It’s one of the things my mother used to make for me when I was sick as a child.

You’ve probably eaten better things, but I didn’t have those ingredients, so this is what I could make for you :> It’s light but filling, so it should be good for sleeping too.

I don’t usually cook at all, but I made this especially because it’s you.

Think of it as me returning the favor for all the fun I’ve had this past month.

Don’t get sick.

……As the second prince, even the slightest illness had always drawn the worry and care of many people. But was it because she was at least his lover on the surface? Hearing that Jeanne had been worried about him felt strangely different. Without realizing it, Ruhir’s cheeks flushed as he read the letter.

“……You’re not running a fever again, are you?”

“Oh. No, I’m not. I just felt a little warm.”

He answered with a grin and finished every last drop of the soup. With his empty stomach now full and settled, he felt at ease. He gave the bowl a quick wash, cleaned himself up after sweating through his illness, and changed into his pajamas.

It’s too late to go see her tonight. Even though this wasn’t a real relationship, his heart felt strangely fluttery and Jeanne kept coming to mind. He lay in bed and read the letter over and over again.

He had received countless letters over the years, but the one from Jeanne felt different. ……She had written to think of it as her returning a favor, but he couldn’t do that.

All he could think about was wanting to do something even better for her. I’m twenty years old. Why am I this giddy, like a child? He rubbed the back of his neck, which had gone slightly warm.

The next morning he woke up feeling remarkably well. He felt so good it was as though he had never been ill at all, so he quickly changed into his academy uniform and headed toward the women’s dormitory.

Jeanne always left the dormitory at the same time. She hadn’t said so herself, but a few days of watching was enough to know.

8:40. Jeanne came out of the women’s dormitory entrance and widened her eyes when she saw Ruhir. Then she walked over to him at a slightly quicker pace.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yes. I rested well in the dormitory and I’m better now. And, thank you for making the soup yesterday.”

“It was nothing. I just went to the dormitory dining hall for dinner and borrowed the kitchen for a bit. It was really easy.”

She said it casually, but her ears had gone slightly pink from the praise. ……It had only been a month, but it felt like he was seeing a new side of Jeanne every day.

“You can return the bowl to the dormitory dining hall.”

“Alright.”

“And I think we’ve been going out too much.”

“Hm?”

“Seeing you sick caught me off guard.”

“Oh. It wasn’t from going out too much. There was something I had to think through carefully, and I think that’s what brought on the cold.”

He was afraid she might suggest they stop meeting every day. Ruhir needed to keep her by his side every day for Lilian’s sake.

That was why he was glad their time together was never dull. Just reading books together and sharing meals made him happy.

“Well, I’m relieved to hear that, but……”

“Do you want to go to the antique bookshop together today? I got word that some new spellbooks came in.”

At that, Jeanne’s eyes went wide and she nodded with a bright smile. Is she thinking of entering the Mage Tower someday? Why does she love spellbooks so much? She didn’t usually smile like that, but spellbooks were different.

Being the second prince, he had been exposed to all kinds of magical texts from a young age. He had felt the appeal of magic himself, but he had never smiled like that over it.

Then again, if she had the talent to enter the Mage Tower, they would have already scouted her. She had always held Top rank, but it seemed that wasn’t quite the case.

Could there be a reason she was so drawn to exploring spellbooks? He had been curious since the beginning, but since they hadn’t been together long, he was waiting for the right moment.

“Yes!”

“And Eric said he set up a new reading space to make it more comfortable for us.”

“Just hearing that makes me really excited.”

Spellbooks were far too expensive for an ordinary student to buy. Since that made them difficult for a commoner to purchase, she had always relied on the library. But over eight years she had read nearly every magical text the academy library had to offer. She had been wondering what to do about that, and she never expected to find help from a prince.

For the first time, Jeanne found herself waiting for her academy lectures to end.

She was skilled enough at keeping a neutral expression that no one called her out on it, and when lectures ended she packed up her things in high spirits. Ruhir’s last lecture of the day was swordsmanship, so he said it would take a little while since he needed to wash up and change.

That meant Jeanne also had time to change out of her uniform into something comfortable. She went back to the dormitory, changed into her going-out clothes, and headed outside.

After classes, some students went to their clubs, and others were scattered about enjoying their leisure time.

They had agreed to meet in front of the swordsmanship training hall, so she made her way there and saw students coming out having already changed.

She asked and was told Ruhir hadn’t come out yet, so she decided to wait. She thought she would pass the time reading, and the moment she took out her book, someone snatched it roughly from her hands.

“‘Mental Training Methods for Handling High-Level Magic’? Just the title makes it sound dull.”

She looked up at the familiar voice. Standing there was Victor, one of the people Jeanne disliked. When she was sixteen, he had confessed his feelings for her and she had turned him down in front of everyone.

He had gone on to confess again and again after that, so she had rejected him properly. He had held a grudge ever since and had been picking fights with her for four years.

Up until now, she had always been with other friends or with Ruhir, so he hadn’t been able to approach her. He was that petty. Now that she was alone, he came straight at her.

He would know that Ruhir would be coming out soon since they shared the same lecture. It seemed he had picked this spot because it was away from the entrance.

Jeanne looked at him with a blank expression and snatched the book back from his hand. Then, making a show of it right in front of him, she dusted the book off and even took out her handkerchief to wipe it down.

After putting the book in her bag and looking back at him, she saw Victor’s face twist.

She didn’t remember exactly which region his county was in. But he was the only male heir born into a family of sisters, and his ego was sky-high.

After entering the academy and acting like he owned the place, he had quieted down somewhat upon realizing there were remarkable people around. But that only applied to those from higher-ranking families, and it didn’t work on Jeanne, who was a commoner.

Until she was sixteen, they hadn’t shared any lectures, so Jeanne hadn’t even known he existed. Then one day he had come and confessed his feelings, and she had turned him down on the spot.

She was already busy reading spellbooks to find her mother. She had no time for romance. But he must have taken it as playing hard to get, because after that he had kept confessing in front of people.

Fed up beyond measure, Jeanne had rejected him properly, with the intent of making an enemy of him. The people present at the time were appalled. She turned him down with words sharp enough to cut, and Victor stormed off fuming and never confessed again.

The problem was that he now thought of her as his enemy. It was fortunate that the academy treated harassment as a serious matter, so picking fights was about all he could do.

“No one would expect a mind that finds this dull from the title alone to understand what’s inside.”

“……”

“Lecture’s over. Go home.”

She said it flatly, with a cutting edge, and Victor caught the meaning immediately, his face cycling through shades of red and blue. He was simple-minded and quick to anger.

Victor’s expression twisted and he slammed one arm hard against the wall beside her face. It was close enough that a slight graze could have hurt her, but she didn’t so much as blink.

“Hey. You. I heard you’re dating the prince.”

“Yes. We’re together.”

“……You turned down every guy who confessed to you, saying you had to study, and in the end you’re just leaning on power?”

“And what does that have to do with you?”

If you’re going to pick a fight, at least make it worth something. She checked the time and it seemed Ruhir would be coming out soon.

“What does it have to do with me? Our proud Top-ranked student wants to become the prince’s mistress, and I shouldn’t say something about that?”

There was a sneer mixed into Victor’s words. What a piece of work.

“My friends and I are really worried about you. You know that?”

She had no idea who these people were, but she knew at once what kind of things they must have been saying about her. Just then, Jeanne’s name reached her from a short distance away.

She glanced over and saw Ruhir coming out with his friends. Then she wasn’t going to let this chance slip by.

Jeanne slipped out from under Victor’s arm and pressed down on his elbow, releasing the force holding it up.

“-Aaagh!”

Victor, who had been bracing his arm against the wall, smashed his face straight into it. She watched him stagger back in pain and felt laughter rising up inside her, but held it back. He had no idea his elbow had been pressed down, so he thought he had simply fallen, and blood came streaming from his nose.