Chapter 35

Anyway, Chase is the head of the swordsmanship club. Maybe transferring to the club will be easier than expected.

“Chase, can you accept me into the swordsmanship club?”

“Yes.”

Chase replied confidently.

“But it’s not the club application period right now…”

Judith tilted her head slowly, as if gauging something.

“You’re not doing something troublesome just because of me, are you?”

Seeing Judith’s expression, which seemed full of concern, Chase had to suppress the urge to smile.

He answered as if it was no big deal.

“It’s not difficult at all. It’s easy.”

Chase had been active as the head of the swordsmanship club for several years, but he had never been so glad to hold the position as he was now.

Normally, admitting someone to the club involves several complicated procedures.

But Chase intended to ignore all those procedures.

It wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible.

Any scolding could go in one ear and out the other, and even if he received demerits, he could just write a few reflection papers and do some cleaning.

Besides, he always owed Judith, so it was a good time to repay that debt.

Unaware of these circumstances, Judith was overjoyed by Chase’s confident answer.

“You really are capable, being the head of the swordsmanship club.”

“…I guess so.”

After barely managing to say that, Chase quickly lowered his head, worried that Judith might see his blushing face.

Of course, lowering his head couldn’t hide the tips of his ears peeking through his silver hair.

After composing his expression, he looked up.

He saw Judith smiling brightly at him. It was a radiant smile, like a blooming flower.

“Thank you.”

Her simple words of gratitude made Chase’s heart feel like it was dropping.

At the same time, he felt a churning in his stomach and his throat becoming dry.

Am I getting sick?

Judith had smiled many times, but it seemed like this was the first time she had smiled so brightly in front of him.

* * *

Watching Judith smile so radiantly reminded him of the first time he saw her.

Judith might not have been aware, but she was quite a famous figure at the academy.

Of course, when she first enrolled, she was more infamous.

The pink-haired commoner girl clinging to Axel Fedelian, the student council president — such malicious descriptions followed her everywhere.

But even then, Chase had no interest in her.

For Chase Cardandy, both then and now, the only important thing was honing his swordsmanship skills.

Others thought he loved swordsmanship, but the truth was different. It was simply the only path left for him.

He was an illegitimate child of the Cardandy family, a presence the family was eager to hide.

‘Live as quietly as a dead mouse.’

His father, who cherished his mother, reluctantly added him to the family register, but that was it.

He had to receive different treatment from his older brother, the legitimate heir, in everything from food to clothing, and sometimes even the servants looked down on him.

Chase’s sole goal was to hone his swordsmanship and earn a knight’s title. To become completely independent from the family and live alone with his mother.

Therefore, after enrolling in the academy, Chase focused solely on swordsmanship training.

Making new friends or focusing on academics were outside his interests.

But one day, as he was heading to the training hall as usual, he happened to see a girl.

He recognized her immediately by her striking pink hair.

It was Judith.

She was crossing the campus with a bag full of books, her face expressionless.

Contrary to the rumors, she seemed like a model student.

At that moment, he saw Axel Fedelian approaching with his friends from the opposite direction.

As usual, Axel wore a painted-on smile, which reminded Chase of Madame Cardandy because Axel’s smile was just as insincere.

Feeling annoyed, Chase was about to continue on to practice.

Then, the girl’s face suddenly caught his eye.

Her face, which had been expressionless, lit up with a bright smile as soon as she made eye contact with Axel.

Maybe it was because her expression and impression seemed so different from just moments before.

At that moment, Chase found himself thinking that her radiant smile was quite pretty.

* * *

After that, Chase often ran into Judith.

She seemed to spend most of her time studying when Axel wasn’t around.

Even while walking through the sunny campus, she always held a book in her hand, and no matter how boring the class, she sat upright and took notes diligently.

For Chase, who often fell asleep in class, it was a curious sight.

Whenever he snapped out of his sleepy haze, Judith was always watching the blackboard with the same posture, and he secretly admired her from behind.

One day, while watching her, he had a sudden thought.

‘Maybe she’s like me?’

Just as he was dedicated to swordsmanship, she was tenaciously clinging to her studies.

She must have her reasons, just like him. Her status wasn’t great either…

Thinking that way, he felt a sense of kinship.

And from then on, the rumors surrounding the pink-haired girl slowly began to change positively.

She soon established herself as a model student, second only to Axel, and the attitudes of her classmates, who used to point fingers or dislike her, changed completely.

They frequently asked her about problems they didn’t understand or requested to see her assignments, as if nothing had ever happened.

And Judith always responded kindly to their requests.

Watching this, Chase frowned as if displeased.

‘Isn’t she an idiot?’

Some of the people asking to see her assignments were the ones who had damaged her books in the past.

Whether she knew this or not, Judith smiled kindly and willingly handed over her notes.

Watching this made Chase feel inexplicably frustrated. So he decided to stop paying attention to her altogether.

As several seasons passed, a letter arrived from the Cardandy family.

There was never any news, but suddenly, just before graduation, there was something.

Thinking it couldn’t be anything good, Chase left the letter unopened on his desk.

It was obvious what kind of letter it would be. Recently, his father had been eager to use his outstanding swordsmanship skills to their advantage.

It was probably another demand to attend some party he had no interest in and show his face.

Everything was tiresome. Feeling weary, he left his room and wandered around.

Despite his unsettled mind, the sky was annoyingly clear that day.

It was then that he ran into the pink-haired girl again.

Or rather, he witnessed her. She seemed too preoccupied talking to someone else.

He saw what looked like Axel Fedelian’s back, speaking to her, then approaching to offer her a handkerchief.

And at that moment, a sharp voice he had never heard before erupted from her.

‘I don’t need it!’

He saw tears welling up in her eyes.

‘Do this kind of thing with your fiancée!’

The girl bit her lip, spat out angry words, and then turned away.

Chase watched Judith’s retreating figure with a blank expression.

Then he came to his senses. He saw Axel picking up the fallen handkerchief.

Why was she crying? Did that guy make her cry?

Not knowing the circumstances, Chase concluded that Axel was a bad guy.

He had always had a bad feeling about him, and it was no surprise.

A guy who makes a girl cry.

Back in his room, Chase lay his tired body on the bed.

His mind felt unsettled. The image of her tear-filled golden eyes kept flashing before him.

Feeling the need to do something, Chase opened the letter he had been avoiding.

As expected, the contents were not welcome.

It was a kind of notification.

[Marry the woman I choose and help your brother with the family business.]

In short, that was it. Disgusted by the all-too-familiar demand, Chase tossed the paper to the floor and rubbed his face.

At that time, Chase had no idea.

He never imagined that his fiancée would be the pink-haired girl who had fought with Axel that day.