Chapter 35
Clang—
With the sound of the final class bell, Riette shot up from her seat.
“Where are you going? Something happen?”
Lucas, watching her sudden movement, asked curiously, but she didn’t have the composure to answer calmly.
“Go home without me.”
Without even glancing at him, Riette hurriedly packed her bag and rushed down the stairs.
She had been thinking about this situation all throughout class. Yesterday, she had definitely put her book inside the drawer under her desk before going home. Sometime between most students leaving yesterday and her arriving at school this morning, the book had vanished.
Books don’t grow legs, which meant someone had intentionally touched it.
There were indeed people recently trying to slander her, but she wanted to keep that conclusion as a last resort. She didn’t want to lose her faith in humanity just yet. Maybe someone had accidentally thrown it away or placed it somewhere else—so she decided to search the school thoroughly.
The first place to check was the incinerator.
Every evening at six, trash was burned behind the main building, so she had to check before smoke started rising. It was only five now, so there was still plenty of time.
Clenching her fists, Riette went straight down the stairs and around to the back of the main building. There, she saw the custodian gathering the day’s garbage into one pile.
“Mister, excuse me for a moment.”
It wasn’t a place students usually wandered, and certainly not a spot for a noble young lady. The custodian stopped what he was doing and stood up.
“What is it?”
“May I take a quick look there?”
She pointed at the pile of trash, and he stepped aside with a puzzled look. Riette immediately began sifting through it without hesitation. There was plenty of paper, but hardly any books.
Just in case, she checked each piece of paper carefully. There were some torn textbook pages scattered here and there, but none in her handwriting.
“Are there paper piles over there too?”
She gestured toward another heap of garbage.
“Uh… yes.”
The custodian’s eyes widened at the sight of a noble lady rummaging through trash so unreservedly, but Riette paid him no mind and moved on, plopping herself down beside the next pile.
The exam was next week, and she was missing the most important textbook. The custom-made textbooks for noble academies were printed in quantities based on incoming students and couldn’t be bought anywhere else—nor could they be photocopied. In this world, technology was replaced by magic, but there was no machine that could duplicate printed pages like a copier in Korea. That meant she had no choice but to find her missing textbook at all costs.
It’s not here… anywhere…
She’d already checked all of today’s garbage and was now searching yesterday’s pile just in case. But her textbook was nowhere to be found.
“How much longer will you be at it?”
The custodian, who had been watching nervously, glanced at his watch. Riette looked up at the now-darkening sky and realized quite a bit of time had passed.
“I have to leave this area soon, but I can’t just leave you here alone.”
“…Alright.”
She answered with a gloomy expression.
Perhaps feeling sorry for her, the custodian scratched the back of his neck.
“If you still want to look, could you come back in about an hour? I have to go check on the fountain, but I’ll be back around then to reopen the incinerator for you.”
Muttering to himself, he sighed, “I wonder which fool dropped a book in there…”
Riette’s eyes widened slightly.
“…Dropped a book?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started. Someone dropped a bunch of books into the fountain—it’s a mess.”
He waved his hand as though the thought alone was unpleasant.
“It’s going to take me a while to clean that up, so when I’m done, I’ll let you back into the incinerator.”
“…No.”
She hoped she was wrong, but a chill ran down her neck. She had to see it with her own eyes.
“I’ll come with you. I’ll help.”
The custodian hadn’t exaggerated—the fountain was a disaster. Shredded paper, on the verge of turning to mush, floated on the surface of the water.
“What kind of idiot drops books like this? Even if it fell, picking it up right away would have made cleanup so much easier.”
He was right. Even if it had been an accident, the person could have just picked it up.
But the fact it was left there like this meant…
Riette stepped closer and dipped her hands into the water. Parting the lukewarm surface, she retrieved a scrap of paper that still had some writing visible.
“….”
She stared at it in stunned silence.
“Well, thank you for helping, miss. If I were alone, this would’ve taken two hours, not one.”
The custodian, fishing papers out with tongs, thanked her.
“No… it’s my responsibility, so I should clean it up.”
“How is this your fault? It’s the fault of some thoughtless—”
“It’s my book.”
The custodian froze mid-motion and looked up.
“Wait, why is your book…”
He trailed off in disbelief, but Riette had no explanation either. She was the one who most wanted to know who had done this, and why.
On the scrap she held, she clearly recognized her own handwriting. Checking other pieces confirmed the same—faded, but unmistakably hers.
Why had her textbook ended up in this massive fountain?
Not that I can’t guess…
It was obviously deliberate.
She knew her reputation had become sharply divided lately. Henry had started it, and Pierre had fueled the fire. Things had calmed down recently, but there were still those who disliked her.
Still, she had never thought they would go this far.
Biting her lip, Riette quietly continued cleaning the fountain. Not only was she looking at the ruined remains of her textbook, she also had to endure the needless waste of effort and time.
After working for some time, the fountain looked much cleaner. The custodian straightened his back with a groan.
“Ahh, that’s better.”
It wasn’t perfect—tiny scraps still drifted along the water’s edge, too small to scoop up with a net.
“What about those?” she asked.
“I’ll probably have to come back tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry for making you go through all this.”
Her insides had felt like they were burning to ashes earlier, but perhaps thanks to the repetitive, mindless work, her mind now felt calmer.
Maybe her worries had floated away like ash in the wind.
“…I don’t know what’s going on, but hang in there.”
It was the first real conversation she’d had with the custodian, and his encouragement drew a faint smile from her. Thanking her again for helping, he left.
As darkness fell, the streetlamps flickered on.
Left alone, Riette sat by the fountain, staring at her reflection in the rippling water. Her face showed no expression.
When the light from the streetlamps brightened the area, she reached into the fountain again and began fishing out the remaining scraps one by one.
That’s when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning her head toward the sound—
“….”
Evan was standing there.
Without a word, he rolled up his sleeves and began scooping out the scraps. Riette watched him quietly before reaching out to grab his arm.
“You don’t have to.”
“Let’s do it together.”
Only then did he speak.
“Unless you plan to stay out here all night, help me.”
He gently removed her hand from his arm and went back to work. She didn’t stop him this time—Evan was right. Cleaning this huge fountain alone would take who knew how long.
They worked until most of the scraps drifting along the edges were gone.
“Ugh.”
Bending over for hours had left her back sore.
Thump—
She dropped down onto the ground without care. Evan sat beside her and held out his hand.
“Give me your arm.”
“Why?”
“They’re wet. I’ll dry them.”
Only then did she notice her sleeves were soaked up to her elbows, with water droplets sliding down her arms.
“With what?”
There was nothing around to dry with.
Then Evan took off his jacket. Riette stared, realizing too late that he really meant it. Without hesitation, he pulled her arm toward him and began wiping it dry with his coat.
“Hey, do you know how much that costs…”
The jacket was a luxury piece from the most famous atelier in the empire—famous not only for its skill, but also its outrageous prices.
“They’re wrinkled,” he remarked, glancing at her fingertips.
Hours in the water had left her fingers swollen and wrinkled like frog toes, the palms rough with calluses from sword training. She felt a pang of sympathy for her own mistreated hands.
Evan kept wiping until her arms were dry, then casually dried his own. Standing up first, he looked down at her.
“Stop by my house to wash up before you go. If you go home like this, the duchess will worry.”
Riette nodded.
Though she hadn’t fallen into the fountain, the ends of her hair had gotten wet whenever she bent forward, leaving faint water marks on her clothes.
Her mother was a worrier—if she saw her like this, she would demand to know what happened, and might even cry once she learned the truth. Riette didn’t have the energy to comfort her right now.
Fortunately, Evan’s family carriage was waiting in front of the school. He opened the door first and climbed in; once Riette followed, it started moving.
As she rested her chin in her hand and watched the scenery pass by, Riette finally spoke.
“How did you know I was at the fountain?”
