Chapter 45

It was a rare holiday.

Judith, who was usually busy studying in the library even on weekends, decided to take a break today.

‘Judith! You went to the library yesterday, and you’re going again? Please rest! If you keep living so busily, you’ll end up getting sick.’

It was because of Hannah, who was worried about her and insisted she take a break.

Accepting her suggestion, Judith decided to do the cleaning she had been putting off on this rare holiday. But when Hannah saw Judith with a broom in hand, she was once again shocked.

“Judith! I told you to rest, so why are you doing this?”

“Huh? What?”

“Why are you picking up the broom again?”

“……Well, I thought I’d clean as a form of rest.”

Hannah asked with an incredulous face.

“Can rest and cleaning coexist?”

“Cleaning is simple labor, so during that time, I don’t have to think about anything. So it’s resting.”

“……I see.”

Hannah nodded with a face that showed she couldn’t relate at all. She wanted to stop Judith but couldn’t think of a reason to do so.

Taking advantage of the moment Hannah was standing still, Judith started cleaning. She swept every corner with the broom, from the floor to under the bed.

Hannah, who had been watching blankly, soon put down her novel and reluctantly joined in the cleaning.

Swish—swish—.

Rustle—.

For a while, only the sound of sweeping and organizing filled the room.

Then, as if she remembered something, Hannah spoke to Judith.

“By the way, Judith. Did you hear the news?”

Judith straightened her back, which had been bent while sweeping the floor, at Hannah’s sudden voice.

When she looked at Hannah, she saw her hesitating as if she was unsure whether to speak.

“…No, you might already know. Maybe you heard it even before I did.”

“What news?”

Judith was always clueless about the news at the academy, so if Hannah didn’t tell her, she wouldn’t know anything.

Knowing this, what was Hannah trying to say?

Meanwhile, Hannah was surprised by Judith’s expression, which seemed completely unaware, and opened her mouth in disbelief.

“No way… you haven’t heard yet? Well, you’ve been so busy and distracted lately, so it’s possible.”

As she folded and organized the clothes on the floor, Hannah hesitated with her words.

Judith urged her with a look to hurry up and speak, so Hannah reluctantly opened her mouth.

“It’s about Axel… he got hurt.”

“……”

Suddenly, her mind went blank.

“You know, they started remodeling the party hall for the summer party. But a large chandelier attached to the ceiling suddenly fell. It seems it wasn’t properly secured. They said he got quite hurt…”

Hannah explained something, but it didn’t register well in Judith’s ears.

“Judith…?”

Hannah, observing Judith’s rapidly changing expression, felt something wasn’t right and approached her, putting down the clothes she was holding.

She hugged Judith’s shoulders and quickly began to comfort her.

“I’m sorry, the rumor spread throughout the academy today, so I thought you’d know. Are you very shocked?”

“How badly is he hurt?”

A chandelier falling from above, he wasn’t seriously injured or anything, right?

No, judging by Hannah’s reaction, it shouldn’t be that severe. It had to be.

But why did I feel so anxious and uneasy?

Hannah looked at the anxious Judith with pity.

As expected, since Axel was her childhood friend, the news seemed to have been shocking to Judith.

“I don’t know exactly how badly he’s hurt either. Fortunately, Cedric was nearby and used magic at the critical moment to prevent Axel from getting seriously injured.”

“……”

“So they say his life isn’t in danger, but the problem is he still hasn’t regained consciousness and is lying in the recovery room. That’s all I’ve heard.”

As soon as Hannah finished speaking, she began to watch Judith’s reaction again. Judith couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice as she continued to ask.

“He’s unconscious despite not having severe external injuries? Why?”

“Um… I’m not sure about the details either.”

Hannah had only heard the story secondhand, so it wasn’t accurate.

“The doctor who examined Axel said he was very exhausted. Maybe he was very tired from juggling student council work and studying.”

With that, Hannah briefly recalled Axel’s appearance.

In fact, she had seen Axel this morning. As always, he was smiling brightly and surrounded by people, walking busily somewhere.

His beautiful smile shone even more under the bright sunlight, so anyone who saw him would never have guessed he was physically exhausted.

“It’s amazing that he didn’t show any signs of fatigue. Maybe maintaining that level of a poker face is necessary to be the student council president…?”

“……”

Hannah, who was speaking, noticed that Judith’s face was still as white as a sheet and spoke again with concern.

“Anyway… if you’re really worried, why don’t you visit him? I’m sure they’d let you into the recovery room.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Judith tried to calm her anxious mind and spoke.

One of the reasons Axel might be suffering could be because of her, so how could she shamelessly visit him?

Feeling desolate, Judith closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

On a winter day when white snow was falling from the sky.

Judith caught a severe cold. It was the aftermath of playing in the snow and making a snowman without wearing a scarf the day before.

If she had known, she would have worn a scarf even if her neck felt itchy.

But Axel hadn’t worn a scarf either, so why was she the only one who caught a cold?

She felt a little unfair, but at the same time, she was relieved.

If one of them had to be sick, it was much better for her to be sick than Axel.

Being physically sick was much less painful than having a heartache.

While Judith was groaning alone in her room, she suddenly heard Madame Fedelian’s voice outside.

‘Axel, you mustn’t go into that room until Judith’s cold is completely gone.’

Madame Fedelian didn’t want Axel to catch the cold, so she made sure he didn’t even approach Judith’s room.

However, Axel’s whining, asking if he could at least bring her meals or medicine, continued to be heard.

Madame Fedelian sighed and said.

‘Not going into that room is also for Judith’s sake. She needs to rest alone to recover quickly.’

With that, Madame Fedelian’s voice faded away. It seemed Axel had accepted it and left.

Once Axel and Madame Fedelian’s voices were no longer heard, silence filled the surroundings. Judith blinked in the sudden stillness.

Feeling like she was left alone in the world.

All the sick Judith could do was close her eyes and lie quietly in bed.

The doctor had said that she needed to lie still and sleep well to recover quickly.

But sleep didn’t come easily.

After a long time, Judith opened her eyes again and counted the elaborate patterns on the ceiling. Then she turned her gaze to look out the window.

Through the large window, she saw the scene of snow falling. The snow piled up on the ground looked like a small hill. Judith quietly watched the scene and thought.

Since it’s snowing a lot, it must be cold outside. So the snowman I made with Axel probably hasn’t melted yet.

Judith wanted to recover from her cold quickly to go see the snowman. Because the snowman was still incomplete.

They had made arms with branches, but hadn’t finished the face. It was because she unexpectedly caught a cold.

While thinking about various things, Judith eventually thought of Axel.

It was inevitable. Axel was now her only family and friend.

His presence had already permeated every corner of her daily life, making it difficult to deliberately exclude him.

Even while feverish and coughing, Judith thought to herself.

When I recover from this cold, I should ask Axel to finish that snowman with me.

To do that, resting quietly like this was the priority.

It was a bit boring, but she was glad Axel wasn’t visiting.

More than wanting to see Axel, she hoped he wouldn’t get sick like her.

However, in the middle of the night, when everyone was asleep.

In that unfamiliar time when only the crescent moon faintly shone through the window.

Axel tiptoed into the room like a stealthy cat.

Am I dreaming?