I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 18

‘He’s a kinder person than he looks.’

Compared to the overly suspicious professor who was too kind, or the boss whose attitude flipped like a pancake, it was a relief that he seemed relatively normal.

But my relief lasted only a moment before Ruad Rochef slyly tested me with his words.

“But I know there was more that happened over the break… wasn’t there?”

When I didn’t answer, he continued.

“Actually, I know.”

“Know what?”

“That your advisor, Karl Evenhart, was dismissed from his position.”

As countless possibilities of misfortunes I had already suffered—or ones that had yet to happen—rushed through my mind, I nervously asked, and that was the answer that came back.

‘How on earth does he know that?’

I stared at Ruad Rochef with wide eyes.

Seeing my surprised expression, he gave a small laugh. “Don’t be so shocked. The fact that Professor Evenhart was dismissed is already well known throughout the Academy. Even if they don’t show it, every student probably knows by now.”

“But the semester hasn’t even been underway for a single day yet.”

“Rumors always spread quickly and easily, Lucy. Besides, a professor being dismissed is not something that happens often at the Academy.”

“……”

“This morning’s school paper even had his face plastered right on the front page. Of course, not for anything good, as you know.”

“Then you could have said that from the start. Why test me like that?” I asked, feeling irritated.

It wasn’t as though I was something to toy with, yet he already knew everything and still circled around the subject as though testing me. That made me feel vexed.

At this, Ruad Rochef immediately apologized.

“If I upset you, I’m sorry. I apologize, Lucy. But you have a tendency not to speak about your real hardships, and that’s why I did it.”

“……”

“I wanted to hear you say it yourself. That you had a hard time during the break.”

Just as I was about to stay upset, his sincere apology and honesty melted my irritation away.

And surprisingly, he showed a far better nature than I had expected.

‘Though he looks more like a cocky delinquent…’

As my first impression of him gradually began to change, Ruad Rochef spoke again.

“So, did you find a new advisor during the break?”

“Yes, for now.”

“May I ask which professor?”

I hesitated briefly, but there seemed no need to hide it.

“Professor Jeran Ennessy.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

At the mention of Jeran Ennessy’s name, his eyes narrowed.

I waited, wondering if he knew something I didn’t, but Ruad Rochef didn’t add anything else.

“Well, he’s not a bad professor. At least he’s better than your previous one.”

“Ah, really?”

That was a relief.

It would have been troublesome if, like Karl Evenhart, he had been caught plagiarizing a thesis and I was forced to find yet another advisor.

“But it’s strange. I’ve never seen him take on a disciple…”

“Hm?”

“Oh, nothing.”

When I asked in response to his cryptic murmur, Ruad Rochef quickly shook his head and changed his expression.

Then, as if to divert me from pressing further, he smiled and swiftly changed the subject.

“By the way, I heard you went to the bank during the break.”

“…How do you know that?”

The dreadful story of the bank, which I had momentarily forgotten, suddenly spilled from his lips. The memory of that humiliation resurfaced, and my face stiffened.

Ruad Rochef propped his chin on his hand, stared at me for a while, then straightened and said, “…I had some business at the Academy and dropped by the bank to take care of a few things. That’s when I heard you went there to borrow money.”

“……”

That bank truly had nothing good about it.

Not only did they treat me with contempt for being a commoner, but they even carelessly leaked my personal information to anyone.

‘They’re utterly useless trash…’

Grinding my teeth inwardly, I heard Ruad Rochef ask in concern.

“From what I heard about the amount, it seemed like tuition and dormitory fees. Did you manage to get the money?”

The question made my vision go dizzy.

It was clear Ruad Rochef was close with Lucia. Yet there was nothing more humiliating than having a friend discover I had been going around begging for money for such an unflattering reason.

‘Is this really a game about enjoying romance?’

Suppressing the urge to run out of the reading room that instant, I could only stew bitterly in this unpleasant shame.

When I didn’t reply, he leaned closer and spoke very carefully.

“It’s nothing else, but if you’re okay with it, there’s a way you could get a scholarship.”

“……”

“My grandfather runs a scholarship foundation, and they’re recruiting students right now. It’s recommendation-based, but unlike other foundations, as long as your ability and grades are good, they accept anyone regardless of status.”

“……”

“I know your ability, and your grades are more than enough.”

As he said this, Ruad Rochef gave me a grin. It wasn’t because he wanted to smile, but rather, seeing how poor my expression was, he seemed to be trying to lighten the mood.

“The amount covers tuition and dormitory fees with plenty to spare, and aside from writing a report about once a month, there aren’t really any other requirements.”

“……”

“If you say yes, I can be your recommender…”

“Wait.”

I cut him off mid-sentence.

The steady stream of Ruad Rochef’s words immediately stopped.

A deep, heavy silence unique to the library settled between us.

After thinking for a moment about how to address him, I opened my mouth.

“Ruad. I’m thankful you thought of me and told me about such a good opportunity, probably because you thought of me first when you heard about it. I sincerely appreciate that. But…”

“……”

“Acting this way is a bit troublesome.”

At my firm tone, Ruad Rochef’s expression stiffened. His wide red eyes stared at me without a flicker.

It was difficult to read any emotion in his gaze, but I calmly continued explaining.

“You must have told me with good intentions, but I didn’t want to tell anyone about what happened at the bank, and I didn’t want anyone to know.”

“……”

“But as soon as you found out I had tried to borrow money at the bank, you told me that your grandfather runs a scholarship foundation and offered to recommend me.”

“……”

“How do you think that sounded to me?”

Ruad Rochef closed his mouth for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

“Regardless of your intentions, I ended up becoming someone who is a commoner, who has no money to pay school fees, and who goes around borrowing from banks. That fact makes me feel a little… miserable. So even though your offer is a kind one, right now I don’t feel very good.”

I firmly but gently and sincerely conveyed my honest feelings.

Though it was somewhat dreadful to say, it wasn’t Ruad Rochef’s fault. If there was any fault, it lay with that worthless bank clerk who ran his mouth to anyone.

And then I added one more fact that he seemed not to know.

“Besides, the deadline for tuition and dormitory fees has long since passed. If I hadn’t found the money, I would have been expelled before even meeting you here at the library. So there’s no need to worry. I don’t need the scholarship either.”

“…Ah, expelled.”

“……”

“Lucy, you, expelled…”

Ruad Rochef muttered in a daze, his face falling into despair.

As though he had suffered a terrible shock, the light disappeared from his eyes, leaving only deep hopelessness.

‘Was the word expelled really that harsh?’

It wasn’t as if I had hurled some unbearable insult, but seeing him react as if the world had collapsed left me awkward.

But the one humiliated at the bank was me. The one who felt miserable because someone else had found out was me. And if I hadn’t gotten the money, the one who would have been expelled was me.

Not Ruad Rochef.

Yet he was acting as though he had nearly been expelled from the Academy himself.

For some reason, I felt like I had done something wrong, when suddenly Ruad Rochef lifted his head to look at me.

“Lucy.”

Just moments ago his gaze had been sunk in despair, but now his red eyes shone intensely. The determination in them made me instinctively falter.

“I’m truly sorry for not being more considerate of your feelings. I apologize for that. The moment I heard from the bank, I hurried to ask my grandfather for help and… I didn’t think it through that far.”

“Ah, yes…”

I had no idea what exactly he had asked his grandfather for, but I could only nod.

“I’m deeply sorry for hurting you, and if my apology is not enough, I can kneel until your anger subsides.”

“No, you don’t have to go that far…”

“But there’s just one thing I want you to promise me.”

Though I hadn’t been all that angry at him, his excessive apology left me flustered. Then Ruad Rochef spoke.

His red eyes were so intense they seemed to draw me in, filled with desperate sincerity.

As though we were lovers parting ways.

When in reality, we were nothing at all, with an affection level still at 0%.

“If something urgent or dangerous ever happens to you, and you truly have no one to turn to, promise me that you will come to me.”

“……”

“In that case, I will unconditionally help you. So even just once, I want you to trust me. All right?”