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Chapter 79
“Could it really be that Sasha just posted a few photos yesterday and this happened?”
“Y-Yeah, maybe.”
Some of the people lined up in front of the greenhouse spotted Jaelin and Stephan and shouted.
“Hey! That person’s in the Astronomy Club! When can we go in?”
“Open the booth already! We’ve been waiting since an hour ago!”
“You all are so impatient. Fine, fine. We’re opening it now!”
Amid the students’ clamoring, Jaelin and Stephan hurriedly opened the booth.
They unlocked the greenhouse door and posted a paper showing the entrance fee by the entrance, but they couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
Jaelin and Stephan exchanged glances secretly.
‘What is going on?’
‘I-I don’t know. There are just too many people.’
The morning passed in a blur. Even Adrian, who had joined late thinking no one would come, had to move busily without a moment to catch their breath.
It wasn’t until lunch, when the crowd had slightly thinned, that they finally had a chance to breathe.
Around that time, Sasha and Nathan visited the Astronomy Club booth.
“Wow, there are a lot of people today. Good work, Sasha.”
At Nathan’s words, Adrian frowned.
“Does it even make sense that just posting one photo on the community would make so many people show up?”
“It’s not thanks to Sasha. Surely these are people who saw me promoting on the street yesterday.”
Stephan couldn’t admit that Sasha’s single photo on an anonymous board had a greater effect than his own hard efforts.
“That can’t be true. People aren’t interested in blatant promotion. It’s just that my photo from yesterday spread by word of mouth.”
“H-How do you know this so well, Sasha?”
Sasha flipped her shimmering golden hair back and said haughtily,
“I’ve been studying since I was young how to become famous. This is the result of that research.”
“Tch… research my foot.”
At Stephan’s dismissive remark, Sasha narrowed her eyes into triangles.
“What are you talking about! If I wanted, I could make every student here talk about what I do every day. I just don’t bother because it’s tiring.”
“Yeah, right.”
Stephan pursed his lips and muttered very quietly.
“Anyway, I just opened the path. People who came in the morning probably saw the photo from yesterday and were curious. If the booth was good, those who saw it will spread the word.”
“W-wow. I see. Sasha, you’re amazing.”
“This is nothing. More people will come later. Before coming, I overheard the students’ conversations in the cafeteria, and the reactions were good.”
“Sasha, th-thank you so much. It’s all thanks to you.”
“Ahem. It’s because you guys made the booth well. If it were bad, even the best photo wouldn’t have brought in this many people.”
As Jaelin continued to praise her, a shy Sasha cleared her throat and replied modestly.
As Sasha said, even more people arrived in the afternoon. Following Adrian’s suggestion, it had been smart to check out the festival on the first day. They had no chance to leave as the crowd kept coming.
Rita also visited the Astronomy Club booth with her club members.
“Why are you so late? I thought you weren’t coming!”
“Ugh, so many people… I probably didn’t need to come at all.”
After waiting for a while, Rita finally reached the ticket booth, paid the entrance fee, and grumbled.
“What do you mean? We promised, so of course you had to come!”
“See, I came. Now give me the ticket.”
“Here. Check it out and spread the word!”
Only after the sun had fully set did the festival end. Jaelin, exhausted from dismantling the booth, returned to the clubroom with Stephan and Adrian.
Throughout the teardown, Jaelin couldn’t hide a sense of regret. She had been quite satisfied with this design.
Still, they had the design files, so they could run it again whenever they wanted.
Back in the clubroom, the three counted the day’s entrance fees. Compared to yesterday’s trivial earnings, today’s total was substantial.
They gathered around the table to count the bills. Their bodies screamed for rest, but the thick stack of money couldn’t wait.
Curious about how much they earned from their design alone, Stephan counted the bills almost too fast to watch, while Adrian silently helped.
“All together, 4,600 gold.”
Adrian pushed the bundle he counted toward Stephan.
Stephan wrote the amount on paper.
“Adrian has 4,600 gold… Jaelin, did you count yours?”
“Y-yeah. All together, 5,300 gold.”
“Then mine is 6,100 gold. Adding them all up… 16,000 gold, total 16,000 gold!”
“16, 16,000 gold? Are we rich now?”
Jaelin’s eyes widened in shock at the unexpectedly huge sum—an enormous amount for just one day.
But Stephan, still unsatisfied, pouted and grumbled.
“Eh. How could this make us rich? Not even close.”
“Still, 16,000 gold is a lot…” Jaelin muttered timidly.
“Do you know how much our department store makes in a day? It’s…!”
Adrian interrupted Stephan, who was about to continue excitedly.
“Are you comparing a student festival to a department store’s daily revenue? They’re not even comparable. This is still impressive for students.”
“No, I mean, it’s hard to become rich with this. You need far more than this to be truly rich.”
“I-I see…”
Jaelin muttered dejectedly. To her, this amount would have already felt rich.
Stephan gathered all the money, tucked it inside his jacket, and patted it.
“Anyway, I’ll keep this safe.”
“What are you going to use it for?”
Adrian narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“Eh? When did I say I’d use it? I said I’d keep it safe.”
“If you waste it, you’re dead. Like buying those ridiculously expensive magic stones again…”
“D-Don’t worry. I won’t use it for personal things, I promise.”
Stephan hesitated briefly, then said firmly. Adrian didn’t press further. After all, Stephan was the one running the Astronomy Club. He assumed it would go toward club expenses.
‘Surely the son of a rich family wouldn’t embezzle 16,000 gold.’
Adrian let go of his suspicions.
With the lingering scent of roses, the Pelodian Academy Rose Festival came to an end.
The Astronomy Club booth, which they feared would fail, ended in resounding success.
And before they knew it, summer’s heat and final exams were looming for the academy students.
It was the biggest challenge they needed to overcome before summer vacation.
“Ughh…”
A soft snort echoed. Rozia brushed her gentle pink hair as she gazed into the mirror. She looked flawless, as always.
That Jaelin woman was very irritating. In the end, Rozia would surely be the one smiling next to Lionel at the very end, but her patience was running thin.
What happened in the rose garden had both delighted and infuriated Rozia.
Walking with Lionel in the rose garden had been pleasant at first. She had been happy at the thought of spending time with him.
But Lionel didn’t focus on Rozia. He was simply performing his duty as an escort. Rozia had been fine with that.
Since she hadn’t yet captured Lionel’s heart, that was natural. If he had shown interest in her, she would have been disappointed.
When Rozia encountered Jaelin in the rose garden, she realized that Lionel’s feelings for Jaelin were not light.
It wasn’t just the look one gives a friend or junior. It was the gaze one gives a romantic interest.
Desire and jealousy flickered beneath his golden eyes.
‘I should’ve gotten rid of her sooner.’
Rozia had been too focused on adapting to the academy and keeping an eye on Lionel, so she realized Jaelin’s presence too late.
‘I should have dragged her out during the disciplinary committee and gotten her expelled.’
Rozia had been the one to spot Lionel and Jaelin together in the control room and reported them to the guards.
She had found it odd since then. She knew Lionel had always treated Jaelin specially, but she hadn’t thought much of it.
There was no reason for Lionel to be interested in a woman from an unremarkable family with no charm.
People said Sasha would be Lionel’s partner, and Lionel hadn’t denied it, which was fine.
Rozia saw that Lionel had no feelings for Sasha, and Sasha obviously saw Lionel as nothing more than a friend.
Of course, Sasha and Lionel might form a partnership for political gain, as people said.
But societal rules meant nothing to Rozia. What she wanted was Lionel’s heart.
