5.4

[Delia, now that it’s the break period, why don’t you stop by home and rest for a while? You’ve worked hard this semester.]  

The Imperial Lapolis Academy had entered its summer break.  

And for the first time, Delia received a message from her father asking her to come home.  

This was a message she hadn’t expected to receive during her first year.  

However, Delia wasn’t happy.  

She wasn’t even pleased.  

‘It’s uncomfortable.’  

It felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her chest, leaving her uneasy.  

It was truly strange. She had longed for her father’s recognition more than anyone else.  

She had achieved first place, the very thing she had wanted, and now her father had begun to acknowledge her. But for some reason, the events of the festival still lingered in her mind.  

When she thought about it, it wasn’t a big deal.  

It was just another instance where her father had emphasized the importance of graduating as the top student.  

But why?  

‘I don’t want to follow my father’s words.’  

It was the first time she had ever felt this way. She had always wanted his approval and had believed that being first and receiving his praise would naturally make her happy.  

“No, why do I keep thinking like this?”  

Delia quickly shook her head, trying to erase such irreverent thoughts.  

Among her family, her father had been the only one who continued to support her, even when she was second.  

‘But… I just don’t want to go home.’ 

Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to feel like going home.  

She concluded—though it wasn’t really an answer—that it was because she had grown accustomed to dormitory life.  

After much deliberation, Delia decided to stay in the dormitory alone, just as she had during her first year.  

‘I’ll just tell them it’s because of my studies.’  

Since she had managed to achieve first place, she planned to tell her father that she wanted to focus even more on her studies to maintain her position.  

Her father would likely be pleased with such a reason.  

[Father, I regret to say that I’ll be staying at the academy during the break this time as well. I think it’s better to continue studying rather than taking a break and trying to pick it up again later. This way, I can ensure I remain in first place.]  

After writing a light reply, Delia set her pen down.  

‘This time, I really should take a break.’  

Most of her peers had already returned home.  

Last year, Delia had stayed behind in the dormitory and studied alone because she couldn’t go home. But when she thought back to the loneliness of that time, it left a bitter taste.  

This year, rather than immersing herself in studying as she had last year, she wanted to rest.  

The letter she had written to her father about studying was merely an excuse.  

As she continued to ponder, there was a knock at the door.  

Knock, knock.  

‘Huh? Who could it be?’ 

Delia turned her gaze toward the door, surprised by the unexpected sound.  

“Who is it?”  

When she asked about the visitor’s identity, a familiar voice responded.  

“It’s me, Delia.”  

When Delia opened the door, she found Kartan standing there, just as she had expected.  

“Kartan?”  

Why was he here? 

The thought crossed her mind reflexively.  

Though they often ran into each other or he called for her, this was the first time he had come looking for her like this.  

‘Ah, could it be…’  

Delia suddenly realized that her roommate, Aisha, had already gone home, leaving her alone.  

‘Could he be thinking of staying in my room right now?’  

Another inappropriate thought crossed Delia’s mind.  

‘Maybe, since the break is about to start, he’s trying to do something before it begins.’  

Whenever Kartan was in front of her, her thoughts seemed to veer into strange territory.  

However, contrary to her expectations, Kartan said something unexpected.  

“I’m planning to go home during this break.”  

“Huh?”  

Why was he saying this?  

Delia tried to guess his intentions.  

“I’m thinking of showing my face and coming back early. What about you?”  

“I’m not going home during the break. I’m staying in the dormitory.”  

“…I see.”  

“Yeah.”  

After a brief exchange, silence fell between them.  

Delia didn’t know what else to say.  

And, of course, she couldn’t understand why Kartan was telling her this.  

“Well, I’ll be going then.”  

“Oh? Oh… Have a safe trip.”  

After all, Kartan and Delia weren’t close enough for such conversations to be necessary.  

As she watched Kartan’s retreating figure, a sudden thought crossed her mind: their situation felt oddly like that of a couple.  

‘Wait, why does this feel…?’ 

After all, wasn’t visiting someone before leaving for a long period something couples did?  

‘A couple? Me and Kartan?’

Delia was startled by her own thoughts. 

A couple?  

Kartan Roxen and Delia Acremen?  

It was absurd.  

They were merely in a transactional relationship, sharing physical intimacy, but they were far from being a couple.  

‘Oh, that’s right.’

Come to think of it…  

Delia recalled something from not long ago.  

‘I was going to tell him that I met his brother.’

She had meant to mention that she had become an assistant to Professor Idern alongside Repel Roxen.  

Though it might not have been important to him, she thought it would be good to let him know since she had come to know one of his family members.  

But in the brief conversation they had, she hadn’t managed to bring it up.  

‘I’ll tell him next time.’  

Delia brushed it off and welcomed the start of the summer break.  

***

The Roxen family mansion was beyond extravagant.  

As the household of the leading merchant guild in the empire, its grandeur was unmatched.  

Yet the carriage Kartan arrived in was modest, almost out of place against the mansion’s opulent exterior.  

It created a jarring contrast, as though it didn’t belong to the same setting.  

Kartan stepped out of the carriage, his expression indifferent as he took in the sight of the Roxen mansion.  

‘I didn’t want to come.’  

Kartan loathed his home.  

Though others envied the wealth of the Roxen family, to him, it was nothing but a source of revulsion.  

He had no desire to bask in the family’s prestige or to indulge in its riches.  

His older brother, Repel Roxen, on the other hand, was always flaunting money wherever he went.  

Watching his brother, Kartan often wondered how he had even managed to gain admission to the academy.  

Of course, this was only possible thanks to their father, who had hired countless tutors, bribed officials, and even gone so far as to steal test questions.  

Yet Repel acted as though his admission to the Imperial Lapolis Academy was entirely due to his own merits.  

It was laughable.  

The only issue, if it could be called that, was that Kartan seemed to be the only one who found his brother pathetic.  

No matter what Repel did or how it turned out, their parents were always eager to shower him with praise.  

Kartan recalled one of the most ridiculous things his father had ever said.  

• To run the merchant guild, you need the guts to manage large sums of money.  

This was what his father had said after Repel lost a fortune by investing in something that was obviously a scam.  

Kartan sneered. It was a ridiculous justification.  

Entrusting the guild to someone like his brother would undoubtedly ruin both the family and the Roxen Merchant Guild. Yet his parents seemed blind to this, behaving as though they couldn’t see Repel’s flaws.  

There was a time when Kartan had wanted to earn his parents’ approval and inherit the guild.  

But now, that desire was completely gone.  

Once he graduated from the academy, Kartan planned to leave this family behind.  

‘Well, I should at least greet Father.’  

Though he didn’t want to, Kartan made his way to his father’s study. Since he had been summoned home, he felt obligated to show his face.  

Thud, thud.