The Duty Of An Academy Student Should Be To Study - Chapter 83

Episode 83

Rose pretended to adjust her stray hair and averted her gaze. 

Rebecca, with her fist clenched, looked intently at Rose.

“You don’t like Jasper? I thought you and Jasper were close.”

“Why would you think that…”

Rose spoke ambiguously while fanning herself.

“Well, it looked that way! At some point, the two of you seemed a bit odd. I just pretended not to know since you weren’t saying anything.”

Rose’s mouth twitched awkwardly. Rebecca sounded convinced that she was right, which was probably why she’d called the carriage to help her see off Jasper.

Rose was struggling, overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information. The carriage, racing toward the Central train station, jolted continuously, shaking both her body and mind with each movement.

‘To Rebecca, it seemed that way too.’

Rose felt not only embarrassed but also flustered. She had been reevaluating her actions recently, considering all the information flooding her mind. 

Seeing that her closest friends, Briley and Rebecca, both had similar thoughts, the cause of the issue was probably…

‘Me.’

She was close to Jasper in a way that would have made her acquaintances wonder and seem to think he was special.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes and asked. 

“Am I mistaken?” 

Rose hesitated, unable to answer immediately. Was it a misunderstanding? Can it be dismissed as just a misunderstanding? 

If Rose had been asked this question a month or two ago, she would not have hesitated and would have said that there was no relationship with Jasper at all. But now, the words didn’t come easily. 

Her heart was gradually becoming unsettled and changing. The exact point of change and what the triggering moment was, she couldn’t be sure. 

One thing was certain, change had occurred. That much was certain. The anxiety she felt inside the carriage now was one of the evidences of that change. 

If she didn’t arrive at Central Train Station on time, they would be separated for two months without being able to send off Jasper as he left for the dangerous place. She wouldn’t even hear any news. 

‘I… don’t want that.’

Rose clenched her lips and placed her hand on her pounding chest. Rebecca watched Rose in silence for a long time, then spoke first.

“Parting with Jasper today without even seeing his face, must be regrettable, right?”

Rose hesitated, then nodded slowly. Rebecca made a bitter smile.

“Yeah, it will be regrettable. I felt that a few days ago.”

“A few days ago? What happened?”

“Caleb left the capital. He asked me to meet him at the train station, saying he had something to tell me.”

Rose blinked quickly, surprised by the news she was hearing for the first time. She had heard that Caleb would leave the capital soon, but she didn’t know the exact date.

“I see… I had no idea.”

“He asked me not to tell the others because he wanted to leave quietly. It seems he’s already been processed for withdrawal.”

Rebecca sighed softly. Rose, sensing the distress in Rebecca’s demeanor, asked cautiously.

“…Did you go to the train station?”

“No.”

“Do you regret not seeing Caleb?”

“To be honest, I thought I wouldn’t be bothered at all. But… hah, my pride is hurt. I was bothered, immensely.”

Rebecca grimaced and clutched the edge of her skirt. Her pale and thin fingers trembled, and her brown pupils were shaking.

Rose reached out and gently held Rebecca’s back of the hand.

“It must have been tough for you for the past few days…”

Rebecca’s eyes drooped downward. Rebecca cocked her head to the side and spoke weakly.

“Even I, who ended things with Caleb, feel like this. So, I helped you. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days…”

Rose silently watched Rebecca’s profile. Lately, there were times when Rebecca suddenly looked like an adult.

When they lived together last year, Rebecca liked to dress up and was a confident young woman. She had vanity and sometimes said annoying things, but once you got to know her, she was quite casual and cute.

However, after Caleb’s breakup, much of the girlishness and vanity had disappeared from Rebecca’s face.

Rebecca spoke in a low, sinking voice.

“I just had those thoughts. It seemed like both Caleb and I couldn’t be honest for a long time. Well… being honest in front of love is difficult.”

Rose felt that Rebecca, talking about love, seemed more mature than herself. While she was still in the awkward adolescent stage, Rebecca seemed to have ventured far ahead on her own.

‘Does liking someone a lot make you mature?’

Do they all become adults like that?

Rose cautiously spoke to Rebecca, who suddenly felt unfamiliar.

“Still… Rebecca, I think you were as honest as you could be.”

The image of Rebecca crying loudly in the garden, saying she liked Caleb, was still vivid in Rose’s mind. Rebecca’s face twitched as if suppressing her emotions and then froze.

“Yeah… I did my best. In the end, it’s completely over with Caleb.”

Now that Caleb canceled the engagement with the Shermans, there was no chance of reconciliation with Rebecca. The moment Caleb broke up with Rebecca and got engaged to another girl from Sherman’s family, it was already over.

“Now there’s no turning back, so I don’t understand why he called me and what he wanted to say. Caleb is an idiot beyond understanding.”

Rebecca continued speaking in a complaining tone, gradually returning to her usual casual manner.

“How can he run away and drop out of the academy? Why did he give up his privileges? I don’t get it. Stupid Caleb… I feel like an idiot for constantly suffering because of him.”

It was when Rebecca whimpered and buried her face in her hands. The carriage came to a sudden stop, and through the window, they could see the view of Central Train Station.

Rebecca, who had been slumped, held Rose’s hand tightly.

“Rose, you’re smarter than me in everything else, so you’ll always make the right choices.”

But Rose felt like a fool, especially when it came to love. From the moment she saw the scenery of the train station, her heart raced as if it had gone haywire. She didn’t know what to say when she saw Jasper.

Rebecca patted Rose’s shoulder firmly and shouted.

“I’ll wait here. Run there without being late!”

“Yeah…!”

Encouraged by Rebecca, Rose stepped down from the carriage. A low rumble echoed from the steam locomotive. The train seemed like it hadn’t departed yet.

Rose started running towards the platform.

* * *

The sky above Central Train Station was gloomy. The approaching rain clouds from the east looked ominous. It was expected to rain in the capital tomorrow, and storms were predicted for the following days.

If Rose missed the afternoon train today, the train heading towards the western coast wouldn’t operate for several days. The train station was extremely crowded and bustling with passengers who urgently needed to head west.

Rose pushed her way through the crowd, maneuvering between people. Her body occasionally brushed against the large travel trunks.

Ding, ding, ding. 

At that moment, the bell at Central Train Station resonated loudly. It was a signal that the train would depart in five minutes.

Rose looked around with a worried expression.

‘Jasper isn’t in sight.’

People were blocking every direction. She needed to quickly break through the crowd and head towards the first-class section, but Rose was lost near the third-class and standing-class compartments.

As people flocked towards even the standing-class compartments, chaos ensued. It was noisy due to irritated people and station attendants blowing whistles to control them.

‘Jasper will definitely take the first-class, but…’

She hadn’t expected there to be so many people. 

Rose felt despondent for a moment, but then she gathered her thoughts and said loudly once again.

“Sorry! Excuse me! I’m sorry!”

Thanks to Rose’s continuous efforts to speak up, she finally found a gap to move forward. 

Rose continued to apologize and walk through the crowd. It was quite an act of courage and determination for Rose, who wasn’t used to raising her voice and had a delicate constitution.

Yet, Jasper was still nowhere in sight, and it bothered her. Rose paused for a moment, lifted her heels, and scanned ahead.

It wasn’t even a permanent farewell, but she felt anxious. It was only natural to worry when someone was heading to a place where communication might be impossible. He might get injured during practical training.

Even though she didn’t know what to say to Jasper when she found him, she was surprised at how desperately she was searching for him. Even though she couldn’t understand it logically, her heart was certain.

She simply wanted to see Jasper right now.

As Rose finally approached the first-class compartment area, she saw a bright golden head standing alone in the distance.

‘…It’s Jasper.’

Blonde hair wasn’t a rare sight, yet Rose instantly recognized that it belonged to Jasper. Her anxious expression, frozen in worry, loosened a bit.

It happened as Rose was getting closer to where Jasper was standing. 

From a distance, she saw the bright golden hair, and her heart quickened in realization.

“…Ah.”

Jasper Conway wasn’t alone. Adela Bluewood stood in front of him.

While the train horn announcing the imminent departure resounded, the noise seemed to faintly reach Rose amidst the bustling surroundings.