Episode 7

“Haah.”

Rose held her breath. She stared blankly for a moment and then belatedly wiped her face with the palm of her hand. The delicate skin around her eyes stung from tears.

“Jas… Jasper?”

Rose’s voice, still shaky with tears, trembled. In the aftermath of sobbing, her whole body shivered.

Jasper stood still at the door. Rose’s head became fuzzy, and a headache ensued.

Why did she have to run into Jasper Conway at a time like this?

After receiving help on the day of the exam, Rose wanted to thank Jasper again. Even though she hadn’t performed well in the social dance test. When they had parted ways, his behavior had been odd, so she wanted to apologize, even if she didn’t know what she had done wrong.

But she had failed to meet Jasper. Despite being the most famous person at the academy, he was nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, the vacation had begun, and Rose speculated that Jasper had already gone back home.

‘But why… is he here?’

Rose’s face grew warm. It was bad enough to appear pitiful in front of someone once, but she had done so repeatedly.

‘What does Jasper think of me?’

A girl who seemed to cry every time they met? It was unfair. She had cried only twice in three years, and both times, she had encountered Jasper.

Rose hurriedly wiped her face with both hands. She spoke, trying to steady her voice.

“This is… your spot?”

“Because I placed the sofa here.”

“Ah…”

“It’s quiet here, that’s why.”

‘Considering it’s an old lab room, it’s well-maintained… It seems like Jasper’s hiding place.’

Jasper looked at Rose from a distance and then approached quickly. He stood upright right in front of the sofa. Rose’s shoulders twitched at the long shadow his figure cast over her.

“I had no idea. I’ll leave.”

Rose stood up, trying to pass by Jasper immediately, but he grabbed her wrist firmly.

Rose widened her eyes and stared at Jasper with a puzzled expression.

“I didn’t say for you to leave.”

“Oh, no. I’ll leave.”

One of Jasper’s eyebrows twitched.

Rose wanted to get out of Jasper’s sight as quickly as possible. She didn’t understand why he was holding onto her. Was it because of what happened in the carriage last time?

Jasper spoke in a subdued voice.

“Just stay here.”

Jasper’s voice dropped with firmness. His face, as always, bore a cold and expressionless demeanor.

Rose thought that Jasper was angry. His gaze could only be interpreted as such. Her wet eyelashes trembled from the dampness.

‘I want to leave…’

Being in the same space as Jasper felt burdensome, but she felt like rejecting him would only intensify his mood.

Rose stood hesitantly and spoke.

“Um, yeah. Ah, I didn’t know this was your space. I’m sorry.”

“This whole place isn’t entirely mine.”

“But… could you let go of my wrist?”

Jasper finally looked at his hand that was holding onto Rose and let go with a slight sound.

“Ah.”

With an incomprehensible sound, Jasper released his grip. Then he furrowed his brow.

Rose hid her wrist behind her back. Her skin felt hot. She couldn’t figure out what Jasper wanted. One thing was certain: he seemed annoyed with her.

“It seems like I’ve only caused you trouble since last time… It wasn’t intentional.”

Rose spoke nervously.

“I wanted to come and thank you again. About the tie… I didn’t need to return it, but I did wash it. But I just couldn’t find a way to meet you…”

“I was busy.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Jasper responded with a slightly heated tone, not providing the usual answer.

“I was really busy.”

“Huh? Okay, got it.”

“I also wanted to meet you. But then my father suddenly called…”

Jasper let out a frustrated sigh. He ran his hand through his hair in irritation. His usually stern face was now showing signs of emotions, a rare fluctuation from his usual demeanor.

“You wanted to meet me? Why?”

When Rose asked, Jasper looked down at her with a gaze full of intensity and said:

“You said you’d repay me last time.”

“Yeah…”

“I remembered what I might want in return.”

Frozen, Rose waited for Jasper’s next words.

‘What if it’s something I can’t handle…’

Jasper’s standards and her standards could be vastly different. In an instant, Rose considered various possibilities. None of them seemed pleasant.

However, what Jasper said next was completely unexpected.

“You’re good at studying.”

Rose blinked for a moment. She couldn’t quite follow the flow of the conversation.

“I heard that. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Maybe.”

“I need a tutor for magic engineering.”

“Magic engineering?”

“That class I had to take to graduate… you know, because I flunked it.”

Jasper wrinkled his face as if he found the thought unpleasant. For the first time, Rose saw Jasper as someone her age.

“Oh. You only need to take the introductory course to graduate. Besides, your main focus isn’t even in magic engineering…”

“Yeah. The introductory course.”

“Ah… You failed the intro course?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Rose blurted out reflexively, without even realizing it. She was quite taken aback.

‘…How could you fail an introduction to magic engineering?’

Magic engineering wasn’t a particularly popular major at the academy. Many students found the mana calculations alone to be overwhelming.

However, given that magic engineering was a core discipline of the new era, the academy’s stance was that students needed to be educated in its fundamentals.

The introductory class covered only the basics of basics. Most of the content was things Rose had known even before entering the academy.

Grades were purely pass or fail. It was an incredibly difficult course to fail as long as you attended and completed assignments on time.

Jasper cleared his throat quietly and said, 

“I dislike numbers.”

For a moment, Rose questioned her ears. It sounded like Jasper was embarrassed. Rose quickly reached out her hand.

“Oh, uh, yeah. That’s possible. Magic engineering isn’t a major or anything…”

“I didn’t know it was a graduation requirement.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

As someone who memorized the academy’s rules by heart, Rose couldn’t understand this either. But she thought, ‘Well, that’s how the life of a prodigy probably is.’

“I’ll have to take it again next semester.”

“I guess you have to if you want to graduate, probably…”

“Just thinking about it makes me sick.”

Jasper made a disgusted expression.

“But once you start learning, it can strangely become interesting…”

Rose defended the subject she didn’t particularly love in a hushed voice.

“I don’t know about interesting, but probably. If I were to do it on my own, I’d likely fail again.”

“So that’s why you’re looking for a magic engineering tutor.”

Jasper nodded briefly.

“But there might be more qualified tutors out there than me.”

If it was the Conway family, recruiting the Empire’s top engineers wouldn’t be out of the question. It would be a waste of talent for someone of that caliber to teach an introductory-level course, though.

“But then my father would find out.”

“Ah.”

“He didn’t know I had failed.”

“Ah…”

“Yeah. So I’m trying to find a tutor myself.”

“I see…”

Now Rose fully understood Jasper’s situation.

Jasper’s father, the current Duke Conway, was known for being pragmatic and strict. Unlike other nobles of his age, he was quite knowledgeable in engineering as well.

“If my father finds out, he’ll be furious.”

“Well… It’s not that I don’t want to tutor you. It might just be difficult.”

“Why?”

“During the next semester, I might not be around.”

“Why?”

“It’s a matter of circumstances… Anyway, would it be alright if I taught you only during the vacation? Do you still have your introductory textbook?”

“It won’t work during the vacation. I’m leaving for the estate tomorrow.”

“Oh, I see. How about I organize some study materials for you? I’ll summarize them for you. You can use them as a reference during the semester, and it might be helpful…”

“No. It won’t work.”

Jasper stated decisively. Rose rolled her eyes. If it won’t work, it won’t work.

“Why won’t you be around next semester?”

Rose’s lips quivered. Where should she start explaining? Would Jasper be able to understand even if she went into the details? It would probably sound like a story from a completely different world.

He had even taken her to the exam hall, yet she received a failing mark due to improper attire. She lost her scholarship. She can’t afford the tuition… The series of circumstances felt so meager compared to Jasper’s world.

Jasper hesitated, watching Rose maintain her silence before he spoke.

“Why don’t you just keep going to school?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Why?”

“…”

“Because of the tuition?”

So he knew. Rose’s slightly tilted head was corrected by Jasper. He looked nonchalant.

She didn’t know what to say. Yes, it was because of money. Saying those words out loud made her feel smaller and lighter at the same time. Like a speck of dust floating around.

Rose’s eyes grew moist and her lower eyelids reddened.

“Is that right?”

“…”

“If that’s the case, I’ll cover your tuition, so you stay here.”

With an arrogant yet beautiful face, Jasper proposed a sweet-sounding but ambivalent offer.

“Then wouldn’t it be an easy problem to solve?”

Rose’s mind screamed. She’s finally found a way! Just agree already. What’s there to hesitate about?

But her lips felt heavy. They wouldn’t part easily.

‘Pride, what is that?’

Rose clenched her fists.

‘Rose Bell, snap out of it. You’re the daughter of a poor commoner…’

She couldn’t always live elegantly and grandly. To survive, there comes a moment when she has to show her bottom line. For some, it might only happen once or twice in their lifetime.

But for Rose Bell, this was a moment she was destined to face as she went forward in life.

She wanted to act more nonchalant and audacious, but it wasn’t easy. Rose forced her lips open with effort.

“Are you just… offering to give me that money?”

“For tutoring fees.”

“Calling it tutoring fees is a bit much. I’m not even a professional teacher…”

“That’s why you dislike it?”

Jasper cocked his head.