[Moments Earlier]

'Damnit!'

Rey had looked for every single way to speak to Lucielle throughout their first day of classes, but he was constantly with Cyn'dy, and even when he found a way to lose her, he couldn't find Lucielle by herself.

The few occassions when he tried to reach her, the girl just blatantly ignored him.

'Why doesn't she want to give me a chance to talk to her?'

Was she that upset? He truly had no idea what could make her so annoyed at him. The Lucielle he knew was very jovial about a lot of things, and she never took anything personally.

Besides, it wasn't like their disagreement was very serious.

'Maybe she just doesn't like Cyn'dy, but... I can't just ditch her for that reason.' Rey told himself.

It was obvious to him, and everyone around him, that the Dragon Girl was in love with him. She didn't even shy away from that fact.

'But... even though I don't feel the same, I don't know how to make it explictly clearer than I already have.'

Rey had shown Cyn'dy all the signs that he wasn't interested, and he even downright told her that he wasn't ready to commit to anyone or be in a relationship... yet she wouldn't leave him be.

She would bring up how sad and lonely she was, and how Rey helped her get over the death of her brother, which made him feel bad and continue being by her side.

~Master, maybe Lucielle is right. She might be manipulating you emotionally...~

Even Emil told Rey that Cyn'dy was most likely trying to guilt-trip him into staying, but he really didn't think it was an intentional act on her part.

"She's just very hurt. It takes time for these sort of things to heal."

That was his excuse.

It wasn't like he hadn't made his feelings or lack thereof-clear to Cyn'dy. Besides, he wasn't going to stick around the Academy for very long either, so this wasn't something he would have to put up with for too long.

For all of these reasons, Rey had to endure.

But... that came at the detriment of his relationship with Lucielle, and after a week without her constantly ringing in his mind, Rey was beginning to experience withdrawal symptoms.

He missed her like crazy.

'I make conversations in my head these days. It's gotten so bad that I get annoyed for smallest reasons.'

Things couldn't continue this way!

And, for this very reason, Rey decided to take the boldest step he could regarding Lucielle.

He retreated to his dorms early to shake off Cyn'dy, and then went to Lucielle's room in order to finally confront her in a place where she wouldn't be able to avoid him.

'Hehe! Perfect!' He had thought to himself.

As soon as he noticed that she was about to open the front door, he folded both hands and gave his most serious face while closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath to fully prepare for her shriek of surprise.

However... no shriek came.

'E-eh...?' Opening his eyes, he was greeted with something else entirely.

Lucielle was semi nude, having only a tight bra holding up her goods, as well as pure white panties that blended well with her pale skin.

The worst part? Lucielle opened her eyes right at that moment-finally noticing him the moment he became stunned by her sudden appearance.

This was the beginning of the end for him.

"T-this isn't what it looks like! I can... I can explain, Lucielle! I only came here to see you, and -!"

He quickly realized she wasn't listening to him, and all his explanations were useless, since she had just fainted on him.

'Oh, fuck!'

Before he realized it, his body moved to catch her before she fell to the ground.

Her body was very hot, and her skin felt paler than normal-almost as if all the life had been sucked out of it.

'I really messed up now!'

***********

[The Present]

"U-urgh..."

Lucielle stirred slowly as she woke up from a really bad dream.

In that dream, Rey was somehow in her room and saw her with nothing short of her underwear. The Lucielle of the past wouldn't have considered this such a big deal, since such matters didn't really affect her.

But to this current Lucielle it was a NIGHTMARE!

"Haa... haa..." She breathed heavily.

'Thank goodness it wasn't rea-'

"You're finally awake. That's such a relief..." Before Lucielle could conclude her thoughts, she heard an oddly familiar masculine voice echo beside her.

One slow turn of her neck, and she found Rey seated awkwardly beside her bed, a rubbery smile on his face as he tried to keep a straight face.

'A-Ahh...!' It wasn't a dream, after all.

All of it was real!

Lucielle felt her body turn hot again, and then before she could fully comprehend what happened... she blacked out again.

***************

[Moments Later]

"I'm really sorry, Lucielle! I shouldn't have appeared so suddenly."

Rey prostrated before her the moment she woke up, not even having the confidence to look her in the eyes as soon as he heard her stir on her bed.

The silence was deafening.

Rey felt his chest pounding as he snuck a peek at Lucielle and found her staring at him with a

blank, oddly calm expression.

She was actually frozen in thought, but he didn't realize that yet.

Lucielle was going over how Rey had managed to dress her up, which had to have involved

him touching her bare skin many times.

That thought alone would have made her faint another time due to embarassment, but she managed to control herself, so she didn't give in to it.

Still, that meant her body had to be in stasis for a few seconds while she processed everything.

By the time she was done, her body returned to normal, and she heaved a heavy sigh while looking at Rey's pitiful state.

He was a nervous wreck, same as her, and she couldn't take all the tension anymore.

As such, she decided to end it right there.

"I think I've fallen for you, Rey. Let's figure out how to deal with this together."

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Thanks for reading!

And so it begins... the Lucielle route! But, I wonder if it will bear fruit or not.