Anything But Study - Chapter 36

“M-me?”

“Yeah. You.”

At that firm reply, all the worries that had piled up in Melia’s heart shattered at once, as if breaking apart.

Why it was so reassuring, she had no idea.

“Who else would I learn from but you?”

His answer made her genuinely happy. One side of her chest felt tight. It was a strange sensation, the kind Melia had never felt before.

At the same time, seeing how confident he was, as if there could be no other answer but Melia, only made her doubts grow.

…Was Hailon really fine with this?

He must have clearly witnessed the moment she was treated with near contempt by Catherine.

‘Is it really okay to keep learning from someone like me, Hailon?’

The question rose all the way to her throat.

But there was no way she could say it out loud. Melia wanted to stay with Hailon too.

“So please take good care of me until the year-end exam. I can’t get expelled, you know.”

Thump. Thump.

Her heart raced at his faint smile.

So she hid the unease swelling inside her. Melia forced the corners of her mouth up and squeezed out a bright voice.

“Alright. I’ll work even harder too.”

After nodding her head up and down a few times, Melia slowly brought up the next topic.

“…So, about that.”

What Melia needed to talk about today wasn’t only grades. She also had to talk about the library.

All the more so if he truly intended to continue the tutoring.

“Did you happen to see the notice on the board about the library?”

“Why, what about the library?”

It seemed Hailon didn’t know either. Thinking that, Melia began explaining.

“They’re closing it for a month and a half starting next week.”

“A month and a half… that long?”

The way he asked back felt meaningful, as if he were mulling something over.

“Right? It’s really long.”

Melia grumbled in agreement, assuming he was dissatisfied too since the period was so long.

“Yeah… what should we do?” he muttered with a troubled expression. “You saw my grades, Melia. I don’t think I can stop tutoring.”

His face looked awkward as he spoke, but for some reason, it felt like there was a strange hint of excitement in his voice.

No, it had to be her imagination.

Melia brushed the thought aside. Excitement didn’t make sense in this situation.

Anyway, it was a relief. Truly.

Even after seeing that his grades hadn’t risen as much as expected, even after learning the library would be unusable, Hailon still seemed determined to continue the tutoring.

If so, now the problem was the location.

‘Where should we really do it?’

Hmm. No suitable place came to mind right away.

As a few seconds of silence passed between them while she pondered.

“Melia, how about your house?”

Hailon was the one who spoke first.

“My house?”

Melia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Yeah. There’s nowhere suitable inside Erpen. There are empty lecture rooms, but… well. Would that be okay?”

Part of his question was left unsaid, but it wasn’t hard to catch the hidden meaning.

“I don’t think a lecture room is terrible either.”

Unlike Hailon’s relaxed tone, Melia couldn’t say anything. Her eyes wavered in confusion.

A lecture room? No.

What if someone came in?

Aren’t Hailon and I more than just a tutoring pair?

Especially if our bodies heat up because of the relic, even in a lecture room….

Just then, Hailon’s voice cut in.

“We did it at your place last time too.”

It wasn’t clear whether he meant studying, or something else. The object of his words was ambiguous.

They had done as he said before.

That, and this.

What had happened on the morning of the monthly exam dominated Melia’s thoughts.

What they’d done at Melia’s house hadn’t really been tutoring.

No, if teaching her exactly where and how her body reacted counted as tutoring….

“Th-that’s true, but….”

Melia’s hesitant voice leaked out softly.

“Well, if you’re uncomfortable, we can do it at my place. There’s plenty of space.”

Hailon had said something similar last time too. That his house would be fine.

But Melia wasn’t fine with it.

What if the relic’s effect caused her body to heat up at the Alfred ducal residence?

Unlike Melia’s empty house, Alfred would be full of servants.

‘That’s not okay.’

Naturally, she didn’t want to be caught.

No matter how she thought about it, Melia’s house was the most reasonable compromise.

“…Alright, let’s do that.”

After a brief hesitation, she finally gave her consent.

She didn’t know if it was the right choice, but there was no other option.

“But did the Duke say anything?”

Melia was curious.

Even if only a little, his grades had gone up. They weren’t rock bottom anymore, so had there been any reaction?

After all, he’d scolded Hailon for his low grades and even mentioned expulsion.

But at that question, Hailon didn’t answer right away. His eyes hardened, and the reluctant way he replied didn’t look pleasant.

“My father? …Not really.”

The answer was short.

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, an image from the past flickered before Melia’s eyes.

A much younger black-haired boy wearing a detached expression, letting out a soft, mocking scoff.

“My father? …Not really.”

She was sure she’d heard something like this before.

Melia stared blankly at Hailon. This lingering afterimage was definitely….

“Why? Were you worried?”

That question broke her train of thought and scattered it.

“Of course. You said you didn’t want to quit Erpen.”

She understood that feeling better than anyone.

Melia herself had nearly been forced to leave the academy against her will.

Just as Hailon had stopped that crisis for her, Melia wanted to do the same for him.

“Ah, sorry. I talked too long. Let’s start right away.”

Melia spread the materials out on the desk.

“Then today, I think it’d be good to review the problems that appeared on the monthly exam.”

She continued explaining.

“Especially the trickier ones. They might come back later in applied form….”

For a long while, only Melia’s voice echoed through the library.

Hailon was watching her intently, the corners of his lips slightly raised.

As if he liked very much that he was the one she was pouring that much passion and focus into.

“Imperial history should be fine if we stop here for now. Next, let’s move on to art studies.”

It was already the last subject.

Since it was an academy for nobles, the range of subjects was broad.

Still, art studies was relatively easy, and only then did Melia’s body relax a little.

Because she’d expected a score far higher than 130th, she must have felt an unusual sense of responsibility today without realizing it.

Pointing to a piece of artwork, she spoke in a calmer voice, “As you know, about two hundred years ago, a lot of works came out with seasons as their theme….”

Season.

‘…Ah.’

But maybe she’d relaxed too much. The moment she saw that word, her thoughts automatically connected it to the seasonal party.

“Ah, right. I heard Hailon Alfred is attending this time.”

Rosha’s voice, saying that Hailon would be attending the third-year autumn seasonal party, echoed in her mind.

Was it really true? That Hailon was attending.

Unlike the tangled mess of thoughts suddenly bursting into chaos in her head, Melia’s mouth continued explaining diligently.

“This piece is by an unknown artist, but it’s been revealed that one of our empire’s nobles who fled to the Kingdom of Ruette….”

“Melia.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You already explained this earlier.”

Ah. Only then did her surroundings come into sharper focus. She’d let her mind wander.

“Uh, that is….”

It was true. She was repeating the same page again.

“S-sorry.”

How foolish.

She’d just decided to work harder to raise his grades, and she was already distracted by other thoughts.

Melia felt pathetic.

“Were you thinking about something else? What were you thinking about?”

It seemed Hailon had noticed too. That she hadn’t been able to focus.

But at his question, Melia couldn’t possibly answer.

How could she say she couldn’t teach properly because she was wondering who he was going to the party with?

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Really?”

No, it wasn’t.

The question rose all the way to her throat.

You’re going to the party?

Who are you going with as your partner?