Chapter 79

Sorry?

Hailon’s fist clenched tightly. Without moving from where he stood, he bit down on his lower lip.

He knew as well.

That it had only been a moment like a fleeting dream of spring.

Something that would scatter like mist once today came.

That was why he didn’t want to hear an apology.

He couldn’t hold onto Melia when she was certain to distance herself again, so he at least wanted to keep it as a brief memory.

The apology she’d just spoken felt as if she were asking him not to even keep it as a memory.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. It was an accident.”

Without turning around, Hailon suppressed his emotions and informed Melia.

“We can just go back to how things were before.”

Hailon’s calm answer slipped out.

Even if you’re the only one who will forget it.

Of course, he swallowed those last words back down.

“Back to… how things were before….”

Melia unconsciously repeated Hailon’s words, which he spoke without even facing her. A sharp ache spread through one corner of her heart.

It was an obvious fact that she must have put him in a difficult position.

Perhaps she was the only one who felt happy.

Yesterday, she clung to him in pleasure, but was that really only because of the effect?

Melia knew.

That it wasn’t only because of the drink.

Using her strange physical condition as an excuse, she might have hidden behind it so she could cling to him and be held by him.

No, she definitely did.

But that was her own personal circumstance.

Hailon must have only accepted her because he had no other choice.

That must be why he didn’t want to speak any further.

But still.

‘I have to say it.’

Separate from this pain, she still had to offer him a proper apology.

Not for what happened yesterday, but for the misunderstanding she had carried all this time.

She knew it was shameless, but it was even clearer that if not now, the opportunity might never come again.

During that moment, Hailon’s foot moved again.

Step. Step.

Two steps were taken.

Step.

Before she knew it, it was the final step.

Watching his hand slowly rise toward the doorknob, Melia moved her lips.

‘Say it, Melia.’

You know how much Hailon has done for you all this time.

If she couldn’t even say this first, she would never be able to face him.

Just as his hand moved to open the door, her lips opened at the same time.

“That’s not it, Hailon.”

Melia’s firm voice settled between them.

Hailon’s hand froze in midair.

“I… heard everything. About how the orphanage caught fire.”

Hailon’s pupils shook violently. The body that had been turned away until now slowly turned toward Melia.

“How… did you….”

“I was stupid. I resented you without knowing anything. When in truth it was all because of me.”

Melia stepped down from the bed and slowly walked toward him. Many emotions were tangled deeply in her gaze.

Likewise, unnameable emotions churned inside Hailon’s eyes.

When she finally stood before him, Melia spoke sincerely from her heart.

“I wanted to apologize. I’m sorry for misunderstanding you when you were the one who helped me.”

Ah. So Melia learned everything. Everything he had hidden until now.

Hailon realized he was no longer in a position where he could keep it hidden.

“Don’t you hate me? I lied about everything.”

His voice was bitter. He had lied to her again and again until now.

He hid his identity, concealed his uncle’s debt, and even fabricated lies about the past.

If she thought he was someone who couldn’t be trusted about anything, he would have no right to argue.

But Melia slowly shook her head.

While tightly holding his hand.

“How could I ever do that?”

“…!”

Along with the soft warmth spreading through his large hand, what reached him was her sincerity.

Even though he had deceived her all this time, Melia was telling him it was all right.

It was a moment he’d never once hoped for in his life.

He had never even imagined he might dare ask for forgiveness.

Yet the green eyes he loved more than anything, the eyes he had always thought were the most beautiful in the world, were looking at him with not even a trace of resentment.

Hailon slowly brought his true feelings to his lips.

“I never forgot you. Not even once.”

It was a confession he had carried in his heart all this time.

“Even while hoping you wouldn’t get hurt, even while knowing that meant I shouldn’t approach you.”

The emotions he had suppressed began spilling out one by one, all moving toward Melia.

“My feelings for you were too strong. I pretended not to know and came closer to you.”

The end of his voice cracked roughly as he spoke the truth he thought he would never be able to say.

“I see.”

“I’m sorry, Melia.”

This great man, who likely never apologized to anyone, stood before her now looking so lost.

The emotions filling his eyes revealed the entire answer.

So this time, Melia wanted to speak first.

Because last time, he had been the one who gathered his courage.

Melia slowly wrapped her arms around Hailon.

Although she ended up nestled comfortably in his broad arms, as she rested her face against his firm chest, the sound of his rapidly beating heart could be heard loudly.

A smile formed on her lips naturally.

How could she not love this man?

“I like you, Hailon.”

Melia’s confession settled between them.

“And thank you. Truly.”

For watching over me. For never forgetting me.

There was nothing left standing between them anymore.

No misunderstandings.

No secrets.

Only the feeling of wanting each other remained.

Their gazes met, and smiles quietly formed on their lips. Soon their eyes slowly closed, and their lips met once more.

***

A year had passed.

This year, Melia and Hailon became fourth‑year students.

Her younger brother Ervan also successfully passed the entrance exam and was now proudly enrolled as a student at Erpen.

Before they knew it, another cold winter had arrived, but somehow Melia felt warmer than she did last winter.

‘This year is already ending.’

One day, not long before graduation.

Pretty snow blossoms had piled softly along the branches in the academy garden.

Melia was walking leisurely through the garden covered in pure white snow together with Rosha.

‘This will really be the last time.’

Graduation was soon approaching. Moments like this would never come again.

Thinking that made the regret about the little time she had left at Erpen grow larger.

So many things happened at this academy. There were certainly bad moments too, but all the memories that remained were happy ones.

Because this was also the place where her life began to change.

Last year, after that incident, Baron Aisic was expelled.

Not only that, he was naturally handed over to the guard and thrown into prison.

After Melia and Hailon left, Calix, who had been assisting him, took responsibility for cleaning up everything related to the baron.

Even while being dragged away, Baron Aisic kept making the ridiculous claim that he and Melia were lovers, but no one believed him.

Especially because the stimulant he secretly created to induce arousal was discovered as evidence.

By the time he is released from prison, everyone will probably already be middle‑aged.

However, according to Hailon and Melia’s wishes, the incident was never brought fully to the surface.

The students only knew that Baron Aisic had committed some crime and been sent to prison. Since they didn’t know the reason, all kinds of rumors spread among them.

Some said he stole a treasured heirloom from a noble family. Others said he committed violence against someone. Others claimed he committed something close to treason.

Only two people within Erpen knew the correct answer, and the truth would likely never be revealed.

And in people’s memories, the existence of Baron Aisic was easily forgotten.

Before long, the end of the year arrived, and the students forgot the past and became absorbed in anticipation for the coming year.

Now that a year has passed, not a single student mentions the names Anastasia, Catherine, or Baron anymore.

While Melia briefly recalled the events of last year, Rosha, who was walking beside her, spoke, “Melia, what do you want to do after graduation?”

“After graduation?”

“Yeah. My older brother will inherit the family, and I don’t want to just get married, so I’ve been thinking a lot. My parents would understand if I said I wanted to pursue something I like.”

“Hmm, as for me….”

Like Rosha, Melia had also been thinking about her future recently.

When she first entered the academy, she hoped to graduate at the top of the class and work as an assistant for a wealthy noble family.

But that was all in the past now.

There was no longer any reason for that.

Melia was seriously thinking about what she truly wanted to do.

“I think I want to keep studying.”

“Wow, as expected of the top student.”

What she wanted most was to study archaeology. Even though it was in the past now, she still had not discovered the true nature of that relic.

It was also the field that interested her the most, and since that incident became a major turning point in Melia’s life, she strongly wanted to discover the conditions that caused it to activate.

So recently, she had even begun considering whether she should aim to become a professor at Erpen.

If she did that, maybe the sadness of having to leave this place soon would lessen.

As Melia drifted through various thoughts, Rosha asked playfully, “Ah, or maybe you’re planning a career as the Duchess of Alfred?”