Chapter 20

Exchange student.

At the Academy, there was only one exchange student. Even though Julian had decided not to interfere with her anymore, his instincts tuned in to their conversation.

“That’s what I heard. Rose and Susan saw her themselves.”

“Hey, that’s a bit much. Shouldn’t someone tell her by now?”

“What does it matter? She only takes that one class anyway. She has plenty of free time, and sometimes things like this happen. Later, when she goes to the Temple, she’ll remember the Academy because of it, won’t she?”

There was a faint malice in their giggling voices.

Julian glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It had been thirty minutes since he’d heard that the Magic Potion Brewing professor had to leave urgently, and class was canceled.

The whispering voices grew closer to Julian. Soon, two female students stood in front of him, knocking gently on his desk with prim expressions.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Director asked us to tell you that you need to submit your graduation thesis plan by the end of this month.”

Their faces showed indifference toward Julian, but the way they glanced at him and their blushing cheeks betrayed the excitement they couldn’t quite hide. Julian brushed his hair back and smiled at them.

“You came all the way to the library just for me? Thank you.”

“N-not at all. We just happened to be passing by, and the Director asked us to deliver the message.”

“Th-that’s right. We had business in the library, so we told you since we were here. It’s not for your sake.”

“But, is the seat next to you free? If it’s alright, could we sit with you?”

Before he could answer, one of the girls quickly put her book down on the seat beside Julian and asked. Julian stood up and began packing his things, saying to them,

“Go ahead and sit. I was just about to head back to the dormitory since I’ve finished everything.”

The unexpected reply flustered one of the girls.

“N-no… That’s not what I meant…”

Julian seemed uninterested in continuing the conversation. With his belongings in hand, he passed by them and left the library. The smile he’d shown them had faded, leaving his face cold and expressionless.

Julian’s steps took him away from the library, heading in the opposite direction of the dormitory.

***

Beatrice had already been waiting for more than thirty minutes for the Magic Potion Brewing class. The empty classroom felt unusually spacious.

Thirty minutes. Thirty whole minutes had passed. Even if a professor was a little late, it was strange for none of the students to show up. Even Beatrice, who was not the most perceptive, realized as soon as she arrived that today’s class had been canceled. Yet she didn’t leave right away, lingering in the empty lecture hall. The reason she wandered, unable to let go of her lingering hope, was Julian.

‘Maybe Julian hasn’t heard about the class, either.’

Beatrice had a vague sense that the other female students were quietly excluding her. It had started on the day they’d gossiped about Julian. If they hadn’t told her about the change in class, then it was likely that Julian, whom they disliked, hadn’t heard either.

And if he hadn’t heard about the canceled class, he might come to the classroom.

‘Will Julian come?’

Beatrice tapped her toes together for no reason, lost in thought.

After the Magic Potion Brewing class ended, Julian would vanish like the wind, and at other times, he rarely showed himself. She knew he spent every day in the library working on his graduation thesis, but Beatrice simply didn’t have the courage to go looking for him.

That was why. Even if it meant pretending it was by chance, she wanted to meet Julian.

‘If I meet him, I really must apologize.’

She planned to apologize to Julian, who had been troubled because of her. Inside her bag were two letters. The one for the Temple said that she had finished all her studies needed for making holy water, and even though the semester wasn’t over, she wished to return to the seminary. The other was addressed to Julian.

If she met him, she intended to tell him that he didn’t need to go out of his way to avoid her anymore. She wanted to thank him for everything and also say she was truly sorry for last time. The letter was written just in case she couldn’t say those things in person.

But Beatrice wanted to meet him directly and say goodbye herself. Even though they had grown distant midway, Julian had always been kind to her, and she wanted their last meeting to end well.

She checked the clock again. Now, forty minutes had passed. The fact that no one had come meant she was the only one who hadn’t heard about the class.

‘So Julian did hear about the class.’

Relief came before regret. At least the girls who seemed to dislike Julian hadn’t played this kind of trick on him.

It was time to leave. The clock she looked at longingly showed that another ten minutes had passed.

Just as Beatrice was about to leave the lecture hall—

Bang, the door swung open, and Julian appeared, sweat beading on his forehead as if he’d run there. His sudden arrival was so unexpected that Beatrice didn’t even recognize him for a moment, blinking slowly in surprise.

“Julian…?”

“What are you doing here?”

Julian, out of breath, shouted at Beatrice. Startled, Beatrice’s body trembled.

“Why—why are you so angry?”

“When did I get angry!”

But even to himself, his voice was full of irritation. Seeing Beatrice look frightened, Julian felt his frustration grow even more. As if pouring out his pent-up feelings, he started scolding Beatrice.

“Did you check the clock? It’s already been forty minutes. Why are you still here? If no one shows up, you should realize something’s wrong and leave. Why did you stubbornly stay here all this time? Ha, never mind. Today’s class is canceled. The professor went on a business trip to the Mage Tower. So Beatrice, you should go back to the dormitory now.”

Julian brushed his sweat-soaked hair back and turned away from Beatrice. Behind him, Beatrice’s voice, full of hurt, called out.

“You don’t have to get so angry, I understand.”

“When did I get angry?”

“Just now! You did just now, and when you came into the lecture hall, too!”

Beatrice’s voice was unusually shrill, unlike her usual self. Julian turned around. Beatrice took a letter out of her bag and practically shoved it against Julian’s chest. Pushed back a step and holding the letter to his chest, Julian stared at her in confusion.

“I… I know I did something wrong. I kept thinking I should apologize for making you uncomfortable, Julian. But… but you didn’t have to be so angry.”

Even if things couldn’t be like before, she had wanted to say her final goodbye face to face. The fact that she was the only one excited to finally talk to him after such a long time left her feeling disappointed. She didn’t even know why, but a wave of sadness toward Julian rushed over her.

“Take care, Julian. That’s what I always wanted to say.”

As she bowed deeply in farewell, Beatrice bit her lower lip. Somehow, she felt tears might fall, making her feel foolish. She hurried past Julian with a sharp sound, almost as if she was fleeing.

She had already planned to leave without saying anything more. She would disappear from his sight, just as Julian wished. With that thought, Beatrice immediately opened the door.