Don't Support the Guide - Chapter 7

Samuel’s eyes snapped open.

“…Ah.”

It wasn’t a dream.

The unfamiliar ceiling above him and the feeling of the sheets against his bare skin told him everything he needed to know.

Slowly, he sat up, his movements careful, almost hesitant. Turning his head, he caught sight of himself in the wall-mounted mirror near the door.

Dark red marks bloomed along his neck, evidence of the night before. He reached up absentmindedly, tracing the faint soreness with his fingers.

Samuel Nora had imprinted with Adrian Brillante last night.

I can’t…

His mind understood it, but reality refused to sink in.

And yet, how could he possibly deny what had happened?

The sensations of last night—so intense they had bordered on unbearable—were still vivid in his body’s memory.

Under Adrian, Samuel had felt himself unravel, his entire being melting into nothing but raw, electric sensation.

He had never experienced anything like it before. Not just because it had been his first imprint.

As a Guide, he wasn’t unfamiliar with physical contact. There had been times when he’d performed high-level guiding, moments when deeper connection was necessary.

But with Adrian—

From the very first kiss, everything had been different.

The way she touched him, the way her hands brushed over his stomach and chest—each movement had sent a tight, shuddering tension through him, stealing the breath from his lungs.

When she had finally stripped him bare, there had been an odd sense of relief—like shedding the last restraint keeping him together. And when her soft tongue had traced over his skin…

For a moment, he had truly thought he would lose himself completely. And in those final moments—

“Awake?”

The door swung open without warning, and Adrian strode inside.

Samuel, who had been lost in thought, jolted, his face instantly flushing red.

Hurriedly, he yanked the blanket up to cover his exposed body. Adrian let out a quiet chuckle, completely unbothered, and held out a glass of water.

Her gaze, so intense the night before, was now light and casual—almost indifferent.

Samuel swallowed dryly, a strange sense of disappointment settling in his chest.

“Drink. You must be thirsty after all that moaning.”

“…I wasn’t moaning.”

A proper Guide wouldn’t risk overwhelming an already hypersensitive Esper with loud noises. At the very least, Samuel had been mindful of that with Adrian.

“Oh? Is that so?”

Adrian smirked but didn’t argue further. Instead, she tossed him a fresh set of clothes—a neatly folded shirt and trousers.

Samuel blinked in surprise.

“I couldn’t very well have you wear the ones we threw all over the floor, could I?”

“Did you bring these to me yourself?”

“Does it matter?”

“…Commander.”

Even now, despite their imprint, Adrian still felt distant—too high, too unreachable.

Even as she leaned casually against the wall, there was an effortless grace in the way she carried herself, a refined confidence that made the space between them feel even greater.

“I’d like to check your guiding levels,” Samuel said at last.

Adrian raised an eyebrow, as if surprised by the request.

“Wait a moment.”

She stepped out into her office. A moment later, Samuel heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing. When she returned, she was fastening a guiding monitor necklace around her neck.

Now that he thought about it, Adrian hadn’t been wearing one last night either.

It was a required item for all Espers—a specialized device embedded with a color-changing gemstone that measured guiding levels.

• Green meant stable.
• Orange indicated mild depletion.
• Red signaled an imminent breakdown, while a complete loss of control would cause the stone to disintegrate into dust.
• A perfect state of guiding—something only achieved after imprinting with a high-level Guide—turned the stone pure white.

Samuel expected to see white. Instead, the gemstone hanging from Adrian’s neck was a dull, murky green.

“…I’ve never seen green before,” he admitted.

“Apologies, I must not have been strong enough—”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Their gazes met in the air, Samuel’s filled with uncertainty, Adrian’s unreadable. Then, with a small smile, she lifted the necklace and let it drop against her chest again.

“My necklace is always dark coral, so I never bothered wearing it.”

Samuel blinked.

Coral. A blend of orange and red.

That meant Adrian was constantly in a state of severe depletion.

“And even after receiving guiding?” he asked.

“Then it turns orange.”

“…Why didn’t you receive more?”

Adrian didn’t answer.

Instead, she simply watched him with the same quiet, knowing expression, as if she was waiting for him to figure it out himself.

Memories from last night flashed through Samuel’s mind. His fingers twitched at his sides, and he instinctively lowered his gaze.

“Get dressed and head back when you’re ready,” Adrian said, her voice as composed as ever. “Good work, Lieutenant Samuel Nora.”

Just like that, she drew the line between them.

Samuel felt it as clearly as if it had been a wall rising between them. And so, he had no choice but to stop where he stood.

“…No, ma’am. It was an honor to be of service to you.”

Adrian gave a brief nod before stepping out, closing the door behind her.

The room was small—meant for a single occupant—but now, in her absence, it felt vast and empty.

How pathetic, Samuel thought bitterly.

Had he not already received more than enough? Hadn’t the person he had admired for so long finally held him close? What more had he wanted that left him feeling so hollow now?

With a self-deprecating chuckle, he forced himself to move, pushing aside the lingering ache in his chest.

The sheets slid off his bare skin as he rose from the bed.

 

***

 

“You hear the rumor? The Commander imprinted last night.”

Samuel froze, his hand still on his locker handle.

Peter, clearly entertained by his reaction, chuckled and gave him a playful nudge.

“Her levels were too low, so she had to call for a Guide. I heard they brought in a few last night.”

“…Gold level Guides?”

“Of course. Honestly, even Gold might not be enough for the Commander.”

Had she turned them all away?

Why had she chosen him—a mere Silver-level Guide?

Or had it just been a fleeting indulgence? A moment of sentimentality, letting an old beneficiary return the favor for one night?

Samuel’s thoughts tangled into knots.

“I don’t know exactly who went in, but apparently, it was intense,” Peter continued, lowering his voice conspiratorially as he glanced around.

“Some people heard things… But, you know, for the sake of everyone’s dignity, I’ll stop there.”

Even with the teasingly unfinished sentence, it was obvious what he meant.

Samuel didn’t need anyone to fill in the blanks—he already knew.

Because he had been the one in that room.

Unbidden, memories of last night surged forward. The heat, the sensation, the overwhelming rush of guiding energy—it all flickered through his mind in fragments, unwelcome and unstoppable.

Hope and doubt crashed inside him, rising and falling like an unsteady tide.

Either way, he had no right to feel anything at all.

“But hey, when did you even get back last night? You were gone pretty late.”

“…Early morning. I was training.”

“Damn. Aren’t you exhausted?”

Samuel had just begun unzipping his high-collared jacket when he stopped short.

If he took this off here, he’d be exposing everything—

The deep red marks that trailed from his neck down to his chest, undeniable proof of what had happened.

If Peter or anyone else saw them, the rumors would no longer be just rumors.

Not that Samuel particularly cared.

In fact, part of him wanted everyone to know he was Adrian’s imprint partner.

But what about Adrian?

She hadn’t let any information leak about who it had been. If she was keeping it a secret, it meant she didn’t want people to know.

And why would she?

He was just a low-ranking Guide from an insignificant family—not someone she would want to be tangled up with in unnecessary gossip.

Samuel subtly glanced around.

Only a handful of other Guides were left in the locker room, all too absorbed in changing to pay him any attention.

“You go ahead,” he said.

“Huh? Why?”

“I need to stop by the restroom first.”

“Just change and go. What, is it urgent or something?”

“…Yeah.”

Peter gave him a skeptical look but shrugged. “Fine, but hurry up. Training starts soon.”

With a final pat on Samuel’s back, Peter left the locker room.

Only after everyone else had cleared out did Samuel finally exhale and quickly strip off his jacket, keeping his gaze locked on the door.

 

 

***

 

“The new recruits’ physical training is conducted jointly between Espers and Guides, as you can see.”

“A good approach. They’ll be deployed together in the field, after all.”

Despite their vastly different physical abilities, Espers and Guides had to work together. Joint training allowed them to understand their differences in strength and coordination, which proved invaluable in real combat situations.

That was why Adrian had always insisted on training Espers and Guides together in her unit. Progress might have been slower, but the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

However, few other commanders followed this method. It was a bit surprising to see it implemented here—until she noticed the way Captain Bailey Rossem, the officer in charge of recruit training, had been grinning at her the entire time.

Ah.

It was obvious.

He must have chosen this method specifically to impress her.

Not that she minded. If it worked, it worked.

“How many recruits?”

“Two Guides, two Espers—four in total. The rest are senior trainees assisting with the drills.”

Most of the recruits, drenched in sweat, had either stripped down to sleeveless shirts or gone completely bare-chested.

It wasn’t hard to tell who was an Esper and who was a Guide. Even among the same gender, Espers were noticeably more muscular, their physiques stronger and more defined.

“That side’s the Espers, and that guy over there is a Guide… Wait. Is he an Esper?”

Bailey tilted his head in confusion, momentarily thrown off.

Adrian followed his gaze.

A familiar figure moved fluidly through push-ups without rest, his breath coming in steady, controlled bursts. Even the way he exhaled sounded vaguely familiar.

Her gaze trailed upward, following the contours of his damp training uniform, which clung to his body, revealing every ridge of muscle beneath. When she reached the sharp line of his jaw, she didn’t even have to search her memory.

She already knew who it was.

“…He’s not an Esper.”

“Ah! Samuel Nora! Yes, he’s a Guide. As expected of you, Commander—you recognized him instantly!”

“…”

“…By the way, how are you feeling after last night?”

Adrian’s sharp gaze finally shifted back to Bailey.

The captain hesitated, suddenly cautious.

“…You were the one who arranged my Guide last night, weren’t you, Captain?”

“Yes, that was me. Oh dear, were you in such bad shape that you don’t even remember my face?”

Not exactly.

It wasn’t that Adrian had been too overwhelmed to recall him—it was simply that she hadn’t bothered remembering.

Still, she let it slide. She owed him, at least in part, for resolving the situation.

“…It got me through the worst of it.”

“That’s a relief! I was worried since it took some time to find a suitable Guide for you…”

Bailey trailed off when Adrian casually added,

“He was well worth the wait.”

“Pardon?”

Bailey blinked, momentarily struggling to follow the conversation.