The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 78

Episode 78

Rose slowly lifted her head and looked at Jasper. 

The words she had just heard seemed to echo in her ears.

‘…It’s not a misunderstanding?’

Forgetting to blink, she stared at Jasper in a daze for a moment, then quickly turned her head to the side, fixating her gaze on the river while holding her breath.

A warm breeze rustled through the trees over the river, creating ripples in the water that dazzled Rose’s vision.

‘Could he really like me?’

At that moment, Jasper seemed to speak as if he could see through Rose’s inner thoughts.

“Do you think I like you?”

Rose looked at Jasper with a blush in her eyes, her gaze intense. She was so surprised that the moisture that had shimmered in her eyes just a moment ago seemed to disappear.

With a constrained voice, Rose replied.

“No, right? We’re just friends… You said so yourself earlier.”

Although their actions seemed to teeter on the edge, they had drawn clear boundaries in words several times. That’s why whenever Rose felt confused and strange, she dismissed it as just her misunderstanding.

But if it wasn’t a misunderstanding…

Rose felt her heart racing and constricting at the same time. Conflicting emotions of excitement and fear surged within her.

Jasper spoke quite calmly.

“A friend… yeah, that’s what I tried to think. But it didn’t work.”

“…”

“I didn’t plan on saying this today.”

Before Rose could start her words properly, Jasper urgently interrupted.

“I didn’t expect an answer, so just let it slide. I only said this because you were crying.”

“Huh?”

“You were crying so much, what was I supposed to do? It’s weird to see you like this while I’m keeping it together.”

Jasper mumbled as he chewed his lips thoughtfully. Rose briefly wrestled with the idea of apologizing. 

Perplexity and embarrassment danced in Rose’s pupils.

Without warning, Jasper reached out and wiped the last teardrop clinging to Rose’s cheek with the back of his hand. He then spoke.

“I’ll talk about it later, so just keep it in mind for now.”

Rose’s lips twitched a few times. Whether it’s now or later, she knows that she’ll never be more than friends with him.

But for some reason, she couldn’t utter those words directly. It felt as if someone had momentarily choked her throat. Her breaths were shallow and rapid, her heart pounded painfully.

Rose, touching her jaw where Jasper had wiped away the tear, squeezed out her words.

“Jasper. Is this… a confession?”

“No.”

Jasper denied it instantly, leaving Rose dumbfounded. Then, he added something even more perplexing.

“Just know that I like you.”

“What… what does that mean?”

Rose found herself in a whirlwind of confusion, unsure if she had misunderstood the definition of a confession. 

Jasper’s words were gentle yet subtly firm.

“If I confess right now, you’d refuse.” 

Rose was pierced by his words and fell silent for a moment.

“When you can’t reject me, I’ll talk about it again.”

After Jasper spoke, he grasped the oar firmly. The boat, which had been still, started moving slowly again, cutting through the water.

Jasper’s demeanor was composed and nonchalant. Rose fumbled with her trembling hands and held onto the boat tightly. Jasper, not openly displaying his emotions, added to her confusion.

When she can’t reject him.

Jasper seemed convinced that such a day would come. For Rose, it was a task she had to prevent at all costs. 

The sacrificed facade, George Bell, the Quilts’ family, Ethan Conway… Thoughts flooded Rose’s mind in a jumbled mess as she struggled to breathe.

Upon hearing Jasper’s words, Rose felt like her breath was being taken away. She struggled to regain her composure and finally spoke up.

“Jasper, I’m sorry, but something like that… I can’t.”

“Don’t say anything. Did I ask for an answer right now? No.” 

Jasper interjected sharply, allowing no room for any denial.

Rose finally detected a different emotion in Jasper’s face that had appeared composed until now. 

It was fear. Jasper seemed anxious, perhaps fearing he might hear a rejection and wanting to defer the situation.

Rose asked with a trembling voice.

“Jasper, what should I do?”

“There’s nothing you need to do.”

“But… it feels strange to just leave it like this.”

Rose hesitated to define something that couldn’t be clearly defined with logic. The uncertainty she experienced in her life was already enough from exploring magic engineering. She wished everything else in her daily life was clear without anything to bother her.

However, from the moment she became entangled with Jasper Conway, uncertainty had inevitably seeped into her daily life. To Rose, Jasper was a person from a strange and distant world, and Jasper’s actions always made her ponder.

Even now, Jasper was incessantly uttering words that shook Rose.

“Does it bother you because it’s strange? That’s what I wanted. Keep being bothered. Keep thinking about me even when you’re not with me.”

Rose remained frozen, her lips parted. Her head was already throbbing.

“Even if your head hurts, endure it for a while. I’m enduring before I speak. After all, you do owe me, don’t you?”

With a casual flick of his words, Rose finally relaxed her tense shoulders, burying her face in her hands.

“Jasper, you’re not teasing me, are you?”

“Sure seems like it.”

“Do you really… like me?”

Even to Rose’s question, Jasper remained silent for a long time. Rose, unable to contain herself, slowly lowered her hands that had been covering her face and opened her eyes, gazing at Jasper.

And then, her eyes met Jasper’s blue ones directly. Jasper, without giving a verbal answer, had been staring at Rose intently all along.

Only after their gazes locked did Jasper reply, this time in a cautious tone unlike before.

“Yeah.”

“….”

“So it seems.”

When did it happen? Why? What was the trigger? Countless questions bubbled up within Rose, but only one managed to escape her lips.

“…Why?”

Jasper hesitated, then smiled peculiarly and replied.

“Curious about the reason?”

Rose tilted her head, her hand clutching her flushed cheek. She waited for an answer, her face filled with anticipation.

However, when Jasper finally spoke, he only shared vague stories, leaving her hanging.

“I’ll tell you if you start liking me.”

“But there’s no such…”

“If you’re curious, try liking me.”

Rose froze in place. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the water, and it struck her as truly odd and amusing. Her lips were agape, trembling, and her expression lost, her face flushed.

In the end, Rose found herself once again burying her face in her hands. There seemed to be a faint sound, a sigh, or perhaps a chuckle from Jasper.

* * *

After spending a weekend where various things happened like a storm, the following week arrived. 

As the curfew approached, Rose sprinted through the corridor with quick steps. Despite the sharp eyes of the prefects, fortunately, she managed to enter the dormitory without breaking curfew.

Rose caught her breath as she got on the elevator using magic engineering technology. Pressing her red-hot cheeks, flushed from the frantic run, with the palm of her hand.

“Whew….”

Rose exhaled a sigh and gently patted her stiff eyes with the back of her hand. She had been browsing through various books related to the contest at the library and had dozed off. When she came to her senses, it was just before curfew.

Normally, she wouldn’t fall asleep while reading books related to her major. It was because her sleep had been restless for the past few days.

Rose twitched her toe trapped in her shoes. Since a few days ago, after the ambiguous or maybe a confession from Jasper on the river, her heart had been complicated.

Thud. 

The elevator stopped on the girls’ floor, and Rose walked down the corridor lost in thought. All that came to mind were thoughts about Jasper Conway.

‘How is Jasper… doing so well?’

Rose’s lower lip slightly jutted out. The more she thought about it, the more she felt unjust, and she ended up feeling irritated for no reason.

He argued that it wasn’t a confession, but anyway, it seemed like it. The one who felt more concerned was herself.

In the mineralogy class or during yesterday’s tutoring session, Jasper seemed as unaffected as usual. On the other hand, whenever Rose met eyes with Jasper, she felt like a hiccup was about to burst out, and she had to hold her breath.

Rose’s gaze lowered.

‘Somehow, it’s irritating….’

Rose’s mind, which had been focused solely on studying, was now a mess. If she had dealt with the situation by rejecting the confession, her heart wouldn’t have been this complicated.

Rose didn’t like leaving problems unresolved. Problems were there to be solved.

However, the issue related to Jasper was, unfortunately, something she couldn’t answer right away. So, she continued to be concerned about and focused on Jasper.

Jasper Conway had cleverly found the most effective way to shake Rose’s bell.

Lost in thought, Rose entered her dorm room. 

Briley, who had dozed off leaning against the sofa after diligently completing her assignment, suddenly raised her head.

“Hey, you’re back?”

“Yeah….”

“Why are you so late? And what’s with that expression?”

Rose had been continuously considering discussing her thoughts about Jasper with Briley, but whenever she faced Briley, she just couldn’t find the words.

Jasper likes her. It wasn’t a figment of imagination or a misunderstanding. But she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

The only person in the world who would believe it would be Briley.

‘How did this even happen…?’