The infirmary’s sleeping quarters were private rooms, so he could rest without being disturbed by anyone. But it seemed the nurse had let her in because the two of them being a couple was fairly well known by now.

He blinked blankly and looked at Jeanne, meeting her worried gaze.

“Ruhir, the nurse says you have a cold. She said it might be contagious, so that’s why I’m wearing a mask.”

“……A cold?”

“Yes. A cold. The nurse said you’ll be fine after taking the medicine. Do you remember insisting you needed to go to your afternoon lectures when she tried to send you back to the dormitory?”

That memory? He had none of it. All that remained was the feeling of having slept soundly. Had he really said something like that?

He stared at Jeanne with a blank look, and she smiled and pressed a fever patch to his forehead.

“I should have sent you back to the dormitory when you didn’t look well this morning.”

“I come down with something every now and then, so it’s fine.”

“Right. Your friends said the same thing.”

They hadn’t been allowed to visit because the infirmary nurse hadn’t permitted it. She had told them not to come since it would only get noisy, and the only one she had allowed in was Jeanne.

It seemed fairly well known that the two of them were a couple. He couldn’t explain it, but something about that felt satisfying, and the corners of his mouth kept curling upward.

“Still, why don’t you head back and rest instead of pushing yourself?”

“……Even so.”

“Our mother always used to say that if you push yourself too hard, it comes back to bite you. So you should rest today too, Ruhir.”

Jeanne reached out and patted the back of his hand. Receiving that pat and talking with her made him feel like he could fall asleep again. Noticing this, she shook her head and gave his cheek a light pinch.

“Go sleep in the dormitory. Who knows what germs might be in the infirmary.”

“Mm.”

“Get up. I’ll help you.”

That snapped him to attention. With the difference in their sizes, could she actually manage to get him there?

Even if he leaned on her shoulder, wouldn’t they both topple over? Sensing his slight bewilderment, Jeanne spoke.

“Oh. Don’t worry. Your friends said they’d take you back to the dormitory. They said they’re waiting outside the infirmary.”

“……That’s a relief.”

“What is?”

“I might have knocked you over.”

The way he was rambling slightly, it seemed he wasn’t fully recovered yet. Jeanne reached out and pressed her hand to his forehead, and it felt warm to the touch. Seeing him wheeze out hot, feverish breaths, she decided she really needed to get him back to the dormitory quickly. It was a shame they couldn’t go to the bookshop together today, but his health came first.

Perhaps because Jeanne’s hand was cool, Ruhir rubbed his cheek against it. Seeing him act more clingy than usual, it was clear he wasn’t quite himself.

Jeanne got up and brought his friends in from outside the infirmary. She had come to know their faces and names from her time at the academy.

“Ruhir. Did you get the injection?”

“……Yes.”

“And you’re still like this. You must really be in bad shape.”

Ruhir’s friend, Daid, the young lord of a ducal family, had him drape his arm over his shoulder. Jeanne handed Daid the belongings she had gathered, and he took them.

Only after watching the two men make their way into the dormitory did Jeanne head back to the academy.

Since she was his lover, many people asked her about him. Ruhir had always been well-liked, and many people were worried about him.

She was in the middle of repeatedly explaining that he had a cold and had left early to go back to the dormitory, when she felt a certain gaze on her. She turned toward it and found herself meeting the eyes of his younger sister, Lilian.

Since lectures hadn’t started yet, Lilian came over to Jeanne.

“May I sit beside you for a moment?”

“Of course.”

Both of them were smiling, but Jeanne knew perfectly well that Lilian disliked her. As a princess, Lilian got along with everyone and greeted them with a smile, but the smile she turned on Jeanne carried a cold edge to it.

The kind of coldness only the person on the receiving end could feel.

Having lost her mother young and been exposed to the malicious feelings of others many times since, she was able to sense it.

There was no way a commoner like Jeanne could pose any threat to her. Even so, it felt as though never having beaten Jeanne even once since starting at the academy had grown into resentment.

It wasn’t as though Lilian bullied her or anything of the sort, so Jeanne hadn’t paid it much mind. But the situation was different now.

Thanks to this princess’s resentment, she was dating a prince, reading all the spellbooks she could want, and enjoying operas and delicious food. Jeanne decided to listen to the princess with a generous heart.

“Actually, I had a different lecture this morning, so I didn’t know my brother was ill. When I came at lunch, they told me he’d gone to the infirmary. Is he very unwell?”

“It’s a cold, and he’s taken medicine and had an injection, so they say he just needs to rest. I think it might be because I dragged him outside too much.”

“……No, that’s not it.”

Lilian thought for a moment, then wore a smile like a single blooming flower and reached out to take Jeanne’s hand firmly in hers.

“I’m relieved my brother is seeing someone as wonderful as Miss Nova.”

“Thank you for saying so, Your Highness.”

“Please don’t call me Your Highness. Would you call me Lilian? We’re the same age, after all.”

“Would that really be alright? Then please call me Jeanne too.”

“Yes. Jeanne.”

On the surface it looked like a peaceful exchange, but both of them knew it was not.

When lunch ended and everyone went off to their respective lectures, Lilian stopped by the lounge. She washed her hands, dried them with her handkerchief, and dropped it in the wastebin.

Lilian wanted to see Jeanne Nova crushed at the bottom, wearing an expression full of despair.

“How irritating.”

Even a commoner could receive an education before entering the academy if they had enough money. But Jeanne Nova had not been in that position, which meant she had studied entirely on her own.

Lilian had not been in good health as a child, and so she had been robbed of more opportunities than others. Even so, studying was the one thing she had been confident in, and that confidence was shattered when she entered the academy.

Eight years of never winning even once had wounded her pride beyond repair.

Losing to a poor commoner? Lilian’s family only ever wished for her to be healthy, but her studies were a matter of pride. She had had so many tutors before entering the academy.

Up until now she had tried other methods, but all of them had ended in failure. This time, however, would be different.

“……”

Lilian had watched the two of them for the month since they started dating. She had worried they might not date properly, but fortunately they had been going all over the place together. She had hoped they would keep spending time together so that Jeanne would have no time to study, and it seemed her brother was faithfully carrying out the plan, which was a relief.

During the summer holiday, she planned to suggest inviting Jeanne to the villa. If she kept her brother attached to Jeanne through the break without giving her any time to prepare for the next term, it would surely help bring her grades down.

If her family ever found out what she had orchestrated, she would certainly be in serious trouble. So she had no intention of ever being found out. By the time they graduated, she planned to make it up to Jeanne in her own way.

She wasn’t so shameless as to do otherwise. Lilian looked at herself in the mirror and curved her lips into a smile.

I’ll make it up to you. So please, fall apart.

***

When Ruhir returned to the dormitory and woke from a deep sleep, he could tell the cold had passed. Good thing I took the medicine and got the injection. He was checking the time when he heard a knock.

It came from the sitting room, so he looked up to find Daid standing there holding a small tray.

“You’re up? Feeling alright?”

“……Mm. Yes. I think I’m better.”

“Good thing the medicine worked well. You haven’t eaten properly all day, so have some soup before you sleep.”

“Soup? Did you bring it from the dining hall?”

“Your girlfriend put it together herself. She asked me to pass it along downstairs.”

At that, he got out of bed and shuffled out to the sitting room. Walking had been difficult in the morning with the fever, but now he felt considerably lighter. He sat down at the table, and Daid set the tray in front of him.

The soup was still steaming, so it couldn’t have been made long ago.

“This is the note she asked me to pass along. It’s yours, so I didn’t read it. Don’t worry.”

He said it in a teasing tone, then sat down across from Ruhir. He could have gone to his own room, but Ruhir knew it was so he could help if another dizzy spell came on.

The soup he carefully brought to his lips had a rich, gentle scent of milk. The potato had been blended so smoothly that it sat easy on his stomach.

He ate slowly and read the neatly folded letter Jeanne had written for him.