After Lina left the hospital room, silence settled in—soft, fragile, but not uncomfortable.
It was just Elena and now.
For the first ti in a while, we finally had the chance to talk properly. About everything we hadn’t been able to say before.
"So... you were in the slums all this ti?"
Elena’s eyes widened as she listened to my story, genuine shock written all over her face.
"Yeah," I replied with a small shrug. "You could say I was practically holess. Sleeping wherever I could, moving from place to place."
As soon as I said it out loud, mories surged back uninvited.
The stench of rotting garbage clinging to the air.
The narrow alleys where sunlight barely reached the ground.
Cockroaches scattering at every step. Rats bold enough to stare back at you, unafraid.
People who would smile at you one mont and stab you the next if they thought you were weak.
I grimaced slightly.
...I never want to go back there.
Elena’s expression softened. She clasped her hands together on her lap, her gaze dropping for a mont before lifting to et mine again.
"I’m just glad you’re okay," she said quietly. "I really thought sothing terrible had happened to you, Louis."
Her voice trembled just a little.
That made my chest tighten.
"There was a warrant out for your arrest," she continued. "People were saying all kinds of things. So thought you’d betrayed the academy. Others thought you’d been killed."
I let out a dry laugh. "Sounds about right."
Apparently, everyone who knew had been thrown into confusion. Professors. Students. Even a few nobles who barely rembered my na.
If I’d been caught back then...
Yeah. It wouldn’t have ended with a simple explanation.
Interrogation at best. Execution at worst.
"They were worried," Elena said softly. "Everyone was."
I looked away, staring at the white hospital wall.
While they were worrying, I’d been busy carving out territory in the back alleys, dealing with criminals, fighting for survival, barely thinking about anything beyond the next day.
"I didn’t even realize," I admitted. "I was too busy just... living."
Elena shook her head gently, as if scolding without words.
"You always disappear without telling anyone," she said. "And then you co back acting like nothing happened."
"...Sorry."
She sighed, then smiled faintly. "Just don’t do it again."
I turned back to her, eting her eyes.
"I’ll try," I said honestly.
For a mont, neither of us spoke.
After a few monts of silence, Elena spoke again.
Her voice was calm, but there was a weight behind it—like she’d already turned the situation over in her head countless tis.
According to her, the Academy had already reached a conclusion regarding the incident.
The regular Academy students who had acted as the main instigators were, on the surface, given relatively light punishnts: suspension.
From Anna’s standpoint, it would have been difficult to co down on them too harshly. Politically and socially, reckless punishnt would only invite backlash. And from the Academy’s perspective, there was little reason to stir up embers that had already cooled. Letting the issue quietly fade was the safest option.
So, officially, that was that.
But reality, of course, wasn’t so kind.
There were consequences.
Every student who had participated in the protest—whether they led it or simply followed along—was required to sign a pledge.
Two years of mandatory military service upon graduation.
In other words, a contract that was a slave agreent in everything but na.
My lips tightened slightly as I listened.
They had no real choice.
Refuse, and face expulsion—losing their status, their future, and any chance of climbing the social ladder.
Accept, and at least keep the possibility of advancent alive, even if it ca at a steep cost.
Reluctantly, they must have signed.
After all, they had committed cris. Intentional or not, manipulated or not, the law didn’t care about excuses.
Under normal circumstances, most of those students would have gone on to join a magic tower or be inducted into an order of knights after graduation. Safe, prestigious paths. Ones that promised comfort and honor.
Now, instead, they were bound to the battlefield.
A quiet punishnt. Efficient. Ruthless.
No public outrage. No martyrs.
Just consequences.
I exhaled slowly.
"This is why," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else, "you always verify the facts before acting."
Elena glanced at , listening.
"First, confirm the truth," I continued. "Only then do you move. That’s the most basic rule when you start sothing that actually matters."
Charge ahead fueled by anger, rumors, or half-truths—and this is what happens.
You think you’re fighting injustice, and before you realize it, you’ve signed away years of your life.
After that, Elena told about the current atmosphere at the Academy—how classes were being conducted, how the students were acting, and all sorts of little things I hadn’t known while I was laid up here.
None of the topics were particularly exciting.
But listening to Elena talk—her calm, gentle voice filling the quiet room—I felt an unexpected sense of peace settle over .
It was the kind of peace that made dangerous thoughts surface.
I wish ti could just flow like this forever.
No plots. No incidents. No unnecessary suffering.
Just quiet days like this.
"...Would you like to peel so fruit for you?"
I realized I’d been nodding along absentmindedly, and Elena must have mistaken it for hunger. She gestured toward the basket beside her.
The fruit basket Viola had brought yesterday.
She’d wished a speedy recovery and left it behind, saying sothing about the fruits being rare and difficult to obtain. I’d heard it in passing, but I hadn’t paid much attention at the ti.
With my hands still stiff and weak, peeling fruit on my own hadn’t even crossed my mind.
Even though healing magic had repaired my bones, it couldn’t instantly restore damaged muscles and strained tissues. My body still felt heavy—uncooperative.
That was why I was still stuck in bed.
"...Could you peel just one for ?" I said quietly. "My hands don’t move very well yet."
"Of course!" Elena replied at once, smiling brightly. "Just wait a mont, okay?"
Truthfully, I had started to feel hungry.
A little before Elena arrived, I’d watched Lumine eating with such enthusiasm that my appetite had stirred on its own.
Sweet fruit after so long...
Just imagining it made my mouth water. I turned my gaze toward the basket, anticipation building.
And then—
"Huh?"
Elena froze.
"There’s... nothing here."
"...What?"
For a mont, I wondered if I’d misheard her.
"That can’t be right. Maybe they’re hidden underneath?"
"No, really," Elena said, lifting the basket and tilting it toward . "There’s nothing at all. It’s completely empty."
She turned it upside down just to be sure.
Nothing fell out.
The inside was spotless—too spotless.
"...What?"
My brows knit together as I stared at the empty basket. That made no sense. I was sure it had been full earlier. I could still vividly rember the pile of fruit stacked inside it.
Then—
A thought struck .
Earlier... Lumine had been here. Casually reaching into the basket. Eating. One fruit after another, as if she were sampling snacks at a market stall.
Don’t tell —
"...She didn’t," I muttered under my breath.
Lumine had definitely been grabbing fruit earlier.
And she hadn’t stopped.
Slowly, the horrifying truth settled in.
Did she really eat everything?
In that short amount of ti?
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
This woman—no, this dragon—was unbelievable.
As a dragon, she could probably obtain rare fruits and delicacies with a snap of her fingers. Legendary fruits, even. And yet she had shalessly eaten all the fruit ant for a patient.
Every last piece.
A deep, deflating sigh escaped .
Just a mont ago, I’d felt a bit grateful toward Lumine. She had co all the way here to warn about the danger approaching, after all. I’d even thought—briefly—that maybe she wasn’t so bad.
That goodwill evaporated instantly.
Reduced to dust.
"...I see," I said weakly.
With nothing else to do, I reached for the cup Elena had brought and took a slow sip of water, moistening my dry throat. It didn’t quite fill the emptiness left by the missing fruit—both literally and emotionally.
Elena watched carefully, her expression tinged with concern. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," I replied after a pause. "Just... processing sothing."
She didn’t press further, thankfully.
After a mont of silence, I glanced toward the window. The light outside had shifted slightly—it had been longer than I’d realized.
"Shouldn’t you be heading back soon?" I asked gently.
Elena blinked, then looked around as if only now noticing the passage of ti. "Ah—right. I stayed longer than I ant to."
She stood up quickly, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt. "I just wanted to check on you properly."
"I appreciate it," I said honestly.
It’s seems soon I will be alone.
----
Author Note:
Thanks for reading
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