Chapter 34 – Flower of the North Sea (6)

Despite the sudden trip, there wasn’t much to pack.

With Darling taking care of the logistics, including security, and not heading into the wilderness, provisions could be easily obtained along the way.

Times had changed since the days of leisurely walking through the wilderness with a knapsack. Now, long-distance travel by caravan was the norm.

In the morning, I handed Liv the keys to the store, asking her to manage it while I was gone.

With the weekend approaching, there wouldn’t be many customers, and handling the remaining bread delivered from the bakery wouldn’t be a big task.

This should be enough… The bread likely won’t sell out over the weekend.

Even considering the café’s consumption, it seemed I had ordered too much bread. Quite a lot remained.

After dusting off an old coat, evening arrived.

While the store grew quieter, the adjacent café bustled with patrons.

Entering the café, I found a familiar face waiting for me.

“Phi—!”

“Louis, come over here for a moment.”

A less welcome face was there too.

Erzebert had come in unusually early. As the princess of Pennheim, she was often busy, and though her familiar frequently visited, she herself came about once a week at most.

This was a good opportunity to ask her to look after Adela while I was away. Despite Liv being there, they weren’t close, and never invaded each other’s space.

“Quickly, come and hide over here.”

“What?”

Before I could speak, Erzebert approached me, grabbing my arm and pulling me to a table behind the counter.

“Look over there.”

She pointed to where Adela was taking an order from a tall, blond man.

With a soft smile, he handed her a letter, which seemed suspicious.

He looked like an annoying fop.

“That’s Sir William of the Clove family. He’s in his third year and has excellent grades and a good reputation among his peers.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. His family has loyally served the Pennheim royal family for generations and has no financial issues. Running a knight order is expensive, but their estate produces high-quality wool.”

“No wonder he looks like a shepherd boy.”

Adela seemed unsure what to do with the invitation she had just received. Erzebert, looking relieved, wore a satisfied expression.

“I think he’s inviting her to a ball. It’s quite impressive for a count to personally deliver an invitation. He must be quite taken with Adela.”

“…”

“Although it’s a bit informal, he’s a suitable match for a Rochear. Now I can finally relax.”

What an odd taste he has.

Erzebert patted my shoulder, as if acknowledging her struggle, and without giving me a chance to ask her to look after Adela, she approached the pair.

— Congratulations, Adela. It looks like you can finally debut.

— Princess!? No, this is…!

Adela, startled, met my gaze briefly before hurriedly tucking the letter into her pocket and lowering her head.

What should I say? She had come to the academy with the intent to marry, so this was inevitable.

Feeling a bit bitter, I fished for a cigarette and stepped outside to light it.

As white smoke curled into the night sky, memories of Adela came flooding back.

Catching her stealing bread and begging for forgiveness.

Seeing her forced to steal bread by Ansen and chewing it miserably.

Nearly burning down the store trying to show me magic.

Almost drowning in a magic duel gone wrong.

Getting beaten by Ansen and plotting revenge.

William, you’ve just signed up for a lifetime of trouble, my friend.

Suddenly, I felt relieved, smiling to myself.

Adela’s marriage was none of my concern.

In fact, it was better if she wasn’t involved with me.

She might appear normal now, but underneath, she was a different story.

If you peel back the layers… peel them back… peel…

No, damn it… get a grip!

My thoughts kept oscillating wildly. As my cigarette butts piled up on the ground, I heard a voice from behind.

“Teacher…”

It was Adela.

***

Had it gotten this late already?

No wonder my head felt fuzzy. At my feet, the pile of cigarette butts I had gone through stood like a tiny rebellion ready to be quelled.

After crushing them underfoot, I turned to face her, pretending everything was fine.

“Oh, right. What is it?”

“Yesterday…”

“Yes, you said you had something to tell me. What is it? Do you need a raise? Or maybe… do you need money for food? If you want, you can have three pieces of bread a day. I know how hard you work, so…”

“Teacher.”

Adela stepped so close I could see the flutter of her eyelashes and smell the faint scent of tobacco from my breath.

Then she asked the same question she had once before.

“Louis, do you really have no title?”

“…I told you, I don’t.”

“Then… don’t you want to go to the North Sea and defeat the demons to earn one?”

Sigh. A deep sigh escaped from my chest.

She had to be realistic. Titles weren’t handed out like raffle tickets.

The war was over. The continent was in ruins, and there wasn’t much left.

The Pennheim royal family, after rewarding the survivors generously, would not want to increase the number of nobles any further.

She was probably talking about a count’s title.

A store clerk becoming a count? There was no way except through unique magic.

She must know her demand was as childish as a tantrum. I craved a strong cigarette to clear my head.

“If you’ve said your piece, go back to the dorm. I need to go somewhere for a few days.”

“Somewhere?”

“Yes. I won’t be here for a while.”

The night air was chilly. As I turned to leave, Adela grabbed me again.

“Teacher.”

“Now what?”

“Let’s go somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here, anywhere.”

That too was an impossible wish.

My heart felt heavy, like a safe sunk in the ocean.

“I can’t leave this place.”

“Why?”

“You don’t need to know the reason.”

“Do you hate me, Teacher?”

Adela’s voice wavered, almost in tears.

What was driving her to such desperation? I couldn’t understand.

“Is it because I’m stupid? Or because I cause trouble? I work hard now, and I speak properly… hic! I do everything right, and yet…”

Before I could respond, a carriage approached from afar.

A red banner with a black iron cross—the emblem of the Ruhillen family.

“Adela, we’ll talk when I get back. I have to go now.”

“No, stay with me.”

“……”

“When I think of you, it hurts here. Since the first time we kissed. It feels like I can’t breathe, my mind goes blank, and I can’t think of anything else.”

“That’s an arrhythmia. I’ll bring you some medicine.”

“No! It’s not that, it’s…!!”

Just then, I noticed the invitation poking out of her skirt pocket, the one William had given her earlier.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The scales in my mind, which had been teetering back and forth, finally tipped to one side.

“Adela.”

Northern Flower.

“I’ll be back before the weekend is over, so take care of the store.”

She’s not someone I can hold with my bloodstained hands.

“If you steal bread while I’m gone, you’ll pay for it later.”

So I left without hearing her answer, leaving her with the same words I always did and climbed into the carriage.

***

“Hic, hic…”

As the carriage carrying Louis disappeared through the academy gates, Adela finally broke down in tears.

She knew. Louis earning a title was an unrealistic dream, and he wasn’t interested in such things anyway.

But she had hoped he would notice her, even if it was a lie, and ask her to run away with him.

“Teacher, Teacher… Hic…”

He knew nothing about Rochear, or about her.

She had tried to change, but she couldn’t hold onto him.

It wasn’t that she hated stupid children; it was just that she felt inadequate. Adela quietly crumbled under the weight of her feelings.

She pulled out the letter from her pocket, an invitation from a count whose name she couldn’t even remember.

If… if this is the only way to stay by Teacher’s side…

Marrying a count was the only escape from Rochear.

At least until graduation, she could stay at the academy, pretending to smile and laugh beside Louis as she always had.

— Tomorrow evening, at the Dehathan Salon on South Street, there will be a ball. — Would you be my dance partner?

Her heart ached terribly. Could someone else fill this aching heart?

Still, even if it was painful—

Adela staggered to her feet, looking north where Louis had disappeared.

The competition had ended nearly a month ago. Time was running out, and she had to choose between two options.

The cold wind whistling through the branches chilled her to the bone.