Anything But Study - Chapter 22

***

After the camp ended and Melia returned home, the first place she headed to was the hospital.

It was to see her younger brother, Ervan.

She’d succeeded in getting him treated safely, but she couldn’t help feeling worried anyway.

‘Is this the right place?’

Standing in front of the room she’d been guided to, Melia looked around.

Located on the top floor of the hospital building, the fifth floor that got the most sunlight, this room looked like the best ward at a glance.

Was Ervan really here?

Could it be that there was someone with the same name and she’d been guided wrong?

Unable to shake her unease, Melia slowly opened the door to the room with Ervan’s name on it.

And there.

“Sister. You’re here?”

Her younger brother Ervan was there, greeting her with a bright face.

“Ervan!”

Melia ran over to him with a wide smile.

“How do you feel? Are you okay?”

“I’m good. I’m really fine.”

Ervan’s expression as he answered was bright. It was completely different from the way he used to nod and say he was fine while forcing himself in that cramped room.

She saw his face every day, so she could tell the difference.

Melia felt something surge up from her chest.

Only now did she feel relieved.

Relief washed over her that Ervan was really better now, that he wasn’t going to leave her.

“Really… thank goodness, Ervan….”

Melia squeezed his hand tightly.

“It’s all thanks to you, Sister.”

Ervan smiled at Melia.

“They said that since you’re a scholarship student, I can get treated too as a family benefit. Erpen really is different.”

Ah, so that’s what he thought. That wasn’t the truth, but….

“Mm, yeah.”

Melia decided to go along with it for now.

Tutoring Hailon wasn’t a bad thing, but two million erins was far too much money to receive just for teaching someone.

Her brother wouldn’t know the exact amount of his hospital bill, but Ervan could probably guess to some extent.

That staying in this ward and receiving treatment wasn’t something ordinary.

And two million erins was the price for a standard ward.

This place would surely cost far more.

Melia didn’t want to say anything unnecessary and make Ervan worry.

It would be better to say that she’d just been studying as usual and a good opportunity came up that allowed him to be treated.

And Hailon had probably considered all of that and looked out for her.

“You’re amazing, sister. Being top of the class really is different.”

Ervan continued, saying he never thought he’d get to enjoy something like this.

He wasn’t wrong.

It was because she was top of the class that she got the opportunity to teach Hailon.

Still, even so, this wasn’t thanks to her.

It was all thanks to Hailon.

Even if she tutored someone, if it hadn’t been the young master of the Alfred family, there was no way they could’ve afforded this much money.

Once again, Melia keenly felt the enormous gap between him and herself.

‘That’s why I need to keep my distance.’

Melia made up her mind.

She wouldn’t get any closer to Hailon. She couldn’t let him notice these feelings.

She had to prevent a situation where Ervan couldn’t receive treatment.

“Ervan, you just focus on getting better.”

Melia hid her complicated feelings.

“Yeah, but don’t worry too much about me. You should do what you like, sister.”

At her brother’s words, Melia’s eyes widened.

What I like.

As that face surfaced in her mind again, Melia bit her lower lip without Ervan noticing.

“Mm, yeah. I get it.”

Despite her reply, she probably wouldn’t be able to do that.

***

The next day, just like always, the academy was crowded with students.

After all classes had ended.

Everyone was heading home with faces more tired than usual.

“Ugh, having classes the very next day is a bit much, isn’t it?”

“It’d be nice if they gave us at least one day off. This is too harsh.”

“The rules here are so strict.”

Complaints about how they should’ve been given a bit of rest after camp echoed through the corridor several times.

But it only lasted a moment.

Tap. Tap.

At the sound of someone’s footsteps, the surroundings suddenly fell quiet.

The gazes of the students who’d been chatting among themselves all turned toward one spot.

The person at the center of it all was, as always, Hailon Alfred.

With his eyes lowered indifferently, he walked slowly through the complaining students.

No one else existed in Hailon’s awareness. He wasn’t even conscious of the fact that all eyes were on him.

Inside his head, there was only Melia.

In an instant, a different light flickered through his emotionless black eyes. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

The image of two nights ago was vivid.

The dizzying memory of her hot inner walls clenching tightly around his cock.

Melia’s scent of flesh that made his vision blur, and the pleasant moans that seemed to melt his ears. All of it.

The pink bud rising from the center of her soft breasts had been sweet. Sweet enough that he wanted to keep it in his mouth for a long time.

The way she squeezed her eyes shut, soaked in pleasure at his movements, was truly beautiful. So much so that he wanted to keep her in his sight.

How could he not go into heat over her presence when she stimulated all five of his senses?

If he could go back to that moment right now, he was certain he’d choose to do so again.

He wanted to pull that soft body into his arms.

There was just one thing that bothered him.

‘She was different from usual.’

No matter how much he went into heat over Melia, Hailon knew that the impulse itself wasn’t normal.

And it was clear that she’d been in the same state as him.

That night.

The moment Hailon noticed something strange about his body, he’d headed straight toward Melia’s lodging.

The only thing on his mind was the relic. He needed to check whether Melia was in the same condition.

And when he spotted Melia coming outside, he followed her at a slow pace.

So that she wouldn’t run into some other guy.

In the end, the moment they reached a deserted place, Hailon stood in front of Melia.

That meeting wasn’t a coincidence.

Melia would probably think it was, but Hailon decided it was better to let her misunderstand.

‘For now, I’ll go see her today. I wonder what she’s thinking.’

Thinking of Melia waiting for him in the library, a pleasant smile spread across his lips once more.

If he’d known things would turn out like this, should he have made a move sooner?

A brief regret passed through him, but either way, they were spending time together almost every day now.

With long strides, Hailon left the corridor.

Before he knew it, the hallway leading to the library came into view. It was a path he’d grown quite familiar with.

But with each step he took, Hailon’s pace gradually slowed.

As if some part of him felt uncomfortable, his expression began to harden.

‘…No way.’

Heat rose through Hailon’s body again, and blood began to rush to his lower half.

This sensation was unmistakable.

His heartbeat was speeding up.

Just like that night. That miraculous night.

‘Ha, this is probably….’

It didn’t seem like it was going to end with just that one time.

The sensation circulating inside his body was abnormal to be explained as simple arousal from thinking about Melia just now.

A deep smile spread across Hailon’s lips.

For some reason, his steps toward the library looked light.

As his figure gradually disappeared into the distance, the students’ voices began to buzz again.

But unlike before, the topic was no longer complaints about the camp.

“Hailon is so handsome.”

“I want to face that gaze head-on just once.”

“What do you think he’s thinking about?”

“Maybe the worries of an heir who has to succeed the Alfred family.”

They continued piling up incorrect guesses that could never possibly be the right answer.

After chatting among themselves for a while, one of the girls suddenly asked a question.

“Who do you think Hailon will marry?”

It was less about wanting to know the answer, and more a question of whether such a person even existed.

“Technically, it’d have to be the princess, but that can’t happen, right?”

The current emperor was Hailon’s uncle.

The princess was Hailon’s cousin. And she was still young, with a big age gap.

So in the end, it would have to be one of the noble girls around his age within the empire.

But who?

Of course, it was an open secret that most of the female students at the academy wanted to be that person.

Hailon Alfred was everyone’s ideal man, so they couldn’t bring themselves to voice those feelings out loud.

Then, someone in the group suddenly spoke up.

“Actually, I’ve heard that rumor. That Hailon already has a fiancée.”