SPO 42

He briskly dusted the black ash still clinging to his palm onto the floor without a hint of hesitation.

“I was trying to dry it off, and it just….”

“A m-m-m-mistake?”

Startled by his shameless behavior, I pointed at him with a trembling hand. Izael put on a stunned expression like a stage actor.

He blinked his damp eyelashes and slightly furrowed his brows as if in pain—so artificial it left me speechless.

“Archel, there’s no need to return anything to a hypocrite like him. To think you went through such pointless trouble for his sake.”

“…….”

Izael placed a hand over his chest and sighed.

But instead of being moved, I let out a scoff at the sight of that face draped in false sorrow.

Whether Johan’s a hypocrite or not, you just dropped straight into the negatives on my favorability scale, you bastard.

The week of the Talent Classroom flew by in a blur.

Since it was held three days a week without fail, both the children and the student volunteers adapted quickly—but that also meant there was plenty to prepare.

Of course, the students didn’t have to attend every day.

There were so many applicants that even attending once a week per person was more than enough.

Most of them had joined out of simple curiosity, yet surprisingly, the response wasn’t bad.

“Good morning, Student Council President!”

And so I found myself receiving overly energetic and slightly burdensome greetings like this.

I waved back at Maryrosa, the head of the disciplinary committee, who was shouting from in front of the building. I did not, for the sake of preserving the dignity of the student council president, hide my face behind the bag I was carrying.

“I’m attending the Talent Classroom today. Are you going too, President?”

With hawk-like eyes, Maryrosa quickly scanned me to check for any dress code violations, then stood beside me and struck up conversation.

“I attend three times a week.”

Isn’t it only right that a manager works harder than everyone else?

…It’s really annoying.

“I thought you would. President, did you know? I’ve already found a child I want to sponsor.”

Maryrosa glanced around before raising her hand to her mouth and whispering.

Although the charity event’s official results would be announced in a month, the timing of sponsorship decisions was entirely up to the sponsor.

After the sponsorship application day in a few days, pledged donations could begin at any time.

To minimize the number of children getting hurt in the process, all sponsorships were carried out under the name of the Judea Student Council.

In other words, they were anonymous.

So even if a child had no individual sponsor, they could still receive support through the funds gathered under the Talent Classroom designation in the student council’s name.

It was an effort to reduce the subtle tension and sense of deprivation among the children.

‘Though once the Talent Classroom ends, all sponsors will be revealed.’

I believed the true value lay in helping the children broaden their horizons through education rather than sponsorship alone—but the material aspect couldn’t be ignored either.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—the students were increasingly willing to open their wallets for the children they had grown fond of.

Among them, Aven was especially excessive.

“Archel, look at this. I’m going to buy this, and this, and this too. What do you think?”

Aven rested his face on my desk and pointed one by one at the items in a luxury catalog.

A gold-plated pencil sharpener with jewels embedded in the handle, an oak umbrella stand, the top-tier stationery world’s Erase eraser set famous for leaving no eraser crumbs, a posture-correcting cushion designed to maintain proper sitting posture…

There was no end to it.

I placed a hand on Aven’s shoulder and looked down at him seriously.

“Alright. Let’s go through these one by one.”

I pointed at the items again in turn.

“Each classroom already has two sturdy iron pencil sharpeners. They’re so durable they could probably sharpen pencils 365 days a year.”

“There were things like that?”

“You bought them….”

Next.

“An umbrella stand made of wood is heavy and hard to move. Since it’s used by many people, a larger size is better—wouldn’t a lightweight plastic one be more practical?”

“But look. It says the phytoncide scent removes the damp smell in the classroom.”

“Aven, look at the size of that umbrella stand. At least twenty students come to one class. If you cram umbrellas into holes that tiny, the umbrellas will suffer.”

“Archel, that’s strange. Umbrellas don’t feel suffering.”

“Have you never heard of personification? I’d appreciate it if you understood the point I’m trying to make, even if I have to turn umbrellas into people.”

“Hm.”

Pouting, Aven moved his right hand and pointed to the eraser.

“Then what about this?”

The Erase eraser set, famous for producing no eraser crumbs.

Even I had to admit it was revolutionary.

‘It shattered the fixed idea that an eraser’s effectiveness is proportional to the amount of crumbs it produces.’

A miraculous eraser—you wouldn’t need to throw a party with overflowing debris or exercise your arm unnecessarily while erasing.

But what left my mouth was a troubled sigh.

“Maryrosa already donated fifty boxes of erasers.”

Each box contained ten erasers….

Unfortunately, we had more than enough erasers.

No matter how good the Erase brand was, letting brand-new erasers go to waste wasn’t ideal.

And the ones Maryrosa donated weren’t bad either.

At that, Aven’s eyebrows drooped instantly and he made a pitiful face.

“Then what about this?”

The last item he pointed at was a posture-correcting cushion for students who had to sit for long periods.

Designed to maintain proper posture and ensure healthy spines and backs, it boasted a hefty price tag.

‘This one’s tempting.’

Having lived more than half my life as a chair fairy, I knew painfully well how important back health was.

The more your posture twisted, the harder it would be to concentrate on studying.

It didn’t overlap with any existing items, and considering long-term health, the price was reasonable.

And besides, Aven was rich.

As I hesitated, unable to answer immediately, I suddenly felt something soft and fluffy brush against the back of the hand resting on his shoulder.

The sensation was so smooth it sent chills down my spine.

‘What?’

Lowering my gaze in confusion, I quickly covered my nose with my other hand.

“Trust my eye for these things, Archel. You really won’t regret this. It’s not a waste.”

Huh?

Aven had tilted his head and was rubbing his cheek against the back of my hand, smiling gently with curved eyes.

Having fallen to his beauty trap, I could only nod blankly in surrender.

In truth, even without Aven, there were more than enough people donating to the Talent Classroom.

‘Especially the former Marchioness of Zenda.’

As soon as the details of the charity event were officially announced, Cassel’s mother—the former marchioness—contacted me to ask what supplies were needed.

Thanks to her, even before we opened the classroom, square boxes were piled like mountains in front of the building.

And that wasn’t the end.

Supplies from various noble families kept pouring in, to the point where we were no longer just adequately stocked—we were overflowing.

It was time to start being selective.

“What are you doing here?”

“Rihart.”

Rihart appeared holding a book in one hand and suddenly perched beside Aven and me.

Judging by his damp hair, he must have washed up not long ago.

Wait. I had class with him two hours ago?

Perhaps he read the question in my eyes, because Rihart shrugged lightly.

“I went to train.”

“Suddenly?”

“It’s about time we settled things between us again. I need to prepare in my spare time.”

As always, his firm declaration made my shoulders stiffen. Settle things between us?

Frowning, I leaned back to put distance between us.

After all, Rihart had a habit of declaring the most trivial matters as duels.

How trivial?

Even while walking down the hallway side by side, he would suddenly say, “It’s a duel,” and start speed-walking as if it were a competition.

If I didn’t take it seriously and ignored him, he would smirk silently and look down at me like I was the loser.

‘Now that I think about it, I’m getting annoyed.’

That idiotic yet sly smile on his handsome face was infuriating.

I’d wanted to drag him somewhere no one could see and punch him once—but I couldn’t possibly lay a hand first on His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, who must preserve his royal body.

‘He’s probably just waiting for me to hit him first.’

As I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, Rihart smiled arrogantly.

“Have you forgotten? The physical fitness test is coming up soon.”

“Ah.”

A light exclamation slipped from my lips.

Of course. The fitness test was organized by the medical staff and professors. The student council had nothing to do with it—making it a blissful event for me.

Not having to plan or even know the details of the event was truly touching.

But wait.

“You’re a man, and I’m a woman.”

“That’s right.”

“Then how are we supposed to compete?”

Had Rihart become so blinded by competition that he’d stooped to something underhanded again?