Neris shedding tears was as dangerous as broken glass yet held a shimmering beauty.
Her pleading lips were tightly sealed like flower buds, but the tears didn't stop. The tears, illuminated by the moonlight, sparkled like silver threads.
Hesitating, Cledwyn quietly called her.
"Neris."
If she was having a nightmare, he wanted to wake her up.
He wanted to make nightmares nonexistent for her.
However, Neris didn't respond to his soft call. Instead, she started to furrow her brow. It seemed like the nightmare was continuing.
Cledwyn's hand slowly moved towards her face.
In the dark carriage, the only light was the moonlight in the air. His thick right hand gradually revealed itself in the moonlight, finally gently touching the girl's cheek.
His body stiffened as if overturning cold water in midwinter. The warm sensation on his fingers shook his heart more intensely than any trial he had faced so far.
His strong thumb gently traced the tear streak, neither too forcefully nor too weak.
When the hand that was caressing her cheek lightly touched her slim jawline and then withdrew.
Neris's breath-like murmur lightly brushed his slightly reddened ear.
"You... were... going to leave."
"I haven't left yet."
Was this also sleep talking? Cledwyn couldn't tell. His ear reddened a bit more at her words.
The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"Yeah... that's right. I'm here."
It was certain. She was still sleep talking. Cledwyn chuckled softly and asked,
"Do you want me not to go?"
Who was the person who appeared in her nightmare?
Who made her cry and beg not to leave?
Neris didn't answer this question. Since she smiled, Cledwyn thought there was no need to wake her up.
He leaned against the carriage's backrest and whispered quietly,
"Whoever it is, they made a mistake. If it's a fool who leaves you behind, they should go back to the academy."
So, it would be good for them to learn the virtues of a knight again.
Cledwyn turned his gaze out the window and got lost in his thoughts. It felt like his chest was tightening.
Was there really a man who dared to leave her behind? Or was she just having an unreasonable dream?
The few spies Cledwyn left behind had never reported that Neris met a man. He didn't think she would have had a falling out with foolish boys of her age.
But even if it was just a character in her dream, it didn't matter. He would do whatever it takes.
"I'll carve them into pieces. Scatter them like seeds."
Right before his eyes, the aristocrat—Cledwyn, unaware of the fact—Neris breathed quietly, not knowing that the stage for a bizarre murder case was being set.
"You must be very tired."
He had seen her sleeping face before.
The girl who had fallen asleep deeply with a book spread on her lap while sitting on a library chair. Like the sound of waves, a girl with a heartbeat that enveloped his entire being.
Even as an adult, she still held many secrets, and even if she woke up, he wouldn't get any answers from her.
But so what?
Seeing her tears, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken, like a very young and inexperienced child.
In his imagination, the man who had behaved rudely towards her in Neris's dream was left in a sorry state.
Even though the man's face was roughly put together with random features, he strangely resembled Nellucian Elendria.
Cledwyn also knew that the damn bastard had sent jewels to Neris.
While he sent the great treasure that his sister had always wanted to his sister, he sent a suitable yawn to Neris.
The jewels Neris had today were top-notch items deliberately chosen by Cledwyn. There was a gem mine in Maindland, and the good items from the mine were always sent through the Penmwick, the capital, and the brightest and most special ones were owned by the Grand Duke.
Large, transparent, and color-matched gems, as big as Neris's eyes, were waiting in the Grand Duke's warehouse to be worn on her ears, hands, or neck.
Where could one find a fool looking for a "suitable yawn" as a gift for a woman?
That damn fool was unacceptable.
A smile crept onto Cledwyn's lips.
"Who said anyone in your league would fall for you?"
He could answer that. The question needed to be changed to "Who wouldn't fall for you?"
In front of her, who made even the most brilliant diamond look dull like a common stone.
"It hurts to see you in pain."
Yes, whether the protagonist of the nightmare was real or not didn't matter. If the person only existed in her dreams, making her extremely happy so she wouldn't have nightmares again was enough. And if there was a damn bastard who had left her behind, then getting rid of him was enough.
They hadn't met for a long time. While he was separated from her due to his duties as the Grand Duke, she might have turned her attention to someone out of boredom. His subordinates might have missed such a report.
So what?
In the end, there was only one person she would return to.
The carriage, now off the lakeside, continued to shorten the distance to Neris's dormitory through several shortcuts. And finally, it arrived at the old and worn-out building.
"Be careful."
Cledwyn lifted Neris onto his back as the carriage door opened. The coachman was shocked by the unexpected sight but, being well-trained, he didn't show any reaction and simply helped by saying 'be careful.'
As the two arrived at Neris's door, the coachman swiftly retrieved the key he had stolen from the steward's room and opened the door. Cledwyn gently laid Neris on her bed after ensuring the coachman returned the key.
Her trembling eyelids and the thin, lush golden hair cascading like a waterfall.
His chest, which had been tight since he heard her sleep talking earlier, now strangely swelled as he looked at Neris's sleeping face.
Her slender neck with faintly visible veins, straight and thin collarbones, and shoulders rising and falling with each breath looked delicate and graceful like magnolia petals.
The not-so-large single bed perfectly fit her petite frame. Cledwyn pulled the blanket to cover her so she wouldn't feel cold. When she unconsciously moved her arms out from under the blanket, he smiled unknowingly.
His stifled chest, feeling her unique scent that enveloped the entire room, relaxed warmly.
Cledwyn gently took the hand Neris had left out and pressed his lips to her slender fingertips.
"You can be angry at the one who leaves you."
Because the blind fool is undoubtedly wrong.
Instead, look at me.
I am all yours.
So, can I have just a little bit of this moment of yours?
Tell me the answer when you wake up.
If you don't want to give me any of your moments, and if you want them back, I'll do whatever it takes to give them back.
I can do anything to fulfill your wishes.
...But.
"I won't let you ask for them back."
Neris breathed quietly without a trace of expression, peacefully exhaling a dream-like sigh.
Leaving the girl's room, Cledwyn glanced back one last time. In fact, he would prefer to take her with him like this.
Just a moment, just a little longer, and it would be fine.
***
"Graduates, Augusta Restin."
The graduate, with an excited expression, walked up to the platform amidst applause. The solemn atmosphere of the graduation ceremony in this auditorium was for the teachers, as the students were excited for a new beginning.
Watching from the terrace on the second floor of the auditorium, Diane pursed her lips in boredom.
It was a midsummer weekend when students who were not yet graduates were busy with final exams.
Today, the graduates officially left the school to become part of the social circle.
"When will I graduate?"
Diane sighed. It felt like there were only a few years left, but why did it feel so distant?
In fact, she knew the reason very well. Now, she couldn't even attend classes in the same classroom as her friends, let alone eat together or smile at each other.
Today, Neris had officially graduated from the academy on paper.
The graduates, unknown to Diane, went up one by one to the platform to receive their diplomas and then lined up. Clad in black graduation gowns and black hats, they looked like small waves from above.
Graduates from various families, graduates from various families. The names called out in order finally called one person.
"Graduate, Neris Trude."
At the mention of the name of the student who had surprised the entire academy upon enrollment, the graduates looked around.
Many of the linguistics majors present had taken classes with Neris and knew her face. However, no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't see her confident and calm features.
Where is she? If she's a noticeable figure, she should be here, right?
To the bewildered graduates, Mrs. Hawke, on the platform, announced matter-of-factly,
"Miss Trude has left the graduation ceremony due to personal reasons and has already left the academy. The diploma will be delivered later."
Diane, who had come to collect that very diploma, looked out the high windows of the auditorium with pursed lips.
The sky was clear without a single cloud. The early summer was so beautiful that it made her chest feel tight.
Under that sky, Neris would be riding a carriage to become the governess of Mrs. Kellen's daughter.
"Let the graduation ceremony proceed."
Neris had left a few days ago. It seemed that she had to leave early due to Mrs. Kellen's family circumstances or something like that.
It was urgent. Diane was inwardly saddened by this.
She knew that Neris didn't particularly like the academy. But it was where she had spent her entire childhood. The graduation ceremony, a once-in-a-lifetime event, would have been a nice way to end it.
However, Neris didn't change her mind once she made a decision. Diane tried to persuade her friend several times, but eventually convinced herself, "It doesn't matter if we're not graduating together anyway."
Still, it was interesting to see Megara Lycandros's still healing face every day... It would probably be completely healed after the vacation, so she couldn't even enjoy those last few days.
Wasn't this kind of thinking too selfish?
It was sad to be in pain. It wasn't a joke. Diane knew this fact better than anyone.
But who was behind the kids who made fun of her legs,
So, maybe it's okay to be a bit mischievous, naughty, and conscienceless?
If she had confessed in the temple, she would have felt guilty, but Diane was serious. It wasn't something to openly make fun of, but she somewhat justified it.
'Liz.'
Thinking of a name she wouldn't be able to call for a while, Diane boredly watched the next part of the graduation ceremony.
'I want to have this conversation with you.'
She wouldn't be able to see her for a while.
"Next, we will have a speech from the representative of the graduates...."
The clouds carrying the dreams of the graduates cruelly drifted away from the blue sky.