Chapter 50: Under the Tree Where a Ghost Kept Me Company
{IRIS}
I’d grown used to the cold touch of beings in this academy... but his touch was different.
Far too gentle and cold.
Well . . . he was a ghost and all.
"There," he murmured.
He stepped back only slightly, his eyes wandering over me with quiet intensity. Under his gaze, my skin prickled, my breath caught, and I had to look away—my face warming in a way I despised.
No one ever looked at me like that.
Certainly not with gentleness like his.
I gasped softly when he reached forward again, took the pendant between his fingers, and pressed a light kiss to the blue crystal.
The crystal shone like it reacted to him.
"It looks good on you," he said.
I stumbled back a step. "T-thank you. But really... you don’t need to—"
"I insist." His expression slid back into that lazy, half-bored mask. "And do not avoid me anymore. Come back to the library."
". . . I-I will." I cleared my throat. "Just... right now, I want to read here. In peace."
"Is that so..." His gaze drifted to the lake, then back to me. Something troubled him.
"Well, you have the necklace," he muttered, "but still... that lake... it’s home to a monster . . ." He shook his head as though arguing with himself. Then—resigned—
"Very well. I will stay with you."
"Eh? Why?"
He blinked, tilting his head. "Why? Are we not friends now?"
Friends.
The word warmed me unexpectedly.
But what was his motive?
I wasn’t innocent and naïve enough to believe every words he said.
"Uhm... aren’t you needed in the library?"
He shrugged and lowered himself under the tree, sitting with one knee up. "I only guard it at night. During the day, I am free to roam as I please."
He tapped the grass beside him. "Come."
"O-on second thought... I should go back to the dorm. It’s getting late."
He looked up at me, then leaned forward on his elbows, a knowing smile tugging at his lips—his light blue hair falling into his eyes.
S-so . . . so blinding!
"It’s only three in the afternoon. Are you still avoiding me? I won’t hurt you. Or bite you."
"I—"
"Are you still suspicious of me?" he asked, voice unexpectedly soft.
I looked aside.
"Fair enough," he said. "We only just met, after all."
Then he straightened, brushing phantom dust off his shirt. "So . . . Let us start over."
He placed a hand over his chest and bowed, mock-formal yet strangely sincere.
"My name is Zephyros. As you can see, I am a ghost. I can do what most ghosts can—levitate, slip through walls. But my Arcane grants me more. Telekinesis. I can will my body solid... command objects... even weave minor illusions when I grow bored. I do not know how old I am. And I am the guardian of the Midnight Library. A pleasure to meet you."
". . ."
Would it be rude if I just ran?
He was technically a staff member here, wasn’t he?
Surely he wouldn’t actually harm me. I’m still a student here, after all.
But my instincts screamed caution. Yet at the same time... This was the first time someone ever wanted to stay with me.
To sit beside me.
To call me friend.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the unease. The uncertainty.
"If you do not sit here," he said lightly, "I will haunt you."
And just like that, we were back to square one.
"...I thought we were friends?"
"We are."
"Friends don’t threaten each other."
He chuckled. "It’s not as though I will kill you if I haunt you. I would merely play with you. As friends do."
"That is not how friendship works," I muttered, finally lowering myself to sit beside him with a resigned sigh. "Your concept of friendship is twisted."
He huffed a soft laugh. "Perhaps the fault of endless time. My view has warped over the centuries."
Then he added, almost teasing, "If you do not want me to become even more twisted, stay by my side, alright?"
"Huh? That makes no sense."
He only smiled faintly—and whispered, "It is because you carry such a pure energy..."
"What?"
"Nothing," he said quickly. "Do not mind me. Read your book. I shall simply sleep here."
He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes.
"Ghosts sleep?" I wondered aloud.
His lips curved slightly, but he did not answer.
Seeing he truly meant to be still, I exhaled and opened my book again, letting the rustle of pages and the soft breeze settle my thoughts.
For a little while... we sat together in quiet.
A ghost and a wolfless girl under the canopy of a great old tree—and somehow, the world felt less lonely.
====
In the snow... a woman stood.
Not merely beautiful—otherworldly. Her hair glimmered like spun frost, and her amethyst eyes held centuries of sorrow and exhaustion.
Beside her knelt a man, his form half-shrouded in swirling white mist. His hair, pale as moonlight, fell over a face carved with devotion. His eyes—yellow-green like winter lightning—never left her.
"I will remain with you until the very end, my lady," he whispered, bowing his head.
The woman smiled, a soft, heart-breaking curve of her lips. "Live your life. You need not be bound to me any longer."
"My life is yours, my lady."
"I am dying," she murmured, voice thin as melting snow. "I have lived long enough. I am tired... I only wish to rest."
"I will wait for your return," he breathed. "No matter how long it takes."
"Forget me," she pleaded. "You and the others . . . Please... forget."
"I cannot."
Silence stretched between them—cold, endless.
Then she whispered one final word.
"Zephyros . . ."
"Iris..."
My eyes flew open.
Zephyros’s face hovered above mine, close enough that his silver hair brushed my forehead.
"W-what?" I jerked upright, heart pounding.
"You fell asleep," he said flatly, though irritation tugged at his voice. "Have you not learned your lesson? Why are you so—"
He stopped, dragged in a slow calming breath, and exhaled sharply. His expression slid back into its usual lazy indifference. "Go back to the dorms. It is nearly dark."
Only then did I notice the sky—washed in deep orange, slipping into violet.
Past five.
Past the hour I swore I’d always return.
"Ah—sorry. You should have woken me up," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
Zephyros’s eyelid twitched. "I fell asleep as well."
"Huh? Ghosts really sleep?"
"Not exactly," he muttered. "But your energy is so pure it... eased me. I drifted. Peacefully."
"...Huh? What was that?"
"I said ghosts sometimes rest," he snapped quickly. "Now go back to your dorm."
"Right, right..." I stood, brushing grass off my clothes.
I turned to leave when his voice caught me.
"Iris."
I paused.
He looked away for a brief moment, as if considering his words, then asked quietly—
"Will you come to the library tomorrow?"
I hesitated. A small smile tugged at my lips.
"I’ll probably be here again tomorrow. By the lake."
"I see..." He nodded slowly. Too slowly. "Then I will come here tomorrow as well."
I had no idea why he was doing any of this—why a ghost cared where I sat or what I read, why he guarded me like some strange, moody spirit sentinel.
But something in his tone... something in the way he said tomorrow... made my chest warm.
I simply nodded and walked back toward the dorms, the fading light soft against my back.
Behind me, under the great tree by the lake, Zephyros remained still—watching me until I disappeared into the twilight.
