* * *
It was the kind of letter you could identify at a single glance—the kind that likely held pages of long-winded emotions.
A common, everyday love letter.
“I wondered if I really had to go this far, but in the end, I couldn’t just let it be.”
“You have been acting strange lately.”
“Well, human emotions don’t exactly follow orders, do they?”
Ruite nodded, rubbing his chin seriously.
Chester scanned the letter with indifference.
‘So, he’s saying he spent all this time trying to suppress his feelings?’
Seeing him give in and hand this over so soon, Chester figured Ruite had simply reached his limit.
“And this was the best you could come up with?”
“When you’re desperate, you’re willing to do anything.”
‘Desperate enough for this?’
Chester slowly shook his head.
“I loathe this kind of thing. It’s pathetic.”
A silence swept through the area behind the main building.
Without even considering reading the contents, Chester thrust the letter back toward Ruite.
Ruite merely blinked his large eyes slowly at the envelope held out in front of him.
“Hey, don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”
“What is?”
“Calling someone’s feelings pathetic. What does that make Rhea, who just wanted to apologize to you?”
Chester, who had been about to retort, froze.
A third party’s name had suddenly been thrown into the mix.
Moreover… Rhea?
It was a name he had definitely heard recently.
“Rhea spent so much time debating whether or not to give you this. She wanted to apologize for making things awkward with that public confession. She said she didn’t want things to be uncomfortable between you two.”
Ruite recalled the suggestion he’d made to Rhea in the lounge a few days ago.
He had offered to deliver the letter for her if she was comfortable with it.
It would be hard for her to approach Chester without drawing a crowd, but as his seatmate, Ruite had plenty of opportunities.
To his surprise, Rhea had accepted gratefully, adding that she hoped it could be done as discreetly as possible.
That was why he had dragged Chester all the way behind the main building.
“Wait a minute.”
Chester pointed at the letter in Ruite’s hand, his face contorted.
“Who… wrote that?”
“Rhea Zerpin, the third-year from the Swordsmanship Department. You know, the girl who confessed to you publicly on the first day of the spring semester.”
“Then what are you?”
The finger Chester had been using to point at the letter naturally shifted to point at Ruite.
“Me?”
Ruite tilted his head, pointing to himself.
“I’m the delivery man.”
Chester said nothing.
Ruite didn’t know why he was dazing out like that, but he was determined to fulfill Rhea’s request.
To be honest, his initial motive had been the slim hope that Chester might end up with someone else, leading to a smooth breakup.
But now, he genuinely wanted to help Rhea.
The more he talked to her, the more he realized her feelings weren’t half-hearted.
“Anyway, the letter is yours.”
Ruite stepped forward and tucked the letter neatly into Chester’s jacket pocket.
“Whether you reply or not is up to you, but don’t just throw it away. Read it properly.”
Ruite leaned in slightly to make sure the letter was secure.
As his silver hair, shimmering in the sunlight, brushed against Chester’s shoulder, Chester flinched.
“……And?”
“Huh?”
Chester, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke in a low voice.
“Why are you delivering this to me? Do you actually want something to happen between me and her?”
“Well, it’s not that I’m wishing for something specific, but there’s no harm in passing it along.”
“……”
Just then, a loud bell echoed through the academy.
It was the signal that half of the lunch period had passed.
Hearing it, Ruite panicked, muttering, “Ah, my lunch!”
He patted Chester’s shoulder twice and bolted away.
He didn’t forget to shout one last reminder to read the letter.
Left alone, a breeze swept past Chester’s back.
His black hair fluttered as he pulled the letter from his pocket and opened it.
The neat handwriting introduced her as Rhea, and just as Ruite had said, the content was mostly an apology for the public confession.
It ended with a request to remain on good terms as friends.
After reading it, Chester silently folded the paper and put it back in the envelope.
“Sigh……”
Taking a deep breath, Chester covered his face with his hands.
Under the unusually intense sunlight, his earlobes were tinged red with embarrassment.
The day felt unusually refreshing.
After getting out of bed, Ruite hummed to himself while tidying his sheets.
He was harboring a secret hope—the one-in-a-million chance that things between Chester and Rhea had taken a positive turn.
If that happened, perhaps Chester would be the one to bring up the breakup before graduation.
If so, Ruite’s fate as a villain and his grizzly “bad ending” would vanish completely.
“What’s with that creepy grin so early in the morning?”
While he was eating in the cafeteria, Dylan appeared and sat across from him, as usual.
Without missing a beat, he reached for the juice on Ruite’s tray.
“Sure, go ahead and have it.”
Ruite, who usually would have swatted Dylan’s hand away, simply nodded with a gentle smile.
Dylan immediately dropped the juice box.
“Ruite, are you sick? They say people die when they change too suddenly……”
“I’m just in a good mood, stop overreacting.”
“Is that it? Oh, right. Rhea told me to thank you. For delivering the letter.”
Dylan downed the juice in one go.
“She said thanks to you, she was rejected perfectly and can now move on as a good classmate.”
“It was nothing… wait, what? What did you just say?”
Dylan tilted his head and repeated what he’d heard.
Apparently, after receiving the letter, Chester had sought Rhea out for a brief conversation.
He told her his feelings hadn’t changed, but that she didn’t need to feel sorry for the confession, and they ended things on good terms.
“I see.”
Ruite nodded half-heartedly.
He hadn’t entirely discounted this outcome, but he couldn’t help the pang of disappointment that his “plan” had failed.
Then again, Chester had likely resigned himself to the arranged marriage by now.
That was probably why he always used the “I already have a partner” excuse during every confession event.
It seemed he really would have to wait for the graduation ceremony as the original story intended.
Ruite gave Dylan a playful flick on the forehead for stealing his juice and headed up to class.
As he approached his seat, he saw Colin and Chester talking over their textbooks.
It was a beautiful sight—the top and second-ranked students of the Magic Department.
If Professor Harold saw this, he’d probably die of happiness.
“Good morning, Rui.”
“Morning, Colin.”
“You look a bit drained.”
“Dylan stole my juice.”
Colin burst into laughter, remarking that Dylan never gets tired of doing that.
As Ruite sat down, Chester didn’t offer a single glance or greeting.
Sensing the odd atmosphere, Colin turned his whole body around in his chair.
“Hey, I’ve been curious about something regarding you two.”
Ruite’s hands paused as he organized his books.
Not just curious about him, but “you 두” (the two of you).
“Are you two not very close?”
“Why the sudden question?”
“Just a feeling. But haven’t the Callaway and Everhart families been in contact for a long time?”
As Colin mentioned their families, Chester finally looked up.
Colin likely wasn’t asking about the arranged marriage; that wasn’t public knowledge yet.
He was probably just curious since the two families had collaborated on many business ventures in the past.
To Colin, it must have seemed strange that two heirs of the same age from connected families appeared to have no rapport.
Remembering the declaration he’d made to Chester on the first day, Ruite spoke up.
“We aren’t particularly close.”
As Ruite spoke calmly, Chester’s gaze shifted to him.
“Really?”
“Yeah. Like you said, the connection is between the adults in our families. There’s no particular reason for us to be close. Right, Chester?”
Ruite looked at Chester.
Their eyes met instantly, as if Chester had been watching him all along.
Ruite’s eyes signaled: ‘Hurry up and agree so we can end this conversation.’
But contrary to expectations, Chester remained silent.
Colin waited expectantly, but Chester simply stared at Ruite with a look of slight displeasure.
“That’s right.”
Just as the atmosphere was turning awkward, Chester finally spoke.
Ruite breathed a sigh of relief.
“I tend to form relationships with people who are on my level.”
Ruite’s eyes narrowed at the sharp addition.
Colin, seemingly taking it as a joke, laughed and didn’t push further.
“Did you really need to add that last part?”
The moment Colin turned back around, Ruite leaned toward Chester and whispered.
‘Not on his level?’
It was exactly the kind of arrogant thing a “perfect” person like Chester would say, but it was still unnecessary.
“……Don’t lean toward me.”
Ruite shook his head at the usual cold response.
‘He really does hate me.’
* * *
Ruite is sooo cute 🥰