Chapter 4

Tislin barely slept.

Looking exhausted, she dragged herself into the classroom.

Perhaps because of yesterday’s shocking events, she had spent the entire night awake. She had only managed to doze off briefly at dawn, so even now her mind felt as though half of it was still wandering through a dream.

Unfortunately, her first class of the day was Professor Talis’s lecture—a class where even the slightest distraction was absolutely forbidden.

To keep herself from nodding off, she repeatedly dug her fingernails into her own thigh.

Sierra, who had also spent a sleepless night, helped by discreetly scratching the back of Tislin’s hand under the desk.

Together, they somehow survived the hour.

The truth was…

Tislin didn’t actually find the Administrative Department’s classes all that interesting.

Then again, most students probably felt the same.

Still, those who were heirs to noble families or aspired to become government officials had a clear reason to earn excellent grades.

Tislin was neither.

She wasn’t her family’s heir.

Nor did she intend to become a civil servant.

Yet she had deliberately enrolled in the Administrative Department.

Her parents had been quite concerned about that decision.

“If you’re going to attend the Royal Academy, wouldn’t the Liberal Arts Department be a better choice?”

“Or perhaps the Magic Department. You’re not the heir, and you’re not planning to become an official, so why would you want to study something this complicated?”

When Tislin’s younger brother was born after she turned ten, she had effectively lost her place as the family heir.

From her parents’ perspective, enrolling in a department that would improve her chances of making a good marriage match was only sensible.

But Tislin had chosen the Administrative Department anyway.

The reason was simple.

Her education had been cut short.

Everything she had been taught as part of her training to become the heir had suddenly become “things she no longer needed to learn.”

Even as a child who loved to play, she had understood that something about it wasn’t right.

That lingering regret was what ultimately pushed her into the Administrative Department.

Looking back…

She didn’t regret the decision.

Although she couldn’t compete with the handful of students who studied day and night to become officials, Tislin had consistently ranked around fifth or sixth out of roughly forty Administrative Department students over the past three years.

Where she ranked at the Royal Academy probably wouldn’t change her life.

Still…

It felt satisfying to see her hard work rewarded.

And meeting a close friend like Sierra had made it all worthwhile.

“Now then, one final announcement.”

Professor Talis adjusted his glasses.

“Students graduating next year must be sure to take the summer graduation examination.”

“Many students become overconfident, wait until the winter examination…”

“…and end up failing to graduate.”

“Many students.”

“Many students!”

Several boys in the back row mimicked the professor’s speech pattern, snickering among themselves.

Professor Talis slowly turned his icy gaze toward the back of the classroom.

He found the culprits almost immediately.

“Mr. Hickston.”

“Mr. Alroin.”

“You seem quite confident in your graduation examinations if you have the leisure to mock my manner of speaking.”

“In that case…”

“I assume you’ll still graduate comfortably even after losing participation points in this class.”

The seniors, who were desperately fighting for every single point before graduation, clicked their tongues at the pair’s stupidity.

The two boys would undoubtedly be running to the professor’s office later, apologizing until their foreheads touched the floor.

“They knew he’d react like that.”

“So why make fun of him?”

If they were hopeless troublemakers who didn’t care about their grades, that would have been one thing.

But they weren’t.

Still…

There were always boys around this age who simply couldn’t resist causing a scene.

Tislin and Sierra exchanged helpless looks and shook their heads.

“Professor! Wait!”

Hickston and Alroin rushed after the professor, who had already left the classroom with an expression colder than ice.

The moment they threw open the classroom door—

They stopped dead.

Someone was standing directly in the doorway.

A long shadow stretched across the classroom floor.

The first thing everyone noticed was the immaculate military uniform, something rarely seen in the Administrative Department, where students were free to dress casually outside official ceremonies.

Then…

Hair as black as a raven’s feathers.

And those piercing blue eyes.

“Huh… Lord Ksanov?”

“Do you know me?”

“N-No… I mean…”

“I’ve seen you in the newspapers.”

An awkward-looking Hickston quickly stepped aside.

That gave everyone in the classroom a clear view of the unexpected visitor.

Like everyone else, Tislin instinctively turned her head.

The color immediately drained from her face.

“Come to think of it…”

“Didn’t he come looking for someone yesterday too?”

“That’s right. He came to the lounge…”

“…and then…”

The students who had witnessed yesterday’s events naturally shifted their gazes toward Tislin.

Oh no.

The instant she felt their eyes on her—

Tislin practically shot out of her seat.

She rushed out of the classroom and grabbed Damian Ksanov by the arm.

For most of the years they’d known each other, theirs hadn’t been an especially intimate relationship.

Still…

People who had known each other for over a decade developed a certain unspoken understanding.

Rather than speak and create an even bigger scene…

Damian silently allowed himself to be pulled away.

Back inside the classroom, yesterday’s gossip flared up all over again.

Meanwhile, Sierra Fontaine escaped through the front door before the pack of gossip-hungry hyenas could surround her.

---

* * *

After dragging Damian to the quietest, most secluded corner of the academy grounds, far from anyone’s eyes…

Tislin rounded on him before she had even caught her breath.

“Why are you here?!”

The question sounded ridiculous even to her own ears.

Why else would he be here?

Obviously…

Because of the engagement.

Of course, what she really meant was—

Why did you come all the way to the Administrative Department classroom?

Though…

That hardly mattered anymore.

The important thing was somehow smoothing over this horribly awkward situation.

“The engagement…”

“I wasn’t the one who suggested it.”

“I told you back then, didn’t I?”

“I never meant marriage… or an engagement… anything like that.”

“I’d never arrange a marriage proposal behind your back.”

“I never said you did.”

“Tis.”

“Calm down.”

A large hand settled gently over her shoulder, pressing lightly as if to soothe her.

Startled, Tislin looked up.

The moment their eyes met—

She immediately looked away again.

Then, as though reciting words she had memorized beforehand, she hurriedly spoke.

“Our parents must have made some kind of mistake.”

“I honestly don’t know why His Grace accepted it.”

“But it hasn’t been announced yet.”

“No one knows.”

“So we can still call it off.”

“I’ll write home immediately and tell them to break off the engagement.”

“And if His Grace asks you…”

“Just tell him we’ve agreed to end it.”

“My parents might not listen…”

“But His Grace would listen to what you want.”

Silence.

Tislin nervously fidgeted with the fabric of her skirt.

Their long shadows overlapped on the ground.

For some reason…

That was all she could see.

Damian, meanwhile, paid no attention to their shadows.

Instead, he quietly asked,

“Tis.”

“…What?”

“Why?”

She blinked.

“What?”

“Why should we do that?”

The question was completely unexpected.

Did that mean…

Damian actually intended to keep the engagement?

“What do you mean, why?”

“I have no objection to this engagement.”

“Is it because His Grace arranged it?”

“But if you said you didn’t want it, he’d accept that.”

“My family isn’t important enough to benefit the Grand Duchy of Luxen.”

“The same goes for Adelind.”

“That’s true.”

Damian nodded.

“But…”

“Does that mean I shouldn’t be engaged to you?”

Of course…

To Damian Ksanov, the specific person probably didn’t matter much.

As long as the Grand Duke approved…

And as long as it benefited Adelind…

That was enough.

He surely had preferences.

But unless someone was utterly impossible for him to tolerate…

He simply didn’t care.

And that…

Was exactly what Tislin couldn’t bear.

“…What if I don’t want it?”

“If I don’t want to be engaged…”

“Will you break it off?”

She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

If she did…

She’d probably only blush like a child and mutter, “I don’t want to.”

The large hand resting on her shoulder slowly slipped away.

She could distinctly feel his fingertips brushing against the thick fabric of her sleeve.

Tislin pressed both hands tightly against her wildly pounding heart.

It was embarrassing.

But she couldn’t help it.

Damian let out a quiet sigh.

Then he bent down slightly until they were at eye level.

In a low voice, he asked,

“Why?”

Tislin stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

Once Tislin dug in her heels…

Even Adelind—the most stubborn person in all of Luxen—could never win against her.

Someone like Damian, who was constantly giving in to Adelind, stood even less of a chance.

He knew that as well.

So he didn’t foolishly continue waiting for an answer he wasn’t going to get.

“Tis.”

“It’s not something you can’t endure.”

“So endure it.”

“I’ll treat you well.”

His voice was unexpectedly gentle.

At some point…

Damian had begun speaking to Tislin like this.

It wasn’t the tone he used with Adelind, whom he treated like a little sister.

Nor was it the firm, decisive voice he used when speaking to the Grand Duke or his fellow knights.

It was different.

Steady…

Yet strangely soft.

Sweet, in a way that was difficult to describe.

If he hadn’t spoken to her like that…

Tislin never would have foolishly convinced herself there was hope—

or confessed her feelings to him.