Anything But Study - Chapter 51

***

Fuck, why….

After returning to the Alfred estate, Hailon immediately regretted what he’d done.

It was reckless. The moment he heard she wanted to quit the tutoring out of nowhere, something in his head just snapped.

Before he knew it, he’d handled her roughly.

He shouldn’t have.

He wanted to treat her carefully. But in the end, he’d only made a mess of everything.

For some reason, that twisted irritation took control of his body, and he couldn’t suppress the emotions boiling up inside him.

At the very last moment, Melia’s empty expression flickered before his eyes.

He didn’t have the confidence to face that wounded look again.

Fuck, isn’t this pathetic?

Hailon spat out a curse.

At this rate, how could he possibly face Melia?

‘Not for a while.’

He didn’t even know exactly why he’d suddenly proposed a period of one month like that.

But after making a mistake like this, it would be foolish to approach her carelessly.

Irritation was written all over his face.

“Young Duke.”

Just then, a voice cut through the tangled thoughts in his head.

“I’ve finished the investigation you ordered.”

It was Calix.

“Report.”

“As expected, there were traces of illegal drugs being distributed from Morain to Cheskan.”

Hailon’s eyes sharpened.

“Ha. I see.”

Everything so far was going exactly as he’d anticipated. It was clear that the reason the Marquis of Cheskan died was also their doing.

“Calix.”

“Yes, Young Duke.”

“I need to make a trip to Cheskan for a while.”

“Understood.”

Calix was the butler who oversaw Alfred, but he was also an outstanding intelligence agent.

“You know to tell the Duke a different destination, right?”

“Of course.”

And most importantly, he wasn’t the Duke of Alfred’s man. He was Hailon’s.

“I’ll make it quick.”

Calix immediately moved to carry out the order.

“No.”

But Hailon’s reply was not what he expected.

“Yes?”

“I’m coming with you.”

He couldn’t just leave everything to Calix and sit back doing nothing.

The Emperor, the Marquis of Ribelline, and the Duke of Alfred.

The way their interests aligned, at this rate his engagement to Anastasia might truly become a reality.

Once again, Melia’s face flashed before his eyes, looking as if she might burst into tears.

It would be a lie to say it didn’t bother him.

Even now, he wanted to go to Melia immediately and pull her into his arms.

But in the current situation, if he approached her, would she even welcome him?

Until now, Hailon had lived mostly as he pleased.

When dealing with the Duke, he accommodated him as much as possible, but only because he believed that one day he would drive out that greedy father and take the seat of Duke of Alfred himself.

Ribelline was an unexpected variable that had suddenly appeared in his carefully progressing plans for the future.

Of course, judging from everything so far, things were still unfolding exactly as Hailon had calculated. So it would be resolved without major issue.

But Melia was different.

Just when it seemed like things were going as expected, she tried to slip out of his grasp.

He still didn’t know the answer as to why.

‘Fine. Then….’

In that case, one month. During the time Melia demanded, he would resolve all of this.

So that when he held onto Melia again, there would be no obstacles whatsoever.

He would uncover what kind of filthy schemes the Marquis of Ribelline was carrying out.

‘One month is enough.’

Within that time, he would make this engagement disappear for good.

***

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of elaborately decorated nails rhythmically tapping against the desk echoed through the room.

‘I don’t like this.’

The one at the center of it was Anastasia Ribelline. With a frown on her face, she bit down on her lower lip.

Melia Anderson irritated her.

Even the daughters of count families watched her carefully and flocked to her to win her favor.

And someone like you dares to reject me?

From the start, she couldn’t even understand why Hailon was receiving tutoring from a girl like that.

It felt like the cold look he’d given her at the season party was because of that bitch too.

The insignificant Anderson baron family.

A family so poor it was pathetic.

‘Why is Hailon close to someone like her?’

Just because of tutoring? Because she’s the top student?

Those were the only reasons she could think of.

‘Wait. Then….’

Anastasia’s eyes flashed.

‘If she’s not the top student, wouldn’t that solve it?’

A faint, vicious smile curved her lips.

At that moment, a sweet, lilting voice called out to Anastasia.

“Anastasia, where did you get this hairpin?”

It was Catherine.

Catherine, who used to reign like the queen of their year, had at some point begun acting almost like Anastasia’s attendant.

After humiliating herself at the seasonal party when she couldn’t wear a Charlette outfit, the other girls stopped following her. It was obvious she intended to restore her prestige through Anastasia.

“Oh my, Catherine.”

But Anastasia kept Catherine by her side even though she saw right through her.

It was convenient. Easy to handle.

What queen in the world would cast aside a servant who moved exactly as she wished?

‘This works out perfectly.’

Anastasia’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

“Ah, this was personally bestowed by His Majesty.”

It was an ornate hairpin with a ruby blazing red at its center.

As she said, it was one of the many gifts the Emperor had bestowed upon Ribelline.

Anastasia removed the pin from her own hair.

“You take it.”

“Really? I can have it?”

Catherine’s eyes gleamed with greed. It was a gift from the Emperor. And she was being told she could have it.

“Of course. It suits you so well.”

Anastasia personally pinned the hairpin into Catherine’s hair.

“Red really complements you, Catherine.”

Anastasia smiled sweetly.

Yes, it really does look like it belongs to you.

“It’s better on you than on me.”

“R-really?”

Catherine couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth curling upward at Anastasia’s praise.

“Of course. Naturally.”

Anastasia was pleased as well.

Because she’d just come up with a good way to keep her own hands completely clean.

***

“Haven’t you seen Hailon lately?”

“Right? Did he quit Erpen Academy or something?”

“No way.”

As Melia crossed the garden toward the next classroom, she heard the voices of other students.

They were right. Melia hadn’t seen Hailon recently either.

For someone who’d threatened to summon her the moment the artifact’s effect appeared, he hadn’t shown his face once since that day.

It had already been over two weeks.

‘Could something have happened?’

Worry naturally crossed her face.

‘No, don’t think about it.’

She quickly shook the thought away.

If she thought about it, there had originally been this much distance between her and Hailon.

Before the tutoring began, had she ever even properly exchanged words with Hailon Alfred?

They’d barely even crossed paths.

‘Maybe this is better.’

This was the original distance between her and Hailon. While they weren’t tutoring, she would simply get used to this gap again.

In her life, Hailon had once been someone who didn’t exist.

The artifact’s effect no longer appeared either.

Seeing that even now Hailon wasn’t looking for her, she wondered if the artifact’s effect had vanished completely after that day.

However….

Melia’s eyes darkened.

“This is this month’s tutoring fee.”

Melia recalled Calix, who had come to see her two weeks ago.

It was the day after that incident with Hailon.

Holding out the checkbook, Calix explained that she could cash it at the bank counter. Melia shook her head.

“I can’t accept it. I won’t be holding lessons for a month.”

But Calix was firm.

“If you don’t accept it, I’ll be reprimanded. So I’ll leave it here.”

She couldn’t understand why Hailon was doing this.

He’d gotten so angry when she said she wanted to quit the tutoring.

As a condition for the one-month break, he’d insisted he would call her whenever the artifact’s effect appeared.

Maybe that was why.

Melia couldn’t bring herself to take the checkbook to the bank.

Money she received without tutoring.

It felt almost like payment for sex.

Like compensation for having to go whenever he called.

Perhaps that was why the more she looked at the checkbook, the more uneasy she felt.

There was no way she could use it.

‘I’ll return it later.’

Still, remembering her uncle’s face, never knowing when he might barge in, Melia simply hid it deep inside the house where no one could possibly find it.