Chapter 84

In the end, Chase and Judith, and Rodesha and Rodein decided to board separate boats.

Just as Rodesha had mentioned, saying she used to play on the boat as a child, the boat seemed to have been made quite some time ago and had aged visibly.

Surely it wouldn’t collapse under Chase’s and my weight, would it?

What if the boat broke and we fell into the lake?

Such thoughts crossed her mind briefly but soon disappeared.

With a mix of unease, Judith carefully stepped onto the boat.

Her footing wavered for a moment, but she quickly regained her balance.

The small boat swayed as if the lake water might spill in at any moment.

However, aside from a little water splashing, the boat felt surprisingly stable, and before long, Judith forgot her initial fears and began to enjoy the surrounding scenery.

Much time passed lik that.

Drifting along with the lake’s current, Judith and Chase had, at some point, moved quite far from the Roziena siblings.

By the time Rodesha and Rodein appeared as tiny dots in the distance, Judith suddenly remembered something and spoke.

“Come to think of it, there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Something you wanted to tell me? What is it?”

Chase looked at Judith with a curious expression. Under his gaze, Judith felt as though her breath was caught in her throat.

She had resolved long ago to say this to Chase, but now that the moment had come, her nerves got the better of her.

Judith wanted to explain why she had feelings for Axel, and how she had ended up agreeing to an engagement she didn’t truly desire.

The atmosphere was calm, and they were alone—this seemed like the perfect moment to open up about what she had been holding inside.

If she didn’t say it today, she felt she might never be able to speak about it at all.

But despite her thoughts, her lips refused to move, as if they were glued shut.

“……What’s the matter? Why are you hesitating so much?”

Chase, now visibly nervous, showed clear signs of unease.

Fearing that further delay might lead to misunderstandings, Judith shut her eyes tightly and finally opened her mouth.

“Well, I thought I should tell you since we’ll be spending more time together. You must have been wondering too—why I decided to agree to an engagement with someone I didn’t even know.”

“…….”

As expected, Chase looked surprised, as if he hadn’t anticipated this topic coming up.

Judith worried briefly about whether he didn’t want to hear it, but his curious gaze reassured her, and she continued speaking.

“It’s a bit of an embarrassing family matter, but both my parents passed away when I was young. My father used to work as the Fedelian family’s personal physician. When he fell ill and passed away…… Madame Fedelian took me in and raised me.”

Judith let out a self-deprecating laugh as she spoke.

“Out of the kindness of her heart, I’ve always been deeply grateful for that.”

Chase’s eyes trembled slightly as he listened silently. Seeing this, Judith went on.

“Because of that, I grew up spending a lot of time with Axel. He was always by my side since I had no family, and before I knew it, I started to have feelings for him.”

Chase hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond, before muttering briefly.

“……I see.”

“But as we got older, Madame Fedelian seemed increasingly uncomfortable with how close Axel and I were.”

At this point, Judith, nervous about how Chase might react, instinctively turned her gaze to the distance.

“Now you understand, right? Even though I had feelings for Axel, I agreed to the engagement with you because it was Madame Fedelian’s wish. And having been indebted to her since childhood, I couldn’t possibly refuse her request.”

Judith hung her head low, as if ashamed.

“If I hurt you deeply because of this, I’m truly sorry. I have no excuses.”

“…….”

“I know it must have been shocking for me to suddenly bring this up. It might sound abrupt, but I wanted you to know about the situation.”

Now that Chase had heard the full story, he nodded.

“It must not have been easy for you to share this, so thank you for telling me. I’ll make sure to share anything important with you from now on as well.”

Chase spoke sincerely.

Judith now had no more secrets left to hide. Perhaps that’s why she felt as though she had grown closer to Chase.

I’m glad I decided to open up.

Judith felt a sense of relief wash over her.

“But, Judith.”

Chase, perhaps wanting to lighten the slightly somber mood, changed the subject in a playful tone.

“Have you thought about what wish you’re going to make? Yesterday, I promised to grant your wish, remember?”

Judith widened her eyes in surprise and asked back.

“Oh…… are you really going to grant it?”

“Of course. A promise is a promise.”

Truthfully, Judith hadn’t expected Chase to bring up the wish himself.

Even if he had let it slide and forgotten about it, she would have understood.

After all, she was already grateful that he had given up all the chestnuts he had collected for her yesterday. Asking for anything more would feel shameless.

So Judith quickly waved her hands in refusal.

“I don’t have any wish to ask of you. Just the thought alone is enough for me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re always kind to me even without a wish.”

She said it without much thought, but after speaking, she felt embarrassed. Chase stared at her intently.

As Judith avoided his gaze by looking far out over the lake, Chase suddenly muttered.

“……Do you remember the day after the exams, when Professor Karel called me aside to talk?”

Oh, that did happen.

Now that he mentioned it, Judith recalled wondering what Professor Karel had wanted to discuss with Chase privately.

Sensing her curiosity, Chase answered her unspoken question.

“At the time, Professor Karel told me that you seemed very interested in becoming a supplementary professor. But he thought the reason you weren’t accepting the position was because of your engagement to me.”

“……The professor said that to you?”

Indeed, as Judith had shared with Professor Karel, she found great joy and fulfillment in teaching other students.

Seeing how much Chase’s grades had improved after the last exam, she had even imagined herself helping struggling students like him in the future.

But doubts about whether a commoner like her could hold a teaching position at the Academy, combined with the fact that her engagement to Chase was already planned, had held her back.

Perhaps she had been convincing herself that she wasn’t interested in the position at all, trying to suppress her hopes.

After all, setting her heart on something unattainable would only be foolish.

As Judith pondered, Chase continued speaking in a calm voice.

“After that conversation, I started seriously thinking about the situation I had been avoiding. And no matter how much I thought about it, I hated the idea of you being unable to do what you want because of our engagement.”

Chase frowned, as if the very thought was unbearable.

“So be honest with me. Let me help you think about your future. If you want to become a professor, I’ll figure out a way to make it happen.”

“…….”

“Of course, my family probably expects us to marry right after graduation, but if you want to delay it, I’ll do my best to persuade them.”

Judith recalled the time she had learned about Chase’s family situation while cleaning the bees’ nests.

His relationship with his family didn’t seem great, yet here he was, willing to confront them for her sake.

And she hadn’t realized how seriously Chase had been considering her future.

Judith hesitated before asking.

“Thank you for saying this, Chase. Honestly…… until my last conversation with Professor Karel, I had completely given up on the idea. But if, as you say, it’s possible to do both…… I’d like to give it a try. I’d be really happy if you could help me.”

Originally, she had thought the supplementary professor position wasn’t for her, but Judith decided to take a chance.

Hearing this, Chase smiled brightly, as if genuinely happy.

“Of course, I’ll help you however I can.”

“By the way, is this why you said you’d grant my wish yesterday?”

“……Well, I figured I’d bring it up while we were at it.”

Chase shrugged casually, but for some reason, the gesture felt deeply touching.

Judith smiled brightly, as if this moment of happiness was the best she could imagine.

* * *

Time flew by, and the day to visit the Fedelian estate finally arrived.

Before heading there, Judith had informed Chase in advance.

She explained the situation and assured him that she would handle the conversation well.

Now, in the Fedelian family’s drawing room.

Judith sipped her tea nervously.

Although Madame Fedelian hadn’t shown any signs of anger in her last letter, she was likely on the verge of losing her patience.

After all, her precious son had brought up breaking off his engagement to a lowly commoner.

That’s why I need to behave properly, just as Madame Fedelian advised. I need to clearly express my position to Axel and bring this situation to a close.

Judith’s eyes shone with determination