Episode 19

Jasper ignored Caleb’s nagging and left the dorm room. It seemed the rumors had spread even in the social circle. It was certain that things would get even more tiring from now on. Ethan would continue to push Adela Bluewood in front of him at every opportunity.

Jasper walked towards the elevator with a face full of irritation. Even when he was standing still, his cold demeanor seemed more fierce. Just this morning, he hadn’t felt too bad. After all, it was Friday. The day for Rose Bell and tutoring.

However, due to Ethan’s letter and Caleb’s insolence, his mood suddenly hit rock bottom.

Jasper stood right in front of the elevator door. The male dormitory was only on the first and second floors, so most people used the stairs instead of the elevator.

Without hesitation, Jasper steadfastly waited for the elevator on the second floor. It didn’t take long for the elevator door to open, revealing a few female students who had come down from the upper floor.

‘She’s not here.’

Jasper quickly scanned the faces and turned his steps towards the stairs. There was no need to take the elevator anymore.

‘Yesterday… it was interesting.’

Rose Bell always got excited when the topic of the dormitory elevator came up. What could it be? His curiosity arose, and he had tried riding the elevator yesterday.

Coincidentally, Rose had also been in the elevator at that time. With wide eyes, she had been staring intently at the elevator ceiling. Perhaps she was thinking about magic engineering or mana engines with that tiny head of hers.

Until Jasper stood right beside her, Rose hadn’t noticed him. When she finally saw him, she looked up at Jasper in surprise. Her face was intriguing. Rose Bell was a person who aroused curiosity.

Strange, annoying, and fascinating girl.

She had an innocent face, but there was an air of mystery about her true identity.

As Jasper headed towards the <Advanced Military Studies> classroom, he continued to think about Rose Bell incessantly.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, as Rose Bell stepped onto the stage, Jasper’s attention was captivated by her reddish, winding hair, and her name came to mind.

Rosalie Verden.

But the announcer mentioned a different name.

“The top student of Berkley Academy’s 89th class, Rose Bell!”

Similar yet different. Could it be her?

Six years ago, the Verden family suddenly disappeared. Nobody knew their whereabouts. No one had been looking for them in the first place.

They were hardly considered nobility. In the central social circle, only a few people knew of the Verdens. Occasionally, the Marquise Bluewood and her eldest daughter would barely attend events.

Rumor had it that the Baroness Verden received help from the Marquise Bluewood, who was her childhood friend.

From some point onward, whenever he attended parties, young Jasper secretly started looking for the daughter of Baron Verden, Rosalie.

In just a few minutes, the girl had magically fixed Jasper’s broken music box. The music box looked like a miniature pavilion. It was a time when buildings with pavilion-like structures were being constructed one after another in the big city.

With technological advancements, various exhibitions were held everywhere, and the pavilions were used as exhibition halls to showcase novelties. The music box was modeled after that structure. However, instead of being filled with inventions like an exhibition, it contained a small mana engine.

When the power button was pressed, the mana engine would start rotating, emitting a faint light, and the sound of the music box would spread crisply through the air.

It was a keepsake from Jasper’s mother, something he alone possessed.

Jasper had taken the broken music box to his father, but all he got in return was an order to dispose of it quickly. The incident that had led to the death of the Duchess of Berkley, known as ‘that incident,’ had been treated as if it never happened. As a result, mentioning the Duchess had become taboo.

Jasper felt resentment. He deliberately carried the antique around, no longer sparkling or playing tunes. It was like a challenge to his father. But his father paid it no mind. No matter how much he carried it around, there was no way to fix the broken music box.

Then, one day, as he stepped out of a tiresome party and absentmindedly toyed with the music box in a corner of the garden, he encountered Rosalie Verden, a girl who seemed to have escaped to the garden much like himself.

Seeing her curious gaze at the music box, he had intended to let her admire it. However, an unexpected situation unfolded.

“Have the music box ever experienced a strong impact? This is a mana engine issue. One of the rings in the engine is missing. Hmm, if we reattach it, it should work properly again.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Just wait a moment… Oh, it seems the lid opens. Can I try fixing it?”

“If you can.”

A magical touch followed. After a while, the light emitted by the music box illuminated Rosalie Verden’s face. The once-dark corner of the garden was now bathed in light. Jasper watched Rosalie in silence, his breath held. Her red hair fluttered in the autumn breeze.

“Look at this. I fixed it!”

She smiled widely, her slightly scrunched nose and deeply dimpled cheek.

The title of the tune that flowed from the music box was “Love Waltz.”

“As a precaution, I recommend buying new parts. Once something has become loose, it might fall out again.”

“Got it. I’ll bring it again at the next party. You can take a look again.”

“Sure! Next time.”

“In two months, there will be a party at our house.”

“I see.”

“See you then, or maybe at another party…”

“Yeah.”

Jasper had to realize that something was strange when the conversation became vague. After that, Rosalie Verden disappeared as if she had vanished into thin air. Neither the connections of Baroness Verden nor the occasional appearances in the social circle through the support of the Marquise Bluewood were nowhere to be seen. Even inquiring around resulted in people asking who that was. The Marquise Bluewood had sealed her lips.

Was she a fairy living in the garden? Had he been enchanted by magic? Such thoughts even crossed his mind.

Not until he turned fourteen did Jasper encounter one person who faintly remembered the Verden family.

“Chased by debt… Did the Baron commit suicide or something? As for the kids, well, who knows? The girls might have been sold off or married, something like that.”

Jasper tried not to believe it. The music box was still working perfectly. Whenever he pressed the power button, it always played the “Love Waltz.” It was evidence that the encounter hadn’t been a delusion.

But if something isn’t seen, it tends to be forgotten. Rosalie Verden was fading from Jasper’s mind.

During that time, Rose Bell appeared. She resembled Rosalie in name, hair color, and manner of speaking. And she still possessed that fairy-like aura, a petite young girl.

But their social statuses were different. The way Rose Bell looked at Jasper Conway was different as well. It was a gaze as if she was encountering a completely new person.

Whether Rosalie didn’t recognize him, or if she was an entirely different person, he couldn’t tell.

Whenever he saw Rose Bell, a peculiar discomfort welled up in his chest. When he saw her slipping through the crowd like a ghost and standing alone, irritation stirred within him.

It was something minor from his childhood. If he forgot, it would be over.

He tried not to pay attention to Rose. Occasionally, when he spotted Rose Bell hurrying down the corridor, his gaze might follow her, but he thought of her as someone unrelated to him.

Until the rumors began circulating that Rose Bell might leave the academy, that was how he saw it, undoubtedly.

* * *

“Phew. I’m glad I had a flashlight.”

“….”

Sharp, annoying, and utterly persistent Rose Bell!

Jasper clamped his mouth shut and swore to himself. Today, he intentionally waited on the first floor because he thought Rose Bell might be afraid of the dark corridors. She appeared with a bright smile, holding a flashlight.

“It’s nice to have some light.”

Jasper watched Rose, who was taking deep breaths, in silence. Today, her round forehead looked particularly irritating.

“Is it nice?”

“It’s better than complete darkness!”

“Yeah.”

As their line of sight brightened, Rose didn’t tremble and cling to him like last time. She confidently walked ahead, her hair tied up in a neat bun, swaying.

‘Annoying.’

Jasper swallowed a sigh. He couldn’t understand this strange feeling that welled up whenever he saw Rose. It was unfamiliar. Sometimes, Rose’s words even sounded strangely provocative.

‘She doesn’t even realize within me…’

As he spent more time talking and interacting with Rose, Jasper was half-convinced. Rose Bell was the same person as Rosalie Verden. He couldn’t imagine that there were two girls with such big eyes and curly red hair, both showing natural talent in magic engineering.

He had a rough idea why she wouldn’t reveal her true identity. It was something that would be widely talked about. While the era was filled with fallen nobles, forgery was a strictly illegal act. But even so…

‘She wouldn’t pretend not to know me when we’re alone, right? Or does she truly not remember me?’

A pang shot through him once again. 

‘Even if she remembers, she probably won’t care much.’

His emotions were conflicted. During the last tutoring session, Rose Bell had been remarkably enthusiastic. There was no idle chatter, just straight to the point. 

‘She only sees me as a tutoring student.’

As he thought about it, he felt ridiculous again. He was getting angry for no reason. It had been an unpleasant day since morning. He still felt the sting from Ethan’s letter filled with nagging. And on top of that, Rose Bell had even brought a flashlight.

As Rose entered the laboratory, she asked.

“Did you try solving the practice problems I gave you last time?”

Jasper stood there with a plump expression, remaining silent.

‘I never thought I’d study magic engineering this diligently.’

It wasn’t due to his lack of motivation. Actually, if he put his mind to it, passing the introductory course wasn’t difficult. His poor grades from the previous semester were more influenced by skipping classes for sword training.

Tutoring was just a convenient excuse. It was a way to keep Rose Bell attached to the academy.

Whether she was Rosalie or not, whether she remembered him or not, Jasper felt he needed to prevent Rose from dropping out.

‘Why did I do that?’

Was it because his Noblesse Oblige spirit had overwhelmed him for a moment, driving him crazy? He had leaped into this complex world of equations with his own feet.

“Hey, Jasper?”

Jasper had remained silent for a long time, so Rose cautiously called him again.

“….”

“… Jasper!”

“Uh.”

Jasper belatedly lifted his head to look at Rose. It seemed like the pupils looking up at him were unusually sparkling.

“Did you try solving the problems?”

Rose Bell’s eyes lit up like that only when she talked about magic engineering. That was the reason Jasper couldn’t bring himself to say that he didn’t take tutoring seriously.

Although his stomach churned because of the calculations, looking at that face somewhat offset the discomfort he felt from the equations.