Anything But Study - Chapter 54

***

A few more days passed, and at last the day of the Fireworks Festival arrived.

In another sense, it was also the day Melia had to organize the new books as requested by the administrative office staff.

When Melia arrived at the library, she was stunned by the sheer number of books.

“All of this?”

The amount was far too overwhelming to handle alone.

Hundreds? No, it looked like more than a thousand.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine where to start.

A wave of despair washed over her, but complaining wouldn’t change anything.

“Sigh, let’s just do it.”

After she began organizing them one by one, how many hours passed?

‘I’ve at least finished one section.’

A long sigh slipped from Melia’s lips after she finally completed a single area.

There were simply too many.

At this rate, she might have to work through the night and spend the entire day here.

Even though she started right after class ended, she hadn’t even finished half.

Still, she’d received her salary despite not working for nearly a month.

She couldn’t complain about struggling for just one day.

‘I’ll prepare myself to work until dawn.’

With that in mind, Melia continued sorting the books.

After quite some time. How much time had passed?

‘Whew, let’s take a short break.’

When she straightened her stiff back, she realized the sky had already grown dark.

Regret filled Melia’s eyes as she looked out the window.

‘It’s going to start soon.’

Today was the Fireworks Festival.

Rosha had asked her to watch it together, but she had no choice but to decline because of the library work.

‘…I really wanted to see it.’

From inside the library, she could only hear the booming sounds bursting in the sky. It was positioned so that the fireworks themselves weren’t visible.

In truth, during last year’s and the year before’s Fireworks Festivals, Melia had stayed by Ervan’s side and never properly watched them.

This year, since Ervan was receiving treatment in a good place, she might have been able to see it.

But of all times, this had to overlap.

It seemed she simply wasn’t destined to see fireworks.

‘No, at least I can hear them today.’

Melia tried to think positively.

There was one last chance next year. She would save it for then.

When she glanced outside, most of the students were already gathered outdoors.

With excited expressions, they walked toward spots where the fireworks would be clearly visible.

It would probably begin in about an hour.

Setting aside her disappointment, Melia refocused on the books and continued organizing for quite a while.

Rustle.

‘Huh?’

She sensed someone’s presence from the far right corner.

She was sure someone had just passed by.

“Is someone there?”

Melia called out. But no voice answered. Only silence filled the library.

‘Was I imagining it?’

Still, something felt off.

Should I check?

Step, step.

In the quiet library, only the sound of Melia’s footsteps echoed.

If someone were there, she should hear something by now, but there was nothing.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

Just as she reached the spot where she’d heard the sound and looked around.

Crash.

“Ah!”

The bookshelf beside her suddenly toppled over toward Melia.

The shelf slammed into her, and the books crammed inside tumbled down, striking her body all over.

Melia collapsed onto the floor.

Heavy, blunt pain struck her body again and again.

“Ugh….”

The fallen books left the area in complete disarray. Dust billowed everywhere, making her cough violently.

That wasn’t all.

More serious than that….

“Ah, it hurts.”

A sharp, stinging sensation pierced her leg.

Melia lowered her gaze to it.

Maybe a nail had been sticking out of the fallen shelf, because she felt a strong pain as if something sharp had stabbed her.

Blood was already flowing from her knee.

It looked like it had gone in fairly deep. At this rate, it didn’t seem like the bleeding would stop on its own.

Ha. A sigh escaped her.

The pain was a problem, but with the blood continuing to flow like this, there was no way she could keep working in her current state.

‘…I should stop by the infirmary for a moment.’

She needed to stop the bleeding first and put something on the wound.

The staff member in charge of the infirmary had probably already gone home, but there should at least be some medicine there. She could look for it.

Melia struggled to her feet and slowly made her way toward the infirmary.

“Ah, it hurts.”

A groan slipped out naturally.

The dark corridor was completely empty.

Each time she limped forward on her injured leg, a throbbing ache flared from the spot where she’d been stabbed.

Maybe that was why.

A particularly bitter feeling welled up inside her.

Everyone else was pairing up with friends or lovers to admire the beautiful fireworks.

And here she was like this.

The sour mood refused to settle and kept rising up, leaving Melia restless.

At the same time, reality pressed down on her. While she was like this, more time would pass, and she would almost certainly have to organize everything through the night.

‘…It’s okay.’

After barely comforting herself, she arrived at the infirmary. As expected, no one was there.

‘Let’s just find the medicine quickly and leave.’

As Melia looked around,

Boom.

The sound of fireworks exploding echoed from afar.

The outside grew noisy. Gasps and cheers burst out here and there.

It seemed the festival had begun.

‘I’m jealous.’

Everyone must be watching with friends or lovers.

For a moment, someone naturally came to mind.

Hailon.

What would it have been like if she’d watched it with him?

‘…What am I expecting? Let’s just go.’

She was the one who’d first said she wanted to quit tutoring and hurt his feelings.

It had been quite some time since Hailon was last seen at the academy.

During that period, Melia had, in a way, achieved her intended goal.

The distance between Hailon Alfred and Melia Anderson.

If not for the special circumstance of tutoring, she painfully realized that she wouldn’t even know the smallest detail of where he’d gone now that he was absent.

Just like now, when thoughts of Hailon kept surfacing without warning, they would probably lessen with a little more time.

Melia focused on finding the medicine.

“Ah, found it.”

At last, she discovered a medication meant to stop bleeding from deep wounds.

Judging from the description written on it, that seemed certain.

The liquid inside was clear like water, but it couldn’t possibly be just water.

‘I’ll apply it quickly and go back.’

With that thought, Melia lifted the bottle.

Smack.

‘Huh?’

Someone roughly snatched the medicine bottle from her hand.

The sudden, aggressive movement made her body stiffen.

“What are you doing…!”

“You’re the one who should know what this is.”

A voice she’d heard countless times, one she couldn’t possibly mistake, was filled with anger.

Even in the darkness, Melia recognized him.

“H-Hailon?”

Her eyes widened.

Am I seeing things?

The person standing before her was none other than Hailon.

***

A few hours earlier.

Hailon had returned to the capital from Cheskan.

It had been nearly three weeks.

“You’ve worked hard, Young Duke. Will you be resting at the estate today?”

The audience with the Emperor was scheduled for next week.

They needed to gather the final pieces of evidence and completely eradicate Ribelline.

If that was the case, today was perfect for recovering from the fatigue of the past three weeks.

Today was Friday. Most lectures would already be over by now, so there was no particular reason to go to the academy.

“…No.”

However, there was one special thing. Tonight, the Fireworks Festival would begin at the academy.

From his childhood, the image of Melia’s face naturally came to mind, flushed with excitement as she chattered away.

“Calix, did you know? Flowers can bloom in the night sky.”

“Ah, fireworks? They’re nothing special.”

“Nothing special? Aren’t they amazing?”

Why was that image of her sparkling eyes, saying she truly wanted to see them, suddenly surfacing now?

“I’ll head to the academy. Calix, you should rest.”

For some reason, he felt that Melia would also remain at the academy to watch the Fireworks Festival.

Even if he didn’t approach her or exchange words, he at least wanted to watch her face as she smiled happily while looking at the fireworks.

But the moment Hailon stepped into the academy, the place he headed toward wasn’t where the fireworks would be seen most clearly, nor where the crowd had gathered.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, his steps were carrying him in the direction of the library.