It was early morning, and outside, the world was still shrouded in darkness, rain pounding endlessly against the windows. The downpour had lasted five days now, with no sign of letting up anytime soon.
It had been a week since that day, and in all that time, I hadn’t eaten a single bite. Only water.
I, Cordelia Allston, had been drifting through my days in a haze of apathy.
Strangely, I didn’t even feel hungry. My body was heavy, sluggish, like it was made of lead. Every movement, every breath, felt like a burden. It wasn’t just that I didn’t want to eat. I couldn’t. The mere sight of food turned my stomach.
My dorm room was barren and cold, with only a stack of spellbooks and a rack of training gear to keep me company.
Curled up in bed, I buried my face in the pillow.
We’ve finally been reunited, and this is what it came to.
It wasn’t like it was wrong for Ryuto to be the master of some sex slave. He was sixteen now. Of course, he might’ve done things with someone else, with other girls. It wasn’t strange. And I had no right to chain him down.
I understood. I really did.
Ryuto and I were just childhood friends, nothing more. We weren’t engaged, weren’t lovers, hadn’t even made any childish promises about our future. There was no tie between us, no thread of fate that bound our paths together. So this ache twisting inside me was nothing but selfish resentment. I knew that. I had no right to wallow, no excuse to complain.
And yet, I couldn’t stop the sigh that slipped from my lips.
Why does it hurt so much? Just thinking about him made my chest tighten, like someone was gently but relentlessly pressing down on my heart. A dull, curling ache that wouldn’t leave me alone.
“Haaah…” I sighed again.
How many times had it been today?
Lilith’s profile flashed in my mind uninvited. That sharp, beautiful face that was always composed, always calm. The image hovered like a ghost, clouding my heart with every reappearance.
“It’s not like he’s taken or anything,” I mumbled, barely convincing even myself. “Nothing’s been decided…”
Nobles having concubines was hardly unusual. Everyone knew the distinction between a wife and a mistress. And whatever kind of relationship Ryuto had with that girl wasn’t romantic. It couldn’t be. A master and his sex slave… Surely that wasn’t the same as being lovers.
But the way they talked. The comfortable and familiar way they moved around each other. Maybe it was possible to be both: a master and a lover.
“Ouch.”
The thought stabbed through me like a knife, sharper than I expected. I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to will the ache away. That was when sunlight finally slipped through the curtains, washing the dull room in pale morning gold.
I stepped in front of the mirror, looked at my own tired face, and slapped both cheeks with open palms.
Get a grip, Cordelia.
“I am Cordelia Allston. A Hero. One that doesn’t get to mope around looking pathetic.”
Today was the entrance ceremony. As the top new student, I was expected to deliver the formal address. Nobles, scholars, and dignitaries from all over the world would be in attendance.
I couldn’t afford to let them see weakness.
No, what the world needed was a symbol of strength. A beacon to rally behind. I had to become that. I had to wear the mask, speak the words, and stand tall as the one destined to face the coming catastrophe head-on.
The auditorium was draped in a deep red carpet, its surface plush and luxurious beneath every footstep. This year, the Altena Magical Academy had accepted five hundred new students. Of those, only fifty had been granted scholarship status.
And yet, the hall couldn’t even hold three hundred people.
Roughly a hundred seats were already reserved for distinguished guests and faculty, leaving space for only two hundred students. Which meant attendance at the entrance ceremony was limited strictly to the elite: scholarship recipients and nobles. Everyone else was relegated to their dorm rooms for “self-study.”
It was just another reminder of how deeply entrenched the class system was in this world. Still, barring students from attending their own entrance ceremony? That felt especially cold.
What truly surprised me, though, was that Ryuto hadn’t been allowed in either.
He’d been accepted into the academy, sure, but his status as a mere Villager had marked him from the start. No matter how capable he was, he’d been shoved into the general admissions category, and that meant exclusion from today’s ceremony.
“That concludes the new student representative’s address.”
Thunderous applause erupted across the hall as I stepped down from the stage. I bowed once, then made my way back to my seat, my expression composed, my steps precise.
The headmaster spoke next, followed by a solemn chorus of the school anthem. And with that, the ceremony came to an end.
Rain still fell in a quiet drizzle outside as Moses and I made our way down the covered walkway connecting the school buildings to the dorms. The afternoon was ours—no classes, no obligations.
I planned to return straight to my room, dive back into my usual training: strength conditioning, combat runes, anything to keep my body sharp and my mind distracted.
“You’ve looked pale lately. Are you feeling alright, Miss Cordelia?” Moses asked, glancing sideways at me with quiet concern.
“You noticed, huh?”
“Well, I do see you every day,” he replied gently. “You’ve got dark circles under your eyes.”
No surprise there. I hadn’t eaten properly in over a week. It was a miracle I could even stand.
“By the way, things have been hectic with the ceremony and everything, but today is April first, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?”
“Don’t you think it feels kind of lonely?”
“Lonely? Why would it?”
“Because today’s the Spring Flower Festival.”
“Hm?”
“You know, back in our village. We always celebrated the arrival of spring by giving flowers to our families, to the people we cared about. The whole square would be covered in blossoms,” I said, my voice softening with the memory. “It was always so colorful, so alive.”
Moses frowned, his brow creasing slightly. “Ah, yes. That quaint little country tradition.”
“‘Country tradition,’ huh?” I gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah, I guess it was. But I liked it. I really did.”
“Liked what?” he asked, puzzled.
“The flowers. I always loved them. And decorating the square with everyone on April first… It made the whole village feel warm.”
He responded with a faint, nasal chuckle, his lips curling into a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re walking the path of a Hero now, Miss Cordelia. Glory, honor, wealth—whatever you want, you’ll have it.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That kind of nostalgia? It fades fast.”
We reached the junction where the covered walkway split: one path leading to the boys’ dorm, the other to the girls’.
“Well, I’ll see you around.”
“Mm. Until tomorrow.”
With that, I walked on alone. The corridor was quiet, the rain pattering gently against the roof overhead. Then, just ahead, a familiar figure caught my eye.
Soaked to the bone, Ryuto sat hunched on one of the benches along the walkway.
“Ryuto?”
He looked up, offered a calm, casual smile, and raised one hand in greeting.
“Yo.”
“Do you need something?”
“What’s going on with you lately? You’ve been acting cold. Like… totally shutting me out.”
Of course, I had. I’d been deliberately keeping my distance, trying to freeze him out with clipped words and cold stares. Pretending not to care was the only thing keeping me together.
Ryuto said nothing for a moment. Then he reached into his coat, pulled something out, and held it toward me.
A bouquet.
Drenched from the rain, the flowers sagged slightly, petals clinging to each other in wilted folds.
But even so, they were beautiful.