IRBC 11

Chapter: 11

Because Misitine slowed his pace to match mine, I was able to reach the infirmary without much trouble despite being in pain.

“Hello, sir. My friend seems to have an upset stomach—could you take a look at her?”

Misitine calmly explained my symptoms to the infirmary doctor. The doctor pushed up his glasses and gestured for me to come closer.

“Student, write your name, grade, and class on that paper over there.”

“Yes.”

Misitine wrote down my personal information for me. I watched him neatly form each letter in his elegant handwriting before stepping closer to the doctor.

“Let’s see… Hmm. You’ve got a pretty bad case of indigestion. You also seem to have a slight fever. Digestive medicine alone won’t be enough.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll give you some medicine for now. It’d be best if you lie down for about an hour and we monitor your condition.”

“But I have my next class…”

“Skipping one class won’t kill you. And you’re a first-year, right?”

“Yes.”

The doctor continued talking as he prepared the medicine.

“This is the age when you skip class once in a while. When you get older, with exams and all that, it’ll be harder to miss classes.”

He shrugged as if it were nothing. It sounded like idle chatter, but from my perspective—having already experienced the academy before my regression—he was absolutely right.

“You’re right.”

“See? How about you, young man—will you stay here too?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

The doctor said we could each choose any of the beds in the back and lie down.

“Here. Take this medicine. I’m off to get a late lunch.”

With that, the doctor left the room. I swallowed the bitter medicine and lay down on the nearest bed.

Misitine covered me with a thick blanket. Kindness seemed second nature to him.

“Thanks, Tain.”

When I murmured while turning onto my side, he let out a small laugh. Then he lay down on the bed next to mine, facing me. Seeing him while lying down like this made me feel awkward.

‘I should’ve drawn the curtain.’

I groaned inwardly. His gaze felt uncomfortably intense on my face. But if I suddenly pulled the curtain now, it would only make things more awkward between us.

‘Just sleep.’

I closed my eyes and slowly steadied my breathing. In the quiet room, the sound of my own breath echoed faintly.

Sleep crept up on me. A cool breeze drifted in through the open window.

The chatter of students, the splash of water from the fountain, and the rustling of leaves in the wind blended together as they reached my ears.

Wrapped in that peaceful atmosphere, I slowly sank beneath the surface of sleep. Beyond my hazy consciousness, a familiar voice brushed past my ears.

“…You’re still not well. I thought something might change.”

Someone was murmuring.

The voice sounded lower than I remembered. Was it really Misitine?

I could have opened my eyes to check. I struggled against the heavy pull of sleep, trying to wake up. But then, someone gently brushed my hair back.

“This time, don’t get sick, Joy.”

And just like that, sleep overwhelmed me. I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the gentle touch or the voice meant solely for me.

In the end, without ever confirming who the voice belonged to, I slipped into my dreams.

“Did you sleep well?”

I opened my eyes a little over an hour later. Still groggy, I slowly pushed myself up. Misitine greeted me with a smile.

“Mmm…”

I nodded sluggishly and roughly combed my messy hair with my fingers as I forced my heavy body to move.

As I moved mechanically, a vague memory surfaced. I felt like I’d heard something strange while half-asleep.

‘Was it a dream?’

While I tilted my head in thought, the doctor approached and took my temperature.

“You still have a slight fever, so I’ll give you a fever reducer. Take it, and then you can head back.”

While the doctor prepared the medicine, I glanced at Misitine. Unlike me, whose hair was a mess from sleeping, he looked completely neat and unchanged.

“Didn’t you sleep? You look perfectly fine.”

“You have a bit of messy hair here.”

“Huh? Where? Here?”

“No, a little further back. If it’s okay, may I fix it for you?”

Misitine looked at me with gentle eyes. His face was so innocent that I found myself nodding without thinking.

“Sure. Please.”

I was the one receiving help, so why did Misitine look so pleased?

‘Is playing with hair really that fun?’

He carefully untangled my hair. His touch was so skilled that if he hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have even noticed he was holding my hair. It was that delicate and kind.

“All right. Enough playing around—take your medicine.”

The doctor chuckled as he handed me a yellowish potion. It smelled even worse than the digestive medicine from earlier.

“Ugh…”

Maybe my reluctance showed on my face, because the doctor rummaged through a drawer and held out a candy.

“I’ll give it to you after you finish your medicine. It’s a specialty from Charlotte’s shopping street—fruit jam candy.”

“The shopping street?”

“Yes. Ah, I suppose first-years wouldn’t know yet. There’s a shopping street inside Charlotte Academy. Just like the name suggests, there are all sorts of shops selling different things.”

I already knew that. More than the shopping street itself, though, my attention was on the fruit jam candy.

‘This disappeared when I was in my third year…

Well, it didn’t exactly disappear—the shop moved.

The fruit jam candies sold at Sweet Bonbon were very popular. On holidays, students would line up to buy them, and if you arrived late, they’d often be sold out.

Despite its popularity, Sweet Bonbon closed one day. The owner moved the shop to the imperial capital.

‘But I heard it eventually went out of business because so many dessert shops opened around the same time.’

Fruit jam candy was one of my favorite snacks. After the shop failed in the capital, I could never taste it again—and I’d been so disappointed.

“You students should visit on a holiday sometime. There’s plenty to see.”

At the doctor’s words, Misitine turned to me.

“Shall we go this weekend?”

It was, essentially, a date invitation.

A one-on-one date with Misitine? It would definitely be awkward. But rejecting him outright would make me feel bad.

Watching his reaction carefully, I replied in a roundabout way.

“Sure. Let’s go with everyone else.”

At the suggestion of going as a group, Misitine didn’t look particularly thrilled. He awkwardly rolled his eyes and smiled, though he still looked bright as ever.

“All right, sounds good.”

I let out a quiet sigh of relief at his answer.

I rolled the candy around in my mouth as Misitine and I walked down the hallway. Since it was break time, the corridor was noisy with gathered students.

At least we won’t have to worry about entering the classroom awkwardly.

“It’s good that it’s break time, right?”

“Yeah.”

I bit into the candy and tasted the strawberry jam inside.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah. You should try one too.”

The doctor had offered Misitine a candy as well, but he politely declined. He didn’t seem to like sweets very much.

“You like candy?”

He asked. I shook my head.

“No. I just like this fruit jam candy. I prefer chocolate over candy.”

“I see. I thought you liked candy all this time.”

“Huh?”

“No, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

Misitine smiled brightly and avoided my gaze. I tilted my head, pondering his words.

“Oh—Joy, your friends are over there.”

“Ah, you’re right.”

Misitine pointed toward the end of the hallway where the classroom doors were. Since it was break time, the door was wide open.

Through the open doorway, I saw familiar faces—David, Rosemary, and Koi.

As soon as I noticed them, they turned toward Misitine and me. When our eyes met, they called out my name.

“Joy!”

Rosemary ran toward me with a bright smile. Koi followed behind her, while David walked over slowly with his hands in his pockets.

“Are you okay now? We thought you were just taking medicine, but you didn’t come back, so we were worried!”

“I—I was w-worried too!”

“I’m fine. I took my medicine and slept for a bit. I feel better now. Thanks for worrying, everyone.”

At my words, Rosemary and Koi sighed in relief. David, however, didn’t look convinced. As if he were a doctor himself, he began grilling me with questions.

“Are you really okay? Why do you look so pale?”

“Oh, I still have a slight fever, but I took a fever reducer before coming back, so I’m fine.”

“You should go straight back and rest after classes today. Whenever you have a fever, it gets worse at night.”

At David’s words, Rosemary and Koi widened their eyes.

“Joy, we knew you were weak, but that bad? Are you really okay?”

“I—I’ll t-take care of you!”

“No, really, I’m fine. David’s just overreacting. How long ago are you talking about? I’m not that weak these days, you know?”

I shot David a glare. He smirked and teased me.

“Not weak, my foot. Even recently, you—”

As he pressed down on my head and continued teasing, his words were abruptly cut off.

“Joy Michaela!”

Someone called my name angrily.

“…?”

The sharp, childlike voice was thick with irritation. Who was calling me like that? I turned to find the owner of the voice.

And then I saw a girl striding straight toward me.

“What’s her problem now?”

David muttered under his breath. Ignoring him, the girl stopped right in front of me, her face twisted with anger.

“Hah! I thought you were some noble lady from a great house—but you’re just from the Michaela count’s family?”

“Hi, Lina Frederick. You already learned my name? Impressive.”

The girl glaring at me was Lina—the same Lina I’d had a minor argument with on the dormitory stairs last week.

She still seemed furious about it.

“You…!”

When I deliberately acted calm, Lina’s face flushed red.

Apparently seething with anger, she trembled as she pointed a finger at my face. She was close enough to reach out and grab me.

She’s not going to pull my hair, is she…?