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Chapter 1
Saint John’s College
As one of the most prestigious academies on the continent, the library of Saint John’s College contained everything from rare ancient books to first editions of famous novels.
Books that students frequently borrowed were placed in Section A, where they were easy to access, while unpopular books were stored in Section E. As a result, Section E was filled with books that looked practically untouched.
A male student with shaggy light-brown hair and thick glasses wandered through the empty Section E. After carefully searching the tightly packed bookshelves and still failing to find what he wanted, he stared at an empty space on the shelf and let out a deep sigh.
It’s gone again.
Today as well, The Responsibility of a Ruler, which should have been between On Military Strategy and The Prince, was nowhere to be found. He needed that book to finish his Governance Studies assignment, but it had been checked out for over a week.
Unlike Section A, which kept four or five copies of the same book, Section E only had one copy of each book.
His assignment was due in just two days.
At this rate, he would have to submit a blank paper.
“The scholarship students have never had a problem like this before… I don’t understand why you’re struggling, Edward…”
Professor Odaine’s disappointed voice echoed in his ears.
In the end, Edward had no choice but to do what he had been putting off for the past week.
“Haah…”
Taking a deep breath, he stiffly walked over to the librarian.
“Um…”
The librarian was busy reviewing documents. She seemed completely unaware of his presence and continued working without even glancing at him.
Edward quickly lost his confidence.
He stood there awkwardly, hoping she would notice him. The only sound filling the silence was the rustling of paper.
“Ednerd, are you trying to flirt with the librarian right now?”
The silence was broken by Charles, who happened to be passing by.
As if that had been a signal, the boys following Charles whistled and added obvious teasing remarks. Charles Collins’s group laughed mockingly at Edward as though they found the childish behavior amusing.
As his name suggested, Charles Collins was the second son of a count’s family in the Avonria Empire. Just like his massive build, the Collins family’s influence within the empire was impossible to ignore.
For a moment, Edward wondered if he should explain that his name was Edward, not Ednerd, and that Mr. Francis—the husband of Mrs. Francis the librarian—was very much alive.
But Charles would only make more fun of him.
After reaching that conclusion, Edward tightly shut his mouth.
“Oh, Charles. You should ask the lady herself. Mrs. Francis was clearly trying her best to ignore him because she didn’t want to talk to a commoner. Now we’ve ruined that for her.”
Christopher’s mocking voice followed.
Edward had been hearing similar insults for years. By now, he felt nothing.
“Mrs. Francis, we’re sorry. We accidentally created a situation where you had to talk to that gu—”
“Be quiet in the library. I’m sorry, student. What can I do for you?”
After finally understanding the situation, Mrs. Francis shot a fierce glare at Charles’s group before speaking kindly to Edward.
Finding her sudden change in attitude somewhat surprising, Edward finally spoke.
“…Could you tell me who borrowed The Responsibility of a Ruler by Eichler? It’s a book from Section E.”
Thankfully, the sentence he had rehearsed countless times over the last few days came out smoothly.
“Hmm… It says here that a third-year student, Genevieve Darling, borrowed it three weeks ago.”
After checking through her records, Mrs. Francis gave him the answer he wanted.
“Thank you.”
Third-year student.
Genevieve Darling.
Edward repeated the name several times in his mind.
Afterward, Edward headed straight for a classroom.
He remembered that third-year students had Literature class there at this time.
However, after arriving confidently, he realized something important.
Knowing only the name “Genevieve Darling” wasn’t enough to find her.
He had no idea what she looked like.
As Edward was wondering what to do, the classroom door opened and third-year students began pouring out. A few glanced curiously at the unfamiliar second-year student.
Receiving those mildly interested looks, Edward instinctively shrank into himself.
He considered stopping each female student one by one and asking:
“Are you Genevieve?”
At that moment, his greatest wish in life was for Genevieve to miraculously walk up to him and hand him the book.
“Why are you here?”
Had God answered his desperate prayer?
A third-year student approached him first.
Normally, Edward would have felt grateful.
But right now, his assignment was more important than anything else.
“Do you know where Senior Genevieve is?”
“Genevieve? Genevieve Darling? She doesn’t take Literature. She’s probably in the student lounge.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Edward quickly thanked the student and left.
* * *
The first-floor lounge was moderately crowded with students.
To avoid the embarrassment of approaching the wrong person, Edward carefully observed each table.
The student lounge matched the academy’s outrageous tuition fees, which were equivalent to the price of a luxurious country estate every year.
At first glance, it looked less like a school lounge and more like a room inside the Imperial Palace.
Edward slowly walked around, carefully examining the tables that were occupied.
Only when he reached the fifth table did he finally spot the book he had desperately been searching for all week.
The Responsibility of a Ruler.
Someone who was presumably Genevieve Darling had her face buried in a book.
Her loosely tied hair looked ready to fall apart at any moment, and the fountain pen in her right hand moved rapidly across a sheet of paper.
“…Senior Darling.”
Even though he had only spoken two words, his throat felt itchy.
His whole body seemed to be warning him that he was doing something wrong.
Edward always felt this way whenever he tried to talk to people.
But this time felt different somehow.
To make matters worse, she didn’t react at all.
His ears grew hot.
“…”
It was a situation very similar to what had happened in the library.
She was so focused on her assignment that she seemed completely unaware someone was standing in front of her.
Since Edward had never experienced something like this before, he had no idea how to get her attention.
Even though Charles and his group were nowhere nearby, a strange sense of anxiety rushed through him.
It felt as if someone might suddenly appear and shout,
“Ednerd!”
just to mock him.
“…Ahem, Senior Genevieve.”
After opening and closing his mouth several times, Edward finally cleared his throat.
He had intended to use her surname.
Instead, her first name had accidentally slipped out.
Edward desperately hoped she hadn’t heard it.
Unfortunately, his wish was not granted.
The Genevieve who looked as if she might disappear into her book suddenly raised her head and looked at him.
Light green eyes stared directly at him.
“You’re Senior Genevieve Darling, right?”
Trying to recover, Edward hurriedly emphasized her full name, hoping to show that he hadn’t intended to address her by her first name.
“…”
There was no way she hadn’t heard him from this distance.
Yet she only stared at him.
No answer.
No reaction.
Had he done something wrong?
Edward replayed his words in his head.
Nothing sounded rude or strange.
Yet those green eyes continued observing him.
“I’m Genevieve. What is it?”
A bright voice finally asked.
“I need The Responsibility of a Ruler that you borrowed. My assignment is due this Wednesday.”
“Ah… really? But what should I do? I borrowed the book, but I’m not the only one using it…”
Edward blinked in confusion.
What did that mean?
“It was actually a book my friend wanted to borrow. She had already reached her borrowing limit, so I checked it out for her. I’ve been reading it too while I have it. Does that explain it?”
Genevieve spoke apologetically.
Proxy borrowing wasn’t against the school rules.
Saint John’s College was just as famous for its brutal workload as it was for its reputation.
Because of that, students often couldn’t borrow all the books they needed within the library’s limits.
Edward had never done it himself—because he had no friends—but he had often seen such arrangements from afar.
“I understand.”
Edward answered calmly.
In that case, he would have to rebuild his assignment from scratch.
It was disappointing.
The moment he had heard the assignment topic, Eichler’s The Responsibility of a Ruler had immediately come to mind.
Still, Edward wasn’t shameless enough to take away a book someone else was using.
I’ll have to find another book written by Eichler.
He could survive on two days without sleep.
“Wait a moment.”
Genevieve stopped him as he turned away.
“Is this for Professor Odaine’s Governance Studies class?”
“Ah… yes.”
Edward answered, surprised that she had guessed correctly.
“Professor Odaine likes Eichler, so it’s a good choice. If the deadline is Wednesday, then you don’t have much time left, right? We can read it together.”
At that moment, Genevieve looked like a saint from the Grand Temple in Edward’s eyes.
Naturally, the assignment he had spent a week planning would be far better than something he rushed together in two days.
“Ah, of course, only if you’re okay with it! You can refuse if it makes you uncomfortable. Your name is…”
“…Edward.”
“Edward, then. So, what do you think?”
“I would be very grateful.”
“It’s nothing special. I’m working on a different assignment right now, so I don’t need the book immediately. Have a seat.”
As she spoke, she cleared away the many things scattered across her table.
“You can use my ink if you need it. And if you need paper, just ask.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Time was too precious for him to waste it by saying things like:
“I’d rather not sit together. Just give it to me when you’re done.”
The scratching sound of pens filled the space between them.
Unlike Edward, who steadily worked through his assignment, Genevieve attacked hers almost like she was fighting a battle.
Surprisingly, studying in a new place helped him focus much better than expected.
“Where’s your friend?”
After finishing roughly half of the main section of his paper, Edward finally asked.
“Friend…? Oh, you mean Owen. He’s fine.”
She ended her sentence with a casual laugh.
Compared to how frantic she had looked earlier, her expression was much softer now.
“Why—”
“Genevieve! Finished your assignment yet? Who’s the friend sitting in front of you?”
At that moment—
Before Edward could finish his question, a male student approached.
With a familiar gesture, he draped one arm around Genevieve’s shoulders.
His long black hair, reaching down to his shoulders, fell forward and partially covered her face.
“Genevieve! Finished your assignment yet? Who’s the friend sitting in front of you?”
