6:00 a.m.
The hour when birds stir and begin to sing, when a pale blue dawn rises—Elline opened her eyes.
Her body moved by habit now, without thought.
She drank a glass of water, opened the window, and breathed in the morning air.
In the spare minutes she reviewed things she didn't yet know, or read academic journals sent down from the Mage Tower, preparing for the day ahead.
Last came the uniform, and then she was ready to go...
'…'
Or so it should have been.
She stood motionless before the mirror for a long moment.
She turned this way and that, looking herself over, and smoothed her silver hair one final time.
It wasn't something she would have done before.
The mirror had always been something she merely glanced at in passing.
She knew perfectly well that staring longer changed nothing.
But lately, she had started to care.
And today was Friday.
Once the morning was over, she would see Rutess from the afternoon general-studies lecture onward.
*Should I ask him to take a walk after class?*
With exams coming up, focusing on studying might have been the wiser choice.
But given the effort and the pace of growth Rutess had shown her so far, one day off seemed more than fine.
There was a touch of personal interest mixed in, but that was all right.
'…'
One last time.
She carefully smoothed down a single strand of hair that had sprung loose.
She steadied the flutter in her chest, left the dormitory, and walked down the corridor, glancing outside.
The sun was rising beyond the mountains over the wide panorama, and the academy's buildings cast long shadows as the light caught them.
It was the kind of view that should have grown familiar by now—yet it still moved her.
As a child, shut away in the Pailless manor, ground down by study and pressure without end, she had no memories of the outside world to speak of.
There had been exactly one exception: when she was very small, around the time her father was dispatched as a Court Mage, he had taken her and her brothers somewhere. That was all.
Even on that trip, she had done nothing but get scolded.
She shook her head.
She had no desire to revisit her childhood memories—she had buried them deliberately, and she wanted them to stay buried.
Back then, all she could remember was crying, being reprimanded, or being locked in a room alone.
…
*Has anything changed now?*
She stopped and looked out at the view.
After graduation, she would have to go to the Mage Tower.
That, too, was a path her father had laid out for her.
Students beginning their morning commute came into view, and she turned away.
Dwelling on it now wouldn't change a thing.
When lectures ended in Alpha Class, there were always students gathered around the professor.
Questions about things they didn't understand, things they were curious about, and a dozen other matters—it was a world apart from Beta Class, where students drained out like water the moment class was dismissed.
Rui, seated in the back row, had come with a full page of questions to ask—but today, there was something more important than questions.
*Huu.*
She took a slow breath and drew a small bottle from her bag.
Then she turned her head, and there was Elline, rising from her seat with her usual unhurried indifference.
*Is now the time?*
Rui breathed in.
One.
Two.
She walked toward Elline.
"E—Elline!"
She called out with all the courage she could muster. Elline, who had been about to leave, stopped and turned.
"…Yeah."
And at Elline's perfectly blank expression, every last scrap of courage Rui had gathered crumbled away, leaving her mind a sheet of white.
"Um… uh… that is."
Dragging it out any longer would be rude—so Rui squeezed her eyes shut, rushed forward, and bowed her head sharply.
"Thank you—for last time!"
She held out the small bottle with both hands, offering it up properly.
A fragrant scent drifted out in an instant, and Elline's gaze dropped.
"…What is this?"
"Oh, um, freesias are really f-famous back home, so it's a perfume made from them! I just got it and I really wanted to give it to you! I thought it would suit you… hehe."
Rui kept rambling, but her arms stayed outstretched.
"…"
"Last time… I started being conscious of the tension in my left shoulder, like you told me, and it actually got better! I was able to increase my practice time because of it… so… that's why… I'm giving it to you."
She stumbled over her words but kept her courage up, unable to lift her head—yet she hoped, more than anything, that Elline would accept it.
Because to Rui, Elline was someone to look up to.
Unshakeable, composed, brilliant, and sharp.
Ever since she had caught a glimpse of Elline's ability by chance in their first year, Elline had taken root somewhere inside her.
'…'
Elline watched her for a moment, then quietly reached out and took the bottle.
Even sealed, it gave off a gentle scent—freesia, but with what seemed like other flowers blended in as well.
A fragrance that eased the mind.
"Thank you."
At Elline's words of thanks, Rui's face lit up.
"No, I'm the one who's grateful…"
She smiled brightly, gave another quick bow, picked up her bag, and began getting ready to leave.
*Elline said thank you.*
She was overjoyed, but she pressed down the giddy smile threatening to spread across her face. Once Elline left, she would follow naturally, and then—
*Eat with Ian, and then…*
She was busy sorting through her plans in her head and reaching for her bag when—
"Rui."
"Yes?!"
Elline called her name again, and Rui turned. Elline's gaze hadn't left her.
"Really—thank you. I'll put it to good use."
"…Oh."
Elline gave a small nod and walked out of the classroom. For a while, Rui simply stood there, rooted to the spot.
"…Hehe."
Then, as if her senses had finally returned, she began gathering her things again.
Humming softly to herself, without even noticing.
Around lunchtime, Elline returned to the dormitory with the perfume.
She quietly broke the seal and opened the cap. The scent that had been held back rushed out all at once, then settled into a soft, lingering presence.
'…'
With her eyes closed, it was like standing in a field of flowers. Elline carefully dabbed the perfume on her wrist and touched a little to the back of her neck.
An unfamiliar fragrance—not one she knew—wrapped itself around her, and with it came a sense of ease. She closed her eyes.
*Will Rutess like this scent?*
She hoped he would.
And knowing Rutess… he probably would, wouldn't he?
The afternoon sun poured in warmly.
Sitting in her chair with her eyes closed, breathing in something that smelled like a garden.
And soon she would go to class, and she would see Rutess.
*Nice.*
The quiet sound of her own heartbeat, and the laughter of students drifting in from outside.
The warm sunlight and the full breath of spring—right now, in this moment, it brought Elline a peace she could not have asked more of.
Knock knock—
The knock pulled her back to the present. Elline closed the cap and rose from her seat.
It was lunchtime.
Students returning to the dormitory to rest weren't unheard of, but most were usually out—and official business didn't bring people to dormitory doors at this hour.
At most, something that could be delivered even without anyone home—
Slip—
The thought had barely formed when a small envelope slid through the gap beneath the door.
"…"
Her eyes found it.
The fragrance began to recede.
She rose slowly and walked to the door.
From the Mage Tower?
*No, the Mage Tower wouldn't…*
The Mage Tower didn't send letters like this. Official correspondence came through the academy's formal channels.
Her mother?
That seemed unlikely too—they had met not long ago, and it was far too soon for a letter.
She stopped in front of the door and carefully picked up the envelope.
It was an elegant letter, stamped with the distinctive blue seal of House Pailless.
'…'
Her heart began to beat faster.
There was only one person who could affix the family seal to a personal letter.
The Family Head.
*Father.*
It was a letter from her father—Rokgard.
* * *
To summarize my daily routine lately, it went something like this.
Wake up and study, go to class and study, study through lunch, practical training during afternoon lectures, and then study again in the evening with Elline.
It wasn't just my imagination—the amount of studying I'd done in these past few weeks far exceeded everything from the previous year and a half combined.
It was absolutely killing me.
Aside from Edgar, who shared my morning lectures, I was barely seeing my friends at all.
Ross stopped by now and then to say hello, which was about the extent of it.
'…'
Maybe they were giving me space now that I was actually studying in earnest.
Looking at it that way, I really did have good friends.
My biggest concern right now was one thing.
Without a word, I reached into my chest pocket and took out the brooch.
It was a brooch shaped like a golden flower—I'd gotten it after consulting with a professor who specialized in herbology.
Looking back, I'd been so caught up in guilt that I'd done nothing but read her moods, and in the end I'd only ever been on the receiving end with Elline.
The other day, when I had pressed my lips to her cheek—that physical act of contact.
Subtle as it was, I had felt a tremor in her cheek.
*Will she like it…?*
That was why I wanted to give her something small—a gift.
The stargazing idea was appealing too, but we were both too busy studying for that right now.
Once exam season hit, there wouldn't be any free time on weekends either.
So I wanted to give it to her today.
Would Elline… like it?
I hoped she would.
'…'
I hadn't realized giving someone a gift could make you this nervous.
If she didn't like it—if her reaction was poor—
*Hmm…*
Even bracing myself for it, I thought it would still sting. But I'd have to accept it.
I walked into the classroom and took a seat in the back.
I could feel the other students' eyes on me, but I didn't have the bandwidth to worry about that right now.
*How should I give it to her?*
That was all I could think about.
If I gave it to her right when she arrived, she might not be able to focus on the lecture.
Better to give it to her after class, right?
Step. Step.
A cat-like tread.
Light footsteps you had to concentrate to catch.
By now, I knew without being told.
"Rutess."
Just as I'd expected, Elline's voice reached me.
I looked up naturally, and there she was.
"You're here?"
Elline met my eyes and gave a faint nod.
"Yeah."
As she always did, she pulled out her chair and sat down, quietly taking out her book.
Her expression was as unchanged as ever. On a hunch, I slipped my hand beneath the desk toward her—and like a magnet drawn to its match, she took it without hesitation.
*Warm.*
A small hand.
Soft and slender, without a single callus—I held it carefully.
The lecture began, and the two of us sat with our hands clasped beneath the desk.
Having her hand in mine like this, with just one hand—it was a real comfort.
'…'
Comfort.
I tightened my grip on her hand, and she responded in kind, squeezing back.
*…Hm.*
Something felt off. I glanced sideways at Elline, but she was staring at the board with her usual blank expression, as always.
"Looking at it from this angle…"
The professor's voice filled the classroom as she wrote on the board.
I'd always thought her voice was easy to listen to—that it helped me focus.
Today, it wasn't working.
I tightened my grip on Elline's hand once more, then let go.
I stopped writing.
Slowly, with my left hand, I leaned as close to her as I could and wrote in the margin.
*Elline.*
Elline stopped writing too and looked at it. I added one more line beneath.
*Are you okay?*
Her hand, which had always carried a steady warmth—
Through that hand, what I felt now wasn't warmth. It was a faint, helpless trembling.
I looked at her face.
No fever. No coughing.
So it wasn't a cold.
Elline looked at me for a moment, then turned away and wrote her reply beneath mine.
*I'm fine.*
…
That was a lie.
I had spent more time with Elline these past few weeks than anyone else.
She had always spoken honestly when she looked at me, so I knew it well.
Elline couldn't lie.
And even when she tried, it showed immediately.
*Should I pretend not to notice?*
It might be something she couldn't bring herself to tell me.
If it were something she could say, wouldn't she have said it first?
Pressing her on it here—telling her not to lie—might only make things awkward.
Still.
I didn't want to see her like that.
Slip—
I let go of her hand.
Elline, who had been focused on the lecture, reached out into empty air once or twice before turning her head sharply.
Behind her composed expression, her eyes wavered.
I quietly wrote once more, beneath her reply.
*Let's get some air after class.*
She looked at it, and seemed to consider for a moment.
A few seconds passed. She gave a faint nod at last.
Then she scrawled a line beneath mine.
*Hand. Give it back.*
I slipped my right hand back under the desk, and she grabbed it the moment it was within reach—as if she'd been waiting.
As if she didn't want to let go, she laced her fingers through mine completely.
Tighter. Stronger.