For Your Failed Unrequited Love

He should be happy to be with Lucy, but when he found out that Colin will also be there, he felt tired. He couldn’t even ask Collin to leave since he’s her relative. 

Seeing Collin greeting him lively every time they saw each other, there was no possibility of him getting sick and not attending. 

While thinking about this and that possibility, time passed like a wind in late autumn, and finally, Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner.

On Thanksgiving Day, one of the biggest holidays in the Beros Empire, the Xenomium Academy offers a three-day vacation.

Students who were born and raised in the capital, or who live near their hometown, usually pack their bags and leave for their mansion. Then, they return after enjoying a peaceful time with their families for three days, thankful for the richness of the year and the prosperity of their family.

On the other hand, students from other countries were busy making plans to have a good time outside the academy among themselves, rather than choosing to visit their hometown in a short time.

Lucy was also born and raised in the village of Brom, located on the eastern edge of the Empire, so visiting her hometown seemed difficult. Although she planned to have a good time at Madam Triana’s mansion, she felt very sad not to see her family after a long time.

“I think it’s time for their reply to arrive…… I haven’t heard any news from them yet.”

Late evening.

As Felix was leaving the restaurant, he heard Lucy’s voice and looked around. On the shortened day, two familiar backs were walking side by side at the already dim campus. It was Lucy and Colin.

Without knowing that Felix was approaching, the two continued talking with serious faces.

“Since it’s far away, it must have taken a while for the reply to arrive!”

“But it has never taken this long. Maybe something happened to the mail wagon? I think I should try sending a letter again.”

“What letter?”

Lucy and Colin jumped at the same time as Felix suddenly spoke from behind.

“Ack! Since when have you been standing in the back?”

Colin asked, rubbing his chest. But Felix ignored him and immediately asked Lucy.

“Is it an important letter?”

“No, it’s just a letter to my family. I couldn’t go home, so I sent a thank-you card in advance. Considering the speed of normal mail delivery, the reply should have come by now…. It’s a little late this time.”

Before Felix could respond, Colin intervened first.

“It’s probably too late because there are usually a lot of people sending letters this time of year.”

He was right. On Thanksgiving Day, mail carriers worked nonstop because everyone sent letters to relatives asking how they were doing.

Colin, who was answering, suddenly became sullen and continued in an uncharacteristically weak voice.

“In addition, everyone in the village must be busy this year. There was a flood last summer. They’re probably busy looking for food for the winter.”

It was strange that Colin, who had always been cheerful and unwitting even in a serious situation, showed no energy. He mumbled anxiously in a mature manner he had never shown before… 

“Everyone in the village must be having a hard time, but can we just go to a dinner like this?”

What he said made Lucy depressed.

“…… If you are worried, should I send a separate messenger to find?”

Felix suggested. But Lucy waved her hand.

“No. If a messenger suddenly arrives in town, my mom will be surprised. As Colin said, it must be late because they are busy preparing for winter. If I wait longer, it will come.”

After that, as they walked through the campus, Lucy and Colin talked about their hometown only the two of them knew, so Felix simply listened to their conversation. As he listened to that conversation, he felt that the two had really grown up together since childhood.

Then, suddenly, a word came to his mind.

‘Lucy is my fiancé!’

Colin’s voice, that uttered the shocking words with such an innocent face, was still vivid in his ears. He still didn’t feel good remembering that one time his heart plummeted to the floor because of that word.

At the vivid memory that came to mind, Felix instantly felt annoyed. 

“Aww!”

Colin, who was walking normally, suddenly screamed.

“Why are you pulling my ears all of a sudden!”

“Did I pull it? There was a bug sitting on your ear, I chased it away.”

Felix naturally lied.

He pulled his ears, but it wasn’t a very cool revenge compared to the shock he received  back then. It was at this point that he decided he needed to make sure of this matter.

“Are you really engaged to Lucy?”

It wasn’t Colin who responded immediately to that out of the way question, but Lucy, who was walking next to him.

“W, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“I remember what this guy said before. You said it back then? Lucy is your fiancé.”

“T, that’s just what the adults say”

Lucy spoke in an absurd tone. But Colin didn’t seem willing to join the clarification.

“Lucy, it’s not just what the adults say? Even if it seems like a joke, the villagers are all looking forward to our marriage, right?”

“Were all the villagers expecting that?”

Without seeing Lucy shaking her head next to him, Felix frowned. 

The whole village?

How can the whole village come forward and think of pushing a marriage they didn’t even think about.

Felix’s forehead was wrinkled.

“Ah, doesn’t everyone hear such nonsense when they are young? No one in the village thinks like that now.”

Colin giggled at Lucy’s words. Hearing his laugh, Felix felt even worse.

Unaware that Felix was looking at him poised to pull his ear again, Colin was babbling with excitement. This time he was talking about the dinner to be held at Madam Triana’s mansion and was enumerating what food would be served one by one.

Three people with different expressions walked out of the dark campus.

* * *

When Thanksgiving came, the academy students began to ride their carriages back to their mansion in the capital.

The noisy campus and dormitory had a much calmer and more secluded atmosphere when more than half of the students left. The students who could not return home seemed to have decided to spend a luxurious Thanksgiving in their own way.

While preparing to go from the dormitory to Madam Triana’s mansion, Felix threw a puzzled look at Adrian, who was sitting leisurely on the sofa.

If it had been Adrian, he would have already finished all the preparations and went back to the duke’s house to spend Thanksgiving. But he was sitting leisurely on the sofa, flipping through his books slowly.

Adrian suddenly raised his head, perhaps he noticed his gaze. 

“Why?”

“Aren’t you going home?”

“Well….”

Adrian stretched himself lying down on the sofa.

“I’m going to take a good rest at the dorm today.”

It was an uncharacteristic answer. Adrian closed his eyes in a lying-down posture as if to prove his answer.

Felix, who was worried about his brother who would be alone on Thanksgiving, not any other day, said;

“Can you be alone in the dormitory on a day like today?”

“I want to be alone even more since it’s a day like today.”

This time again, it was an unexpected answer.

Adrian opened his eyes again and gave a relaxed smile to his brother, who was standing with a puzzled face.

“I’m telling you, it’s okay I’m more comfortable and better than ever now. I think I’ll be able to relax because there won’t be any snoring tonight. It’s a real holiday.”

Felix laughed reluctantly at his mischievous reply. But a corner of his heart was still uneasy. He has been worried about Adrian ever since he saw him smashing a vase a few days ago.

“Well, go ahead.”

He had told Adrian that he would be visiting another friend’s house in advance. Adrian, who knew that Felix was so unwilling to return to the duchy, so he had no doubts about him.

Felix went out to the front gate, he met Lucy and Colin, who were waiting in advance and got into the carriage. The carriage, which started immediately, sprinted through the gloomy landscape.

In the carriage, Colin never stopped chirping for a second. Felix didn’t nag at all because he’d been through it a few times already.

It was thrilling to secretly exchange glances with Lucy while Colin was talking. Felix even swept Lucy’s baby hairs behind her ears while Colin was distracted by the crowded scenery outside the window.

‘Isn’t it cold?’

‘It’s not cold.’

When Felix moved his lips and asked, Lucy too, quietly moved her lips to answer.

Felix’s gaze turned to her hands neatly placed on her lap. Her small, white hands were red as if they were cold.

After checking out Colin, who was still busy staring out of her window, Felix gently grabbed Lucy’s hand. Contrary to the answer that it was not cold, Lucy’s hands were very cold.