After I, a Penniless Noble, Entered a Fake Engagement with the Most Elegant Duke’s Daughter at the Academy, For Some Reason She Started Showering Me with Love - Chapter 09.1: I Thought It’d Be a Good Day… But Then Came That Ominous Feeling

Chapter 09.1: I Thought It’d Be a Good Day… But Then Came That Ominous Feeling

Usually, the first day back after a break felt like a total drag.

But today, for some reason, I woke up feeling oddly refreshed.

It was like all the junk cluttering my mind had been neatly swept away.

I stretched with a deep breath and got out of bed.

Riding that momentum, I went to pull open the curtains, ready to soak in the crisp morning sunlight—

Only to be greeted by gloomy rain falling outside.

“…Damn.”

It was a light drizzle that looked like it might stop any second,

But it still felt like it put a damper on my morning right from the start.

“…Hope that’s not some kind of bad omen.”

It was like the feeling you get when a button suddenly pops off your shirt—

An unpleasant little warning.

Still, I brushed the thought aside with a silent “Nah, probably nothing.”

Rain or not, I was in a pretty good mood today.

Maybe it was because the date with Yuri helped clear away the vague unease I’d been carrying.

“Feels like it’s gonna be a good day.”

◆◆◆

“Crule, you’re not being targeted by assassins or anything, are you?”

“Why are you saying stuff like that so early in the morning?”

Just as I was leaving the dorm, the dorm matron—who was sweeping the front steps—offered that lovely little send-off in place of a normal goodbye.

The good mood I’d built up instantly crumbled, and I felt my expression twist with a groan.

Between the light drizzle clinging to my skin and that ominous comment,

I was starting to seriously doubt whether today would actually turn out to be a good one.

“No, if nothing’s going on, then it’s fine.”

“That sounds way too ominous. Did something happen?”

“…?”

For some reason, the dorm matron tilted her head slightly, looking genuinely puzzled.

…What was with that ‘Wait, you don’t know?’ kind of reaction?

“Could it be that the letter—”

“My dear husband.”

Just as the dorm matron was about to say something, a voice called out to me.

And no, I’d like to go on record once again that I do not approve of her calling me “my dear husband.”

But the voice—calm, graceful, and with just the right amount of firmness—was unmistakable.

I turned around to see Yuri, standing with a white umbrella, dressed in her school uniform, smiling gently at me.

The soft, fluttery umbrella looked like the hem of a skirt, and it matched her refined appearance perfectly.

Seriously, she could make anything look elegant.

While I was quietly lamenting how unfair the world was, Yuri walked up to me with that same smile…

And without missing a beat, she looped her arm around mine.

Before I could even feel embarrassed about doing that in front of the dorm matron, she gave a firm tug and pulled me away.

“Shall we go?”

“Eh? Wait, I was still talking—”

She completely ignored my protests and dragged me away, not even glancing back.

As I stumbled along in confusion, Yuri turned her head slightly to glance back at the dorm matron.

Her narrowed eyes had a sharpness to them that felt almost threatening,

And the dorm matron’s soft “Have a nice day” from behind barely reached me through the tense air.

I couldn’t even muster a reply.

“What’s up with you this morning? Did something bad happen?”

“…It’s your fault for flirting around like that, dear husband.”

“Flirting?”

After pulling me away, Yuri finally stopped walking a little ways from the boys’ dorm.

She pouted slightly, her lips pressed together in a sulky frown.

But I wasn’t flirting.

We were just talking. That’s all.

What part of that looked like I was being lovey-dovey?

I mean, even if I was getting carried away talking to someone else, it’s not like it had anything to do with her—

…Or maybe it does.

She is technically my fiancée, fake or not.

Still, she didn’t have to sulk this much about it.

Well, at least now I could understand why she was upset. That was something, I guess.

“We were just talking. I swear there was nothing shady going on.”

“Right… I guess you’re right.”

Her response was kind of awkward, but maybe even she realized she’d gone overboard.

She let out a small breath, like she was calming down, then gave me a soft smile.

“Seems I got a little too sensitive. As if someone who’s madly in love with me would ever cheat.”

“Who’s madly in love with you?”

“You don’t want me to hate you, do you?”

“…”

She threw my words from our date right back at me, and my face immediately flushed with heat.

I had said that…

So I couldn’t deny it now.

As I glared at her, frustrated and flustered, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and giggled softly.

Then, without warning, she looked up—

Her gaze landing on the white umbrella we were now sharing.

“By the way, it’s raining… so why weren’t you using an umbrella?”

“…It’s just a light drizzle. I figured it was fine.”

“Oh really?”

“What?”

Yuri curled her lips like a cat and grinned at me.

That smug look said everything—

Get ready, I’m about to tease you.

Whether that was supposed to be considerate or just plain mean… honestly, it was hard to tell.

Though, if I’m being honest—

I’d prefer she didn’t tease me at all.

“You forgot your umbrella on purpose just so you could share mine, didn’t you? My, my, you’re not very honest, dear husband.”

“That’s—definitely—not—true!”

As I tried to step out from under the umbrella in protest, Yuri quickly tightened her grip on my arm and pulled me back in.

“Don’t be stubborn. You’ll get soaked.”

“I don’t care if I get wet.”

“You’ll catch a cold. Unless… you actually want me to nurse you back to health? Hmm… now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound so bad. Alright then—go ahead and get soaked, dear husband.”

“So now you want me to catch a cold!? Wait—don’t push me out!”

As the rain grew heavier, the sound of splashing footsteps echoed all around us,

Raindrops dancing in the puddles at our feet.

◆◆◆

After parting ways with Yuri, I walked into the classroom while brushing my wet bangs out of my face—

Only to be greeted by a wave of murmuring.

“…Ah, he’s here.”

“Is that rumor really true?”

“But if it is…”

The moment I stepped in, the chatter suddenly exploded—

Then just as quickly, silence fell over the room like a switch had been flipped.

All the attention in the room shifted to me, and the tension in the air was almost suffocating.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Good morning.”

One of the girls near the entrance greeted me.

She was a classmate, sure,

But I’d never actually spoken to her before.

Not even exchanged greetings.

Completely caught off guard, I replied with a half-hearted, awkward, “Ah, yeah… good morni…ng?”

Anyone else might’ve taken that as rude—

But instead, her cheeks turned pink and she shyly looked down.

Like she’d just been greeted by her crush or something.

…What the heck is going on?

Confused, I looked around the classroom, and my face stiffened.

The girls were all staring at me with dreamy, sparkly eyes.

Even the guys kept sneaking glances at me, like I was suddenly someone worth paying attention to.

At this point, it was borderline terrifying.

Did I walk into the wrong classroom?

That thought actually crossed my mind for a second—

But no, the ones staring at me were definitely my classmates. No doubt about it.

What happened to that “today’s gonna be a good day” feeling?

Outside the window, it was pouring rain—

Coming down in sheets, like the sky itself was laughing at me.