Ruite stole glances at Chester’s back as he walked ahead.
Leaving the noisy Great Hall and moving toward the rear of the building, Ruite felt a slight tremor of nervousness.
“What is it you wanted to say?”
Only after they reached a deserted area did Ruite speak first.
Of course, he felt like he already knew exactly what was coming.
Ruite looked around the back of the Great Hall.
Come to think of it, this was where the seasonal event had occurred—where Rhea had confessed to Chester.
Back then, graduation had felt like a distant, vague concept, but now that moment was right under his nose.
“You’re going to take the Mana User Exam, right?”
“Yeah, for now, that’s the plan.”
Since he had made it into the Magic Department and endured those grueling four years, it felt like it would be a waste not to at least get his certification.
“And after that?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m still thinking about it.”
“I’m going to take the exam too. Once I pass and become an official Mana User, I’m going to take the entrance exam for the Knights.”
‘Wait, what?’
The direction of the conversation was different from what Ruite had expected.
‘Oh, is it that?’
Maybe he was going to say that once he joined the Knights, he’d be too busy for marriage, so he’d ask to break the engagement?
Ruite nodded to himself.
That would make sense.
Yes, that serious tone and his uncharacteristically softened attitude fit perfectly with what he had imagined—and with the flow of the original story.
“Once I join, I’ll be busy adjusting, and since I want to see results quickly, I think I’ll have to focus entirely on work for the time being.”
“Right, if that’s how it is, then I guess it can’t be helped…”
‘I’ll break off the engagement for you!’
“So… just wait for me a little longer.”
“…Huh?”
Ruite replied blankly.
Chester, who had just uttered words that made absolutely no sense to Ruite, remained perfectly composed.
When the word “annulment” failed to even make a cameo appearance, Ruite’s mind began to fill with chaos.
Just then, the entrance to the Great Hall became noisy again.
It seemed the graduation events were fully concluded.
“Let’s go.”
“W-wait, hold on a second.”
Ruite reflexively grabbed Chester’s hand.
Chester looked down at the pale hand gripping him, his earlobes turning a sudden shade of red.
“Is that all you had to say? Nothing… else left?”
“Yeah. Why? Did you have something to say to me too?”
Ruite shook his head.
Chester let out a small chuckle and turned back around.
The graduation ceremony was officially over.
And the event Ruite had been waiting for so desperately… never happened.
“Young Master, please have some snacks!”
“Kio, have you counted how many days in a row we’ve been eating those?”
“I believe… it’s been about a month.”
Kio smiled and placed a tray of cookies on the table.
They were handmade by Ruite’s mother, Reina Everhart.
He didn’t know just how many she had baked, but the pile didn’t seem to shrink despite him eating them for a month straight.
“But Lady Reina is still so happy that you passed the Mana User Exam.”
Ruite quietly got out of bed and sat at the table.
Perhaps because they were baked with such sincerity, the cookies actually tasted good. Kio left the room again, saying he’d bring some tea to go with them.
Six months had passed since graduation.
In that time, ridiculously enough, nothing had happened.
If he had to name one thing, it was that he had passed the exam and been granted official Mana User status.
In the Tehira Empire, the Mana User Exam was overseen by a specific department in the Imperial Palace that managed ranks.
There were six ranks in total, with lower numbers indicating higher skill.
Rank 6 was usually called an “Apprentice,” and since it was given to those whose qualifications were a bit ambiguous, many argued that Rank 5 was where true Mana Users actually began.
If a Rank 6 user didn’t pass the exam to move up to Rank 5 within a set timeframe, their qualification could even be revoked.
“Please have these with the tea, Young Master.”
“Thanks. But why did you bring more cookies?”
“Haha, Lady Reina told me to feed you plenty… she seems to be in a very good mood. Well, naturally! You received Rank 4 on your very first try!”
“Actually, Kio, most Whitmore graduates start at that rank.”
Ruite had been assigned Rank 4.
Usually, those taking the exam for the first time started at Rank 5, but because he was from Whitmore’s Magic Department, his scores were high and his potential was recognized.
Generally, if someone passed their first exam and received Rank 4, people immediately assumed, “Ah, that guy must be a Whitmore grad.”
Of course, it was possible to rank up.
If one met certain criteria set by the governing department and passed a promotion exam, they could become a higher-rank Mana User.
However, it was easier said than done.
Up to Rank 3 was considered a general level that could be reached through hard work, but Ranks 1 and 2 were widely known as territories reachable only by those who combined talent with effort.
Naturally, these numbers were also for convenience.
Even within the same rank, skill levels varied.
There was always a gap even between two Rank 1 users.
“But are you not happy, Young Master? You’ve seemed so listless lately.”
“Me? Have I…?”
“Ah! Is it perhaps because you haven’t seen Master Chester in a long time…?”
“…”
At Kio’s shy suggestion, Ruite took an intentionally large bite of his cookie.
A loud crunch echoed through the room as Ruite stood up abruptly.
“I’m going out to the plaza for a bit.”
“Eh? Then I shall accompany you.”
“No, it’s fine. I just want some fresh air. I’ll be back soon.”
Ruite left the Count’s estate and headed to the plaza.
As expected of the capital’s largest square, it was crowded.
Ruite wandered aimlessly with no particular destination.
Eventually, lured by the smell of bread, he bought a handful of snacks and settled on a bench.
Even though he had just eaten a fair amount of cookies, the bread went down easily.
“Hey, did you hear? About the second son of the Callaway Duke.”
Ruite swallowed his bread hard.
It got stuck in his throat, and he had to thump his chest as he turned his head.
Two middle-aged men nearby were deep in conversation.
“The second son who joined the Tehira Magic Knights Headquarters?”
“Yeah. Well, I heard that second son became a Rank 2 Mana User this time!”
“Hasn’t it only been about six months since he joined? Man, that Duke’s family… the older brother is exceptional, and now the younger one is amazing too. The Young Duke also became Rank 2 just months after joining, and reached Rank 1 and became Vice Commander within six months.”
Ruite wondered how these men knew so much.
Then again, it wasn’t that strange.
Interest in Mana Users was immense, and the envy toward those who handled special powers was always high.
Public interest in the Empire’s pride, the Tehira Knights, was beyond description.
“…”
Ruite stuffed the rest of the bread into his mouth.
He noticed a newspaper dropped on the ground and picked it up.
One side was filled with praise for the Tehira Knights’ achievements.
“Six months,” Ruite muttered quietly.
It had been six months since he last saw Chester’s face.
His plan to be neatly dumped on graduation day had gone completely and unexpectedly awry.
Ruite had spent several days after that in a daze.
The psychological shock was significant because something he was certain would happen simply didn’t.
Since then, he had been thinking seriously.
Why had the original flow changed?
Why wasn’t it developing according to the book?
But thinking didn’t bring any clear answers.
So, he had moved to assess the situation himself.
First, he probed his parents for information about Chester.
Fortunately, a few months after graduation, he heard news.
Just as the men had said, as soon as Chester passed the Mana User Exam, he joined the highly competitive Knight Headquarters.
Just as Ruite was thinking Chester had successfully defied his father, the Count added:
“It seems Chester joining the Knights… was a bit different from Duke Callaway’s wishes. It looks like it might be difficult to hold a wedding immediately.”
Regardless, Chester had left only questions—why he hadn’t brought up the annulment, and what he meant by “wait for me.”
He had been completely silent for six months.
Since then, nothing special had happened.
But he hadn’t just let time slip by.
Since the graduation annulment was off the table for now, he needed a new plan.
Leaving the possibility of a “villain’s death” intact was far too uncomfortable.
Who knew?
If he ended up marrying Chester, all the tragic events from the original story might follow.
Just thinking of that possibility gave him a headache.
‘Should I just openly rebel and say I don’t want to marry?’
He had briefly considered that after realizing the graduation plan failed, but he quickly shook his head.
The Everhart family was less powerful than the Ducal house.
That was why they wanted this marriage so badly.
Furthermore, no matter how kind his parents were, they were still nobles.
They were in a position where they couldn’t just break an engagement—one they believed was the only way to save the family—based on a “change of heart.”
‘If that’s the case, if I save the family and restore its power and status, wouldn’t it be fine not to cling to this marriage?’
That was partly why he had taken the Mana User Exam as scheduled.
Having a Mana User in the family would raise its status at least a little.
But the success rate of that plan was uncertain, and it could take too long.
Becoming a figure powerful enough to elevate a family’s status wasn’t something that happened in a few years.
‘Maybe I should ask Chester to rebel with me… but if that were going to work, it would have been cancelled long ago.’
His thoughts kept going in circles.
He was considering various other plans while getting fresh air in the plaza like this.
But despite racking his brain for months, no clear path had revealed itself.
Mostly because he didn’t know what Chester was thinking.
Even if he wanted to meet him, seeing the face of someone who had joined the Knight Headquarters was surprisingly difficult.
“Ah, why is there so much to worry about?” Ruite grumbled.
