What is Hot and Cold? Is it a Sweet Food Made of Flour? – 1

“Lady Deneb, hello.”

“…”

What’s this? Did she not hear me? I greeted Cordelia again.

“Lady Deneb? Hello.”

“…”

Cordelia ignored my words again. This is clearly intentional. I can tell from how she flinched just now when she heard my voice. What is she doing?

I briefly thought about whether I had done something wrong to Cordelia. The prank I played last time? No, that was something I had already apologized for and moved past.

I pondered for a while, but I couldn’t think of anything. What did I do to make her ignore me so unilaterally? Unless she genuinely dislikes me and wants to cut ties, there’s no reason to ignore me so blatantly. Cordelia ignored my greeting but went to Hestia and had a normal conversation with her.

“Lady Deneb, let’s have a little chat.”

I approached her as she was talking with Hestia and placed my hand on her shoulder. Cordelia swatted my hand away and said. Her voice trembled.

“D-don’t talk to me.”

“What am I supposed to do when you suddenly act like this? There should be some reason, right?”

Cordelia didn’t respond to my words. Hestia, who had been conversing with Cordelia, also looked dumbfounded at this situation. She looked back and forth between me and Cordelia, then whispered to me.

“Mikhail, what on earth did you do wrong?!”

“I didn’t do anything!”

I felt like I was going to jump up and down with indignation. I really didn’t do anything. I just came in the morning and greeted her, and suddenly she’s acting like this—what am I supposed to do? I decided to use a fairly effective method to make her speak.

“Lady Deneb, are you really never going to speak to me again?”

“…Yes.”

“I understand. If that’s your wish, I’ll respect it.”

I spoke in the most obnoxious tone I could muster, as if mocking her. This is what I call the “you stay here, mommy’s going home” strategy. When someone unilaterally asserts themselves like this, instead of continuing to push, pulling back all at once tends to make them flustered and follow.

Sure enough, Cordelia’s expression noticeably darkened. Her shoulders trembled incessantly. She looked like a drenched puppy, and I almost chuckled involuntarily. I forcibly suppressed my laughter.

Cordelia’s expression clearly showed she was quite shocked by my words. If that’s how she’s going to react, she shouldn’t have ignored me in the first place. I decided to just silently observe. It’s obvious that she must have picked up some strange talk from somewhere. Honestly, it’s a bit vexing, but considering the pranks I’ve played on her before, it’s within a range I can excuse. If I wait, won’t she come to me first to explain the situation and apologize?

“So that’s why you came to find me?”

“Yes. Have you heard anything?”

Still, curiosity is curiosity, so I should ask around a bit. I could wait for her to come to me, but it’s more comfortable to quickly find the cause and remove it if possible. I sought out Seol-ah during lunch break.

From what I’ve observed so far, Cordelia’s condition was more serious than I thought. I’m not sure if “serious” is the right word. Surprisingly, she seemed genuinely distressed about ignoring me.

She sat alone, quite far from the seats of me and Hestia. It doesn’t really matter much since we’re not taking classes in the classroom, but it still bothered me. Moreover, when I invited her to eat lunch together during lunch break, she forcibly ignored us while trembling.

Hestia seemed quite worried about Cordelia’s behavior. It was concerning enough that she, who always prepared for the next class during her remaining lunch break, was sitting still, lost in thought.

Seol-ah shook her head at my question, as if hearing about it for the first time. She also doesn’t seem to have heard anything from Cordelia. The case is becoming more mysterious.

“Well, I haven’t heard anything either.”

“Really?”

“You know, those girls you introduced her to. Ask them. She was with them yesterday.”

Seol-ah pointed with her chin to a corner of the classroom. The face looked familiar—it must be one of the girls from the group I had introduced. She was talking with other female students. Come to think of it, considering Cordelia’s disastrous social relationships, if it’s not me, not Hestia, and not even Seol-ah, the only ones left are them.

“Thanks. I’ll go ask them.”

I expressed my gratitude to Seol-ah and approached the female knight (aspiring) student. She had her back to me while talking. The expressions of the female students opposite her, meaning those who could see me approaching, gradually filled with confusion and bewilderment with each step I took.

I felt a surge of irritation seeing their expressions. Their faces were too contorted to be the usual way people look at a classmate approaching during lunch break. Really, should I have to go ask Seria later instead? What have I done to deserve being treated like this just for approaching someone?

“What’s with those expres—Oh my!”

“Excuse me. Let’s have a chat for a moment.”

She turned her head towards me after seeing the expressions of the students she was talking with. Our eyes met just as I arrived right in front of her. She was astonished, as if her breath had stopped. I was almost hurt. She wouldn’t be less surprised if she’d seen a ghost.

I waited until she calmed her startled heart. After a moment, having finished her deep breathing, she faced me with a seemingly composed manner.

“Have you calmed down?”

“I’m sorry, it was so sudden that I was a bit startled.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

In truth, it wasn’t really fine, but I let it slide. Regardless of how handsome my face might be, having someone nearly faint from fear upon seeing me wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience.

“I have something I’d like to ask about Lady Deneb.”

At the mention of Cordelia’s name, her expression changed noticeably. She couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Her face changed moment by moment, at a level that screamed, “I have something to hide!” Her eyes and lips twitched, unable to stay still. It’s clear that Cordelia’s sudden change definitely has something to do with them.

“Co-Co-Cordelia?”

“I meant Lady Deneb, not Co-Co-Cordelia.”

“…”

“That was a joke.”

I tried to lighten the mood with a casual joke because she seemed too tense, but I received an icy cold gaze that seemed like she might freeze over. It seems jokes in poor taste are unforgivable, even when she’s flustered enough to stammer.

“I just wanted to ask if anything happened to Lady Deneb yesterday.”

“…Nothing happened?”

Her lips fidgeted as if debating whether to speak or not, and finally parted. Anyone could tell this was the attitude of someone who had something happen.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“I told you, nothing happened!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Really.”

“…I understand for now.”

It’s certainly clear that something happened, but not being able to know what’s beyond that is driving me crazy with curiosity. However, since there’s nothing I can do right now, I decided to give up on extracting anything more from her. In truth, I think I could get something if I stuck to Cordelia all day and questioned her.

I returned to my seat. Hestia, who had been lost in thought for a while, regained her consciousness at the sound of me dragging the chair.

“Mikhail, did you find out anything?”

“I’m still not sure. My immediate suspicion is those girls from the swordsmanship class she recently befriended. But that’s just a hunch, so I can’t say much. Maybe if you stick to Cordelia all day and whine, she might just tell you?”

Considering she was conversing well with Hestia at first, it’s likely Cordelia has no negative feelings towards Hestia. Her effort to avoid us now might be because approaching Hestia means having to see me as well.

Hestia seriously considered my suggestion for a moment, then shook her head.

“Cordelia has always been incredibly stubborn in odd ways. She probably won’t say anything no matter what we do right now.”

“Odd ways?”

Hestia closed her eyes briefly to think, then brought up an old story.

“When she was young, she stubbornly insisted for a long time that she hated her red hair, having heard something somewhere. She absolutely refused to listen no matter what anyone said. Eventually, after a week of not eating, the Duke called in an expert in illusion magic to cast a spell that made her hair appear black.”

I recalled my elementary school cousin who fasted for days to dye her hair blonde, insisting on getting it dyed. One day, she suddenly became fixated on dyeing her hair and threw tantrums, even going on a hunger strike for days. In the end, as they say, no parent can win against their child, so my aunt and uncle allowed the dyeing. A week later, she complained that she didn’t like it anymore and got a real smack.

“Lady Deneb with black hair—I can’t imagine it.”

“She must have felt awkward too. She went back to her original red hair after just three days.”

The ending is exactly the same as my cousin’s. It’s a very Cordelia-like episode. I smiled and slightly turned my head towards where Cordelia was sitting. She must have been watching us, as our eyes met. She flinched and then abruptly turned her head away. She must have been quite concerned about what we were talking about.

“She keeps looking over here?”

As a test, I slightly averted my gaze from Cordelia. Immediately, she began intently spying on us.

“Won’t she eventually return to normal if we just leave her be?”

Judging by her distressed appearance while ignoring my words and the way she’s paying attention to us now, she’ll probably come to apologize and return to normal soon.

My thinking proved to be completely wrong. Even after a week had passed, Cordelia still thoroughly refused not only conversation with me but any contact at all. I had to admit that my strategy was incorrect.

“Lady Deneb, let’s go together.”

“…”

So this time, I changed my strategy. Since pulling didn’t work, I plan to push until she gives in.

Cordelia was flustered by my words but soon ignored me and headed to the swordsmanship classroom. I quickly stuck with her, grabbing the ignoring Cordelia and continuously talking to her.

“How are you feeling today?”

“…”

“Oh, by the way, I finished reading ‘Female Knight and the Wolves’ that you lent me. It was even more interesting than I expected. Could you recommend another book?”

When her favorite novel’s title popped out of my mouth, she seemed shaken and momentarily paused her steps. She continued walking naturally as if nothing had happened, but her hands and feet were moving in sync.

I barely held back my laughter and pointed this out to her.

“Lady Deneb, your hands and feet are moving in sync.”

“…!”

Cordelia’s face instantly turned red. She gave me a sharp glance before resuming normal walking.

Pushing definitely seems more effective than pulling. I think I’ve found a way to break through her solid wall. The method is to keep throwing words that will make her flustered until she crumbles.

I leaned towards her ear and said in a low voice:

“You look especially beautiful today.”

“…?!”

Cordelia was startled and turned to look at me. This time, she blushed even more than when I pointed out her hands and feet moving in sync, and she started running away.

“Lady Deneb! You shouldn’t run in the hallway!”

Cordelia didn’t say anything in response, but she’s undoubtedly cursing me in her mind.

Works like a charm.