Brooches, earrings, stuffed toys.
And the biggest eyesore of all, a large, lifelike frog ornament on the top of the pile. It looked like it was ready to pounce at any moment, and the sight of it made Mia’s skin crawl. Frogs…
I…HATE…frogs.
But Felix’s eyes were so insistent, so full of determination. Mia’s heart thumped painfully in her chest.
Despite her horror, her hand was reaching out, as if by its own accord.
No…Nooo!
Mia snapped out of it, snatching her hands away and clasping them behind her back.
Then the frog from the top of the pile sprang, landing neatly on Mia’s head. Ribbit, the frog croaked, putting its slimy little paw on Mia’s forehead.
“…What the?”
Everyone was staring, wide-eyed with shock. Mia took a deep breath, filling her lungs with cold night air, before letting forth an ear-shattering scream. The next moment, everything went black.
✦ ✦ ✦
ON the way back to the mansion, Felix was muttering away.
“It never occurred to me that Mia might have a frog phobia…”
She hadn’t flinched at caring for injured patients and didn’t seem squeamish at all, so Felix had just assumed it would be fine.
It turned out that Mia wasn’t as much “one of the boys” as Felix had thought. She’d be mad as heck if she heard him say that, though.
Everyone seemed to share the same sentiment. Even Henrik seemed subdued.
Mathias was transporting an unconscious Mia carefully as they went. Felix and Henrik had fought at length over who would have the honor of carrying her. The situation seemed deadlocked, so Mathias had intervened and used a carefully applied air spell to transport her without physically touching her, so as to satisfy everyone’s concerns. Anything to avoid getting involved in this complicated love triangle.
He kept studiously ignoring frantic eye signals from both that said: “hand her over to me to carry for a bit.”
Henrik couldn’t manage the job, anyway.
He didn’t have the strength. But whatever else Mathias lacked—and he felt like he lacked a lot—he at least had pride in his physical strength.
“Tch, you’re such an obstinate oaf.”
Henrik sighed with disgust, but Mathias knew Henrik was really only mad at himself.
Felix, meanwhile, was still mired in disbelief over what had happened.
“Why…and how did you manage to mix a live one into the pile of gifts?”
“The stall might’ve been selling pet frogs. I must have accidentally picked up one that had escaped…”
Mathias felt terrible about it, truly.
“Pet frogs?!”
“Yes, remember that stall that was really crowded?”
Solemn-faced, Mathias blindly revealed a key piece of information. In that case, he really was responsible for this, since he’d noticed the live frogs and still hadn’t been careful with what he was picking up. Realizing this, Mathias grew even paler.
“Pet frogs?! In winter?! What about, oh, I don’t know…hibernation?!”
“Yes, they sell hibernating pet frogs at the Winter Solstice…but sometimes frogs wake up early by mistake.”
Henrik joined the conversation, muttering in subdued tones.
Felix recalled the frog he saw sitting on the stallkeeper’s shoulder. So that was a real one, too.
As they walked through the gates of his family residence, Henrik sighed.
“Oh well. This is what I expected to happen. Mia only has eyes for science, after all.”
Henrik seemed to have the same intentions as Felix. He wanted to make his feelings known to Mia too. Everyone needs to confess their feelings at a certain point.
But even so…
“Seriously, though. Quit trying to get ahead of me with Mia, got it?”
Despite feeling a new sense of affinity with Henrik, Felix growled out a warning again. He felt it needed to be repeated out loud once more, just in case.
The team needed to be kept together, for Mia’s sake. Felix would never be able to get the results they needed by himself.
Henrik pursed his lips, looking annoyed.
“What gives you the right to issue orders to me? You do whatever you want. I’m the one that needs to hold back? How is that fair?”
“You don’t want to get in the way of Mia’s objective either, do you? Feelings, all that stuff…that’s just extra baggage in Mia’s eyes.”
He recalled the look of awkward horror on Mia’s face. It was just as he’d expected. The same answer as last time—it was written all over her features.
“You’re one to talk.”
Henrik shot a scathing look at Felix’s armful of frog goods, raising an eyebrow ironically.
Felix swallowed a retort, knowing that Henrik had a point. Felix had made up his mind to offer the gifts to Mia as simple presents, tokens of friendship, but when he saw Henrik trying to get in there first, he lost his cool.
As Felix stood there hanging his head, Henrik squared his shoulders for a moment before muttering and extending a hand towards Felix.
Silently, Felix grasped Henrik’s hand in his.
Their handshake represented a silent truce, an agreement to a temporary ceasefire.