The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 71

Episode 71

Rose seemed unaware of her affection for Jasper.

However, Briley, her roommate, could see Rose’s feelings.

‘It’s not just a simple friendship. Rose is innocent. That’s so cute.’

Unconsciously, Rose seemed to consider Jasper romantically. Jasper’s feelings were even more transparent than Rose’s. So, initially, Briley tried to connect Rose and Jasper.

But the situation changed when Adela Bluewood appeared.

‘I’ll pretend I don’t know until the engagement issue is resolved.’

Briley decided not to nudge Rose to realize her feelings or create situations where Jasper and Rose were alone, like last time.

Briley had just been observing, but it seemed that recently something had happened that could intensify Rose’s feelings. Considering that Rose has been out of sorts for the past few days.

‘What on earth have you done, Jasper Conway? So annoying, so annoying…!’

Briley, truth be told, found Jasper a bit annoying. It wasn’t that Jasper had done anything majorly wrong; it was just that Briley feared Rose might end up going through unnecessary emotional struggles.

Briley wished for everyone around her to be happy. The reason was simple: seeing the people she cared about happy made her feel good.

However, seeing the gloomy expression on the faces of the two people she cared about the most at the academy naturally left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

Briley sighed inwardly and placed a teacup in front of Rebecca and Rose.

“Here, guys, have some.”

“Thanks, Bry.”

“Yeah, thanks. We’ll enjoy it.”

Briley watched as the two fiddled with their tea. If they hadn’t been so perceptive, they might have been blissfully ignorant of the situation around them.

‘It’s almost like a sin to be so keen…’

Briley couldn’t be certain about what would happen to Rose and Rebecca in the future, but all she wished for was that neither of them would hurt too much.

* * *

A few days later, after finishing her classes, Rose headed to the laboratory. Once again, she had to research and work on her invention for the contest late into the night.

She had been consistently trying various methods to enhance the durability of the band brake, but there was no clear decision. Frustration and weariness began to creep in as she kept getting stuck at the same point. The pressure to find a solution before the final exams added to her impatience.

Today, her mind was particularly troubled, and she found it hard to focus. Rose put down the protective goggles she was wearing and stood blankly in front of the experiment table. On the table, cheap agate stones and small engines were scattered in disarray.

She was still alone in the lab; Theo had mentioned he would come to the lab after finishing his remaining assistant duties.

Rose stood in the quiet lab, then covered her face with her hands. 

‘Ah… I can’t concentrate.’

A deep sigh escaped her. Even for someone like Rose who loved magic engineering, there were days when concentration seemed elusive.

To take a moment to rest, Rose walked over to a small sofa and sat down. Lost in thought, her nose suddenly started to itch. She absentmindedly touched her nose, and when she did, a bit of blood came off on her fingers.

‘Nosebleed again.’

Rose took out a handkerchief and pressed it against her nose. She could definitely feel the accumulated fatigue and stress.

‘But there’s not much time left until the end of the spring semester.’

Summer vacation would start after the final exams scheduled for the week after next. Although she couldn’t enjoy a vacation like her other friends, focusing only on the contest would make things better than they were now.

Following what Jasper had done for her last time, Rose pinched her nostrils firmly with her fingers. Fortunately, the nosebleed wasn’t too heavy. As she waited for the bleeding to stop, Jasper came to her mind naturally.

His hand wiping her face, his warm body temperature, his enigmatic yet caring way of speaking… Images of Jasper gradually resurfaced from the depths of her memory.

Jasper supported her waist when they went to the expo together. Jasper treating her ankle on the carriage. And then, vividly, the face of the young Jasper turned into an adult.

Without consciously reminiscing, memories flowed rapidly, even faster than Rose herself could realize.

It wasn’t until Theo Lixton entered the lab that Rose, who had been lost in thought, snapped back to reality.

“Rose, you doing well… What’s wrong, are you hurt?”

Theo greeted cheerfully as he came in, but when he saw Rose, who was holding her nose with the bloodstained handkerchief, he was taken aback. Given her appearance with the bloodstained handkerchief pressed against her nose, it was understandable.

“Oh… Senior.”

Rose raised her head, which had been lowered. The bleeding had stopped a while ago. Theo, surprised, sat down on the sofa and looked at Rose.

“You had a nosebleed?”

“It’s stopped now. It wasn’t much…”

“Why is your face so red, though?”

“…W-what?”

Rose awkwardly touched her cheek. Her body temperature was usually on the colder side, but now she felt a warmth on her skin. Rose quickly stood up and spoke.

“I’ll go wash my face, Senior.”

“Are you okay by yourself?”

Before Theo could hold her back, Rose rushed out of the lab. Her legs wobbled as she headed towards the restroom, and her breathing was erratic. For some reason, she felt embarrassed.

Rose went straight to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. The damp strands of hair clung to her forehead.

Then, she looked into the mirror and saw a very unfamiliar version of herself. Both her cheeks were flushed, and her expression seemed absent-minded.

‘…Why, why is this happening?’

Swallowing dryly, Rose gently tapped her cheeks with her palm. 

It wasn’t the right time to be so distracted by thoughts of Jasper, especially when she needed to focus on preparing for the contest. But lately, she found herself inadvertently thinking about Jasper, and the frequency of these thoughts was increasing.

Rose shook her head vigorously.

‘Stop, stop thinking about it.’

She had a foreboding feeling that if this continued, something uncontrollable might happen. Rose made an effort to suppress the images of Jasper that kept emerging incessantly.

* * *

After a busy weekday, Saturday arrived once again. Rose had a restful sleep after a long time.

Normally, she would have stayed up late yesterday tutoring with Jasper, but with tutoring reduced to once a week, last night was more relaxing.

Rose decided to put everything aside and went to bed early as she had yesterday. Given the recurring nosebleeds, it seemed like the right time to take some rest.

She managed to make up for the lack of sleep and woke up feeling light and clear-headed. For some reason, she felt like everything would work out well today. There might even be progress in the ongoing experiment.

Feeling good, she left her dorm room and headed to the club room with Briley. Along the way, a fellow student approached and suddenly spoke to her.

“Rose Bell, someone was looking for you at the main gate.”

“…Me?”

Rose stopped in surprise. Briley, who was beside her, also looked puzzled. The fellow student shrugged and continued.

“It’s your father’s friend. He couldn’t enter because he didn’t have a visitor pass.”

“What’s that about…?”

Rose tightly grasped Briley’s trembling hand. The moment she heard the word ‘father,’ her heart sank.

Suddenly, she became conscious of her surroundings. 

To Rose, her father was not just a parent but also someone linked to her clan and the fatal secret.

“Is your father’s name George Bell?”

When the fellow student accurately spoke the name George, Rose felt a chilling sensation throughout her body.

“The atmosphere at the main gate seemed a bit tense. You should go and see.”

“Ah… thank you for letting me know.”

Rose bit her quivering lower lip. There were many others around, so she had to hide her agitation. She tried to stand tall, putting effort into supporting her trembling legs.

‘A friend of my father…’

The whereabouts of her father, George Bell, had always been mysterious. However, someone suddenly appearing and claiming to be George’s friend felt suspicious. Moreover, a tense atmosphere was mentioned.

Something was wrong.

Trying to maintain a composed expression, Rose spoke to Briley.

“Bry, I need to go out for a moment and come back. Could you let the others know?”

“What? Is something wrong? Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, it’s okay.”

Rose urgently held Briley’s hand and shook her head. Briley widened her eyes, sending a worried gaze.

“I can guess vaguely what it might be, but it’s not that serious. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to you about it when I come back.”

“Rose…”

Ignoring Briley’s hesitation, Rose headed towards the main gate. Her quick footsteps were filled with restlessness.

What could George Bell have done for someone to come looking for her here? There was no inkling about why someone would show up like this. She could be certain that it wasn’t good news.

As Rose half-ran towards her destination, her face darkened. Just this morning, she had felt good, but now everything seemed to be falling apart.

‘…How did they even know I was here? Did Father talk and mention my presence?’

He was the kind of person who liked to boast, so it was possible.

As she approached the main gate, Rose saw three men in a scuffle with the guards. She stopped for a moment, feeling a knot in her stomach.

All three of them seemed suspicious. They were not gentlemen, given how they were yelling at the guards.

“Hey, just let us see Rose Bell! It’s urgent. Her old man might be dying right now!”

Encountering this unexpected news, Rose froze.

‘…Father?’

The face of George, whom she had tried to forget, vividly appeared in her mind. For a moment, she couldn’t clearly distinguish whether the rising emotion was sadness or relief.