Chapter 109

On the day of the graduation ceremony, Judith returned to the academy to organize her belongings from her desk and locker.  

She threw away items like used notebooks and fountain pens that had run out of ink, while setting aside clean notebooks and books for safekeeping.  

“Is this enough?”  

After finishing, she tied the neatly stacked textbooks with a string to make them easier to carry.  

The academy’s graduation ceremony had a special tradition: graduates would pass down their belongings to juniors.  

There was a superstition that receiving items like books and stationery directly used by seniors would ensure a smooth graduation.  

However, Judith had never experienced this tradition during her time at the academy since she hadn’t known any seniors personally.  

‘But now I have many close acquaintances, so I can finally pass things down to a junior myself.’  

The junior she was closest to was Rodein, so Judith decided to give all her belongings to him.  

Of course, Rodein had likely received plenty of items from his older sister already.  

Well, if there were things he didn’t need, Rodein could sort them out himself, so it didn’t matter.  

Judith handed over the books, notebooks, and other items she had brought, her arms full, to Rodein.  

“Here, take them.”  

“Thank you.”  

Rodein’s eyes sparkled with a strange sense of gratitude.  

His reaction made Judith feel as if she might be the first senior to ever pass something down to him.  

Judith cautiously asked,  

“Uh… Am I the first senior to give you something?”  

At her question, Rodein replied, “Yes,” with a sheepish smile. Curious, Judith asked again.  

“What about Rodesha?”  

“Oh, my sister has a close junior of her own, so she told me to handle things myself. But honestly, just receiving anything from a senior is more than enough for me.”  

“Ah, well, if that’s how you feel, I’m glad… But if there’s anything you don’t need, feel free to do whatever you want with it.”  

“No, I couldn’t possibly throw away something you gave me, Senior. I’ll treasure everything.”  

Watching Rodein shake his head firmly, Judith chuckled softly.  

Despite everything, she felt lucky to have grown close to a junior like him before her graduation.  

After the handover was complete, Judith and Rodein stepped out of the classroom together.  

There was still quite some time left before the graduation ceremony, so the graduating students wandered around the hallways, spending time with people they knew.  

Chase, for instance, was having a farewell gathering with the members of the fencing club, while Rodesha went off to chat with juniors and acquaintances.  

In the meantime, Judith decided to spend the remaining time chatting with Rodein until the ceremony began.  

As they exited the building, Rodein walked with his hands behind his back and asked,  

“By the way, how does it feel to graduate? I can’t quite imagine it yet, so I’m curious.”  

Well, Rodein was still a first-year student.  

Since he had more time left at the academy than he had spent there, it was natural for him to wonder about such things.  

“It doesn’t feel like much.”  

“Really?”  

“Yeah, in my case, even after graduating, I’ll be coming back to the academy anyway. It just feels like a short vacation.”  

“Well, that’s true.”  

At first, Judith thought she’d feel very sad about leaving the academy she had grown attached to.  

But knowing she’d return as an assistant professor made her feel neither melancholic nor regretful like others.  

Still, working at the academy as an assistant professor would probably feel different from attending as a student.  

Would it, though?  

Except for spending all day in Professor Karel’s office preparing lessons and assisting with research, there didn’t seem to be much of a difference.  

What worried Judith the most was the working hours.  

Just thinking about Professor Karel, who practically lived in his office and seemed to never sleep, made her uneasy.  

Although the professor had promised to accommodate her as much as possible, she couldn’t help but feel she’d have to tread carefully.  

Judith unknowingly voiced her concerns. 

“If anything, it feels a bit tedious. I’ll be stuck at the academy for so long…”  

“Haha, but you’ll do great, Senior.”  

As the two chatted, they eventually reached the auditorium where the graduation ceremony would take place.  

At the entrance to the auditorium, juniors had lined up on both sides to congratulate the graduates.  

The moment Judith stepped near them, the students, as if on cue, shouted in unison.  

“Congratulations on your graduation, Senior!”  

Judith broke into a cold sweat internally at the sight of the overly disciplined juniors.  

‘What’s with them?’  

Of course, she knew juniors would congratulate seniors they didn’t even know personally—she had done the same in the past.  

But the students’ reactions seemed far more excessive than she had expected.  

Perhaps noticing Judith’s bewilderment, Rodein whispered in a low voice,  

“The rumor about you becoming Professor Karel’s assistant has spread widely. They’re probably being extra polite since they’ll continue to see you after graduation.”  

“Ah…”  

So that’s what it was.  

Feeling burdened by the sparkling eyes directed at her, Judith hurriedly tried to enter the auditorium.  

At that moment, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.  

Simultaneously, the juniors, who had been lined up to congratulate the graduates, collectively gasped.  

“Who…?”  

Startled by the presence, Judith turned around and found herself looking up at a familiar pair of red eyes.  

It was Chase.  

“Good, you haven’t gone inside yet.”  

Judith looked up at Chase with a puzzled expression and asked,  

“Are you already done saying goodbye to the fencing club members?”  

“Yeah, a few words were enough. What were you two doing?”  

Chase, as if to show off his relationship with Judith, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.  

Then, he rested his head on her shoulder. Feeling his breath so close, Judith’s face turned red.  

Seeing this, Rodein frowned as if to say, “Here we go again.”  

“Excuse me. I know you two are close, but haven’t you been sticking together a bit too much lately?”  

Feeling a bit guilty, Judith smiled sheepishly, but Chase responded shamelessly.  

“Well, once we graduate, we won’t see each other as much. Think of it as the last time and just bear with it. Besides, we’re not the only ones sticking together.”  

Chase was right.  

Today, there were so many couples walking around that Judith and Chase didn’t even stand out that much.  

It seemed like many people were confessing their feelings to their crushes on this last day, resulting in a surge of new couples.  

As the three of them slowly entered the auditorium, they saw it was already packed with people.  

Not only were there graduates, but also juniors who had come to congratulate them, as well as parents, making the place far more crowded than usual.  

And among the crowd was someone who stood out the most, surrounded by students.  

Judith noticed the commotion in one corner of the auditorium and saw a familiar face in the center.  

Rodein let out a small exclamation.  

“Wow, it’s all girls around him. That’s so like Axel Senior.”  

Axel, with his usual polite smile, was busy greeting the juniors who had gathered around him, engaging with each one.  

He seemed quite busy, so Judith and Chase decided to walk past him. However, as they did, Axel’s eyes met Judith’s through the crowd.  

In the next instant, Axel pushed through the crowd and walked straight toward her.  

“Judith!”  

Axel quickly closed the distance, smiling brightly as he looked at her. He extended his hand energetically and said,  

“Congratulations on graduating.”  

Judith glanced down at his hand for a moment before politely shaking it and giving it a small wave.  

“Yeah, congratulations to you too.”  

“Oh, by the way, my mother is here today as well. Make sure to say hello before you leave.”  

“Alright, thanks for letting me know.”  

“Okay, then. If we get a chance, let’s talk again later.”  

With that, Axel ended the short conversation and returned to his group of friends.  

Chase, who had been frowning the entire time, turned to Judith and said,  

“Judith, let’s not invite him to our housewarming party.”  

“Huh? Why?”  

“I don’t like how he only shook hands with you.”  

“What? Hahaha.”  

Of course, if Chase felt uncomfortable, Judith had no intention of arranging any gatherings with Axel.  

She smiled and changed the subject.  

“Come to think of it, Axel is really popular despite being engaged. What about you, Chase? Didn’t you have a lot of fans once too?”  

“Oh… about that.”  

Chase chuckled as he was about to respond, but at that very moment, as if on cue, a female student ran up to him from afar, holding out a letter.  

“Senior Chase! Congratulations on your graduation. This is a letter from me.”  

“…”  

Judith furrowed her brow slightly as she looked down at the letter the girl held out. Then, she slowly turned to look at her fiancé’s face.  

“…”  

Chase, also finding the situation awkward, froze for a moment before meeting Judith’s gaze.  

After a brief pause, he turned to the girl and gently declined, saying he appreciated the sentiment but couldn’t accept the letter.  

It would have been nice if that had been the end of it.  

However, emboldened by the courage of the last day, numerous other female students began flocking to Chase.  

As a result, Judith spent the entire time before the graduation ceremony feeling irritated.