A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 65

After the night Cecilia Clayton had interrupted class, the night when both she and he had forcibly suppressed something explosive. Ilex didn’t bring up what he had intended to say that night again.

But Tilia could sense it. He had been carrying that inferno he had meant to unleash on her, keeping it buried within his chest throughout the entire winter.

Even during the final stretch of their study sessions or the late-night Ontaroan language lessons, his emotions were as transparent as glass to her.

What exactly was he holding back?

If she had asked him in front of the dormitory’s back gate, what answer would he have given?

Even in her sleep-deprived state, the thought occasionally crossed her mind, but the conclusion was always the same.

I don’t know. I can’t understand. His true feelings were always shrouded, as if hidden beyond a foggy forest.

Of course, part of the blame lay with Tilia herself, who gave up trying to figure it out every time the outline of his feelings became faintly visible.

Caught up in preparing for the rapidly approaching graduation exams and the subsequent interviews, she was far too sleep-deprived to dwell on matters unrelated to her urgent studies.

‘If I find Judy, I should ask how Ilex Davenport was too,’ she thought. Having spent almost half a year together, excluding sleeping hours, she figured it was only natural to ask that much as she quickened her pace.

Then suddenly, a question she’d never considered before crossed her mind.

After graduation, would she never see Ilex again?

While she intended to stay in touch with Judy even after going to Ontaroa, things were different with Ilex. The only reason they had grown this close was because of the Ontaroa Foreign Affairs Consulate interviews.

That meant that if she graduated and succeeded in securing that position, there would no longer be any reason to see him.

They would become strangers with no unfinished business. People who had no need to meet again.

As the thought formed into words in her mind, she acutely felt the reality of complete separation.

The words she had wanted to hear would be buried forever in silence. The questions she had wanted to ask would fade away like mist under the morning sun.

Before spring arrived, they would become perfect strangers.

Calling it a farewell seemed laughable. Graduation and immigration were dreams Tilia had held for half her life. How could such fragile sentiments arise when she was on the verge of achieving them?

Even as she mocked herself, she couldn’t shake the thought that she would never see Ilex Davenport again.

Why had she assumed he would always help her, that he would always hover by her side?

It wasn’t meant as a complaint. It was truly because of Ilex Davenport himself.

Because he had continued to show her kindness. Because he had made his presence feel like a given.

Thus, the sense of loss filling her chest was entirely due to his demeanor…

As Tilia struggled to make excuses, unable to move forward, she heard it.

“Stop it, stop!”

A loud shout broke through the silence not far away.

The noise broke her train of thought, and she turned her head toward the direction of the sound. It was near the pergola behind the academy’s main building. From there, a commotion and frantic cries could be heard.

‘Who would start a fight on the day of the second exam?’

The sound of someone being struck hard and urgent voices trying to stop it made Tilia smirk.

‘Whoever it is, they’re unbelievably stupid bastards…’

“Ilex, stop it!”

The moment she heard that name, assumed to belong to the fool, her face froze.

“Ilex Davenport!”

His name rang out again, this time more clearly. Without hesitation, Tilia sprinted toward the source of the voice.

Panting, she rounded the corner, and the sight before her froze her in place.

“I told you.”

Ilex was relentlessly punching a man who was already bloodied.

Among the murmurs of the onlookers, only his low, chilling voice reached her ears.

“If you utter that name from your filthy mouth one more time, I’ll make sure you can’t speak again.”

Thud. With his next forceful punch, blood splattered again.

Though the face was swollen and unrecognizable, it wasn’t hard to identify the man being beaten.

Mackenzie Fitz. Few had such a long face.

Why was Ilex beating Mackenzie Fitz?

Unable to comprehend the scene, Tilia stood frozen, her mind blank. Behind her, delayed whispers of bewilderment finally reached her ears.

“Is he going to kill him?”

“Someone get help! This could get really bad!”

When Tilia turned her head, she saw the frightened faces of students. One of them was running away, seemingly to fetch the guards.

No, this can’t happen. Tilia’s mind, which had been frozen, started working rapidly.

The second graduation exam had taken place, but graduation itself hadn’t yet been finalized. No matter how exceptional someone’s exam results were, causing trouble on school grounds during the grading period could result in disciplinary action. At worst, it could lead to the cancellation of their graduation, expulsion, or even dismissal.

“Stop!”

Realizing this, Tilia didn’t hesitate and charged into the middle of the fight.

“Stop it, Ilex Davenport!”

She managed to grab the arm of Ilex, who was recklessly throwing punches.

At first, like a rabid dog on a rampage, he violently tried to shake off whoever dared to grab him. But in the next moment, as if recognizing who it was, he suddenly went still.

Breathing heavily, his gray-blue eyes wavered as they locked onto the woman holding his arm.

“Do you want to get expelled?”

Staring directly at him, Tilia whispered in a firm, almost scolding tone.

“Stop being stupid. Come with me now.”

Unfazed by the blood on his hands, she grabbed him and dragged him out of the fight.

“Take Mackenzie Fitz to the infirmary.”

Pointing at the battered and twitching figure, she commanded one of the stunned onlookers.

“Got it? You’re taking him there.”

“Y-yeah.”

After receiving a clear answer, she quickly left the scene as if fleeing a crime scene.

Behind her, Ilex, who had just been in a frenzy, followed her passively, like a dog leashed by someone half his size.

***

“Are you insane?”

Once the door closed, Tilia snapped, unable to hide her agitation.

“What were you thinking, throwing punches like that? Do you think the academy is some back alley of a marketplace?”

She had dragged him into his room. After realizing that the blood on his hands wasn’t just someone else’s but his own, Tilia had hurriedly brought him here, a place with no prying eyes and where first aid supplies might be available.

“Do you know you haven’t graduated yet? Do you want to get expelled after attending all the way through your final semester?”

Striding into his luxurious single dorm room, Tilia unloaded her frustration.

She didn’t even know why she was so upset. Perhaps it wasn’t the fight or the injuries, but the way he nonchalantly wiped the blood from his hands with a towel as if it were nothing.

“Ilex Davenport.”

She called his name as he tossed the bloodstained towel towards the bathroom with an indifferent expression.

Although she had brought him here to tend to his injuries, she found herself losing the will to care for him. She wasn’t the type to coddle someone who remained indifferent even after seeing their battered fists.

“…Why did you hit him?”

She let out a small sigh, glaring at him, and asked. Perhaps hearing his reason would help her understand him better.

“Because he was rude.”

The response she got made her wish she hadn’t asked.

“He acted arrogant and overstepped, so I hit him.”

Tilia couldn’t help but doubt her ears. Without realizing it, she asked again, “Are you… eleven years old or something?”

Ilex snorted at her comment and sprawled on the bed. With his hands clasped behind his head, he spoke lazily, “Well, good for you. You’re an adult.”

She was too stunned to respond. For someone who could act so mature, he would occasionally become absurdly childish.

In such moments, there was nothing Tilia could do but laugh bitterly and step away from him.

As she took a few irritated steps backward, muttering that she was leaving, something caught her eye.

It was the familiar brass doorknob.

The same bathroom doorknob she had tried so hard to open last semester.