Episode 25

Caleb looked down at Rose, who was guarding herself with interest. With a slight upward curl of his lips, he said, 

“You don’t need to be so cautious.”

Rose was taken aback by Caleb’s confident and graceful demeanor, almost doubting if she had received incorrect information.

Rose tensed up all over and finally spoke up, tightly gripping the handle of her bag. 

“I heard… that you’re seeing someone. Is that true?”

“Hmm, is there such a rumor? Well, who knows if it’s true or not.”

Caleb chuckled mischievously. As Rose began to step back, he moved a step closer.

Rose clenched the handle of her bag tightly.

‘He’s such a strange person.’

In her heart, she wanted to run to Rebecca Sherman right away and tell her to forget Caleb as soon as possible.

‘Why does Rebecca still like Caleb?’

Rose wondered. Perhaps it was his looks, or maybe the brief time they had been together had been exceptionally special.

‘But… Rebecca, he doesn’t seem like the right guy…’

She felt that she needed to do more than just gather information; she had to help Rebecca go through a complete breakup.

Caleb turned his head slightly.

“Are you trying to escape?”

“I… I should be going now.”

“Are you trying to run away?” 

Caleb burst into a laugh. Rose intended to quietly walk past Caleb.

Caleb shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, I won’t hold onto someone who doesn’t want to stay, no matter who they are. I’ll say hi to Jasper for you.”

“…You don’t have to.”

Rose replied tersely and quickly moved away from Caleb.

“Goodbye, scholarship student!” 

Caleb’s cheerful voice echoed from behind, but Rose didn’t look back.

* * *

To Mother,

I can’t express how relieved I was to hear that Ellie’s pneumonia has improved since the last update. It’s truly fortunate. You mentioned I don’t have to write if I’m busy, but writing letters is a welcome distraction for me.

I’ve met a new roommate, and she’s a great friend. Her name is Briley Lawrence, the daughter of the Lawrences. She studied abroad in the Republic for a few years. I’ve heard many stories about the Republic from her, and I hope to visit there someday if the opportunity arises. It seems much more open-minded than the Lepti Empire. If we had lived in the Republic, we might not have had to endure the hardships caused by Father’s actions.

Have you heard from Father yet? I still haven’t received any news.

By the way… Mother, what do you think love is? Did Father have someone he loved before you? Oh, I know this is quite random. I apologize.

Rose’s hand, which had been writing quickly, suddenly stopped. 

‘Why did I write this out of nowhere?’

Her mother, Anna, would probably find it strange. After all, Rose had never asked any questions related to love before.

During adolescence, many girls become interested in boys around them, but that hadn’t been the case for Rose. She stared at the sentences she had written herself with a bewildered look.

‘Why did I write this?’

Ding! At that moment, the doorbell of Room 413 rang, indicating that there was a visitor or a package. Rose folded the letter in half and placed it in the desk drawer before heading to the door.

There was a bathroom connected to the corridor on the right side of the door, and cheerful humming could be heard from inside. It was Briley’s voice as she took a bath.

When Rose opened the door, the dormitory supervisor, Isabelle, was standing there.

“Supervisor, what’s going on?”

“A same-day express mail has arrived for Rose Bell. That’s you, right?”

“Yes, that’s me, but…”

Isabelle, the dormitory supervisor, extended a letter with a large express stamp attached to it. Rose accepted the mail with a puzzled expression.

‘Who could have sent this?’

The letter from her mother in Quilts had only arrived yesterday, and she hadn’t even had a chance to reply yet. Same-day express mail required a much higher postage fee than regular mail, so it was typically used for urgent matters.

‘Could it be about Father?’

Suddenly, Rose’s heart began to race. She greeted Isabelle with a nod and closed the door with a tense expression.

She quickly walked to her desk and retrieved a letter opener. Her fingers trembled slightly as she tore open the envelope.

Inside the envelope, there was only a single sheet of paper. Rose quickly scanned the content. It was a very short message:

[Right away to the Ghost Lab, J.]

Rose felt a sudden drop in her shoulders as she read the message. Her initial fear of bad news quickly dissipated, replaced by curiosity.

‘Ghost Lab? J must be the initial.’

Given the mention of “ghost,” she was quite certain of the sender: Jasper Conway. It seemed like an invitation to their secret tutoring location.

‘At this hour?’

Rose wondered. It wasn’t a tutoring day, and Jasper had skipped his afternoon classes today due to sickness, which was a rare occurrence that had left everyone puzzled.

‘What could this be about? Did they find out about him being tutored?’

Rose was well aware that Conway’s son being tutored by a common scholarship student in secret could be considered a dishonorable act that could damage the family’s reputation.

There wasn’t much time left until dormitory curfew. She needed to get to the lab as quickly as possible.

‘My uniform is already in the dryer.”

The school uniform was placed in a dryer powered by a mana stone. It would take an hour or two for it to dry. Currently, she has just showered and is wearing comfortable pajamas.

Rose hurriedly opened a small wardrobe. While Briley had complained about not having enough space for her clothes, Rose’s wardrobe was embarrassingly empty. There were only two casual dresses and a cashmere shawl handed down from her mother, Anna.

The dresses were nothing special, with one being a plain blue striped design and the other a basic, slightly worn-out outfit. Neither was suitable for the current season, as the weather was too warm for the winter dress, yet the summer dress would leave her feeling chilly at night.

Rose opted to wear the thin dress and then wrapped the shawl around herself. The dress was a simple sky blue with a subtle pattern, reaching just above her ankles. It was light enough to be comfortable as nightwear.

As Rose straightened the slightly wrinkled white collar, she was about to head out. Just then, Briley, who had just finished her shower, emerged from the bathroom.

“Hey, Rose, where are you going?”

Briley was dressed in casual loungewear, toweling her hair dry. Rose quickly thought of an excuse.

“Oh, um… I heard that a book I’d requested had arrived. I was thinking of going to the library.”

Briley raised an eyebrow. 

“At this hour? And in outdoor clothes?”

“It’s a really… really popular book, so I’m worried someone else might borrow it if I wait until tomorrow.”

Briley, still feeling drowsy from her bath, yawned loudly and nodded. 

“Huh, I see. Well, hurry back. You know there’s less than an hour left until curfew, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll run there and be back!”

“Okay.’

Briley waved her hand lazily. Rose quickly left the dormitory.

‘Why did Jasper suddenly call me like this?’

The fact that he used express mail for this message suggested that it might be something serious, and that thought made her stomach churn.

Rose held her shawl tightly around her shoulders and walked briskly. She had almost reached the vicinity of the annex building when suddenly, a hand shot out from the narrow path beside it. A strong grip seized Rose’s arm and pulled her in.

Startled and about to scream, Rose recognized a familiar voice near her ear.

“Quiet.”

“…Jasper?”

As Rose looked up, she saw Jasper right in front of her. He led her quietly.

The path beside the annex building was one of the shortcuts leading to the garden. It was narrow, unlit, and dimly eerie after sunset, so very few people used it. Thick bushes grew on both sides of the path.

Rose was bewildered, but for now, she obediently followed Jasper. It wasn’t until they had walked further into the secluded area, away from the main street, that Jasper released her wrist and came to a stop. He turned around to face Rose.

“The security guard was patrolling the lobby of the annex.”

“Oh, that’s why you hesitated to enter the annex.”

It seemed their path had coincided with the security guard’s patrol route.

“It’s better to talk here.”

“Okay.”

The wind whistled through the night, carrying a distinct chill with it. It seemed to carry the scent of the dense grass.

Rose wrapped her cashmere shawl tighter around her, feeling the coolness in the air. She hadn’t expected to have an outdoor conversation, but she was grateful for the shawl; without it, she would have been quite cold.

Jasper looked at Rose intently before speaking.

“You’re not wearing your uniform.”

“It’s in the laundry and drying.”

“That dress looks more suitable for summer. The sleeves are short.”

Jasper nodded towards Rose’s casual dress. It was made of thin fabric. He spoke in a stiff tone without any change in expression.

“Do you want my jacket?”

“No, the shawl is enough.”

“It doesn’t look like a very substantial shawl. With the cold wind…”

“It’s not cold. It’s warmer than it looks.”

“Alright, I get it. I hope you’re comfortable with it.”

Jasper tilted his head slightly and clicked his tongue softly to the side.

Rose didn’t want to discuss the shawl; she was eager to hear why he had summoned her urgently with express mail. If he had gone to such lengths to send a message, it must have been an urgent matter.

“Jasper, the mail… You sent it, right? What’s going on?”