"Awake yet?"

Larry had not yet opened his eyes when he heard Charlotte's voice.

Half-sitting up with sleep-filled eyes, he stared blankly at the girl, only to find that she had put down the book in her hand and was propping her face with her hand, staring back at him.

According to Larry's old personality, such a stare-off would have caused him to lose, but for some reason, whether because he just woke up or for other reasons, Larry kept his gaze fixed.

After who knows how long, both shifted their gazes slightly.

Their eyes met, no mind-reading, no magic, just looking at the window of each other's souls, as if to embed each other in their eyes.

"You...you're up pretty early..."

Larry's face turned slightly red, and he turned his head and said softly.

"You're unusually up early too."

Charlotte stood up and walked to the window.

Sunlight snuck into the room through the crack in the curtain, shining on the girl's skirt's hem.

Following the path of the sunlight, Larry looked up and saw the girl staring at him.

"Swish—"

The curtain was suddenly pulled open, and the breeze lifted the girl's hair, revealing her beautiful face with a soft smile.

"So beautiful..."

Hearing Larry's words, Charlotte's lips curled up, and she walked up.

"?"

Larry looked blankly at Charlotte, watching her stop in front of him, watching her slowly stretch out her white arm, watching her take his hand.

"Don't always make the world out to be so oppressive."

She pulled Larry up, and Charlotte looked into Larry's surprised and confused eyes and said, "You made a contract with me, do you plan to keep guarding me here?"

Staring straight into Larry's eyes, the girl with long purple-red hair had complex feelings.

"Dared to steal a girl's first kiss, aren't you brave enough to leave this room?"

After saying this, she let go of Larry's hand, took a few steps back and stood by the sunlit window.

She glanced out the window and then looked away and walked towards the door.

Larry watched Charlotte's face, a fleeting glance but filled with disappointment and loneliness.

A moment ago, her lips were adorned with a smile, but now it was gone.

She paused, without looking back she said.

"I'll come back in a while, all I can do is accompany you until the start of school festival."

Then, Charlotte once again stepped out.

"!"

"Clop."

The air became silent, and the sound of the high heels ceased.

The girl's left hand was taken, keeping her in the room.

Charlotte could sense the hand that held hers, a moment of weakness, but quickly clamping down once more.

A gentle breeze blew the curtain, and sunlight seeped between the two.

"…"

The girl remained silent, turning her head slightly to find a determined and understanding look in the young man's eyes.

"I told you, didn't I?"

"Even if it's a crusade of the gods, I'll stay by your side."

On Charlotte's face, the boy's smile surfaced once again.

"Don't just treat a contract, or a man's promise, as something merely said, alright?"

With a step, Charlotte didn't pull away from Larry's hand but turned and faced him."Finally realized what you said and decided to observe it?"

"Hmm."

"Then let's go, let me see your determination."

With that, Charlotte took Larry's hand and walked towards the outside.

Much to her disappointment, she was unable to pull the boy as before.

Looking straight at Charlotte who had turned around, Larry replied with a faint smile.

"When I go out, will you stay by my side?"

"Of course, do you want to go to someone else?"

Shaking his head, Larry glanced out the window.

In his eyes, the view was naturally different from Charlotte's.

The outside world was filled with the unknown and a variety of 'rules'.

Like plucking a string, Larry could feel that a simple move would cause the place and the girl before him to disappear in smoke.

After he left, someone might toy with this 'string' and erase his existence.

Turning back to her, Larry gazed into Charlotte's eyes and spoke with a faint smile.

"You just made a huge promise, Charlotte."

Calling her name, Larry tightly held Charlotte's hand, leading her towards the outside.

Just how dangerous was the world outside, he didn't know, but he was willing to face those dangers for this girl.

"Click."

The door opened, and the maids in the corridor turned their gaze.

Surprisingly, the one who came out was not their young mistress, but a boy with black hair and black eyes.

More to their surprise, their usually icy mistress was allowing this boy to hold her hand, walking out without any resistance.

Feeling the gaze of the maids, Charlotte turned her face slightly, her cheeks slightly hot.

For some reason, she didn't want to let go of the hand that held her's, but instead held it a bit tighter.

Noticing the difference, Larry turned back to glance at Charlotte.

She returned the stare stubbornly, but for the first time, Charlotte felt shy when looking into someone's eyes and hastily lowered her head.

The footsteps halted as Charlotte's lowered head hit Larry's back, surprised she looked up.

"A bit disappointed."

Standing at the door, Larry looked at the elegant and beautiful manor in front of him and said with a smile.

"What?"

Charlotte looked at Larry in confusion, not understanding why he said this.

"Stepping out of the room makes me a bit disappointed."

Hearing Larry's words, Charlotte's expression became a bit tense and she fell silent.

Looking into Charlotte's eyes, Larry said lightly, "This world, it really disappoints me."

"Because... it's just not as good as Charlotte."

"!!"

Looking at the stunned Charlotte, Larry laughed and, pulling her hand, stepped out of the grand door.

"In the room, I could wake up to a sight more beautiful than this world."

"But then again, this world is so beautiful because it has you, Charlotte."

Turning back, Larry looked at the slightly flushed Charlotte and said with a smile, "Hey, Charlotte."

"Hmm."

"I won't leave you, you won't leave me, right?"

"Hmm."Hearing the girl's response, Larry lifted his head, gazing up at the extraordinarily bright sky, then turned back to look at the windowsill of his room and the girl in his hands, displaying a faint smile.

What I accept, is not this world, but you.