After all the afternoon classes ended, Vivian walked with steady steps toward the Student Council office located on the west side of the Academy Main Building, carrying several thick magic books and student council documents as she did every day.
The sunset's afterglow stretched her shadow long, casting a clear silhouette onto the polished stone path.
However, as the oak door carved with the Student Council emblem came into view, her pace unconsciously slowed, finally coming to a halt about three steps away from the door.
In her mind, she couldn't stop flashing back to the words she had accidentally overheard on the tree-lined path that morning, as well as that blond youth's affectionate yet lonely profile.
"If... he's inside right now... what... should I say to him?"
"Should I order him to watch his words and actions in the future and stop saying strange things in public? Or... just pretend I didn't hear anything and handle official business as usual?"
Several options flashed through her mind, but every single one seemed to be accompanied by an indescribable sense of awkwardness.
A rare trace of hesitation flickered in her ice-blue eyes. Usually decisive, she was now standing outside her own office, doing some brief mental preparation.
However, just as she took a deep breath and prepared to push open the door, determined to maintain a strictly professional demeanor regardless of the situation—
"President? What are you doing standing here? Aren't you going in?"
A familiar and somewhat timid voice suddenly sounded from very close behind her.
"!"
Vivian's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
Although the expression on her face returned to its usual cold indifference in an instant, as if covered by a layer of frost, there was no doubt that her focus on her thoughts had caused her to be startled by the sudden voice.
She slowly turned around and looked at the source of the sound.
Yelena was standing not far behind her, holding a large cardboard box full of documents with both hands, which almost blocked half of her small face.
She poked her head out from the edge of the box, her round face filled with confusion and concern.
"I was thinking about the academy's budget allocation for next month; some details need careful consideration,"
Vivian said without batting an eye, and then, as if to prove something, she pushed open the door to the Student Council office.
When she saw that no one was inside, the heart she had been holding in her throat finally settled back down.
"Oh, I see."
Yelena nodded and followed her into the relatively cool room while holding the box.
She placed the cardboard box on a low cabinet by the door. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned to Vivian, who was placing her books on the main desk.
"By the way, President, Greg asked me to pass on a message. He said... he needs to go to the Market District today to buy some essential alchemy materials and basic items for his studies, so... he probably won't be able to participate in the daily student council activities or disciplinary patrol today."
Yelena spoke somewhat cautiously. After all, Greg's leave-of-absence process was hardly standard.
She was a bit worried that the President would be displeased because of it.
Hearing this, Vivian's fingers paused for half a second while organizing the books before resuming her movements.
She put the last book in place, looked up at Yelena with her ice-blue eyes, and nodded with a flat tone.
"Is that so? I understand."
Her reaction was much calmer than Yelena had expected. She didn't ask for details or point out the procedural issues; she simply... accepted it.
Won't I see him today...?
The moment this realization surfaced, Vivian didn't even notice that the tension she had been holding in her neck and shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.
The tightness that had been vaguely occupying her heart since the morning seemed to dissipate quite a bit as well.
"That's for the best..."
She thought to herself.
At least today, she wouldn't have to face that guy, and she wouldn't have to deal with those distracting rumors and stares.
As for his improper leave-of-absence process... she would just make a note of it and bring it up later.
At this moment, she strangely didn't want to look into it too deeply.
Seeing that Vivian didn't say much and didn't seem angry, Yelena breathed a secret sigh of relief.
A smile of relief appeared on her face, and she turned to handle the box of documents she had brought in.
However, just as her hand was about to touch the edge of the box, she seemed to muster up a great deal of courage and suddenly turned back to Vivian.
"President! Um... I, personally, really support you and Greg!"
"Eh?"
Vivian's finger, which was flipping through a document, stopped as she looked up at Yelena in shock.
Yelena's cheeks were slightly flushed, but her eyes were exceptionally serious as she continued.
"Because, through these past few days of contact, I truly believe that Greg is an excellent, hardworking, and kind person! He's completely different from what everyone used to say! So... so I think the two of you would make a great match now!"
After saying this, Yelena seemed to have exhausted all her courage. Like a startled rabbit, she quickly picked up the large cardboard box and practically fled into the archive room at the side of the office.
In the large, empty Student Council office, Vivian was suddenly left alone.
She remained in her posture of looking up slightly, her ice-blue eyes staring at the closed door of the archive room, her expression a blank state of frozen shock.
"A great match...?"
She slowly lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on her hands folded on her lap.
In her mind, some long-buried images uncontrollably flashed by.
The blond boy in the garden during their childhood, cautiously handing her the most beautiful flower he had picked; the profile of the youth in the corner of the banquet hall, being scolded by his father for not being able to recite lengthy etiquette rules, yet still smiling at her...
Those images had long since faded, worn away by the countless disappointing, infuriating, and even disgusting realities that followed.
Being triggered unintentionally now only made her feel something akin to being frozen at the bottom of a lake...
Loneliness and alienation.
She gently closed her eyes, thoroughly suppressing that fleeting, fragile emotion.
When she opened them again, her eyes had returned to absolute clarity and calm, as if that moment of distraction had never occurred.
She no longer thought about Yelena's words, Greg's nonsense from the morning, or those blurry shadows of the past.
She simply picked up her pen again, opened the first document waiting to be reviewed, and devoted all her attention to the specific and complex academy affairs before her.
It was as if only by doing this could she calm the heart that occasionally rippled with an inexplicable stir, returning it to the cold, familiar surface of a still lake.
Rate on N.U.
