For Your Failed Unrequited Love

Lucy broke into a broad grin when she heard the news.

It’s been a month since she entered school and two months since she moved from Brom to the capital.

She hadn’t met her father in a long time, and he was supposed to visit the capital this weekend. She heard that he had come this far to learn a new method of surgery in the capital. Usually, Lucy’s dad does not visit faraway areas to learn medicine, but this time he seemed to have chosen a long trip to see his daughter.

It was a pity that her grandmother and mother couldn’t come with him, but Lucy couldn’t hide her excitement at the thought of meeting her father. She was looking forward to that day.

* * *

The long-awaited weekend.

After changing her clothes early in the morning and getting ready, Lucy hurried to the carriage. Several carriages were parked in front of the main gate of the Academy, waiting for the students.

Lucy approached a private carriage.

Unlike the public carriages, private carriages were expensive. Public carriages had a fixed departure time, but students could ride the private carriage alone and leave whenever they wanted.

She decided to rent a private carriage because it was an important day.

Upon arriving in the center of the town, Lucy made a beeline to the place where she had promised to meet her father. The streets were crowded with people out and about.

But even the sea of people, Lucy could recognize her father with just one glance.

“Dad!”

Her small voice was soon drowned out by the noise of the street. But just as Lucy recognized her father in the midst of many people, he also recognized her voice, and immediately turned toward it.

“Lucy!”

Through the crowd, Lucy ran straight to her father. She hugged him tightly, rubbing her face against his chest.

There was a familiar smell; the smell of bromine. There was also a hint of her mother and grandmother’s scent.

What a long-awaited embrace!

Lucy felt like she was dreaming at that moment. She felt like her heart, which had been emptied by terrible homesickness, was quickly filled with happiness and relief.

“Oh my! Lucy, why are you so thin?” her father asked, gingerly holding her face in his hand.

A look of pity flashed on her father’s face, as if saddened by how skinny she looked.

Lucy, on the other hand, was just happy to meet her father again after months of not seeing her family.

Soon the father and daughter pair began walking in the street, arm in arm. They made their way to the restaurant, and for the first time in while, Lucy’s steps were light as if she was flying.

“Dad, the Academy building is really nice! I wish I could show you around today. Oh, by the way, I joined the book club! The senior manager there…”

With each step they took, Lucy was determined to tell her father everything that had happened in the academy. However, she was so excited since she hadn’t seen him in a long time that she poured out what she wanted to say randomly.

Her father listened to her rambling and smiled. He was just pleased to be with his daughter again.

They arrived at the quiet restaurant and chose a table near the window.

During the meal, her father took out the several packages from his bag and placed them on the table. Lucy knew at once what it was without unpacking the wrapping cloth.

First of all, one of them must have been cookies made by her grandmother, packed in a round box. Sure enough, as soon as she opened the box, it was her grandmother’s homemade cookies. They smelled like cinnamon.

“Your grandma was so eager to wrap the box…” her father said, smiling at her. He knew how much Lucy liked cookies. “I’m sure I told her the food would go bad on the way to Bethel, but she kept trying to give you everything. In the end, we made a compromise by taking only these cookies.”

Lucy burst into laughter as she imagined her grandmother packing a bunch of things like turkey, and so on.

The other package contained a cardigan that Lucy’s mother had made herself. It was just the right thickness to wear during the change of seasons from winter to spring. There was also a new lace ribbon lying nicely on the neatly folded cardigan.

Lucy picked up the ribbon and stared at it. She was silent for a moment; someone suddenly came to her mind.

“Are you sick?” her father asked, peering quietly into her face. “Your face is red, did you catch a cold?”

“No.” Lucy quickly put the ribbon on top of the cardigan and rewrapped the package. “It’s because of the cold weather.” She rubbed her arms on purpose and pretended to be cold, but the spring light shone warmly at where she was sitting in the restaurant. 

“Take care of your health. You catch a cold every time the seasons change,” her father said with a worried look. He had no reason to doubt her.

Lucy nodded her head. She really do get sick with every sudden change in the weather.

A cup of lavender tea made by grandmother would have healed me quickly. Lucy thought to herself.

Whenever she had a cold, she would lay in her bed, and her grandmother would come up to her and measure the temperature of her forehead with her rough hands. Then she would hand Lucy a cup of warm tea.

Now Lucy was holding a glass of water in front of her instead of her grandmother’s tea. Her expression reflected on the water was sad and lonely. She missed her grandmother and mother so much.

“I guess you’re having a hard time at the academy.” her dad said, looking at her listless face.

“No, it’s fun!” Lucy quickly replied, putting on a bright expression on her face. Her answer made her father feel a little relieved.

“Actually, I’m glad that you look happy whenever you talked about the Academy.” Then, after a pause, he continued, “I’m really sorry that I opposed to you taking the entrance exam. I didn’t know you wanted to come to Xenomium Academy so badly. I didn’t thought you would do so well”

Lucy shook her head at her father’s words. “Don’t say that, Dad. To be honest, it was true that Xenomium was too much for our family. You’re just voicing out your opinion.”

“But I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you.” Her father clasped her hands tightly. “Now I’m rooting for you no matter what you do. Of course, the same goes for your mother.”

Lucy was moved by her father’s words.

Actually, it would be a lie if she said she wasn’t disappointed. However, all the disappointment that remained melted away when she heard his encouragement and his trust in her.

Ring.

The restaurant’s bell rang as the door opened while Lucy was still holding her father’s hand. Three people walked into the restaurant, and she glanced at them.

No, to be more precise, her eyes turned to the young man with long blond hair among them.

It was simple, in simple plain clothes. He was accompanied by two boys who were often seen with him at the academy.

They looked around the restaurant in search of an empty seat, and settled not far from Lucy’s table. She quickly averted her gaze and pretended she didn’t notice them.

“How about becoming a doctor in the capital when you graduate?” her father asked. 

Lucy, staring blankly down at the plate, looked up suddenly. She was lost in thought for a moment. After a beat, she opened her mouth, finally registering his question. 

“Oh… A doctor? But wouldn’t Grandma be disappointed if I kept saying I would stay in the capital?”

“Well, I’m sure she won’t feel that way. If you want to do something, Grandma will never object. She also said that she would like you to experience more while you’re in the capital.”

“Really?” Lucy asked with her eyes wide open. “Well, but I don’t know yet…”

“Yes, because you’re still young. There’s no need to decide the future already. Go to Xenomium and experience a lot of things and slowly find out what you want to do… By the way, do you know them?”

All of a sudden, her father turned his head and looked at the nearby table. He seemed to have noticed a moment ago that Lucy’s eyes were constantly glancing elsewhere.

“No! I don’t know them.” Lucy hastily denied it.

However, her father looked at the boys sitting at the table one by one as if he were observing them. Soon his gaze stopped at one of the boys.

“He’s handsome. He must be popular with girls,” he said, his eyes glued to Felix. “But what about Hans in the blacksmith’s shop?”

“It’s not like that! I have nothing to do with Hans!” Lucy said, hitting her fist on the table. But looking at the way Lucy acted, her father just smiled as if she was being cute.

“Are you done?” Lucy hurriedly packed her things and tried to get up. “I’ll show you around Bethel.”

As if to tease Lucy, her father deliberately picked up his luggage slowly. She stared at her father exasperatedly and left the table first.

But without her realizing it, she stole a glance at Felix.

He didn’t noticed her eyeing him, completely engrossed in the conversation with his friends. One of them linked his arms with him then grinned as if he had told a bland joke.

He looks good.

Lucy thought as she gazed at his smiling face.

She didn’t see him in the hallway or the campus, so she wondered if he was sick. When she saw him laughing and chatting with his friends, she felt relieved for some reason.

Then she turned away from Felix and left the restaurant with her father.