Chapter 38

Rodein said that without any embarrassment, and Chase glared at him with a sullen face.

“Yeah, Rodein, you did well too.”

In fact, Judith was also aware that Rodein was very focused in class. Acknowledging his effort, Rodein’s face turned slightly red.

However, Rodein had always scored full marks, not just in today’s test.

Since the class difficulty wasn’t particularly high from the start, it was somewhat expected for him to score full marks.

It seemed Rodesha didn’t really need to attend the remedial class; perhaps it would be better for him to take more advanced classes…

As Judith stared at him, lost in thought, Rodein avoided her gaze for a moment, looking embarrassed, and then hesitantly spoke.

“But, Senior, actually, during the last club activity time, I went to find you…”

It was at that moment when he was about to continue.

“Judith!”

Rodesha, who had been running towards them waving her hand from afar, dashed over and linked arms with Judith.

“Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat quickly.”

Judith nodded at Rodesha’s words and turned back to Rodein.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

It wasn’t the right situation to ask further, so Rodein had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

When he smiled as if nothing was wrong, Judith soon lost interest in him.

* * *

Today, I must meet with Senior Judith alone.

With great determination in his heart, Rodein headed to the library during club activity time.

To get to the library from the Herbology Club, you had to pass by the underground training hall.

As Rodein hurried along, he spotted a familiar pink-haired girl in the distance. It was Judith.

Feeling joy at meeting her sooner than expected, he was about to wave enthusiastically when he saw someone following her.

Rodein froze in place.

Judith wasn’t alone. Behind her, with familiar silver hair flowing, was Chase.

What was even stranger was that both of them looked as if they had just finished intense exercise, their faces glistening with sweat.

Seemingly friendly, they were chatting and laughing, then exchanged goodbyes and parted ways.

Witnessing this scene, Rodein became confused.

The training hall should be used by the swordsmanship club, so why was Senior Judith coming out from there? And with Senior Chase?

Without further thought, Rodein sprinted towards Judith.

“Ha, ha. Hello, Senior.”

He greeted her with heavy breaths, and Judith looked at him with surprise.

“Hello, Rodein. What brings you here?”

“I was on my way to a club activity. But…”

Feeling a bit rushed, he blurted out his question.

“Senior, weren’t you originally in the Reading Club? Why are you coming out from here?”

“……”

“Did you change your affiliation to the Swordsmanship Club? Somehow, when I went to find you during the last club activity time, you weren’t there…”

As he continued speaking, the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.

It seemed Judith had changed clubs to follow her fiancé, Chase.

When did the two of them become so close?

They were engaged, but Judith never seemed particularly fond of Chase, and they usually acted like mere friends.

Rodein bit his lip, and watching him, Judith tilted her head and asked a question.

“You said you came to find me last time? How did you know I was in the Reading Club?”

Only then did Rodein realize he had unwittingly cornered her.

But he couldn’t confess to having done background checks.

“Oh, well… My sister told me! I was curious about something and went to ask, but you weren’t there, so I was just curious.”

Rodein shifted his eyes as he made up an excuse. Seeing this, Judith sensed something was off.

Come to think of it, Rodein had been suspicious from the start.

He had begged to be accepted into the remedial class even though the recruitment period was over, claiming that studying was hard without mentioning he was top of his grade.

He often came to ask for help with problems he should have been able to solve easily.

Judith stared at his orange hair and suddenly thought of Rodesha.

Why had Rodesha initially asked me again to have lunch together?

Wasn’t it to intentionally get close and then extract study secrets? Could Rodein have the same intention?

She hadn’t made an issue of it because he was Rodesha’s brother, but seeing him follow her even during club activity time, she felt it was no longer acceptable.

Judith decided she needed to give him a warning and spoke up.

“Do you need my summary notes?”

Rodein tilted his head as if not understanding prompting Judith to elaborate.

“Did you go through the trouble of getting close to me just to obtain those?”

“Trouble? No.”

Rodein waved his hands. He tried to explain, but Judith was busy getting her point across.

“But isn’t that why you wanted to attend the accounting remedial class?”

Finally, Rodein stopped waving his hands in the air and stood there with his mouth agape, blinking as if he didn’t understand what he had heard.

Judith waited for a moment. But no denial came from Rodein’s frozen lips.

Was his talk about family matters just to gain sympathy?

Judith observed the flustered Rodein with narrowed eyes.

After a moment of silence, broken only by the cawing of crows, Rodein finally spoke.

“No, I just genuinely wanted to be friends with you, Senior.”

“Why do you want to be friends with me?”

Judith’s question made Rodein’s lips twitch, and then he blushed and spoke in a low voice.

“…Because I like you, Senior.”

He bit his lip shyly and lowered his head, but Judith showed no particular reaction to his confession.

“Why?”

The question was inevitable. Rodein had little reason to express affection towards her.

They hadn’t properly met or conversed until he asked to join the remedial class.

“……”

Perhaps not expecting Judith to probe so deeply, Rodein was too flustered to respond. He even seemed anxious.

Watching him, Judith thought.

It would have been better if he had been straightforward about what he wanted, like Rodesha.

Feeling uncomfortable with his intentions, she thought it would be impossible to continue their relationship.

Judith looked at the bowed Rodein and spoke.

“Rodein, I don’t know if I’m in a position to give advice, but…”

She paused briefly before continuing.

“Don’t try to use others with insincere words. Someone will surely get hurt.”

At those words, Rodein quickly lifted his head. His eyes widened, and his amber eyes trembled.

Ah, will he think I’m saying this as if I’m the one who’s hurt?

Not intending to make him feel guilty, Judith quickly added.

“Of course, I wasn’t hurt, so you don’t have to feel sorry for me at all.”

“……Senior.”

As she turned to leave, Rodein gently grabbed her sleeve.

“You don’t need to apologize.”

But Judith gently yet firmly removed his hand.

“I’ll send the summary notes through Rodesha.”

With those words, Judith walked towards the dormitory.

* * *

The beautiful campus bathed in sunset. The sun had already set completely, leaving only faint traces.

Even that was an impressive sight that resonated within. But Rodein didn’t notice it.

He sat alone on a bench, muttering to himself.

“What is that commoner?”

The class had ended long ago, and there was no one around.

In the deserted campus, only the occasional chirping of birds echoed. Beneath the noisy chirping, Rodein’s voice was half-buried.

He bit his lip painfully. His voice, slipping out between the bird calls, sounded so pitiful.

He closed his eyes tightly and leaned back on the bench. The cool touch of the wood seeped through his shirt, stealing his body heat.

Watching Judith’s back was now meaningless. Far away, she had become smaller than a dot and was no longer visible.

Despite clinging so desperately, she left without looking back.

Can’t she feel my gaze?

He thought she would turn around at least once.

If Judith had turned and looked at him, he would have pretended to smile poignantly and turn away. He planned to act as if he were holding back tears.

But even that attempt turned out to be futile.

His throat burned. It felt like he had swallowed a blazing inferno.

“What is that commoner?”

Even with no one listening, Rodein kept repeating the same words.

What on earth is Judith?

No matter how much he pondered, there was no answer. It was a more difficult problem than anything he had ever solved.