Just as they were about to enter the reading room, still laughing and chatting...
- Oh, exactly! - Judy clapped her hands, as if she had just remembered something, - I got it!
- What did you get?
- You know, the same thing that everyone accepts now. I told you about this.
Judy, who was a head shorter than Tilia, looked at her with shining eyes.
- When I kept whining that I wouldn’t pass the first final exam, my father brought it to me. Let's go back to the dorm and split it between us.
Judy probably meant what Tilia also knew - "the same thing."
Маленькая бутылочка, размером с ладонь стоила больше, чем три месяца жизни Тилии. It was holy water filled with divine power.
As money became the new source of power, even temples fell into corruption. Holy water, which was originally supplied to knights fighting monsters, was now secretly available to the children of wealthy nobles.
- My brother said it was almost like a stimulant. Как только ее принимаешь, чувствуешь себя так, как будто проспал десять часов, а твоя концентрация и память значительно улучшаются.
Judy beamed as she spoke, but Tilia, who had been listening silently, shook her head.
- No, thank you. You can drink it yourself.
- Why? I brought it for you too! There's even a certificate from a real priest!
- I really don't need it.
The truth was that she was afraid that once she experienced its effects, she would want it again. When you've experienced a better state, it's hard not to feel dissatisfied with your current state.
- I don't want to rely on something like that.
She couldn't afford to become dependent on something that she couldn't obtain on her own, especially if it was just a favor provided by others that could disappear at any moment.
- И ты знаешь до сих пор я довольно хорошо справлялась без какой-либо дополнительной помощи.
“Wow,” Judy’s mouth dropped open at Tilia’s confident words, “of course, what do you have to worry about?” You were second in your year four years in a row! You're on a completely different level than someone like me who's terrified about a final exam!
Judy teased Tilia in a voice that was half-envy, half-playfulness, and then tilted her head in thought.
- But listening to you now, I'm starting to worry. My brother warned me to be careful when taking it.
- Why?
- Well, holy water was originally intended for knights, right? So for ordinary people like us, if you do not follow the prescribed dosage, the body functions may become overactive.
- And is this bad? Isn't that good?
- No! When your feelings get too strong...
Judy looked around, then motioned for Tilia to come closer. Lowered, Tilia listened to Judy whisper, as if sharing a great secret.
- You turn into an animal, driven only by instincts. They say you can't control yourself until you... you know... do it to someone. You need the energy of another person to return to normal.
Tillia's eyebrows furrowed in disgust.
- Is this even possible? It's holy water, after all.
- Well, since it's meant to improve physical function, I guess that's why. And the temples now are not what they were before. The same goes for divine power. If a real priest does it, side effects are unlikely, but how many are left?
Judy, the youngest daughter in a family of knights who knew the problems of the temple well, shook her head.
“So don’t mindlessly drink water wherever you go.” My brother says things have been really bad lately. You know that social life is filled with rich, low class types, right? You never know what they might put in your drink. Just in case, don't drink anything.
“But isn’t it dangerous to take something like that before an exam?” - Tilia looked at her friend with concern, - If you have to sleep with someone just to cope with the action, that's a huge side effect, don't you think? How can you possibly pass the exam properly in this state?
- It's true, but...
Judy's face darkened at Tilia's words.
- For me, the most important thing is to pass the first exam... And this water is certified as having no side effects...
The once cheerful Judy now looked depressed.
- Tilia, you will pass the exam on the first try, right? Of course you will.
- I'll have to. There is no scholarship for an additional semester.
- Then I’ll stay here... all alone... without you for another year...
Pale with fear, Judy muttered something incoherent before grabbing Tilia's hand and pulling her into the reading room.
- Let's go, Tilia. I need to study more!
***
Despite her determination to pass the exam, Judy dozed off shortly after midnight. Eventually, Tilia, who couldn't bear to watch her struggle anymore, woke her up.
“Who are you?.. What are you doing in my room?..” Judy muttered in her sleep, pressing her notes to her cheek.
- Just go to sleep. Tomorrow I will show you my short notes.
Smiling softly, Tilia gathered Judy's things with a sympathetic expression on her face.
- Go get some sleep, and in the morning we can continue our classes.
After some hesitation, Judy finally agreed and promised to wake up early before returning to the dorm.
When her roommate left, Tilia remained at her desk, but by 5 a.m. the letters on the page began to blur.
“I think we should go. I have morning classes tomorrow.”
Yawning deeply, Tilia stood up and stretched.
- Brr, it's so cold.
Outside the library, the air was already thick with the cold dawn breeze. Her nose stung from the sudden cold as she hurried down the stairs, wrapped in her thin school jacket.
Fortunately, in the rich academy, there were gas lamps on every corner to illuminate the way.
“You need to quickly come back, wash your face and go to bed. Before I go to bed, I'll look through my notes again and leave my theology notes on Judy's desk...”
As Tilia mentally listed the things she needed to do, she noticed someone standing alone under a street lamp at the foot of the stairs.
What is he doing there?
Tilia recognized him immediately and narrowed her eyes.
Even from a distance it was easy to spot. There was only one person in the academy who had such a silhouette.
The man standing under the bright gas lamp on the deserted campus was so conspicuous that even his shadow seemed to stretch outward, like a spider's web trailing along the ground, with a thin nose and high cheekbones.
Her gaze slid down those long legs until she saw a man bathed in the lamplight, as if on display in a jewelry store window. His tousled blond hair hung loosely, his long eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks while his well-defined jawline was highlighted by the soft shadows of the night.
Why is Ilex Davenport standing in front of the library clock tower? And at a time like this?
Tilia narrowed her eyes at her opponent.
“Could it be that he is practicing secretly?”
Seeing Ilex's tired face, Tilia bit her lip.
Even the best students probably feel the pressure of final exams.
As she walked down the stairs, sneaking glances at her rival from time to time, Ilex, who had closed his eyes as if dozing, turned his head towards her. Their eyes met - his gray-blue, as if still in a daze, and hers, sharp with suspicion.
Tilia clutched her notes tightly to her chest, looking at him. Ilex, in turn, did not look away and silently looked at her.
“Where is his book? Did he leave it in the library?
Even as she walked down the stairs, Tilia's mind was filled with thoughts of her rival.
“Having left the book in the library, he must be planning to return and continue his studies...”
The staircase leading to the central library was so steep and high that it was called the “staircase of struggle.”
But in her competitive spirit, Tilia barely noticed the heights.
“Okay, I’ll also stay up all night and study.”
Just as Tilia decided to drastically cut down on her sleep starting that night, a sharp breeze blew past her feet. Her gray school skirt fluttered in the wind, the cold seeping down to her thighs.
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