Amid emotions she could not tell whether were more fear or sorrow, Klein saw Alice suddenly clutch her stomach, lean against the wall, and burst into laughter.
Klein stared blankly at the scene. The emotions that had just surged up within him were like a fist striking cotton, gradually turning into disbelief and confusion.
He watched Alice barely recover from the joy of her successful prank and blink at him. "I scared you, didn't I?"
Alice's tone still carried barely concealed excitement, her eyes glittering brightly. Seeing her like this, all of Klein's emotions turned into anger, welling up from the depths of his heart.
He stood up and stared at Alice with an icy gaze he had never used before, his face utterly expressionless. This successfully made the curve of Alice's lips fall bit by bit, and her eyes became cautious.
"Klein..." she called nervously.
Klein ignored her. His gaze remained cold and devoid of warmth, and even his voice seemed laced with ice shards. "That joke wasn't funny at all."
After dropping those words, Klein got up and left the room. However, rather than angrily slamming the door, he gently closed it for Alice.
Alice opened her mouth, wanting to stop him, but Klein's movements had been too smooth and swift. In the end, she could only stare at the closed door and blink in confusion.
"...I really want to cry." She raised a hand to cover her chest, squeezing out a dry voice from her throat, yet a tear fell from her eyes without warning.
That seemed to be everything. Alice felt that something had completely vanished from her. She raised her hand, slowly opened her palm, then slowly clenched it. After repeating this several times, she finally lowered her hand in loss.
—It had been a