A Butterfly Through the Mist - Chapter 67

“Tilia, where have you been?”

As Tilia entered her dorm room with a weary heart, Judy rushed over as if she had been waiting for her.

“Are you okay? You look pale…”

“I’m fine. It’s just from being out in the cold air. How about you, Judy? Did the exam go well?”

Touching her cheek briefly, Tilia shifted the conversation to Judy. Judy paused for a moment, looking at her intently, before slowly replying.

“Yeah. It wasn’t bad. I was so nervous about possibly ending up on the opposing side to Ilex Davenport, but luckily, I drew a black ball…”

The role assigned to those who drew black balls was that of moderator. While it didn’t offer many points, it was relatively easy to secure the basic score if no mistakes were made. It was a position coveted by those less confident in debates. However, for students whose first exam scores barely allowed them to proceed to the second round, it was a role they desperately wanted to avoid.

“That’s a relief. Judy, your grades are solid enough to graduate even with just the basic score,” Tilia said, finally smiling in reassurance and patting her friend on the shoulder.

Graduation from the Royal Academy was determined by combining the results of the first and second exams. Those who barely scraped through the first exam dreaded drawing a black ball for precisely this reason.

Being a moderator was certainly a less intense role, allowing one to step back from heated debates, but it also made high scores unattainable.

“Exactly. In an exam where luck plays such a big role, who’d have thought I’d pick the perfect ball for me?”

“Well, you made the most of your luck. I heard there were candidates who hadn’t even memorized the basic moderator rules because they only prepared to be panelists. If you hadn’t prepared properly, that ‘lucky’ ball might’ve turned out to be your downfall.”

Judy’s face brightened at Tilia’s typically matter-of-fact praise, but her expression soon shifted to one of concern.

“Tilia, what about you? How did you do? You were in the last group and had to face Cecilia Clayton, of all people…”

“Well, it wasn’t bad. The topic was one I’d debated before, and luckily, I was on the opposing side to Cecilia.”

Judy’s face broke into a wide smile at Tilia’s playful tone.

“I knew it! Who do you think my roommate is!”

Unlike Tilia, who gently patted her on the shoulder, Judy excitedly slapped her friend’s shoulder and spun around her with joy.

“If Tilia Ambrose says it wasn’t bad, then it must’ve gone spectacularly. So? Did you completely crush Cecilia? Did you make her cry out of frustration?”

“Not quite, but I did see her collapse onto the desk at the end.”

“What? And you didn’t tell me until now?”

“I just got back, Judy.”

“You should’ve burst through the door shouting about it! ‘I crushed Cecilia!’ or something like that!”

Laughing alongside her overly excited friend, Tilia sat down heavily on her soft bed. As she tossed her jacket onto a chair, Judy, who had been chattering non-stop, suddenly shifted the conversation.

“By the way, what about Ilex Davenport?”

“Huh?”

“I mean Ilex. You took him from the path behind the main building, didn’t you?”

How did Judy know about that? Confused, Tilia looked at her roommate, who seemed slightly miffed.

“You didn’t see me, did you? I was there during the chaos. I was in the same group as Ilex, remember? After it ended, I was waiting for you with him, and that’s when the fight broke out…”

Oh, right. Judy had been in the same group as him. Remembering this, Tilia gave an awkward apology.

“Sorry, I was so overwhelmed I didn’t notice.”

“It’s okay. It was a crazy situation, after all. But… is Ilex okay?”

“Well, the person who got hit would hurt more. How much pain could the one doing the hitting be in?”

At Tilia’s indifferent response, Judy’s expression became ambiguous.

“That’s good, then…”

Her trailing words and peculiar demeanor made Tilia lift her head to look at Judy. She wore an awkward, troubled expression—the kind she had when she’d heard something she wished she hadn’t.

Something’s up.

Tilia immediately sensed that there was more to the story. That Ilex Davenport had deliberately hidden something from her, and that there was an untold side to the events she wasn’t aware of.

“Judy, do you know why Ilex Davenport started punching Mackenzie Fitz?”

“What?”

“I asked Ilex for the reason, but honestly, I don’t trust him much.”

If Judy said she didn’t know the truth, she would likely stumble over her words and try to hide it. So Tilia decided to act as if she already knew something, wanting to cross-check what she might learn.

With a knowing expression, she asked again while looking at Judy, “So, can’t you explain it to me? You said you saw the whole thing from start to finish, right? Then you must know everything.”

“Well, I did, but…”

“Then tell me, okay? I really want to know.”

Faced with Tilia’s calm performance and natural lies, Judy finally gave in.

After a few sighs and hesitant pauses, she reluctantly opened her mouth.

“I’m sure it’s not much different from what Ilex told you…”

Contrary to her words, what Judy revealed was completely unexpected.

The fight had been triggered by Mackenzie Fitz badmouthing her.

She explained that while they were standing near the main building’s exit, Mackenzie Fitz’s loud voice reached their ears. He had mocked Tilia, saying she didn’t know her place, acting high and mighty when she was bound to be chased by debt collectors like a rat. He had gone on to claim that she thought she was some kind of duchess just because she had snagged a man and even declared that he would soon ‘buy’ her.

Even though Judy had softened the language, Tilia could only imagine how vile and disgusting the actual words must have been.

“As soon as Ilex heard that, he rushed out and started hitting him.”

Judy’s face turned slightly pale as she recounted the event, the memory itself apparently nauseating her.

“He’s a good fighter. Honestly, it felt cathartic. That guy kept spewing nonsense even as he got hit.”

“What did he say?”

“Uh… what was it? I’m not sure if I remember…”

“Just tell me, Judy. Please?”

Hesitating with a poor attempt at pretending not to remember, Judy eventually gave in to her friend’s pleading look.

“Something about… taking you as his mistress. And that if he did, he’d share you around or something…”

Bastard. Unable to hold back, Tilia cursed under her breath as Judy cautiously observed her reaction.

“But as soon as he said that, his nose got broken. I saw it up close. Completely smashed.”

“……”

“Tilia, you know… Can’t you tell me now? What exactly is going on between you and Ilex Davenport?”

Judy’s hesitation and deliberation before asking made it clear how much she had wrestled with the question. While others might have casually pried into their relationship, Judy had held back all this time.

“…I don’t know.”

But all Tilia could offer her pleading friend was this simple truth.

It wasn’t that she wanted to hide something or wished Judy wouldn’t know—she genuinely didn’t know herself.

I really don’t know. Why he reacted so angrily to insults about me. Why he kept that reason from me.

What exactly was Ilex trying to achieve through all of this?

“Honestly, I have no idea either.”

More than anything, she couldn’t even understand her own feelings.

Not long ago, she had been furious at him, convinced they were as different as the heavens and the earth. Yet now, hearing how he had reacted to the insults against her, she couldn’t help but recall that summer day.

The day she turned back from the ice cream shop, the feeling she had experienced then resurfaced.

Wandering aimlessly under the blazing sun, she had felt something akin to an unknown thirst, as if her head were overheating.

Looking back, this wasn’t the first time he had acted this way. When Gregory Myers had caused trouble or when Cecilia Clayton had insulted her, Ilex had always lost his composure over matters involving her.

So, why are you doing this? And why am I…

The unanswered questions pricked at her heart like a thorn, causing an almost physical ache.

“Tilia, then…”

Judy, who had been about to say something, fell silent, seemingly overwhelmed by the conflicted expression on her friend’s face.

The night that should have been a joyful end to their graduation exams was instead filled with tangled, unresolved questions, like a hopelessly knotted thread in their room.