Chapter 71 : Trash (2)

The sun shone brightly over the garden of Flare Academy.

There, Albinus, with a scowl as if he had swallowed something bitter, and Erses, trembling yet desperately trying to maintain a smile, sat across from each other, drinking tea.

“L-L-Lilacs are pretty, right?”

“…No.”

“…Oh, I… I see.”

Erses lowered his head, disheartened.

Lately, Erses’ mental state had been crumbling.

Since the academy valued student autonomy above all, the student council president had an overwhelming amount of responsibilities.

His mental state was wearing down because of it.

At first, he managed to endure it somehow.

Because Albinus was there.

But that, too, turned into hell.

One exhausted afternoon, he had fallen asleep as if passing out.

Only Albinus and Erses had been left in the classroom when Erses, in his sleep, muttered Albinus’ name and confessed his feelings.

Was that why Albinus started ignoring him?

Recently, Albinus wouldn’t even respond when spoken to and kept his distance, clicking his tongue in irritation.

‘…I’m sure I heard him mutter, “A mere commoner…” back then.’

Those words wounded Erses deeply.

Albinus, who was cold to his face and spoke ill of him behind his back, had become someone he could no longer rely on.

And with so much work piling up, the most dreadful times were when they had to handle tasks together during lunch.

“…Albi.”

“What.”

“C-Can you check this for me?”

“Sigh… Just quit being student council president if you can’t even handle this.”

“…Sorry.”

Albinus glared at Erses in frustration.

Scared by his gaze, Erses hung his head low and shuffled through the papers.

“Sigh…”

After finishing his review, Albinus looked at Erses with a gaze full of disappointment.

Even so, Erses tried to force a smile, his hands trembling as he took the documents Albinus had tossed onto the desk.

“…Albi… Thanks.”

“Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, Albinus spoke curtly to Erses, who was trying hard to smile despite his quivering lips.

“Albi, Albi. You’re so noisy. Can’t you just call me Albinus?”

“…Huh?”

“It’s uncomfortable. Honestly, I don’t like you.”

Albinus crossed his legs and threw the documents onto the table, his irritation surfacing.

“Honestly, we’re not that close, are we?”

“…Oh… I see… Sorry…”

“Imagine how I feel—losing the top student spot to some nobody from the countryside, and now even the student council presidency.”

“…Y-Yeah… Sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“As long as you get it.”

With a satisfied expression, Albinus popped a macaron into his mouth.

But inside, he was dying.

‘…Shit, what the hell did I just say?’

Albinus, caught in the storm of adolescence, had misinterpreted his first-ever feeling of love as rivalry and irritation.

So he acted cruelly towards Erses on purpose.

But before long, he realized his true feelings.

The moment he faced them, a cold sweat ran down his back.

‘…I’ve gone too far.’

The things he had done were no joke.

He had spread rumors about Erses, deliberately increased his workload, and even, during a magic practice session, pushed the drowsy Erses into a pond to “wake him up,” then mocked him for it.

The image of Erses forcing a smile and thanking him, despite his tearful expression, wouldn’t leave Albinus’ mind.

‘A mere commoner?’

‘A countryside nobody?’

‘What a damn lie.’

‘…I actually want him to keep calling me Albi.’

To be honest, it didn’t feel bad at all.

No, he liked it.

From the way Erses casually called him by a nickname, despite his royal status, to the moment he started adapting to the work and diligently taking on even the tasks Albinus had previously pushed onto him—it was admirable.

But the more effort Erses put in, the more obvious it became that he was overworking himself.

For a dragon to show signs of exhaustion… That meant extreme overwork.

If it were any other species, they would have long since collapsed.

Even in such a state, Erses continued to smile while handling his duties as student council president, and that frustrated Albinus.

No, to be precise, it worried him.

The once-beautiful face now bore dark circles.

His hair had lost its luster.

And he was constantly nodding off, as if his strength was draining away.

‘…Please, please take care of yourself.’

Albinus stared intently at Erses.

And under that gaze, Erses finally broke down.

“…Hic… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

Tears fell onto the documents in front of him.

“…I knew… I really knew…”

“Albi… nus doesn’t like me. I know that. I’m sorry, it must be disgusting to look at me, right?”

Albinus was utterly flustered.

At least, there was no one else around to witness this.

If anyone had seen, it would have been a disaster.

“…You knew, right, Albinus?”

“…Knew what?”

Albinus asked, still visibly shaken.

Through his sobs, Erses answered,

“…That I like you. You knew all along.”

He had.

That day, when he heard Erses sleep-talking in the student council office—

That was the moment Albinus became aware of his own feelings.

He could never forget it.

Because the overwhelming guilt that consumed him afterward had nearly driven him insane.

“…Yeah, I knew.”

Lowering his head, Albinus admitted it.

“…I see. Of course you did.”

Wiping away his tears, Erses looked at Albinus with an empty expression.

“Did you really hate me that much?”

“…N-No…”

“It’s fine. I get it now.”

Erses, his face contorted in pain, quickly gathered the documents and fled.

Albinus stood frozen, staring blankly in the direction Erses had disappeared.

“…Erses.”

“…I’m sorry.”

But no matter how much he apologized into the empty air, Erses wasn’t coming back.

And no one understood that better than Albinus.

The moment he realized this, he ran.

Ran to reach Erses.

And—

He did.

“…Mmgh?!”

Erses’ blue eyes widened as Albinus grabbed his wrist.

The only sound that filled the space was Albinus’ ragged breathing.

And then, a sudden kiss.

At first, Erses’ eyes remained wide in shock.

But slowly, he closed them.

“…Albinus.”

“…You can call me Albi.”

Albinus mumbled, turning his head away, unable to meet Erses’ eyes.

Seeing that, Erses’ eyes welled up with tears once more.

“…Really?”

“…Are you crying?”

“I’m just… so, so happy… Are you sure it’s okay?”

“…Yeah.”

Tears still clinging to his lashes, Erses smiled softly and whispered to Albi.

“…Then, Albi, call me El too.”

“…Alright. El.”

“…!!”

“I’m really sorry. For everything.”

“If you’re sorry… if you’re really sorry… don’t just apologize. Tell me you’ll stay with me, always.”

Burying his face in Albi’s chest, Erses tightened his embrace around him, mumbling those words.

Albi simply stroked his hair in response.

“…Alright. But take care of yourself too.”

“I will.”

“Tomorrow, I’ll handle things.”

“…I owe you. You’ve helped me a lot.”

“Helped? I was just getting in your way by the end.”

“Even so.”

El looked up at Albi with a gentle smile.

“You helped. I learned how to manage the paperwork properly because of you.”

“So… don’t blame yourself too much.”

Hearing those words only made Albinus feel more guilt. But at that moment, he made a firm decision.

‘…I’ll make sure she becomes queen.’

And so, after graduating from the academy—

Albinus traveled all the way to Erses’ hometown and, in that humble village, gave the most elegant proposal of all time.

“Then suddenly, your dad just kissed me right there!”

“…?”

“I was so shocked I thought I was going to die!”

Mom’s face turned bright red.

Embarrassed, she covered her face with one hand.

“…Sis, is this a pure love story?”

“…Mmm.”

“…Trash.”

When I asked Yuri, she hesitated, unable to answer.

But Emilia, on the other hand, glared at Dad and bluntly called him trash.

Honestly, I agreed with Emilia.

I mean, seriously—pushing someone into a pond when they’re exhausted and dozing off while standing?

Sure, maybe it wasn’t that deep, but still!

That’s just not okay.

I stepped closer to Emilia and joined her in glaring at Dad.

“…!!”

“You’re mean.”

“Apologize to Mom.”

Sensing our stares, Dad flinched and turned around, looking all dejected as he walked toward us.

“…El, did you tell them everything?”

“Yep. I did good, right?”

“……”

Dad stared at Mom, who was smiling brightly, then sighed and plopped down beside her, pulling me into his arms.

“…You did well.”

“Hehe~”

Then, he ruffled both Mom’s and my hair at the same time.

Honestly, at this point, I thought—well, things turned out fine, right?

I mean, Dad proposed to Mom ages ago.

Isn’t it too late to be upset over something that happened so long ago?

They’re both over a thousand years old now, and this was something that happened before they even hit a hundred.

‘…Wait, does that mean Dad spent the past 1,180 years living like a guilty wreck?!’

My perspective shifted.

My dad was, without a doubt, a true saint of this era.

He spent over a millennium atoning for his mistake, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to his wife.

“…Dad, you got this!”

“…Huh?”

“Minho really loves Dad~”

I gave Dad a small cheer.

I hope he continues to take good care of Mom.