The atmosphere in the academy cafeteria that afternoon felt more stuffy than usual.
The aroma of food mixed with the buzz of hundreds of students discussing preparations for the festival in town the next day.
At one corner of the long table, Lucien sat with a wary look, stabbing at the pieces of meat on his plate with his fork and eating hurriedly.
To his right, Reichardt was busy peeling fruit and placing it on Lucien’s plate with a look of concern that successfully made Lucien’s stomach churn.
Across from them, Rose sat quietly, watching her little brother’s every move with a gentle smile.
As per his daily routine, as soon as lunchtime was over, Lucien would immediately use the thousand steps technique to disappear into Aryosha’s room to lie down.
However, today the plan had to be postponed because he had worldly matters that he really wanted to finish as quickly as possible so that his life would be peaceful again.
As soon as he finished eating, Lucien stood up without further ado.
“I’ll go first,” he said curtly, ignoring Reichardt’s calls for him to escort him back to class.
Instead of turning towards the scholarship dormitory, Lucien’s feet stepped firmly towards the back area of the academy—towards a large greenhouse filled with ornamental plants and rare flowers.
Based on memories from the original plot of the Little Rose novel, Lucien knew exactly that in the busy days leading up to the town festival, this place was always empty of other students and was often used as a stopover by Rose to calm down or examine botanical plant samples.
Upon arrival, the large glass doors gently pushed open.
The scent of wet earth and fragrant flowers immediately greeted his senses.
The room seemed deserted.
Taking advantage of the silence, Lucien walked into a corner of the glass-fronted hallway, intending to calm down for a moment.
But just a few minutes after he arrived, the door creaked softly from the front door.
Light footsteps approached.
Lucien turned his head and saw the figure of a girl with soft hair walking into the greenhouse.
Rose, who had been intending to examine the ferns, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the back of a familiar white-haired young man standing among the rows of botanical shelves.
“Lucien?” Rose blinked in disbelief, then walked over.
“Don’t you always disappear after lunch?
Why are you here?” Lucien sighed lazily, walking over with slumped shoulders.
“My place is too noisy.
Besides, I don’t have any particular reason to be here.” Hearing that, a gleam of happiness immediately shone across Rose’s face.
She didn’t care what the reason was; the fact that Lucien had even agreed to meet her was an incredible blessing.
Without wasting too much time as he wanted to finish this troublesome task immediately, Lucien immediately opened the topic in a flat tone.
“By the way…
there’s a spring festival in town tomorrow.
Do you want to go?” Rose paused for a moment, then her smile widened.
“You…
are asking me?” she asked in disbelief, her cheeks slightly flushed.
For a girl who considered Lucien a little brother, receiving such a direct invitation from this cold young man was a miracle.
“Of course I want to!
When and where will we meet?” “Tomorrow afternoon in the town square,” Lucien replied quickly, adjusting his posture.
“Come there.
Then, I’ll be going.” Without waiting for a reply or seeing Rose’s touched expression any longer, Lucien turned and left the greenhouse.
The first mission was complete.
There was only one more step before he could completely let go of this cheesy romance drama.
As he walked down the corridor to his classroom, fate seemed to be playing tricks on Lucien.
Around a rather deserted corner, he ran into Rayland.
The black-haired man had apparently been pacing back and forth waiting for news, seemingly impatient to see if his plan was going smoothly.
As soon as Rayland saw Lucien, he immediately stepped closer.
“Hey, how’s it going?
Have you talked to—” “Enough,” Lucien cut in quickly in an emotionless tone, without even pausing for a second.
“Tomorrow afternoon in the town square.
Come as if it were a coincidence.
Don’t look for me again after this.” Rayland was stunned for a moment, then a wide grin spread across his face.
“Good job!
Good job, kid—” But Lucien had already turned away, leaving Rayland alone in the middle of the corridor, a delighted man.
Lucien snorted inwardly.
Having wasted his break time dealing with the drama between the two, he was forced to give up his dream of lying down this afternoon as the bell for class had already rung.
‘Damn it,’ Lucien thought irritably.
Time passed slowly and wearily until the long-awaited afternoon finally arrived.
As soon as the academy was out of session, Lucien dashed back to his room.
He didn’t waste time catching his breath.
Deftly, he grabbed the simple bag he had filled with enough clothes the night before.
On his study table, he took the time to write a short letter using a piece of paper, addressed specifically to his older brother who was always possessive.
Reichardt, I’m going into town to spend the weekend with my classmates.
Don’t look for me, don’t follow me, and enjoy your time at the academy.
Lucien… Satisfied with the letter that was guaranteed to trigger a great deal of panic, Lucien pinned it to the center of the table, then slung his bag over his shoulder and left the room without looking back.
He walked down the dormitory corridor with steps as light as the wind, heading straight for the scholarship wing of the dormitory.
Without knocking, as was his habit for the past few days—Lucien pushed open Aryosha’s door and just walked in.
Aryosha, who was getting ready to carry his bag, jumped in surprise to see Lucien standing in the doorway, complete with his belongings.
“Y-Young Master Lucien?
Are you…
really serious?!” Aryosha squeaked with wide eyes.
Lucien threw his bag to the floor, then plopped down on the wooden chair next to Aryosha’s desk with a long sigh of relief.
“I told you not to call me Young Master.
And yes, I’m very serious.
Let’s go now before my brother comes looking for me with his troops.” Aryosha stared at Lucien’s bag, then turned to the young nobleman’s impassive face.
He could only surrender, massaging his suddenly throbbing temples.
Today, his official escape to a simple noodle stall amidst the bustling festival officially began, far away from all the intrigue and crazy stares of the main cast at the academy.