Spring Rain
❤️46
I stepped through the academy gates. Early morning. The air was still cold. The knight department's major classes were brutally early. Morning calisthenics. Physical training. Mana meditation. Most physical disciplines start their day drenched in sweat.
Spring was passing. Slowly. Fallen cherry blossom petals. Newly sprouting green leaves. The streets were unrestrained. A fragrant petal drifted down in a graceful curve, settling onto my brown hair. Even in its final moment, tumbling across the ground, the petal was beautiful. The street, painted in pastel tones, was as beautiful as a child's sketchbook, like a youth manga come to life—and yet.
Then a familiar color caught my eye.
That color only dredged up memories that had left my night's rest in chaos. My first love. The one I gave everything to, even in death.
The cherry blossoms were falling, but the lilacs by the roadside were in brilliant full bloom. It was already May.
My face reflected in the glass of the building next door. Dark circles under my eyes. That stimulating netorase report meant for me—I'd even glimpsed her filthy secret. Normally, I'd have relieved the pent-up lust and blown off the fatigue. Instead, my insides were a mess of confusion.
I thought I was walking along, lazily enjoying the spring scenery. I was mistaken. The me in the glass was dragging my feet like a zombie about to crawl back into my grave.
"Huuuuh..."
A deep sigh. I spat my worries out with it.
Whatever. All I had to do was complete this simple, cute, extremely Rozalia-like task. A hundred bird kisses. Then everything would go back to normal. The system's kind arrangement. The story would flow again like a graceful river. Hail the system for giving me a Rozalia-level easy quest.
The newly built, pure white Sel Broad Hall. I walked quickly down the corridor and opened the door.
Inside the classroom. Knight department cadets chattering away at random. My eyes moved swiftly. Scanned every corner. Pale pink. That cherry blossom color I'd briefly caught this morning.
Found her. A queen woven from spring's brightest flowers. Cherry blossom hair. Rapeseed flower yellow eyes. She exuded a heavy rose scent, but to me, she'd always remind me of lilacs. The one person I'd desperately sought the moment I entered the classroom. My girlfriend. Rozalia.
A blue ribbon heavy with Decart's color. A lewd, see-through dress. Gaudy gold eyeshadow slathered on. But it didn't matter. I was already wearing thick love goggles. Cute. Maddeningly adorable. I wanted to run over right now, sink my teeth into those soft, squishy cheeks, pull them taut, and tease her.
Her characteristic expressionless face. It only made her seem more fragile and forlorn. When I wasn't by her side, she always stared into space like that. To others, it looked like a genius lost in thought, wrestling with a difficult problem. But I knew. She was swimming in a sea of fantasies, forgetting reality. Her head was probably filled with nothing but romantic, sweet fantasies starring only "me."
I stared at her, drilling holes with my gaze. Putting heat into my eyes.
That was when—
"……?!"
Her shoulders flinched. Like she'd been yanked up from the depths of her fantasy ocean. The corners of her eyes were red and moist. A goofy grin leaked out of me before I could stop it.
The moment I saw Rozalia, laughter burst out like a conditioned reflex. Back when we were childhood friends—rolling around in the vacant lot until sunset. You were always clinging to me like a leech. The other boys in class never stopped teasing me about it. If I didn't play house with you, you'd act like you'd lost the world. Back in school, you were always pulling stunts to get my attention, you idiot. You almost attempted murder on a female friend who confessed to me.
Our eyes met. My sunset-red eyes reflected in her yellow irises. Her eyes went wide like a rabbit's. Her face flushed bright red. She whipped her head away. Avoided my gaze. In that brief instant, countless emotions flickered across her face.
Pout. Sulking. And then, a deeply humiliating shame. The skin beneath her hair, just below her ear, was as red as a ripe apple.
That small-animal-like reaction. She knew. Her transcendent intuition, that ability to blur the line between dreams and reality, had pulled out the fact that I'd witnessed her most vulgar memory last night.
I had to go to her right now, press my lips to hers. I had to melt that sulking heart with a bird kiss.
I took a step forward. She cowered. And then she ran away. To the furthest corner. She fled from me.
My heart dropped. It shuddered like I was having an arrhythmia. It was the first time she'd ever rejected me. She must have been mortified beyond words.
I stood there, nailed to the spot in shock. Like a bugged character, just like her.
The classroom's massive door swung open violently. Red hair. A scar cutting across her face. A fierce expression. Instructor Setina entered. She covered her mouth with her hand and let out a wide yawn, as if she couldn't be bothered.
"Sit down." She tossed a file folder onto the desk, still mid-yawn. "I'm only reviewing six of you today. The ones whose names I call, come out for sparring. The rest of you, train on your own or stay crumpled up wherever you are."
"Sara Barkas, Sophie Dudley. Grab your swords and come outside."
It seemed like the ongoing sparring rounds were finally wrapping up. Letting us choose our own partners was only for the first round. After that, Instructor Setina would match up cadets whose evaluations were unclear or whose skills she hadn't fully seen yet. The rest were left to train however they pleased. For an instructor, her attitude couldn't have been more negligent. But even though she acted like that on the surface, behind the scenes she looked after each and every one of them with genuine care.
The knight department's morning sparring sessions. Names were called one by one. The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the room. But I couldn't focus on any of it. My gaze was fixed solely on that pale pink crown of hair, buried in the corner with her head down.
"Last one. Berga Silverstein." The red-eyed beast stepped up onto the platform.
"Carn von Mercier. Come out. This is the final sparring match."
My name. She was putting me up against the son of the Northern Archduke. Had she caught on that I was hiding my skill? Setina's sharp gaze was sweeping over me. That keen expression she only wore when sizing up geniuses like Rozalia.
I picked up my wooden sword in a daze. I wanted to get this over with quickly. I'd roll around like a total pushover, then chase after Rozalia and somehow press my lips to hers.
As I stepped onto the platform, I muttered toward Berga.
"Please go easy on me."
"……." He was silent. This guy had forged his competitive spirit after getting crushed like a dog by Rozalia.
I calculated the angle I'd need to fall without hurting myself too much.
"Fight with full power. You're interfering with my evaluation. Begin." Setina stepped back.
I charged in first. Even though she said she'd beat me like a dog every time, Berga was the class vice-top. His swordsmanship was rough and wild, like a beast's. A brutish survival of the fittest, crushing with raw power. If I didn't block and just let it flow past, he'd fall apart on his own. That's what I thought.
—THWACK!
He aimed for my sword, not my shoulder. My wooden sword went flying. At the same time, his foot slammed into my stomach. My body was pushed back hard. The tiger was using technique. He wasn't breaking through with pure force—he was pressing in with claws bared, snarling. He wasn't impatient. He was hunting calmly, parsing my moves. At this rate, I couldn't end it quickly. Should I just win? No. Just beating the Crown Prince had already drawn annoying attention.
He rushed in again.
—CLANG! ZING—!
The wooden swords crossed, and I felt an illusion of sparks flying. As the match dragged on and we exchanged blows, I just waited for an opportunity. Timing. I calculated the force. I swung upward hard, then deliberately let my wrist go limp.
—CRASH!
My wrist swelled red, and my wooden sword spun out of control, thudding against the floor. I threw both hands up.
"I yield. I surrender."
Berga's brow twitched. Setina's red eyes narrowed.
"…Berga Silverstein wins. Today's lesson is over."
The sparring ended. Cadets dispersed. Rozalia was nowhere to be seen either. I had to chase after her quickly.
"Cadet Carn. I need to talk to you. Stay." My escape route was blocked.
The empty classroom. Setina leaned back in her chair, glaring at me.
"I told you to fight with full power."
"This is my full power, Instructor. Holding my own this well against the class vice-top is pretty impressive." I grinned slyly.
She pressed a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.
"Haah, the evaluation isn't finalized yet. And."
"Back in my mercenary days, there was a guy like you. A fallen noble. He hid his skill behind his family's swordsmanship, looked down on everyone else like trash, and acted arrogantly." Her eyes fixed on my empty hands. "You want to know what happened to that guy in his second year? He died. Let his guard down thinking he was more than enough, and got his throat cut by a single hidden move from someone he thought was way beneath him. They set up a gravestone in the wrong spot."
"……."
"Hiding your skill is your choice. But swordsmen like us fight within a single inch of the blade. The moment you decide you've fully measured your opponent's depths, you'll be cut down like morning dew before you even have time to pull out your trump card."
Setina stood up from her seat.
"Just once… let yourself be properly evaluated. If there's something you can't reveal in front of others, come see me alone."
She didn't wait for my answer and walked out of the classroom.
I rubbed my swollen wrist and stood there in a daze for a moment. I felt strange.
I needed to chase after Rozalia right now. But… Setina was the original story's saint's supporter. Her mercenary name was "Red Blood Wolf." Despite her rough exterior, she was kind to the bone.