Chapter 11

Why had he decided to attend the lecture in the first place?  

For a moment, an unsettling thought crossed her mind—

What if he had entered the classroom to commit some perverted act?  

…Surely, he wouldn’t go that far?  

Hazel pushed aside the anxiety that filled her mind and picked up the chalk that had been resting on the chalkboard frame. She couldn’t afford to miss the lecture because of Enoch.  

“Now, if you turn to the next page, you’ll see why Elrand wrote this book. This scene introduces the central theme that runs through the entire story.”  

Tap, tap. The sound of chalk touching and leaving the board echoed through the quiet classroom.  

Even though the presence of someone who made her uneasy lingered in the same space, Hazel continued the lecture as if nothing was wrong.  

‘Still, I can’t help but notice him.’  

She set the chalk down for a moment to give the students time to take notes and turned around, her eyes meeting Enoch’s. His upright posture, his expression that showed little emotion, and the way he didn’t look away when their eyes met—all of it was just as she remembered.  

So far, so good. The problem was the suspicious movement of his hand under the desk.  

…Was my eyesight playing tricks on me?  

Blinking foolishly, Hazel quickly averted her gaze. His hand was incessantly fondling his p*nis.  

No wonder something felt off…!  

To think he’d commit such a perverse act during a sacred lecture. Hazel couldn’t help but silently curse him again, even though she had briefly stopped doing so.  

How dare he, how dare he commit such an act during my lecture…!  

It felt as though the moment, dedicated to teaching a novel about the true meaning and purity of love, had been tainted.  

She felt like crying but forced herself to act as if nothing was wrong. If she reacted with shock, the students’ attention would naturally shift to Enoch, and she didn’t even want to imagine what would happen next.  

Holding her breath, Hazel fixed her eyes on the book. Because of this, she missed the brief moment when Enoch clicked his tongue in response to her honest but forcibly subdued reaction.  

The moment the bell signaling the end of the lecture rang, Hazel fled to the faculty office.  

‘Could it be that being an accomplice wasn’t enough for him, and now he wants to keep tormenting me?’  

She never imagined he’d do something like that. She couldn’t even begin to guess his motives.  

Was it to harass me?  

Was he worried I might reveal his secret to someone?  

At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Hazel quickly erased the troubled expression from her face and spoke.  

“Yes, come in.”  

The person who entered was her senior professor, Philip Anderson, who was carrying an enormous stack of documents. He walked in naturally and asked outright,  

“You have some time before your next class, right?”  

Watching as he placed the documents on the small desk in the corner of the office, Hazel asked back,  

“Is there something you need?”  

“It’s nothing major, just wondering if you could help me with some work. Something urgent came up.”  

His shrugging attitude, as if he had no choice, made Hazel sigh inwardly without showing it.  

‘He’s dumping his work on me again.’  

This wasn’t the first time. Even when she was first appointed, he had casually pushed his work onto her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.  

Not wanting to fall out of favor with her senior professor, she had stayed up several nights in a row completing the tasks, only to receive not even a simple thank-you.  

It was extremely unfair. But he was both a noble who had inherited a title and a senior professor, as well as someone in charge of performance evaluations, so she couldn’t refuse.  

After the Imperial audit last year, he hadn’t assigned her any tasks for a while, so she had thought the time was coming again. Not that she had wanted him to come in person.  

Hazel stared at him with a neutral expression.  

“Are you going on a business trip to Revron?”  

“Huh, what?”  

“You went to Revron on a business trip last week, so I was wondering if you’re leaving for the same reason again. With the exam period approaching, I thought it might be tight on time, so I asked out of concern.”  

Her calm tone held a subtle edge. Philip frowned slightly and gave her a twisted smile.  

“Well, yes. I don’t want to dump this on you either, but it’s urgent. You’ve done it before last year, so you know it’s not difficult. The other professors have too many classes for me to ask them.”  

His sneering tone seemed to imply, “What else could you possibly do?” Staring back at Philip, Hazel responded in a slightly broken voice.  

“Understood. These days, I’m quite busy, so it might take some time.”  

“Well, since I’m bothering you, I’ll make sure your performance evaluation turns out well. Last year’s wasn’t great, was it? You’ll need to work hard this year for the sake of next year. Don’t you agree?”  

He patted her shoulder and laughed, clearly not expecting a response. After finishing his one-sided remarks, Philip turned on his heel and left the office.  

The door closed with a loud thud, and Hazel let out a deep sigh, slumping over her desk.  

“How many late nights will I need to pull to finish this before the exam period? Can I get it all done in a week? Just managing the lectures is already overwhelming…”  

Even amidst the headache-inducing workload, she wondered if she could use her busyness as an excuse to avoid Enoch. With a solid reason, he wouldn’t be able to say anything.  

Hazel let out a bitter laugh at herself for being so desperate to avoid Enoch Meyer that she was practically driving herself mad.  

Feeling the need for some fresh air before picking up her pen again, she approached the window. The voices of the swordsmanship club students beginning their training reached her ears.  

Hazel’s hand hesitated as she opened the window. Among the crowd, she instantly spotted Enoch.  

‘The people there wouldn’t know he’s a pervert, would they?’  

Watching Enoch Meyer seriously instructing the students, she sighed for many reasons.  

Despite the perfect face that made her marvel, she was also worried about how to avoid him in the future.  

Hazel hated herself for how her reason and instincts clashed whenever she saw Enoch, who perfectly matched her type.  

No matter how she thought about it, his face, which matched her preferences in every way, was the problem.  

There was nothing she could do about it.  

Thinking that he wouldn’t notice her from this distance, Hazel forgot about her work and watched Enoch wield his sword.  

‘Come to think of it, I used to watch him like this back then too. I couldn’t openly stare like the others, so I’d find a quiet spot by myself…’  

Most of the swordsmanship club’s training took place at a practice field a bit away from the main building. Hazel often walked toward that area, using the excuse of wanting to study in a quiet place.  

To be honest, it wasn’t quiet since it was close to the training field, but she forgot all about that whenever she saw Enoch through the window.  

Watching Enoch made her feel as if all the worries that had complicated her thoughts disappeared.  

Feeling as though she had returned to those days, Hazel unconsciously stepped closer to the window.  

She thought he wouldn’t notice her from this distance, and more than that, she wanted to watch him a little longer. Even if he was an enormous pervert, he was still the man she had once loved so deeply.  

As she leaned forward, thinking about how handsome he was, Enoch turned his head.  

Did our eyes meet?  

Laughing at the absurd thought, Hazel noticed the distinct smile on Enoch’s lips.  

Hurriedly, she ducked down. In her haste, her knee slammed into the wall, but she had no time to feel the pain.  

As the sharp ache reverberated through her bones, Hazel curled up, unable to make a sound. Only one thought filled her mind.  

‘He didn’t really see me, did he?’  

She told herself it was impossible, but an inexplicable sense of unease washed over her.