An Unforgettable First Kiss

The smile that had been lighting up Cassandra's face as she looked at me vanished in an instant. Her expression turned icy. It was the kind of look that screamed disgust to anyone watching. I never imagined a woman like her could make a face so sharp and cold—it was completely at odds with her usual image.

“Young Master Fankel. We meet again.”

“Young Master Fankel? Come on, Cassie. Just call me by my name...”

“No. I have no desire to call you that. What do you want?”

From the lips of a woman who seemed to embody passionate flames came a voice as frigid as eternal ice. Most men would have backed off right there, but as expected from someone labeled an obsessive stalker, Fankel showed no sign of retreating.

“Who’s that guy next to you?”

“My date partner, as you can see.”

She clung to my arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Her explosive breasts—far too voluptuous for a teenager—pressed fully against me. I flinched like I’d been burned. Damn. The sensation was way too stimulating.

Maybe she noticed my face turning slightly red.

“You!! Get off her right now!!!”

Fankel drew his sword and pointed it at me. It wasn’t a standard longsword but a gracefully curved blade. The faint aura that naturally wrapped around it the moment he unsheathed it suggested he was a fairly well-trained knight.

He looked completely blinded by jealousy.

“I am Fankel Brown, a fourth-year student at the Imperial Academy! Who the hell are you?! What gives you the right to stand next to my fiancée?!”

“Who said I was your fiancée?” Cassandra asked, her tone dripping with displeasure. But Fankel didn’t seem to hear a word.

“Answer me!! You pretty-faced bastard!! You must have seduced Cassandra, didn’t you?! That innocent girl!!!”

Well, technically she seduced me first. And in an insanely bold, direct way. But there was no point telling him that—he clearly wasn’t listening.

I raised my hand. A heroine event had triggered. If I cleared it, the reward would probably be a huge boost to Cassandra’s favorability. A typical harem protagonist would jump at the chance, but I wasn’t interested.

The date was fun, but honestly, just dealing with Rachel is already overwhelming. I have zero intention of adding another girl to the mix.

Having two women around could seriously interfere with my stat grinding. That’s why I had planned to avoid this event if possible.

“That’s enough. Drawing a sword in the middle of the street? What do you think you’re doing? You’re clearly violating academy regulations. You do realize that, right?”

I tried to resolve things with words as calmly as I could. But as expected, logical conversation was useless against a man blinded by obsessive love.

“Shut up!! Didn’t I tell you to get away from her right now?!”

Fankel Brown thrust his blade even more threateningly toward me. The surrounding shoppers began murmuring and backing away. This was bad. At this rate, I’d have no choice but to trigger the heroine event.

“Cassie is my fiancée!! No one is allowed to touch her!!”

“Stop calling me Cassie!! And who said I was your fiancée?! We only met once through a family arrangement, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I clearly told you I wasn’t interested! Stop interfering with my date and get lost!!”

Cassandra’s voice was thick with irritation. It didn’t sound like this was the first or second time he’d pestered her. According to the status window, he’d been rejected twelve times already. His persistence was impressive, but the problem was that he was channeling it in completely the wrong direction.

She made her rejection crystal clear with strong language, but Fankel Brown showed no sign of backing down. Instead of retreating from her cold tone, he only grew angrier.

“This is all because of bastards like you! Cassie already has someone, but scum like you keep trying to seduce her… If you’re a man, then fight me like one, you son of a bitch!!!”

The seven-winged emblem was clearly pinned on the front pocket of my uniform. It was undeniable proof that I was a seventh-year student, yet he acted like he couldn’t see it at all.

Completely exploded by Cassandra’s words, Fankel charged at me with his aura-infused curved blade raised high. At this point, it looked like I had no choice.

Given my physical stats, dodging that strike was impossible. And even if I did dodge, there was a chance Cassandra standing beside me could get hurt.

Guess I have to fight.

The single hilt of Blood Thread’s Poison Fang that hung neatly at my waist shot forward at explosive speed.

Three rapid thwacks rang out. In the next instant, Fankel dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground.

“Huh?”

His face showed he had no idea what had just happened. The whip-sword had launched at incredible velocity, striking his wrist to disarm him, then whipping upward to slam into his jaw. It wrapped around his thigh and flipped him clean over—all in less than half a second.

I retracted the blades ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back into the hilt just as quickly as they had deployed, then kicked his fallen curved sword far out of reach.

“What the hell did you… ugh.”

The clean hit to his jaw left him dazed and staggering. While he was still stumbling around—

“What is the meaning of this?!”

It seemed the shopkeepers had reported the moment they saw Fankel draw his blade. From a distance, several battle maids with swords at their hips were approaching.

“Drawing a weapon in the shopping district! This is a clear violation of academy rules! All three of you, come with us!!”

At the maid’s sharp command, both Cassandra and I bowed our heads in compliance. Fankel, still unable to properly move his limbs after that jaw strike, was grabbed by the collar by one of the maids and dragged away.

“This… what a mess. I’m sorry, Lady Cassandra.”

As we followed the maids, I apologized to her. It wasn’t what I wanted, but the date had ended in the worst possible way.

I offered the apology with a genuinely regretful expression. But something about Cassandra’s face seemed… off.

“Call me Cassie, Asbel. And there’s no need to apologize. Fankel was the one in the wrong.”

Her cheeks were faintly flushed. She was breathing heavily, almost panting. Still clinging tightly to my arm, she looked up at me with an expression of pure bliss.

“That was… really, really cool just now.”

Ah. I ended up conquering her again even though I didn’t want to.

Students of the Imperial Academy had drawn weapons and fought in the shopping district. This was no ordinary rule violation. Head Maid Narda was immediately summoned to begin an investigation. Asbel, Cassandra, and Fankel Brown each gave their statements.

“Fankel was the one who started the fight. He suddenly picked a quarrel with us.”

“I didn’t want to fight, so I tried to resolve it with words, but he wouldn’t listen and swung his sword first. I was afraid Lady Cassandra might get hurt, so I had no choice but to subdue him with the divine weapon I carry.”

Both Asbel and Cassandra spoke in calm, rational tones.

“That white-haired pretty boy was harassing my fiancée!! So I only threatened him a little!!!!!”

“As far as I understand, Lady Cassandra and Young Master Fankel are not engaged, correct?”

“We’re practically engaged!! Cassie is just a little shy and trying to hide it!! You should consider us engaged!!”

Fankel Brown’s explanation was extremely unstable and full of holes. Moreover, while Narda was listening to the three of them, other battle maids had already gathered testimony from the shopkeepers in the district.

“It is confirmed that Young Master Fankel initiated the quarrel.”

“Asbel and Lady Cassandra were simply shopping normally.”

“He was the one who drew his sword and swung it first. We also have testimony that Student Asbel tried to calm Young Master Fankel down with words from the very beginning instead of fighting.”

With the situation this clear, it was obvious who was at fault.

“Lock Fankel Brown in the punishment room. Report this matter to the headmaster and the head of the Brown county and await further instructions.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

And so Fankel Brown was dragged off to the punishment room.

“Cass—Cassie!! Let me see Cassie one last time!!!!”

Even at the end, he was still shouting pathetic lines.

With that, the commotion finally came to an end. Asbel and Cassandra were released after being told it was late and they should return to their dorms.

“It ended rather poorly, but it was still an enjoyable date, Lady Cassandra.”

At Asbel’s polite tone and the faint smile on his face, Cassandra felt her heart pounding uncontrollably.

At first, it had been half curiosity. The sight of an absurdly handsome man floating a sword in midair had intrigued her, and that was part of why she had approached him. But now her feelings were different.

This isn’t curiosity anymore. I’ve never felt emotions this intense before.

Cassandra thought seriously. Honestly, it wasn’t like she had never met handsome men. Coming from a powerful magic family, she had encountered many actors, singers, swordsmen, and mages on Asbel’s level of attractiveness.

She was nineteen. Considering most ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠noble daughters married around seventeen or eighteen, she was a bit late. Cassandra had a natural talent for magic and had convinced her parents to delay marriage so she could focus on research. But that had only been an excuse. The real problem was that no man had ever set her heart on fire.

You’re beautiful, Lady Cassandra.

I hear you’re a genius at magic. How wonderful.

Her parents had arranged many meetings with men to spark some interest in their indifferent daughter. Every single one had showered her with endless praise, desperately trying to win her favor.

She hadn’t disliked their attitudes. They were polite, well-mannered, and impressive. But even when she met them, she only thought, What a wonderful man. She never felt the explosive, volcanic emotions her parents seemed to share.

“I met your father for the first time at a ball when I was seventeen. The moment I saw him, my heart went wild and it felt like half my soul had left my body.”

Cassandra remembered her mother’s words. She had always wanted to marry someone who made her feel that way. But no one—not a single person—had ever ignited that kind of fire in her chest.

She had heard that the women of Zaiban County had always experienced such fiery love across generations. So why couldn’t she? Why was she the only one who couldn’t find a man who suited her? She had secretly worried about it for a long time… but today, that worry had finally been resolved.

“Asbel. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Training, probably. With Rachel.”

“Then the day after?”

“I’ll likely be doing the same thing for the foreseeable future.”

His blunt answer made it clear he didn’t see her as a romantic interest. But what did that matter? She had already fallen for him so hard she was losing her mind.

“Could we meet and go on dates from time to time? Whenever you have some free time.”

“I’d like that too, but I have training, classes, and so many other things to do… I’m not sure when I’ll have the time.”

Cassandra’s face crumpled with clear disappointment.

“What would it take for you to go on a date with me? It wouldn’t hurt to get close to me. My magic skills are among the best in the academy. I can make rare magical reagents that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are hard to obtain, and I could even team up with you for assignments.”

She desperately highlighted her own value. It was the first time she had ever tried to appeal to a man instead of the other way around, but she felt no shame. She simply wanted to create more opportunities to see him in the future.

“Team up?”

“Yes.”

Asbel seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. I’m not sure about the dates, but teaming up sounds good. It looks like we’ll be seeing each other quite often from now on.”

“Really?”

Cassandra beamed with joy. She had secured more chances to see him!! Overcome with happiness, she stepped closer to Asbel. It was pure instinct.

She grabbed his collar and pulled him toward her. Rising onto her tiptoes to bridge the height difference, she kissed him without hesitation.

“Mmph!!!!”

It was sweet. She had never tasted anything so sweet in her life. It had been impulsive, but she didn’t regret it.

When their lips finally parted, Cassandra leaned against him and looked up into his eyes.

“I’m sorry. It was impulsive… Did you hate it?”

“N-no, not at all.”

“Today was wonderful. Let’s meet again soon.”

With that, her face burning like a ripe tomato, Cassandra quickly ran off toward her dorm.

Asbel stood there in a daze even after she disappeared.

“Now that… was one hell of a first kiss.”

He muttered the words without even realizing it.