Free Web NovelChapter 12: Dinner with the Ice Princess
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
As Alden walked through the quiet corridor, the sound of their footsteps was the only thing that could be heard. He casually glanced at Alicia’s back. She was wearing casual clothes meant for training and light work.
The training clothes clung tightly to her figure. Her silver hair was tied up in a simple ponytail, and her silver earrings shined brightly with every step she took. Her white nape was exposed, revealing her natural beauty even from behind.
Alden forcefully looked away as he walked, not wanting her to think he was a creep or a weirdo.
As both of them walked steadily down the long path leading toward the far left side of the academy grounds, Alden suddenly realized he was heading straight toward the girls’ dormitory building.
He looked at her and fastened his pace to walk right beside her.
"Hey, where exactly are we going?..."
Alicia didn’t even look at him. She just continued walking, parted her lips, and answered his curiosity.
"My dorm room."
Alden stumbled in his walk as he stared at her in pure shock.
"Wait! Are you serious right now? What are the other students going to think? If—well, whatever, we can’t just—!"
She didn’t answer him. She just kept walking, blatantly ignoring his rising panic.
They entered the main lobby of the girls’ dormitory building. Fortunately, there were no other students hanging around. The only person present was the staff clerk who handled the front desk duties.
Alden fully expected the clerk to stop him immediately. He knew from his past world that a boy couldn’t just casually enter a girls’ dormitory without getting yelled at.
But as they walked past the front desk, the clerk didn’t even glance at them. She just minded her own business and kept doing her job.
’Well, is this academy really serious? Why are they not stopping me? Are they not afraid that I might do something bad after entering her room?...’
’Wait, what am I even thinking? It’s not like I would ever dare to touch her. She is the daughter of an SS-ranker. If I dare to even lay a finger on her, it will be an instant death sentence.’
’I already messed up big time with Kaelian, the heir of the strongest SS-ranker in the continent. I don’t even know what sort of new problems that situation will bring me. That arrogant guy wouldn’t just let me go after the massive scene that happened in the cafeteria earlier. Sigh... What a painfully f*cking shitty life I have.’
As both of them walked up to the first floor, they headed straight toward the far end of the quiet corridor.
Alicia stepped forward and halted in front of her assigned room. She pressed her hand firmly on the sensor device beside the door. The sensor scanned her unique fingerprint, proving she was the rightful owner of the room. The heavy door clicked unlocked. She opened it and entered.
"Come in..."
Alden swallowed hard. He quickly checked to make sure no one was present in the corridor behind them, and then he stepped inside the room.
As he walked into her dorm room, a gentle, faint floral scent greeted his nose. The room was highly neat and elegant. It had soft-colored walls, a perfectly made bed, a polished wooden study desk, and several bookshelves arranged with great care. Everything reflected a calm and graceful atmosphere, making the room feel genuinely peaceful and welcoming.
Alden looked around. There was a small open kitchen situated near one side of the room, right next to a small wooden dining table barely able to seat two or three people.
He felt surprisingly calm after entering inside. The room was quite spacious and decorated elegantly, but it wasn’t overly luxurious or flashy.
"You should sit at the dining table. I will bring the dinner over after heating it up."
Alicia said those words and dove right into the kitchen area. She grabbed a cute blue apron with a cartoon bunny picture on it and tied it around her waist. It completely contrasted with her usual cold, icy look.
Alden sat down heavily on the wooden seat. He was finally able to breathe softly as he leaned back in the chair.
He looked over at the open kitchen where she was quietly working.
’What exactly is she planning? Why did she call me into her private room? Why did she even invite me for dinner in the first place? It’s not like we are actually familiar with each other, right?...’
’Then why did she suddenly drag me here? Don’t tell me she is the type of villainess character from some trashy novel who is secretly a Yandere towards her childhood friend. And if anyone dares to harm him, she will use dirty tricks to poison and kill them?!’
’What if that is actually true? I am totally dead. It seems my new life is already finished. Why did I even agree to follow her here in the first place? This is all my fault. My fault. F*cking my fault.’
Just as he was cursing at himself in his head...
Alicia returned to the table carrying a plate of food. Then she walked back to the kitchen and brought another plate. And another. And another. And another. She kept bringing more and more food over. As the rich fragrance of the massive feast hit his nose, Alden stared at the large amount of different dishes. The savory aroma hit his starving stomach hard, and his mouth already started to drool.
He looked at the crazy spread of dishes. There was roasted chicken, honey-glazed salmon, creamy mushroom pasta, fried rice with vegetables and egg, crispy fried chicken, and massive meatballs soaked in rich tomato sauce.
There was also creamy vegetable soup, a fluffy cheese omelet, stir-fried beef with hot peppers, shrimp fried noodles, steamed dumplings, a whole baked apple pie, bowls of sweet vanilla pudding, and many other exotic items he couldn’t even properly identify. He looked up at the front as Alicia finally sat down in her own seat, placing a large glass jug of fresh fruit juice right in the middle of the table.
Alden just stared at her blankly for a few seconds until their eyes finally met.
"Alicia, is someone else joining us for this dinner?"
She replied calmly, acting as if the answer was incredibly obvious.
"Nope. Just you and me. Why?"
She tilted her head slightly, a genuinely confused look forming on her face.
Alden swallowed hard. He wanted to answer her honestly, but he hesitated. He didn’t want to disrespect her hard work by pointing out that almost ten hungry students could easily eat this massive mountain of food.
"Well... Nothing. I just wanted to make sure. But... was it really necessary to cook this much food when only the two of us are going to eat?..."
She paused her hands just as she was pouring a large serving of dinner onto his empty plate.
"Oh... Did I overdo it? Sorry, I didn’t know the proper amount. I just really like cooking."
Alden chuckled dryly and shook his head.
"Well, thank you for your hard work. I am sure just by looking at it, it will be incredibly tasty."
A small smile revealed itself on her lips at his polite comment. Alden looked at her smile, feeling almost startled. As she gave that small, genuine smile, she literally looked like a beautiful angel. For a moment, Alden just looked at her in a total daze.
Alicia clearly noticed his lingering gaze, but she didn’t comment on it at all. She just pointed at the table and said:
"Okay. Try eating a bite of every dish and tell me how it tastes."
Alden snapped out of his daze and quickly turned his focus back to the food. For a moment, he was genuinely confused about what to eat first. But then he made a simple choice and started with the exact same dish she was starting to eat.
As the taste of the warm food poured over Alden’s tongue, his taste buds practically rang out in pure excitement. The rich flavor of the food made his frail body feel like he had finally found fresh water after being dehydrated in a barren desert for an entire week.
"It’s good!... It is actually really tasty..."
Alden stopped talking and started to focus entirely on digging into the heavy dishes.
Alicia just sat there and kept watching him from the other side of the small table. Her striking eyes were fixed entirely on his face. As he ate, her small smile slowly vanished, and her usual cold, emotionless gaze returned once again as she looked at him with intense eyes.
