A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 58

“We need to finish this chapter before all the leaves fall, so let’s increase our debate workload starting next week.”

Despite Tilia’s anxiety, the study group with the second and top students of the Royal Academy was progressing smoothly.

Contrary to her worries, Ilex Davenport had shown no unusual behavior since that day. Initially wary of him, Tilia gradually softened her guarded gaze in response to his indifferent demeanor.

He acted simply as someone who wanted to graduate and had joined the study group for that purpose alone. Though she still couldn’t understand his true intentions, she had no desire to provoke him unnecessarily while he behaved.

As he had said behind the library, there was no denying that the top student in the academy was a valuable asset to their study group.

“Rather than increasing the debate workload, it might be better to increase our meeting frequency.”

Ilex responded in a low voice to Tilia’s suggestion, which she made while looking at the study schedule.

“No matter how urgent it is, practicing three times a day won’t be efficient.”

After glaring at the prearranged schedule for a moment, Tilia slowly nodded, albeit reluctantly.

“Fine, let’s do that.”

It stung her pride, but once again, he was right. None of his suggestions had been wrong so far.

“Alright, everyone take out your schedules again. We need to check for overlapping free periods.”

At Tilia’s words, all the study group members, who had been listening in on their conversation, groaned as they rummaged through their bags.

“So unfair. I only had one free day left.”

“Hurry up, Judy.”

Seeing her friend whining the most, Tilia smiled slightly and reached out to her. At that moment—

“Ah, sorry.”

Mackenzie’s hand, holding his schedule along with his notes, brushed against Tilia’s.

“Your hand is cold. Are you cold?”

Mackenzie Fitz looked at her with a gentle smile, as if it had truly been a mistake.

“No, they’re always cold,” Tilia replied indifferently and began checking the overlapping free periods on the schedules gathered together.

“Then it seems this time slot will work best, so let’s set it for that day. What do you think?”

Tilia focused solely on rescheduling, as if that were the only thing that mattered to her.

However, Ilex, who was quietly observing her, noticed one detail that no one else did.

When no one was looking, she subtly lowered her hand and wiped the back of it, where Mackenzie Fitz’s skin had touched, on her skirt.

A peculiar emotion flickered across Ilex’s face upon seeing this.

But that emotion, somewhere between discomfort and satisfaction, disappeared the instant Tilia raised her head.

***

“I think I’m going to die, Tilia.”

“Don’t worry. No one’s ever died from exam preparation.”

“I could be the first.”

Judy clung to Tilia, whining all the way down the stairs.

“How can you be so heartless? Couldn’t you have reduced the workload a bit, at least for your dying friend?”

Ignoring her roommate’s complaints, Tilia stepped off the last step. Just then—

“Tilia!”

She heard a voice calling her from behind.

Turning her head, she saw Mackenzie Fitz, his gaunt face looking as if he’d hurried down the stairs to catch up with her.

With a puzzled expression, Tilia watched him panting before her.

“What is it?”

“I need to ask you something.”

Catching his breath, Mackenzie held out his notes to Tilia.

“Could you help me with this?”

The part he pointed to was one of the debate topics for the next day.

“I was planning to research it myself after you left, but I couldn’t figure it out. You’re the best at rhetoric, Tilia.”

He continued speaking, emphasizing his purely academic intentions with an innocent expression.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you help me? Oh, but I don’t mean for us to study alone! Judy can study with us too…”

“Wait.”

Interrupting his rambling, Tilia turned to her friend standing beside her.

“Judy, can I borrow a sheet from your notebook?”

“Notebook? Sure, here!”

Judy readily tore out a page and handed it to Tilia, who quickly scribbled something on it with a pen.

“Here.”

Mackenzie, who had been watching her with a bewildered expression, hesitantly took the paper Tilia handed him.

“It’s a book that explains the theory related to the topic you don’t understand in detail. It’s more accurate than me explaining it.”

“Oh…”

“The central library has several copies. It’s a comprehensive book, rich in theories, which will be particularly helpful in debates that can take unexpected turns. And above all, no matter how busy you are, it’s best to understand the theories for yourself.”

“Uh, th-thank you…”

“No problem. And for the record, I’m not the best at rhetoric—it’s Ilex Davenport. If you still don’t get it, it might be better to ask him.”

After plainly stating the truth, Tilia stepped back from Mackenzie.

“Well, I look forward to the debate tomorrow.”

“Uh, o-okay.”

Mackenzie, who had been fiddling with the paper with an embarrassed expression, belatedly raised his head and called out to Tilia, who had already walked quite a distance away.

“Thanks, Tilia!”

When she looked back with an indifferent expression, she saw Mackenzie Fitz smiling brightly.

“Even if everyone else tried to dissuade me, I’m glad I joined your study group.”

Mackenzie kept his cheeky smile as he spoke to her expressionless face.

“Alright then, see you tomorrow, Tilia.”

***

Judy, who had been mumbling about being the first victim to die from second-exam preparation, eventually fell asleep before midnight.

After guiding her roommate, who had fallen asleep at the desk, to her bed, Tilia stayed at her own desk for quite some time after Judy drifted off to dreamland.

But she, too, ended up sighing deeply over a problem she couldn’t solve.

Whew.  Frowning, Tilia drew lines over the outline she’d been working on.

‘Ilex Davenport… how is he preparing?’

Judy had praised her as much as the top student, but to her, the difference between herself and him felt like the difference between heaven and earth.

His reasoning, even when presenting the same argument, was far richer, more practical, and more convincing than hers, which often felt vague and insubstantial.

The professors—true academics—would undoubtedly spot this difference.

And that difference in skill would likely determine the outcome of their evaluation.

With a sense of dejection, Tilia looked down at the mess of materials before letting out another sigh.

The requirement to graduate from the Royal Academy of Arkansis was a necessity for securing the Ontaroan foreign consulate position.

But sadly, that wasn’t enough.

To be sure of receiving a certificate, she needed a high-ranking diploma. Unlike other consulate applicants, Tilia’s Ontaroan language skills were far from excellent.

Her downcast eyes drifted to the Ontaroan conversation book she had hidden beneath her desk.

Ironically, the more she learned, the more she realized how lacking she was.

The idea that she could master an entire country’s language on her own was an arrogant belief.

The more she studied, the more gaps she tried to fill, the more clearly she envisioned herself stumbling and faltering during the consulate interview.

‘…Ilex Davenport probably excels at this too.’

As she mulled over the comparison that had become a habit, Tilia thought of his fluent Ontaroan skills with a sinking heart.

With an Ontaroan mother, Ilex had lived there for several years as a child. He could easily manage the difficult pronunciations she struggled with, compose smooth sentences, and use rich vocabulary to carry on sophisticated conversations.

Imagining such a competent competitor sitting beside her during the interview made Tilia anxiously bite her lip.

She had to improve, no matter what. She had to, in order to leave this place.

Just as she looked out the dark window with a lost expression, like a child who had lost her way, she saw something unexpected.

In her gloomy green eyes appeared someone who shouldn’t have been there.

The first time she saw that blond hair under the streetlight, Tilia thought she was seeing things. She assumed it was a hallucination born from her envy of him.

But it wasn’t an illusion or a mistake.

In front of the women’s dormitory staircase, the man stood, looking straight at the window where Tilia was, slowly parting his lips.

‘Come down.’

Ilex Davenport, reflected in her wide eyes, whispered silently with a smile as if haunting her dreams.

‘Come down, Tilia Ambrose.’