Clang, clang.

“Alright, today’s lesson ends here.”

Roneh’s tireless sword stopped in an instant.

Amidst the students catching their breath and wiping their sweat, Nigel Ars counted to ten.

‘…8, 9, 10.’

“Senior Noah!”

As expected, Amber, wearing a green tie, appeared at the training ground today without being late.

It was because she had a common first-year class in the annex near the training ground.

Treating Nigel Ars like an invisible person and approaching Noah briskly, Amber’s behavior was the same as last week.

“Ah, hello to Noah’s friend, the senior whose name I don’t know.”

Perhaps intending to keep Nigel Ars in check, Amber moved closer to Noah and smiled brightly.

“…Hello.”

And the shallow trick, clearly visible to the eye, dealt a fatal blow to Nigel Ars, even more than Amber had expected.

Nigel Ars pretended to be nonchalant and turned around, but the touching arms of Amber and Noah vividly bothered her.

The name of this emotion was clear, even though she tried to excuse herself that she missed the chance to release magic to Noah because of Amber.

Jealousy.

Nigel Ars felt jealous of Amber Sinclair.

Knowing that Noah liked her, feeling jealous because a mere junior approached Noah…

A wave of wretchedness swept over Nigel Ars. And her unsettled heart urged her feet.

As Nigel Ars was about to leave the training ground.

“Senior, wait a moment!”

Amber’s voice caught Nigel Ars’s footsteps.

Normally, she would have ignored it and gone her way, but perhaps Allen’s senior nagging had rubbed off on her, she couldn’t ignore the voice of a junior not yet hardened by the academy.

Nigel Ars turned around, pretending to be unbothered.

“Um, I have something to ask you, senior.”

The questioner was Amber, but Noah beside her seemed even more restless.

Somehow, Noah’s appearance of being desperate for Amber was unpleasant. Nigel Ars nodded, with a ‘whatever happens, happens’ attitude.

“Senior, you’re in the magic department, so why are you taking this difficult class? Could it be… you’re also after Noah?”

As expected of the top student in her year and Ashton’s sister, Amber’s question was sharp.

“Let’s just say… it’s something like that.”

“Don’t answer vaguely, please clearly state your position, senior.”

“Is my answer that important?”

“Of course!”

“Why?”

Amber, who had always been confident and relaxed, suddenly hesitated to answer.

“Because… I need to know clearly if you’re my love rival or not. Of, of course, even if you are a rival, I’ll still show respect as a junior!”

Her face was pink as she mumbled, avoiding Nigel Ars’s gaze.

As if she had been scolded severely by Ashton at the eve festival, Amber always mentioned manners at the end of her sentences like this.

‘…Cute.’

It was an inappropriate sentiment for the situation.

But Nigel Ars’s barren environment, devoid of any excitement in daily life and full of assignments and pop quizzes, led to this feeling of cuteness.

Compared to her peers whose only interest was the lunch menu, Amber’s unrefined reaction was as fresh and tangy as newly harvested strawberries.

Although Noah was the subject of Amber’s reaction, facing Amber’s innocent face, the sentiment of cuteness preceded jealousy.

‘I think I understand a bit why senior Oliver and Allen are so attached to juniors…’

“Wh, why are you suddenly doing this, senior!”

When she came to her senses, Nigel Ars’s hand was touching Amber’s ashen hair.

“…Ah.”

Nigel Ars slowly blinked and quickly removed her hand.

Seeing Amber’s even more flushed face, Nigel Ars couldn’t help but smile.

“Why are you smirking like that. Are you boasting to me about how pretty your face is right now?”

“No?”

Nigel Ars’s head tilted slightly to the right.

“Then…”

“Because you’re cute.”

Nigel Ars honestly revealed her feelings to the innocent junior.

Amber kept her head down for a while with her mouth shut, then looked up.

That face was so red it looked like it might burst if touched.

“…I won’t fall for your beauty tactics! You mean I’m easy without even needing to answer, right? Just wait and see who will be by Noah’s side at the Flores ball!”

After blurting out these words, Amber turned around abruptly and walked away gracefully yet quickly.

“…Is that so?”

Nigel Ars shrugged and looked up at Noah.

Noah’s face was somehow stiff, and dissatisfaction was visible in his blue eyes.

“You must be happy being so popular, senior Noah. So who are you going to the ball with?”

“…You’re being mischievous, Nigel Ars.”

Noah let out a deep sigh.

“When you know everything.”

“Know what?”

Nigel Ars smiled brightly, pretending not to know.

“Well, I only want one person, you see.”

Those eyes staring straight at Nigel Ars formed curves.

“That’s too bad then.”

“Yes, moreover, I don’t even know if that person will attend the ball or not. They’re such a busy person.”

One step.

“They’re so devoted to their studies that everyone is looking for them, so I’m only allowed a few minutes a day to talk with them. Of course, I like that diligent aspect, but…”

One step.

“I always feel regretful. They probably don’t know, but the only time I can talk comfortably with them is during our overlapping class times.”

One step, Noah came closer.

“…”

As Noah’s faint breath was unfamiliarly audible, Nigel Ars’s body froze.

“So, will you ask them on my behalf if they’re attending the Flores ball?”

A pleasant baritone voice, as if mixed with a spoonful of cool breeze, brushed Nigel Ars’s ear.

Thump, thump.

The sound of her heart beating violently was so loud that she thought Noah might hear it.

She didn’t know that her words, meant to tease him a little, would turn into such a big deal.

‘Dangerous…’

A red alert sounded in Nigel Ars’s heart. An alert not to get any closer to Noah, not to delay the answer to his confession.

Several weeks had already passed since the start of the second year’s first semester. But Nigel Ars became so busy that she couldn’t give Noah any answer.

In her first year, she didn’t know why the presence of second-year seniors was so weak, but now she understood.

They were so busy adapting to the wave of incoming assignments that they didn’t even have the luxury to show their presence to juniors.

Today, rarely, the grace of Goddess Kirelia descended upon the second-year students of Sienia. The literature professor for the second-year common class had an urgent matter, so the class was cancelled and free time was given.

Students cheered and collapsed one after another in the second-year lounge.

“…At this point, it feels like we’re going to receive assignments rather than attend classes.”

At Allen’s low murmur, everyone in the second-year lounge silently agreed.

“But… why did the princess come as an exchange student at such a time?”

Yenika’s nickname became ‘princess’ because it felt awkward to casually call her by name considering she was the crown prince’s fiancée, but using honorifics felt distant.

“I didn’t know, you see. I begged to come to Sienia despite Kal trying to dissuade me several times, because I heard I could see Nigel Ars’s face every day and that second-years go on a week-long trip…”

The faded latter part of Yenika’s words, who had fully assimilated into Sienia, implied many meanings.

“Don’t we have assignments all week even during the trip?”

“…If we go to historical sites, we have to submit an essay after a debate with Professor Cledian, and if we find magical beasts or plants, we have to submit observation reports to Professor Nubilus?”

“Hey, if you submit reports, you have to do assignments for Professor Roneh and Professor Heres. We have to practice swordsmanship and magic against magical beasts, right?”

“And get points deducted if sword movements are sloppy or magic control is poor?”

“Meanwhile, the professor will probably be checking for incorrectly used conjunctions all day.”

“Still, thanks to Professor Cledian, Professor Roneh will be more lenient. That guy doesn’t even sweat a drop in front of Professor Cledian, trying to look good.”

“What? Don’t bully our Jongil~ Our professor might be strict, but he hasn’t committed enough sins to marry Professor Roneh.”

“No… Submitting a 10-page handwritten essay excluding cover and table of contents within ten days crossed the line, didn’t it?”

“…Well, I guess so?”

Students giggled here and there at the silly jokes.

“You know what’s funny? This could actually happen…”

And then, at one student’s words, the atmosphere that had been heated up for a while solemnly subsided.

“Nigel Ars would probably be the first to submit assignments without a word, even while frowning there.”

Everyone nodded at the student’s following words.

“Seniors say that while there are many assignments, the difficulty isn’t this severe. The reason why professors are excitedly bombarding us with assignments, it’s all because Nigel Ars completes them perfectly, right?”

Haah, heavy air accumulated simultaneously.

“Come to think of it, Nigel Ars isn’t here. Allen, where’s your best friend?”

“Nigel Ars went to the library. She said she was going to borrow books for the literature assignment.”

Yenika answered soullessly instead of the dazed Allen. Yenika wanted to follow Nigel Ars, but her body wouldn’t follow her heart.

“Ah, I need to borrow books too.”

“If you give Nigel Ars the chocolate muffins that come out tomorrow evening, she’ll share the list.”

Someone’s serious voice was heard, as if exchanging top-secret information.

“Then what about Lord Beselion?”

“Followed Nigel Ars.”

A male student lying down using a dagger handle as a pillow said nonchalantly.

“I see.”

“By the way… Is there anyone among the second years who doesn’t know that Noah likes Nigel Ars?”

This was how it started.

“Everyone in the academy probably knows except the headmaster.”

“When I saw them during Imperial Swordsmanship, it seemed like Nigel Ars liked him too? Well, not as much as Noah, I guess.”

“Then, at this festival, someone should properly set up Nigel Ars and Noah.”

“Why? To watch them date? Well, their faces are handsome.”

“No? If Nigel Ars dates, she won’t study in her spare time but will date instead. If Nigel Ars gets distracted, the quality of assignments will drop, and naturally, the professors will lower the difficulty of assignments.”

Clang!

Along with the sound of a wooden chair falling backwards, exclamation marks appeared on all the second years’ faces.

The grand operation for the romance of two people, unknown only to those involved, was about to begin.