thus, he swiftly jumped to her balcony while she was in a daze and slowly cornered her. 

Zenith was curious why this person would be spoken so highly of by a bunch of old and experienced nobles. He thought, even if they did not accept him from the start, the reason was going to be the doubt of his origin. 

However, they all disagreed to replace Avian regardless of whether he was truly the Duke's real son or not. 

Avian looked at him for a long time before pushing him away. "How did you even get here?"

"I was lucky. Dad just enrolled me here, and I was resting. Look, we are actually neighbors."

With a cheeky grin, Zenith pointed toward his own balcony. He somehow missed Avian's face blanking for a few moments before twisting into a small frown. 

"Okay, then please go back to your room. Don't disturb me."

"Don't be so harsh; aren't you curious about the festival?"

Shaking her head, Avian mumbled under her breath, "I am, but it doesn't matter. It'll end before we reach there."

"We can still go."

"You're coming with me even if it's over? Why would you?"

"I can help you, and you can answer some of my questions; let's take it as a win-win situation." 

Zenith sweetly whispered as he leaned closer to Avian while slowly sneaking his head around her waist. 

'Slender,' he noted. 

"So, are you coming with me?"