Summer Vacation – 5

“Yaaaawn.”

I yawned so widely my mouth could tear.

“Mikhail, did you have trouble sleeping? You’ve been looking really tired these past few days…”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. A little. Had some bad dreams.”

Bad dreams, yeah right. I didn’t even have time to close my eyes after staying up all night, let alone dream. I yawned again, so widely my mouth might split.

“If you’re tired, why don’t you take a little nap? I’ll wake you up when it’s time to go to the auditorium.”

“It’s okay. It’s not that bad.”

I was almost tempted by Hestia’s sweet offer, but I refused because I felt like I wouldn’t be able to wake up again if I fell asleep now.

She spoke with a concerned voice.

“But they say they’ll let us go right after the closing ceremony. You can get some sleep in the carriage.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I can even hold out during the closing ceremony.”

I said while fingering the cause of my sleep deprivation in my pocket.

The reason I’d been staying up these past few nights was, of course, the letter for Hestia. In the end, I failed to complete it in one night, and it took three days to finish. Even dedicating all my free time during the day wasn’t enough, so I had to stay up at night as well.

Writing, erasing, writing, erasing. I really experienced the pain of creation. During these three days, I felt so sorry for Hestia. Even though she didn’t show it, she must have been waiting for my reply all day.

“Are you really okay? Your eyes are red, and you look gaunt…”

“I did stay up a few nights.”

At my words, Hestia’s eyes widened.

“Stay up? Staying up is really bad for your health. People need sufficient sleep to maintain their health.”

Hestia sounded like a sleep clinic counselor. Who doesn’t know that pulling all-nighters is bad for you?

“It’s not like I wanted to stay up.”

At my answer, she put a question mark above her head and then gave a mischievous smile.

“Mikhail, I didn’t see you that way. This is a bit unexpected.”

“Huh? What is?”

“Were you so excited about the closing ceremony that you stayed up all night?”

“What? Hahahahaha!”

I burst out laughing. She had an expression that showed she couldn’t understand why I was laughing.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“I didn’t stay up because I was excited about the closing ceremony.”

If asked whether I was looking forward to the closing ceremony as a uniform-wearing student, it would be a lie to say no, but it wasn’t enough to make me stay up all night. I’m not Cordelia. I wasn’t that innocent.

“Then what is it?”

“Here.”

I took the letter out of my pocket and placed it in her hand.

“Sorry. My reply is a bit late. After seeing the letter you gave me, I wanted to rewrite it.”

Hestia froze as if she hadn’t expected this at all.

“C-can I open it now?”

“I don’t mind, but the content is quite long. Do you have the confidence to stop reading and hold back?”

She silently shook her head and put the letter inside her bosom.

“Thank you. I’ll read it later when I’m alone.”

Her white face turned red. She couldn’t suppress the smile that was slowly leaking out.

“Wow, I feel so relieved now that I’ve given it to you. I was really stressed about it. So, can I take a little nap during the closing ceremony?”

Among tips for social life, there’s one that says to try to get approval when the other person is in a good mood. If Hestia is in a good mood now…

“No. This is the last event of the semester, so you should listen properly. Besides, Mikhail, you’re receiving a commendation for academic excellence.”

I had no chance. She maintained the stance that this is this, and that is that.

“There are at least 10 others receiving it besides me. And you’re not even getting one.”

“It can’t be helped. That’s how the scores turned out.”

The grades for Understanding Marriage were released yesterday. While I had a decent score, Hestia’s wasn’t so good. It significantly lowered her average, causing her to miss out on the academic excellence commendation.

However, she didn’t seem particularly bothered by that fact.

“What’s important isn’t the score, right? I’m quite satisfied with my achievements this semester.”

“Really?”

Just as I finished my answer, I heard the sound of someone running from the side.

“Right! What’s important isn’t the score!”

Cordelia shouted. She had been chatting with Seol-ah in the distance but had suddenly rushed over and yelled. She must have perked up her ears at our score discussion.

I retorted incredulously.

“Cordelia, you were overjoyed when you got good scores.”

I vividly remember her being ecstatic a few days ago about getting an A, so what’s this about? At my jab, Cordelia stammered.

“Well, that’s true, but… Among us, I have the lowest score!”

“Miss Cordelia. Such statements are cool only when said by someone who’s normally very smart.”

Seol-ah, who had followed her, grabbed the rampaging Cordelia by the nape of her neck. She delivered another blow to the dejected Cordelia.

“If you’re going to say such things, at least don’t fall asleep during the closing ceremony later.”

“Ugh. What? Are you all going to listen to that boring speech in full?”

Cordelia threw a pleading look, but no one picked it up.

“I can’t sleep even if I want to because of the award.”

“Of course, I won’t sleep. Rather, I’m planning to monitor whether Miss Cordelia sleeps or not.”

At our responses, Cordelia’s expression darkened. Meanwhile, Seol-ah had a smug look.

“It’s boring because you approach it with the preconception that it will be boring.”

Seol-ah spoke to Cordelia. It’s still surprising to me how sincerely she takes Academy life.

“Think about it in reverse. You’ve entered a novel you enjoyed reading. Wouldn’t you find it interesting, be curious, and feel motivated?”

That’s the answer I got when I asked her before.

As Seol-ah said, if I had fallen into a male-oriented fantasy novel I’d read, I might have been searching for some clue or opportunity.

Faced with the triple attack, Cordelia seemed to give up and surrendered.

“Alright, I won’t sleep! I said I won’t!”

“You can sleep all you want in the carriage later.”

“If I sleep in the carriage, I won’t be able to sleep at night. Plus, my butt will hurt.”

Cordelia grumbled.

“Or well, you can sleep when we get to your home.”

The first place we decided to stay was Cordelia’s home. It was both because she strongly wanted it and because it was the most logical choice considering the route.

Cordelia’s territory was only half a day’s carriage ride from the Academy. Of course, it would take much longer to reach the residence of Duke and Duchess Deneb due to the vast land, but anyway, among the three of us, her home was the closest. We decided to visit in order of proximity: Cordelia, Hestia, and then my territory.

“With so many things I want to show you at home, how could I sleep?”

Cordelia puffed out her chest and raised her nose.

“What exactly do you have?”

“Come and see for yourself!”

Cordelia gave an unhelpful answer to my question. I’m tempted to give her a forehead flick. What could she be so eager to show that she insisted so adamantly that her home had to be the first stop?

Hestia resolved my curiosity.

“It’s a festival. Every year around this time, after harvesting the barley and wheat planted last autumn, they hold a harvest festival. Haven’t you heard of it?”

“Hestia!”

Ignoring Cordelia’s shout, Hestia continued her explanation.

“The Deneb Duchy’s territory is the largest granary region in the Empire. The festival is huge. Tourists come from all over the Empire.”

“Hestia! I was going to surprise them, how could you tell them everything?!”

“They would have known anyway, so why hide it so tightly? Besides, I’ve attended every year. It’s not that surprising, you know?”

To be honest, I didn’t know. Glancing to the side, it seems Seol-ah didn’t know either. The original novel probably didn’t explain local festivals like this.

Cordelia continued to grumble at Hestia, but soon changed her attitude completely and smiled at Seol-ah and me.

“Anyway, you can look forward to it.”

Cordelia smiled confidently.

“With this, I conclude the closing ceremony.”

-Clap clap clap

As soon as the principal’s words ended, thunderous applause erupted. It wasn’t because the principal’s address was incredibly moving or impressive; half of the applause was because the long, boring, and even slow-paced speech had finally ended, and the other half was due to the liberating feeling that the vacation was truly beginning.

“Uuuuugh! Finally, it’s over!”

Cordelia stretched with an indecipherable, strange groan. Surprisingly, she really didn’t sleep at all. Even Seol-ah and Hestia, who had been nagging Cordelia before the ceremony began, looked a bit weary from the principal’s address, which was longer than usual.

“It was a bit long.”

“Y-yes, it was.”

Actually, I had the worst time. I don’t think I ever had to pinch my thigh to stay awake even during college entrance exam studies, but I never imagined I would have to do so during a closing ceremony speech. Naturally, I thought the ceremony would end smoothly after the awards were given, but the principal insisted on delivering a pointless oration for over 30 minutes.

“Mikhail, are you okay?”

“Huh? Oh. I’m fine, I’m fine. Now I can finally get some sleep.”

Though how much sleep can one get in a shaking carriage? Even when driving on a straight asphalt road in a car with suspension and cushions, there’s still some shaking, let alone riding a carriage on stone roads.

“Let’s go! The luggage should already be packed by now.”

Cordelia, humming a tune, dragged us to the main gate. A moment later, Hestia, who had arrived at the main gate, summarized the situation in one sentence.

“It’s chaotic.”

The Academy’s main gate was bustling with carriages sent from each student’s home and servants loading luggage from the dormitories onto the carriages, leaving no space to step. It seemed that the families who could afford to send carriages for their children were all somewhat influential, as every carriage was exceptionally flashy.

“Wow. How can a carriage be so big and splendid? It seems like something you’d be too self-conscious to ride in…”

What kind of carriage is that? At first, I thought some madman had brought a cabin. There were eight horses in front of the carriage. Good heavens, an eight-horse carriage! A large swan emblem was engraved on the body of the carriage.

Wait, a swan emblem? My thoughts were cut short by someone’s shout.

“Young lady! Over here!”

A man sitting on the coachman’s seat of the splendid eight-horse carriage saw us and waved his hand widely.

“Mikhail. What were you saying about being self-conscious?”

Cordelia looked at me with a smirk.

“Saying it seems impossible to ride is stupid. Wow, it must be really comfortable.”

Cordelia, you really are a daughter from an incredibly noble family.