The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 145

Episode 145

‘When did she say she’d cooperate with me? That hateful woman.’

Was it all an act?

Edwin’s trembling hand reached for his injured leg. Even if his leg had been undamaged, he might not have been able to resist the powerless young girl.

Months of constant frustration had only intensified Edwin’s sense of inferiority. Whenever he was caught in such anger, his mind tended to cloud even more.

Edwin’s gaze gradually darkened. Word had come that everyone had gathered on the first floor of the dingy inn, and the CEO, after briefly descending the stairs to assess the situation, gestured for Edwin to follow.

As Edwin slowly descended the stairs, he was suddenly struck by a disturbing thought.

‘Aren’t they all just ignoring me, like that girl?’

Edwin paused for a moment, then shivered.

Edwin had lived his life receiving combat training ever since the Emperor took him in after his father’s death. Fortunately, he had a talent for wielding a sword, similar to his deceased father. 

He had always overcome his adversaries through physical force, and his life had been governed by physical strength. 

His frustration had grown, beginning during his adolescence when he had surpassed the Emperor in size, but he had believed that at any time, he could subdue her with force.

However, now he had lost his only source of pride, his physical strength. Edwin believed that others would view him as weak, just as he was regarded by the powerless young girl.

Edwin arrived on the first floor in a deflated state. About twenty Retro Wave youths were watching him in silence.

“He looks like the First Emperor…”

Someone whispered.

“As expected, what Earl Hendricks said was correct.”

“That person is truly…”

Edwin tried his best to ignore the murmurs echoing in his ears. He now had to speak to those who had gathered to meet him. 

He needed to rally them and turn them into a strong political force.

However, when he stood in the center and faced those who had come to see him, Edwin suddenly felt his body stiffen. His mind went blank, and he forgot all the words he had intended to say.

As the silence grew unnaturally long, people in the room began to exchange puzzled glances. The CEO of Dom Industries reached out and grabbed Edwin’s elbow as if urging him to speak.

“Uh…”

Edwin muttered softly, still standing stiffly. People’s eyes on him started to turn cold, and his heart began to race.

‘They’re all doubting me.’

The noise in the room became overwhelming, and he swallowed hard.

‘No, I’m… I’m the last one to have authenticity…’

He tried to reassure himself, but it didn’t work. A strange feeling came over him, and his ears seemed to go numb. 

All sounds became faint.

As Edwin slipped into panic, the faces of the young people who had gathered here with expectations of ushering in a new era grew darker and darker.

* * *

On the outskirts of Brittel.

“Uh… Ugh.”

Rose groaned and slowly opened her eyes. 

The steering wheel had left her hands feeling numb, and for a moment, her vision appeared hazy. Her mind was foggy for a while, but her consciousness began to clear slowly.

“Ugh….”

Rose exhaled deeply while touching her aching forehead with her hand. It seemed that there was less damage than she had feared. At least, she was still breathing.

The moment the brakes didn’t respond properly, and the car sped ahead uncontrollably, Rose quickly turned her head to find a solution to survive.

She noticed a haystack piled up by the side of the road in the distance, and in a hurry, she turned the steering wheel. The car rammed into the haystack and slid to a stop, lodged in the pile of hay.

It was only after the car collided with a wooden post and came to a halt that Rose felt a sense of relief. The haystack had slowed down the car and absorbed a significant portion of the impact when it hit the wood.

Due to the violent swaying of the car during the braking process, Rose had minor bruises on her arms and legs, but she considered herself fortunate that the car’s windows didn’t shatter, and the engine didn’t explode.

Rose raised her groaning arm to open the car door and get out. However, the door didn’t open easily.

It was unclear whether the collision with the wood had jammed the door’s seams or if the hay was wedged somewhere in the door, but it seemed like the door was malfunctioning.

Rose was briefly taken aback and pushed the door with more force, but it remained stubbornly shut. It only produced a creaking sound.

“What should I do…?”

She desperately wanted to get out of the car. She needed to assess the situation and find out what had happened in the chaotic scene of gunshots.

‘And… Jasper.’

Amid the chaos, Rose wondered if the person she had briefly seen was Jasper. 

Could Jasper have truly come here? She considered the likelihood to be slim, but the figure who passed by the car looked like Jasper.

It was at the moment when Rose, groaning and struggling with her weakened body, was trying to escape from the car. The door latch, which had been stubbornly resisting, suddenly turned.

“Oh….”

Because the car was slightly tilted, as soon as the door opened, Rose leaned to the side and almost tumbled out. But instead of falling to the ground, a solid and warm embrace caught her.

Rose recognized the person she had collided with as soon as her face hit his chest. High body temperature, a distinctive scent, and firm muscles. There was no mistaking it.

“…Jasper?”

Rose, still disoriented, raised her head. Even in the darkness, his blue eyes were clear. It was truly Jasper.

Before she could even offer a joyful greeting, Jasper urgently embraced Rose and quickly ran away with her. Rose struggled to regain her senses in the rapidly changing surroundings.

From a brief glimpse, it appeared that the mercenaries who had been pursuing her had already been subdued. Some of them were lying on the ground, and others were being interrogated by the men who had come with Jasper.

Once Jasper was far enough from the car, he gently set Rose down on the ground. Before she could ask what had happened, Jasper’s large hands enclosed her face.

Rose was about to ask what had happened, but her lips froze. It was an unexpected and shocking sight that lay before her.

Jasper Conway, with transparent yet heavy teardrops streaming down, was sobbing. His fingers, clutching Rose’s cheeks, trembled with sorrow.

“J-Jasper?”

In a surprise, Rose held Jasper’s forearm. Jasper was gasping as if he might collapse at any moment. Rose had never seen Jasper so weakened before; he seemed like he could crumble with a touch.

Jasper let out a long, wet sigh and held Rose tightly. He wrapped his arms around her with all his might and pressed his wet cheek against her hair.

Rose felt breathless but didn’t push Jasper away. She gently patted Jasper’s back, which was shaking with sobs, unable to stop crying.

As Rose began to feel Jasper’s body temperature, she gradually realized the current situation.

‘I… I’m alive.’

She had successfully escaped from the underground hideout as planned. 

Now, the nerves that had kept Rose alert all along finally relaxed, and the tension drained from her body. With a sense of relief, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over her, and her entire body shivered.

It was then that she heard Jasper’s damp voice from above.

“I thought I couldn’t find you…”

In his fragile voice that sounded as if it might break at any moment, Jasper’s fear and anxiety were deeply embedded.

“If you were hurt, or worse…”

Rose, who had been quietly enclosed in Jasper’s embrace, squirmed to create some space and then responded to Jasper’s mumbling.

“I’m okay.”

Jasper slowly released Rose from his embrace and scrutinized her face.

Rose gazed at Jasper’s teary eyes for a moment. Tears clung to the tips of his long eyelashes. It was an ethereal and yet heart-wrenching face.

Rose had expected Jasper to be worried about her, but she hadn’t anticipated him bursting into tears upon seeing her. His lower lip still trembled, and the area around his eyes was tinged with red.

Rose reached out and gently cupped Jasper’s cheek, feeling a tightness in her heart.

“Did you worry a lot?”

In a subdued voice, Jasper nodded slowly. His tears seeped into the palm of Rose’s hand.

Jasper spoke in a hoarse voice.

“I was scared. I heard the explosion suddenly, and I thought you were…”

“Oh, I set off the bomb. Don’t worry.”

Rose flashed a wry smile. Jasper’s eyes filled with confusion.

“What? What do you mean?”

“It’s a bit of a long story… But, anyway, I’m not hurt. More importantly, how did you know and come here…”

At that moment, Jasper furrowed his brow and gripped Rose’s wrist. When the leather strap pressed against a slightly bruised part of her skin, Rose unintentionally let out a small groan.

“Ouch.”

“You’re hurt.”

Jasper’s voice took on a gravelly tone, and his momentary tenderness vanished. He carefully released Rose’s wrist and asked.

“Are there more painful spots? The car crashed into a tree.”

“It’s just… a bit sore.” 

Rose replied, subdued by Jasper’s questioning.