Chapter 32: CH 32

Unkind Words (2)

“Leah is not on the top this time.”

“Vivian is number one.”

Surprised that Leto was not the first, the students began to talk about him. To me, third place was not that low, but it was different for Leto.

‘Leto.’

I knew well how much ranks meant to Leto. Come to think of it,  had also shown how obsessed Leto was with his grades. Unlike his older brother, Leto, who had a strong desire to be recognised, never neglected his studies and always aimed to be the best.

When Leto’s efforts were constant and results were made, a problem arose. His parents persistently demanded the best from him.

Without even recognising him as a son, they constantly demanded perfection from Leto. That was partly why Leto became more obsessed with his grades. If his grades went down even the slightest, Leto became scared and couldn’t bear the cold gazes of his parents at him.

I followed Leto, who was walking away slowly. I wanted to comfort him, but I wasn’t sure if my comfort would be effective on him. Leto was walking as if he was on the verge of collapsing. He needed support. After hesitating, I approached Leto’s side and noticed his stiff face.

“……Leah.”

At my words, he glanced at me and a frown immediately formed on his stiff face. Leto, whose face seemed as if he was about to burst into tears, turned away from me. I stopped my steps, unable to follow him. Leto headed towards an unknown path.

Instead of the dormitory or the main building, he went to a quiet and dark place. I bit my lower lips tightly. I regretted my actions of being happy just because my grades went up. Leto must have been so upset to see his rank and my joyful expression. I just wish Leto wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

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“Leah!”

Fortunately, Leto did not skip the next liberal arts class. He came in with a dark expression, opened his book without taking the time to speak to me and concentrated on the class. Did he manage to control his shock and pull himself together again? I glanced at him before turning my gaze to the blackboard.

As the results came out, the students’ pressure subsided. Frustration could be heard from the students as they worry about the final exam. I also didn’t remain happy just because my rank went up. I concentrated on the class again.

While I was listening to the professor’s lecture and taking notes, I took a glance at Leto. I noticed that Leto’s face was troubled. I stared at him blankly, gasped and turned my gaze forward again.

When the class was over and the night was ripe, I still hadn’t spoken a word to Leto.

I wanted to talk to him, but with Leto’s completely darkened expression, it would be like hitting a wall. In the end, I didn’t open my lips because I thought it would only make him uncomfortable.

Leto headed straight to the library with a book, seeming like he was planning to study again starting today. I also headed to the library to study. After walking with Leto and parting ways at the entrance, I went up the stairs.

Today was an ordinary day, but I already felt exhausted. Arriving in front of the study room, I was surprised to hear voices from inside. Come to think of it, a new study member was supposed to join today.

I heard a woman and man’s voice……Seems like there were three people inside, instead of two. Curious of who the new members were, I pulled on the doorknob.

“Oh? Bree!”

“Bree……?”

Three familiar faces greeted me. The person lying on the desk was Senior Jimbo, while the person who immediately rose up from seeing me was Vivian. There was another girl too, and she looked very familiar.

The girl with long curly hair and clear blue eyes was definitely Bona, whom I met at the boutique last time.

“Huh?”

Her eyes widened, as if she remembered me too.

“What’s this, do you all know each other?”

Senior Jimbo asked bluntly.

As I entered the room and closed the door, Vivian approached me. With a brighter smile than ever.

“You signed up here too? What a coincidence!”

“Yes.”

“I’m so happy to think that I’ll be studying with you!”

Vivian was very excited. But what caught my eyes was Bona rather than Vivian. She stared at me blankly, perhaps surprised by my appearance and soon skillfully crossed her legs. Meanwhile, I couldn’t hide my bewildered face and remained still.

When I sat in front of Bona, Bona glanced at me.

“Didn’t we meet at the boutique last time?”

When I spoke first, Bona groaned and eventually nodded.

“I didn’t know you were a Lexley Academy student.”

You didn’t give me time to talk.

“Since we’re both freshmen, how about we talk casually to each other?”

“Sure. My name is Bona Bellion. Bellion of the Bellion family.”

After I suggested talking casually, Bona spoke to me in a casual manner right way. When I stared at her, she held her hand out as though she was embarrassed. Was this a handshake?

Those little hands were adorable and Bona’s face turned red when I burst into laughter. She was about to say something as I laughed, but she closed her mouth and waved her hand as if she had changed her mind. It meant that I should hurry up and get over it. I held her hand, shook it formally and quickly released it.

“Everyone is here.”

Senior Jimbo stood up from his seat while watching us.

“It seems like everyone knows each other, so let’s skip the introduction…The results came out today, right? I need to know your exam marks…Sigh, who should go first?”

Senior Jimbo muttered, scratching his head.

“Why don’t senior introduce yourself first? I joined this study group on the recommendation of my professor, but I’m not sure if senior has the qualifications to be a mentor.”

Then Bona said sharply, crossing her arms.

“Me? Name is Jimbo. A sophomore. Magics Department. I’ve never missed the first place…Do you think I’m qualified to be a mentor, dear junior?”

“Enough. That’s good enough.”

Bona calmed down.

“Senior, why don’t we share why we joined this study group and what we are going to do in the future?”

When Vivian raised his hand and suggested that, Senior Jimbo nodded in agreement. After being alone with Senior Jimbo everyday, I thought it was better to organise a schedule since the number of people suddenly became four. The senior also seemed less motivated, probably because he was annoyed that the number of people had increased.

“I’ll go first. I want to be in the top 10 this time. Since you said you’re in the first place, can’t I rise that much?”

Taking advantage of the moment, Bona spoke with her arms crossed.

“What’s your rank now?”

Bona hesitated to answer when the senior smiled as if that was absurd.

“Is your rank below 200th?”

“Well, yes.”

“If you don’t tell me exactly, I can’t do anything about it……”

“……250th place.”

Bona looked at us and said softly. Her voice was so small that I was only able to hear it as I sat in front of her. If it was the 250th place, then that was the last place that Senior Jimbo and I were talking about. Come to think of it, I think I saw the name Bona Bellion when I was checking the grades earlier.

Senior Jimbo couldn’t hear it, so he frowned and looked at the paper on his desk. I was wondering what kind of paper that was, and it turned out to be a table with the grades and ranks of the Magics Department freshmen students.

“It’s the last place.”

As expected, the blunt senior said frankly. Bona’s face, who had been sitting calmly and quietly, soon turned red and she nodded her head in acceptance.

Her timidness was something that didn’t suit her, but she was not discouraged and continued to feign confidence.

“Vivian is in first place.”

When I heard the word ‘first place’, it reminded me of Leto and I stiffened. Vivian, on the other hand, smiled shyly.

“Actually, I didn’t expect to get first place. My parents were extremely happy to hear this news, but truthfully, I don’t have the confidence to stay in first place next time……”

“You joined here in hopes to remain first.”

At Senior Jimbo’s words, Vivian just smiled as if he was correct.

“First and last place.”

Senior Jimbo looked very troubled before moving on to his ‘whatever’ style. Like senior, I was also worried.

There was a huge difference in grades. I wondered if Bona and I would be able to keep up with Vivian’s learning abilities. However, it seemed like it was just me and Senior Jimbo’s worries. Vivian appeared to be in a good mood while Bona simply fiddled with her nails.

“Let’s start tomorrow.”

Senior sighed and concluded. Even senior, who hates procrastinating, appeared like he wanted to leave this unorganised situation behind.

“Bree.”

As I was getting up from my seat, senior called me. I stopped at the door, looked at Vivian and Bona’s leaving sight and turned my head again. Senior, who was sorting out the piled papers on the desk, came up to me and suddenly patted my head.

With his languid expression, he only fiddled with my head without saying a word, which made me feel like a pet.

What’s this for?

“Congratulations on rising your rank.”

He appeared as if he had been wanting to say this. I was taken aback by senior’s words.

“……Oh.”

Suddenly, my chest swelled up and a smile that I had been hiding for so long appeared. Yeah, in truth, I also wanted to brag about it to someone. I wanted someone to realise that my hard work paid off. I couldn’t contain my joy when someone actually recognised it.

“It went up a lot. Even more than what you aimed for.”

I was touched by senior’s warm words.

“Thank you, senior.”

“Don’t slack off in the future.”

The corners of his lips raised as he ended his sentence. After receiving compliments from my senior, I returned to the dormitory. Only the cold wind greeted me in the empty dorm. Even though I felt happy just now, the thought of Leto made my heart heavy for a while.

I tossed and turned in the bed, waiting for Leto before I fell asleep faintly. It was such a light sleep that the sounds of the wind hitting the window was heard clearly.

I fell into a deep sleep after I heard the door of the dorm room open at dawn.

Fan translation by Dropped Inks.

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As soon as I opened my eyes, the bright light entering my vision naturally made me frown. I hurriedly turned around and rubbed my eyes, feeling that something was missing. When I got up and looked around, I couldn’t find Leto, who should have been lying on the bed next to me.

The bed linen was arranged neatly and there was no book on the desk. Even the lights in the opened bathroom were turned off.

Looking back at the clock on the wall, there was still about two hours left until morning class. Leto must have gone to the library to study in the morning. Has he eaten? I approached Leto’s desk and brushed my hand over his cold desk. Then, I found a letter under his pencil case. It was the one I wrote.

Underneath it was the short letter I gave him before. Thankfully he seemed to have kept them instead of throwing them away.

Delighted at the sight, I stretched my arms forward.

“Mhm. Let’s cheer up, dear me!”