The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 39

Episode 39

On Sunday afternoon, she didn’t know she would meet Jasper at the library. Jasper standing tall at the library seemed awkward in itself.

Jasper raised his chin and gave Rose a meaningful look, as if silently asking her to follow him.

‘Why is he suddenly calling me?’

Rose was taken aback and started packing up slowly. It was dinner time, and she was starting to get hungry.

“Finish up and come out. I’ll be waiting in front.”

Jasper said quietly, then turned and headed out of the library. Rose quickly returned all the books and newspapers to their original places.

As Rose left the library, Jasper, who was leaning against the wall next to the entrance, called her.

“Dinner.”

“I haven’t eaten yet. But why did you call me?”

“Is it wrong to call you?”

“Not really, but…”

Rose subtly avoided Jasper’s gaze, which seemed to pierce through her. For some reason, it felt embarrassing to meet Jasper’s gaze directly. Conway’s story, which she had read in the gossip column earlier, came to mind.

Looking at Jasper, various complicated thoughts swirled through her mind.

‘I shouldn’t let it bother me.’

As she naturally resolved to treat him like a friend, her expression stiffened unnaturally. But there was no way to avoid Jasper. After all, they had to meet at least twice a week because of their tutoring sessions.

Jasper let out a small sigh and turned away.

“Let’s eat dinner now.”

“Together?”

“Don’t want to?”

“Oh, no. I don’t mind. It’s always something to look forward to and makes me happy to have dinner with a friend.”

Rose wanted to give her lips a good smack because she felt awkward and kept talking too much. Her tone also sounded strange.

Jasper walked ahead, expressionless. Rose stuck close to Jasper. She was worried that her walking might seem different from usual for some reason.

‘Why am I like this…’

She was sure it was nothing. Perhaps Briley’s assumptions were wrong.

In her mind, she firmly concluded that there was no need to worry, but her actions didn’t follow her logic. She tensed up involuntarily.

It was the first time something like this had happened, so she felt vaguely anxious. With a gloomy look on her face, Rose occasionally glanced at Jasper.

Jasper remained as cool as ever. Moreover, he didn’t say a word during the entire walk to the restaurant.

Seeing this, it seemed like Briley had mistaken something. Usually, when you’re with someone you like, you should have a happy expression, right?

Rose recalled the time when she first encountered magic engineering. She may not know much about romantic feelings, but she knew what it was like to genuinely like something.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the Academy Restaurant that Jasper broke the silence and looked at Rose.

“Did you not like it?”

“Huh?”

Rose blinked. Jasper sometimes threw out sentences without a clear subject or object, as if words just slipped out when he was lost in thought. However, Rose couldn’t naturally follow that flow.

Jasper frowned slightly and muttered.

“The exhibition we went to.”

“Why would I not like it? I enjoyed it, why?”

“You’ve been acting weird since then.”

Rose blinked again, feeling embarrassed. It seemed like her awkwardness was noticeable.

“When…when did I?”

“Even now.”

“….”

“Why do you stiffen up when you look at me? It’s like you want to run away as soon as our eyes meet.”

He already figured it out. Rose’s lips trembled.

But there was a reason she couldn’t explain it straightforwardly. How could she bring up the fact that she felt awkward after hearing that he might like her?

“I guess I’m just tired…that’s all.”

“A tired person who’s been in the library all day. What are you doing?”

“Well, I usually spend my weekends at the library…”

“Even so, you come out for a walk around lunchtime.”

“How did you know?”

“I’ve seen you pass by while I was training.”

“I see. Today, I was unusually focused, and I didn’t realize how fast time was passing…”

Jasper cut off Rose’s words impatiently.

“Funny. Didn’t you stop studying in the middle of the day? Reading gossip columns or something.”

“…You saw that?”

Jasper simply nodded with a blank expression. Rose felt like burying her face in her hands right then and there.

‘I thought we could just get along as usual.’

But this couldn’t continue.

Rose found the situation of not having a clear answer particularly difficult. It made her stumble, especially when it was only happening in front of Jasper. After all, she had only guessed at Jasper’s feelings; she hadn’t heard them directly.

With uncertain thoughts swirling in the corner of her mind, her actions became awkward. It seemed better to just speak openly about it.

‘Was it ever this complicated from the start?’

She knew perfectly well that whether or not Jasper liked her wouldn’t change anything, yet she couldn’t shake these confusing thoughts. It was hard for her to understand why she was investing energy into something so insignificant.

She was in her final year, and she needed to focus on her future career choices. Strangely, she kept escaping to different thoughts to avoid the pressure. Regardless of the reason, she couldn’t continue with this awkward tension between her and Jasper. She needed a breakthrough.

Rose was lost in thought with her round, large eyes when Jasper spoke softly.

“Don’t you like me?”

Rose held her breath for a moment. 

“What did I do wrong? If something is bothering you, please tell me. I’ll apologize.”

For someone offering an apology, his stern face was imposing, and his voice was sharp. It was as if he were forcefully extracting an apology from her.

But his tone and expression weren’t the most important things. The fact that Jasper Conway had initiated the idea of an apology was surprising in itself.

It was strange that he had come to the library on a weekend to confront her over a minor issue. Rose clenched her skirt tightly in her hands.

‘Should I just ask openly? But what should I say?’

Does he like her? To think of asking such a question to Jasper Conway was absurd. Anyone else who heard it might find it ridiculous and laugh it off.

‘It doesn’t make any sense.’

If Briley hadn’t been so insistent, Rose might have dismissed it as a joke. But Briley’s words had a more significant impact on her than she had anticipated.

In the past, she wouldn’t have attributed such significance to something like this, but now she found herself doubting. If she hadn’t heard anything from Briley…

‘Jasper has a strong sense of pride. He probably thought I ignored him and got angry.’

She’s unable to connect the dots with the thought process of someone who might like her.

Rose let out a long sigh. Her head hurt. However, since the atmosphere had already become awkward, remaining silent and hoping it would resolve itself didn’t seem like the solution.

With a firmer grip on her skirt, Rose finally spoke up.

“Jasper, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“Then why are you acting like this?”

“Well…”

“Rose Bell, you’re acting very strangely right now.”

Rose closed her eyes tightly, then opened them.

“I know, but…sometimes you act strangely too, Jasper.”

“What?”

Jasper’s voice suddenly turned harsh. Rose nearly jumped, but she swallowed her surprise. She tried to speak confidently.

“You keep doing things like this…and it makes me misunderstand.”

Jasper furrowed his brow and stared intently at Rose.

“What misunderstandings? What did I do?”

“You keep…coming to me if I ignore you…”

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“Keep going.”

“As if you care about me… when you talk.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m worried too…. Even if you treat me kindly, you get angry like now… .”

As Rose spoke, her voice grew quieter. She bit her lip for a moment and swallowed dry saliva.

‘Don’t back down!’

Even in normal circumstances, Rose believed that she needed to express her grievances. Running away from a conversation would lead to nothing.

After taking a deep breath, Rose continued speaking.

“Do you have any interest in me… I’m confused.”

“……”

“By interest here, um, I mean in the part where we explore whether there could be any romantic development…”

With her head slightly bowed as she spoke, Rose raised it when Jasper let out a loud breath.

“I meant… that… stuff….”

Rose’s voice gradually grew quieter. She eventually closed her mouth and stood there, looking at Jasper as if he were pinned to the spot.

It was the most serious and stern Jasper she had ever seen. His forehead was deeply furrowed, and rough breaths escaped from slightly parted lips.

Then, Jasper took a step back. It was an expression of shock that anyone could easily recognize.

Rose hadn’t expected Jasper to react like this. She had thought he might maintain his usual sarcastic expression or laugh it off. She didn’t anticipate that he would dislike it so much.

Although her chest tightened with discomfort, Rose’s concern was more focused on the Jasper in front of her. She felt like she had unintentionally made him uncomfortable. After all, Jasper, as abrasive as he could be, had been a helpful ally in many ways.

This wasn’t what she had intended. Rose spoke with a face filled with complex emotions.

“Uh… Jasper, I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

“I guess I misunderstood. I feel bad.”

Rose felt a mix of emotions. She was embarrassed, worried, and, on some level, relieved.

‘Well, in that case…’

Jasper Conway couldn’t possibly like her. She had received clear confirmation, and now she felt somewhat relieved.

The serious expression on Jasper’s face finally gave way to words after a long pause.

“What… are you talking about?”

His voice was noticeably strained.