The Adopted Princess Hopes to Escape the Genre - Chapter 35
Click-.
I carefully closed the door to the empty room and stepped out.
Hias, unfazed by my bewildered reaction, hastily packed his bag and left the room first. Rather than conducting a lesson, he had spent the entire time lost in his own world, only to abandon me alone in the room and disappear.
Because he had unilaterally poured out everything he wanted to say and left, I sat in the empty room for quite some time, merely rolling my eyes. When I finally came to my senses and stepped into the hallway, it was eerily silent, without a single sign of life.
Before leaving the room, I had checked the time, it was already nearing 4:30. It was too early for dinner, too early for bed.
‘What should I do now?’
That was probably the end of my schedule for today. I hadn’t been told otherwise.
As I walked down the empty hallway and reached the top of the staircase, I spotted Kaiden coming up from below.
Should I quietly wait for him to reach me, or—
Leaning against the railing, I raised my voice and called out.
“Kaiden-oppa!”
Kaiden froze in place at the sudden call, his head snapping around in confusion as he searched for the source of the voice.
Then, finally spotting me hanging over the railing above, his eyes widened.
Kaiden, who had been walking at a somewhat brisk pace, frowned as he saw my short legs dangling from the railing.
Letting out a sigh, he immediately broke into a run.
It wasn’t long before Kaiden appeared before me. Catching his breath, he spoke in a sharp voice.
“Hah, that’s dangerous, what are you doing here?”
Kaiden spoke in a scolding tone, his face filled with anger.
“Get down first.”
At Kaiden’s firm voice, I looked down at the hands gripping the railing. In that moment, a memory I didn’t even know I had flashed through my mind, overlapping with the current situation.
‘Have I hung from here before?’
For some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu and stayed on the railing a bit longer before finally getting down. Then, turning my gaze to Kaiden, who was bracing himself with his hands on his knees, I smiled and said.
“Me? I was just waiting for you here.”
At my words, Kaiden seemed to lose all strength, collapsing on the spot.
His face didn’t look good. His complexion was pale, and it seemed like he was sweating.
Worried, I extended my hand to Kaiden and asked.
“Are you okay?”
Kaiden stared blankly at my hand. He didn’t move at all. Even though I had extended my hand, he showed no signs of reaching for it, remaining frozen in place.
‘Looks like he’s not going to take it.’
“You must have been really startled. I won’t play pranks like this anymore.”
Kaiden hesitated for a moment, staring at my outstretched hand, making me feel awkward. Just as I was about to withdraw it, he suddenly grabbed it tightly.
The force of him standing up pulled my body toward him.
Kaiden, holding onto my swaying hand, pulled me in and hugged me tightly.
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, I blinked in confusion and simply stayed in his arms.
‘But… doesn’t this scene look a little strange? Though I guess it doesn’t matter since we’re just kids.’
Surely this world’s genre isn’t forbidden love…? That would mean it’s 100% angst…!
Determined to block even the slightest possibility, I started wriggling to escape Kaiden’s embrace.
‘Let go, you brat! If the genre shifts, we’re doomed…!’
The more I struggled in panic, the tighter Kaiden held me. That was when I finally noticed—his body was trembling.
‘Wait… is he shaking?’
Kaiden was silent, just holding onto me and trembling.
He must have really been afraid that I would fall down the stairs and get hurt.
That realization made me feel incredibly guilty.
A small nine-year-old child was silently terrified. He looked so pitiful that it tugged at my heartstrings. It even reminded me of my youngest sibling back in the real world.
I stopped struggling and checked Kaiden’s condition.
His hands, barely holding onto me, were shaking violently, and his eyes were unfocused. Yet, whenever I tried to move away, his grip tightened.
His heart was pounding so fast that I could hear it loud and clear.
The hands wrapped around my back were growing damp.
As if his sweaty palms kept slipping, he clenched my clothes even tighter.
Kaiden’s pupils trembled slightly when I checked again. His focus had returned, but it seemed like he still needed more time to fully regain his composure.
It looked like he was also experiencing hyperventilation, as even breathing seemed difficult for him. Above my head, I could hear Kaiden’s wheezing breaths.
I simply stayed in his arms, gently patting his back.
Had he gone through such a traumatic event that just remembering it sent him into a panic?
Had someone fallen from that railing before?
‘Maybe… that someone was Kaiden.’
Various speculations flashed through my mind in that short moment, but I pushed them aside.
In the meantime, Kaiden’s trembling gradually subsided.
Maybe patting his back had helped.
It was only after his body had completely stopped shaking that he finally let go of me.
Before anything could trigger him again, I quietly took his hand and led him away from that spot.
That was the best consideration I could offer him.
‘I was planning to spend time with Kaiden and get closer to him, but that plan’s ruined now.’
