Claude was still verbally blaming the crown prince for drinking too much and delaying things, but his gaze kept unconsciously sneaking over to Callian. This time, she was really leaving.
"Everyone, goodbye."
"You smell very sweet."
It seemed those candies really were unusually sweet.
On her first time riding in a car, the young master made a fool of herself. One sudden brake directly flung her forward, because she had not fastened her seat belt. Fortunately, the quick-eyed and quick-handed young duke grabbed her at once. Only then did she avoid getting hurt.
But were these hands really the hands of a boy? They were far too slender.
Afraid of being exposed, Callian immediately pulled her hand back. "I can eat a lot. The candy you gave me yesterday was especially sweet and especially sticky. It felt like it was almost sticking my mouth shut, but I still finished all of it."
That way, it did make sense. Actually, there was one question that had always bothered Claude. In order to confirm it, he pulled Callian's hand back again and gently sniffed it in front of the tip of his nose. With that kind of action and in that kind of atmosphere, Callian's little face immediately turned as red as a tomato.
"How is the smell?"
"Very good. You should sleep for a while. Even by car, we still have a long way to go."
After what had just happened, the instigator could still be so calm. Callian widened her eyes. But not long afterwards, several loud bangs startled Claude again.
This kid Callian could run into trouble even just sitting in a car. She knocked her head this loudly and could still keep sleeping.
Having no other choice, Claude gently pulled her over into his arms. Because whether it was when she was little or now, Callian always made him unable to resist wanting to take care of her. Maybe because they were too close, that sweet scent became even stronger. For a man to give off such a fragrance, it always made him unable to resist wanting to get closer.
This is way too sweet. Just now, too. This guy was obviously a man, yet he was almost too enticing.
But just as he was lost in thought, a sudden sound pulled him back to reality. It turned out that a button on the clothes had fallen off.
It seems I've really gone mad. Or perhaps I am gradually going mad.
A dangerous thought instantly rose in his heart. At this moment, Callian's lips carried a fatal temptation. After all, to make him keep drawing closer as if under a spell was really damnable.
Only after getting out of the car did Callian finally wake up, touching the little bump on her forehead and thinking about it. And her mouth also felt damp. Could it be that she had drooled while sleeping? Could riding in a car really be this bumpy?
Callian actually did not stay in the dormitory. This made Claude very unhappy. It turned out that her father was worried she would not adapt to dormitory life, so he arranged a place for her to stay outside. But with Callian's qualifications, the academy would definitely assign him the largest room. So there was really no need for him to move out and live elsewhere.
When he heard Callian say that he was introverted, Claude curled his lips into a smile. He even teased him, saying that since you can be so close with a man you just met for the first time, it seems your introversion excludes foreigners.
Actually, before that, Callian had already met Prince Ian. So she did not react for a moment. But in Claude's eyes, that reaction instead looked more like a guilty cover-up. He glared fiercely at the lying Callian, glaring so hard that Callian's whole body prickled. Only then did she finally realise that Claude was referring to Prince Ian.
Callian was just about to explain something, but Claude mercilessly interrupted her. He had no desire at all to hear that foreigner's name from Callian's mouth.
That wafting sweet fragrance from the young master always made the young duke unable to resist wanting to get close. He had finally managed to suppress the impulse in his heart, when with a clunk the wheel rolled over a stone.
"This road is really too hard to travel on."
"Your Grace, are you all right?"
Unexpectedly, an accident actually brought the two of them closer. Claude hurriedly backed away, but his face was already red all the way to his ears. Even after returning to the residence, the image of kissing Callian just now still lingered in his mind for a long time.
He had actually fallen for a man. Damn it, Callian.
Actually, more than once, Claude had felt that Callian did not seem like a man at all. Even the place he chose to live was deliberately similar in style to his own. As long as it had anything to do with that guy, he would always be unable to stop himself from thinking wildly.
Just then, the royal family sent over an official cooperation document. After only one glance, Claude's eyes widened abruptly.
Meanwhile, Callian was also quietly planning something important. Her wardrobe had long since been stuffed full of cute women's clothes. Because her current appearance was far too different from when she was little, she was afraid that her mother might no longer recognise her. The one thing she absolutely could not give up on was finding her mother.
A few days later, it was finally the day Callian had to report in. As soon as the gatekeeper heard her name, he was instantly shocked and hurriedly ran into the academy to report it. Just by standing there quietly, Callian had already become the centre of everyone's attention. The gazes cast at her from all around hardly stopped at all.
Not long after, the principal and his group actually came out personally to receive her.
"Callian Bell, I am very glad to see you again."
That strange man with a moustache from last time was also there, and once again stared at her with a lewd grin. It made her skin crawl. Fortunately, the principal stepped in to relieve the situation in time.
"Let's go straight to the examination hall first. Tater has praised you quite a lot. Everyone is very curious about your exam results."
On the way to the examination hall, the surroundings were full of noise.
"So he's Bell? How can a man be so delicate looking?"
Suddenly, a familiar figure blocked the way. The moment she saw who it was, Callian was immediately very happy. It had been so long since she last met Claude — yet when faced with her greeting, the young duke actually turned his head away. This sudden avoidance filled Callian's head with question marks.
Until she walked into the examination hall, the discussion around her still had not stopped.
"Did you see? He's really beautiful."
"How is his figure so petite?"
"I heard he's an illegitimate child."
Not one of these words escaped Claude's ears.
"Hello, young duke. You saw it too, didn't you? I haven't seen him for four years and he still looks just as disgusting as ever. I used to think he didn't look like a man. Looking like that, who would think he's a man?"
The blond-haired boy completely failed to notice that the young duke's face had already twisted in anger, and kept chattering on, mocking Callian as disgusting, saying that his whole body gave off a vulgar aura and that at a glance he looked like an illegitimate child brought back from outside.
"To actually let that kind of person enrol — Marquis Bell really has no regard for his reputation."
Hearing this, Claude finally could not endure it any longer and stood up to glare angrily at Viscount Torin. Only then did Torin realise that he had spoken far too crudely.
"Before long, you may very well not be able to keep that tongue of yours."
The moment these words came out, Torin broke into a cold sweat from fright.
"If you want to keep your tongue, then stop wagging it behind people's backs. A mere viscount actually dares to make irresponsible remarks about the family affairs of Marquis Bell, who is deeply favoured by the emperor. I think you simply have no brain at all. Could it be that your head is full of livestock dung? Otherwise, how would you dare discuss the private affairs of a marquis's household?"
After being scolded like this, Torin's face had long since turned red with shame. As if unconvinced, he clenched his fists and took the initiative to admit that he had indeed spoken out of turn first.
"But with Callian looking like that, wouldn't he become prey for those who fancy men?"
That remark, however, reminded Claude of something.
"I will remember your concern very clearly. Being eyed by men who like men and treated as prey — your imagination is truly impressive."
After throwing out those words, he walked straight into the examination hall. Unexpectedly, the moment he entered, he saw Eddie standing in front of Callian. As Claude drew closer step by step, the expression on Eddie's face became clearer and clearer.
It seemed Torin's worries were not entirely without reason.
Simply because her looks were too delicate, the young master was criticised on her very first day of school. She was even targeted by a teacher with a bad reputation.