Anything But Study - Chapter 67

Only then did the director seem to notice that Melia’s reaction was strange.

“Me, Melia. Th-that. Well….”

The director finally realized her own mistake.

The fire was such an old event that she had forgotten. What kind of incident had been tangled in the lives of these children.

How deeply that existence remained as a wound for Melia.

Because Ervan looked so healthy now, she’d spoken about it without much thought.

Seeing how easily the name of the Young Duke of Alfred slipped out of Melia’s mouth just now, perhaps….

“Do you two already know each other? Did Calix not tell you?”

The director asked with an embarrassed expression.

But Melia couldn’t answer.

Not only did she not know what to say, but the shock was far too great.

Now trying to fix the situation, the director hurriedly added more words.

“Still, isn’t it fortunate! Ervan has recovered like this.”

“…That’s true.”

But that was something she could say only because she didn’t know what kind of relationship now existed between Melia and Hailon.

“Y-yes. And I heard this hospital also belongs to Alfred. So….”

The director continued speaking about various things, but from a certain moment onward, Melia could no longer hear any of it.

“I… I’ll be going now. I’m sorry.”

Melia gave a small bow and turned away.

It was impossible for her to continue talking with anyone.

In truth, she couldn’t remember a single thing the director had said.

The shocking truth she’d just heard filled her mind completely, leaving no space for anything else.

So Hailon is Calix.

Black hair and black eyes.

They shared the same outward features, but she had dismissed it as something common.

Yet the reason Calix kept surfacing in her thoughts ever since she met Hailon was because they were the same person.

It felt as if someone had struck her head violently.

No, she wanted to believe it was just a dream.

Wasn’t it simply another kind of nightmare, like the ones she sometimes had these days?

No matter how many times she told herself it was impossible, that it couldn’t be reality, miracles did not happen.

***

Melia didn’t know how she returned home.

Tomorrow was Monday.

She would face Hailon at the academy.

But the shocking story she heard from the director still clung stubbornly inside her mind.

She wanted to ask him.

Did Hailon know?

That the two of them had been connected since long ago.

No, more than connected, that they shared a memory that could never be forgotten.

The words he once spoke circled endlessly in her head.

“By the way, haven’t we met somewhere before?”

“What?”

“Not at the academy, but long ago, perhaps.”

Had he asked that question while knowing everything?

Or had he asked because he himself was not certain?

Only Hailon Alfred knew the answer, but Melia still wanted to believe.

That Hailon hadn’t known everything and simply pretended otherwise.

That he hadn’t recognized her either.

The name Melia was common.

He must have simply asked just in case.

Since she said she did not know, he must have assumed she was someone else.

Perhaps the memories of his childhood were vague and no longer remained clearly with him.

Melia wished for that.

Because if that were not the case, she truly could not imagine how she would face Hailon’s face.

With all her heart, she wished for it.

***

Eleven years ago.

After the fire broke out, the orphanage fortunately succeeded in recovering.

Many of the buildings that had burned down more than halfway were rebuilt.

Everyone at the orphanage wondered how it had been restored so quickly when it must have cost an enormous amount of money.

Among the children, some even happily said that perhaps the director had finally found a proper sponsor.

And that was understandable, because lately high-quality meals had been served at every meal.

As their lacking nutrition was replenished, the faces of the children at the orphanage regained color, and they gradually began to gain weight like other children their age.

Among them, the ones growing thinner were Melia and Ervan alone.

In the most remote room of the orphanage, Melia looked at Ervan lying there, struggling to breathe with wheezing breaths, and her eyes were filled with sorrow.

“…Ervan.”

Outside, the sound of everyone laughing loudly could be heard, but Ervan could not share in that happiness.

Melia felt deeply heartbroken.

“Wow! A carriage! It’s huge!”

“It’s even bigger than the one in the storybook….”

It was noisy outside, as if something special had happened today.

Recently, the orphanage had started to become lively again, but even considering that, it seemed noisier than usual.

Words like carriage and noble drifted in occasionally, but Melia simply assumed something was stimulating the children’s imaginations.

Because the only thing important to Melia was Ervan.

“Ervan, you must be bored. Should I read you a book?”

Worried that Ervan might become curious about the commotion outside, Melia quickly picked up a book.

“Sister.”

“Yes, yes. Tell me. What kind of book do you want?”

“Sister, shouldn’t you go outside too? It’s really noisy out there.”

When Ervan told her everyone seemed to be doing something and suggested she go look, Melia immediately shook her head.

“I’m not curious at all. Spending time like this with you is much more precious.”

It was the complete truth, without even the smallest lie.

Worried that Ervan might urge her again to go outside, Melia quickly opened the book she had taken out and began reading the story.

“Once upon a time, there was a boy from an ordinary countryside village….”

Hoping that someday both she and Ervan could become happy just like the protagonists of this book that ended with a happy ending.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

Outside.

“Calix! Someone has come to see you.”

The orphanage director urgently searched for Hailon. Her face and voice were filled with excitement.

Hailon glanced outside.

At the entrance of the orphanage stood a splendid carriage.

It was a rare sight the children here might never see in their entire lives.

The other children stood some distance away, staring at the carriage with sparkling eyes while chattering among themselves.

The carriage bore the Alfred crest, which Hailon recognized immediately.

It had already been a year since the civil war ended. It seemed they had finally come to find him.

Perhaps because he’d hidden his name, it was rather late considering the information network of Alfred.

If so, the recent increase in support for the orphanage must also have been sent from his family.

‘Perhaps this is for the best.’

Turning his gaze in the direction where Melia was probably caring for her younger brother Ervan, Hailon realized something instinctively.

That today would be the day he parted from Melia.

As he began walking toward the carriage that had come to take him, Hailon left a remark to the director.

“Please don’t tell Melia about that. Not even after I’ve left.”

“…Alright.”

The director understood what he meant.

His request to bury the truth forever.

Still, for the two of them to part like this, hadn’t their bond been quite deep?

“Even so, shouldn’t you at least see her one last time. I’ll go bring her right away….”

“No.”

Hailon’s refusal was firm.

A trace of regret crossed the director’s face.

The two of them had been so close.

Calix, no, Hailon’s true identity was none other than the son of the Duke of Alfred.

Just the brief support the ducal house had given to the orphanage had already changed the lives of the many children living here.

To think he was the heir of such a great noble family, one anyone would recognize upon hearing the name.

From the moment he stepped into that carriage and left, the worlds the two of them lived in would become completely different.

So this would be the final moment.

“It’s better if Melia doesn’t see me.”

Even so, Hailon was saying he would leave without a word to her.

“Yes, if that’s what you want, there’s nothing I can do.”

A bitter emotion lingered on the director’s face as she thought of Melia’s current situation.

Melia, who could barely sleep properly while nursing her younger brother Ervan.

Thinking of that child who spent every night in tears, perhaps it really was better that she did not see Hailon.

“Please travel safely, Young Master.”

The final words were not a farewell to a child from the orphanage, but a greeting directed toward the family of their sponsor.

The director bowed deeply.

In the end, Hailon left the orphanage without even saying goodbye to Melia.

That was the final memory.

The memory of that day was still vivid for Hailon.

No, when it came to Melia, there was not a single thing he failed to remember.

Because even after returning to the Alfred ducal residence, he had never once forgotten Melia.