- We need to finish this topic before all the leaves fall, so let's increase our debate work starting next week.
Despite Tilia's worries, the study group with the Royal Academy's second and best student progressed smoothly.
Contrary to her fears, Ilex Davenport had not shown any unusual behavior since that day. Tilia was wary of him at first, but gradually softened her wary gaze in response to his indifferent behavior.
He simply acted like a person who wanted to finish his studies and joined the study group just for that purpose. Although she still couldn't understand his true intentions, she had no desire to provoke him unnecessarily as long as he behaved well.
As he said outside the library, there was no denying that the academy's top student was a valuable asset to their study group.
-Instead of increasing the amount of debate work, perhaps it would be better to increase the frequency of our meetings.
Ilex quietly responded to Tilia's proposal, which she made while looking at the class schedule.
- No matter how necessary it may be, training three times a day will not be effective.
Looking at the pre-arranged schedule, Tilia nodded slowly, albeit reluctantly.
- Okay, let's do that.
It hurt her pride, but he was right again. None of his proposals have been wrong so far.
- Okay, everyone get out your schedules again. We need to check if there are any intersecting free windows.
Hearing Tilia's words, all the members of the study group who had been listening to their conversation groaned as they rummaged through their bags.
- So unfair. I only have one free day left.
- Hurry up, Judy.
Seeing that her friend was whining the most, Tilia smiled slightly and reached out to her. At this moment...
- Oh, sorry.
Mackenzie's hand, holding the schedule and notes, touched Tilia's.
-Your hand is cold. Are you cold?
Mackenzie Fitz looked at her with a gentle smile, as if it really was a mistake.
“No, they’re always cold,” Tilia answered indifferently and began checking the intersecting open windows in the schedules collected together.
“Then this time slot seems to work best, so let’s set it for that day.” What do you think?
Tilia focused solely on changing the schedule, as if it were the only thing that mattered to her.
However, Ilex, who was silently watching her, noticed one detail that no one else paid attention to.
When no one was looking, she carefully lowered her hand and wiped the back of her hand that Mackenzie had touched Fitz on her skirt.
A strange emotion flashed across Ilex's face when he saw this.
But this emotion, somewhere between discomfort and satisfaction, disappeared the moment Tilia raised her head.
***
- I think I'm going to die, Tilia.
- Don't worry. No one has ever died from studying for an exam.
- I can be the first.
Judy clung to Tilia and whined all the way down the stairs.
- How can you be so heartless? Can't you lighten the load a little, at least for the sake of your dying friend?
Ignoring her roommate's complaints, Tilia walked down the last step. And then...
- Tilia!
She heard a voice calling her from behind.
Turning her head, she saw Mackenzie Fitz, his skinny face looking as if he had hurried down the stairs to catch up with her.
Tilia watched in bewilderment as he panted in front of her.
- What's the matter?
- I need to ask you something.
After catching his breath, Mackenzie handed his notes to Tilia.
- Could you help me with this?
The part he indicated was one of the topics for discussion the next day.
“I planned to study it myself after you left, but I couldn’t figure it out.” You're the best at rhetoric, Tilia.
He continued talking, emphasizing his purely academic intentions with an innocent expression.
- If you don't mind, could you help me? Oh, but I don't mean we'll be doing it alone! Judy can work with us too...
- Wait.
Interrupting his rambling speech, Tilia turned to her friend standing next to her.
- Judy, can I borrow a page from your notebook?
- Notebook? Of course, there you go!
Judy readily tore out the page and handed it to Tilia, who quickly scribbled something on it in pen.
- Here.
Mackenzie, who had been watching her with bewilderment, hesitantly took the paper Tilia handed him.
- This is a book that explains in detail the theory associated with a topic that you do not understand. It will be more accurate than my explanations.
- Oh...
- There are several copies in the central library. This is a comprehensive book, rich in theory, which will be especially useful in debates that can take unexpected turns. And most importantly, no matter how busy you are, it is best to understand the theory yourself.
- Uh, th-thank you...
- No problem. And for the record, the best at rhetoric is Ilex Davenport, not me. If you still don't understand something, it might be better to ask him.
Having spoken the whole truth, Tilia retreated from Mackenzie.
- Well, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's debate.
- Uh, g-okay.
Mackenzie, who was embarrassedly fiddling with the paper in his hands, belatedly raised his head and called out to Tilia, who had already walked quite far away.
- Thank you, Tilia!
When she turned around with an indifferent expression on her face, she saw Mackenzie Fitz smiling brightly.
“Even though everyone else tried to dissuade me, I'm glad I joined your study group.”
Mackenzie continued to smile brazenly, looking at her impassive face.
- Okay, see you tomorrow, Tilia.
***
Judy, who had been muttering about being the first victim to die while studying for her second exam, ended up falling asleep before midnight.
Having escorted her neighbor, who had fallen asleep at the table, to her bed, Tilia sat at her table for some time after Judy had plunged into the world of dreams.
But she, too, ended up sighing over a problem she couldn’t solve.
Phew. Frowning, Tilia drew lines along the outline she was working on.
"Ilex Davenport...how is he getting ready?"
Judy praised her as much as the best student, but to her the difference between her and him felt like the difference between heaven and earth.
His reasoning, even when he presented the same argument, was much richer, more practical and convincing than hers, which often seemed vague and unfounded.
Professors - real academics - would undoubtedly notice this difference.
And this difference in skills will likely determine the outcome of their assessment.
Feeling dejected, Tilia looked at the pile of materials before sighing again.
The requirement to graduate from the Royal Acansis Academy was a prerequisite for obtaining a position at the Ontario Foreign Consulate.
But, unfortunately, this was not enough.
To be sure of receiving a certificate, she needed a high-ranking diploma. Unlike other consulate applicants, Tilia's proficiency in Ontario was far from perfect.
Her downcast eyes flickered to the Ontario phrasebook she had hidden under the table.
Ironically, the more she learned, the more she realized how flawed she was.
The idea that she could independently master the language of an entire country was presumptuous.
The more she studied, the more gaps she tried to fill, the more clearly she imagined how she would stumble and fail during the consulate interview.
“...Ilex Davenport, succeeded in this too.”
Reflecting on this comparison, which had become her habit, Tilia thought with a sinking heart of his fluent knowledge of the Ontario language.
Ilex lived there with his mother from Ontario for several years as a child. He could easily handle the difficult pronunciation she struggled with, form smooth sentences, and use a rich vocabulary to handle complex conversations.
Imagining such a competent competitor sitting next to her during the interview, Tilia bit her lip with worry.
She had to improve no matter what. She needed to do this to leave this place.
Just as she looked out the dark window with a lost expression on her face, like a lost child, she saw something unexpected.
Her dark green eyes showed someone who shouldn't have been there.
When she first saw that blond hair under a street lamp, Tilia thought she was imagining things. She assumed it was a hallucination born of her envy of him.
But this was not an illusion or a mistake.
A man stood in front of the stairs of the girls' dormitory, looking straight out the window where Tilia was, and slowly parted his lips.
- Go down.
Ilex Davenport, reflected in her wide eyes, whispered softly with a smile, as if haunting her in a dream.
- Come down, Tilia Ambrose.