"It was the benevolence of my wife, I tell you. She followed a philosophy in life. She believed that every child, no matter what their circumstances were, should have the right to education--the right to know. It should be one of the basic rights of a person, effective immediately during birth, and should last for a lifetime. You see, for her, a fulfilling life is a life that helps other people live better. And she sees knowledge as a tool to help her achieve that life because knowing can help even the poorest people survive and live a better life. Hence, she would never forgive me if I were to ignore someone who had a talent for magic yet was neglected so much that she was only Starter rank despite being an adult."
Solomon held a faint smile as he gazed at Inna but when he saw Inna's touched expression, he coughed awkwardly.
"A-anyway, the conclusion of that fight was to establish the three different stages of classes that were depending on their power level and ability. Seeing that I was hellbent on not changing my mind, she decided to lay down rules to give people the motivation and chance to be able to strengthen themselves. Hence, the class change and duel concept along with the rest of the rules in the academy was made. The establishment however of the Rose class was also another secret I kept from her. I wanted it to be a class meant for her enjoyment of teaching, hence it was named after the rose."
Inna looked at the slowly blooming rosebuds in curiosity.
"Why use the rose? Because the students get filled with knowledge from her and soon blooms but are like, poisonous if approached wrongly?"
Solomon looked at Inna in surprise before laughing softly.
"Uh, I never thought of it that way but that can be so. Still, the name was more for my wife than the students. You see, in whatever aspect you can find in a rose, you will find it in my wife. In appearance, she was beautiful as a rose but held poisonous thorns once you've crossed her. In magical talent, her body is like a rose as well since she had a special constitution that made her body behave like one. And in lineage, well… let's just say it's connected to a rose filled with multiple poisonous thorns. Because of that, my wife both loved and hated them, you see."
Solomon smiled fondly at the filed of rosebuds trying their hardest to fill themselves despite being slowly and continuously drained.
"So, I guess looking back now, it was a pretty dumb thing for me to do yet I couldn't help it since I was far too excited for the success of our academy. And so, it didn't surprise me as much when she glared at me after revealing it to her. But truthfully, I had her best interests in mind. I just wanted a class filled with students that deserved to be taught by her. Hence, I added students who I deemed geniuses along with the students she handpicked. But…"
Solomon involuntarily shivered as he suddenly recalled the cold hard floor that he slept on for weeks back then.
"She didn't want such a class. But it was too late for me to abolish it since it was already fully prepared. Hence, I figured to be the one teaching them momentarily until a new and capable teacher was hired. And well, my wife stopped talking to me for about a month because of that and she refused to go back to our manor. Though, I didn't worry because I knew she'd never leave no matter how angry she was."
Solomon smiled fondly as memories of her glares filled his mind.
"But little did I know, she also secretly made her own class. She had the students she personally picked to be reassigned to her class and she used the dorms as the classroom as well. It was like she was back in the days where she taught orphans like they were her own children. And I guess you can figure out the name of that class?"
Solomon looked at Inna with a fond smile. She returned his smile with a look filled with wonder, as though it suddenly made sense in her mind.
"The Lily class?!"
Solomon nodded in satisfaction.
"That was how the lily class was founded. Once I found out what she was busying herself with, I asked her why she preferred this lily class before my rose class. And well, she… she made me fall deeper in love with her."
Solomon's expression couldn't be completely expressed into words but Inna knew that it was a deep and profound love that was causing such expression to show. Feeling the sweet affection nearly dripping from his words, Inna couldn't help but look at him with envy. She longed to experience such a fulfilling love, a love so endless that no matter how long and no matter how much apart they were, it would always be there and would always be growing more and more.
But she knew that such an idea would be just an unattainable dream for her.
Because no matter how much she lived her life in this world, it would never change the fact that she never belonged.
She's dead.
And the dead should stay dead.
Yet for some miraculous reason, she still lived.
And thus, her life right now should be the greatest miracle and the greatest luxury she could ever and only dream. And wishing for love like theirs would probably be too much of a thing for her to ask.
So, she just looked at Solomon with a faint smile as she tried to reign in her envy.
Solomon didn't seem to notice Inna's conflicted gaze as he continued on.
"Lilies are actually always wilted and so they usually cannot be distinguished well from other normally wilted plants by the naked eye. That's because they release mana in order to nurture other plants. And to make them bloom, special care is needed or else they would wilt and become useless. Hence, they were used in funerals and the like because aside from its appropriate color and meaning, the loved ones of the deceased would have to take care of growing the lilies beforehand as though they were taking care of the loved one they lost."