For Your Failed Unrequited Love

“Noel.”

He looked at Lucy and hesitated a little, then opened his mouth.

“Why are you so down?”

He asked, but he seemed to already know that Lucy had lost the top spot. In fact, his brother Eric could not have said anything to his brother because he won the top spot he wanted so much.

Lucy just bowed her head without answering, and Noel scratched the back of his head.

“I’m sorry, sunbae.”

Noel apologized out of the blue. Lucy looked up again with a quizzical expression.

“Why are you….?”

“It’s just that sunbae’s grades…….”

In the end, he talked about Lucy’s performance with difficulty.

“I’m so sorry, it’s all because of my brother. If I had told you earlier, you wouldn’t have had to worry about the necklace.” 

Eric, who stole Lucy’s necklace and Felix’s school uniform, was given a week of probation and 50 demerit points. Returning what he stole was taken into account and the fact that he did it due to extreme academic stress.

It was an ambiguous punishment, not heavy or light. It was a decision that showed the Academy’s concern about protecting Eric’s prestige as a junior while not going against the sentiments of Prince Berg, who had his school uniform stolen.

“Eric should have been deprived of his chance to take the test. Maybe if you were only in the same year as the Bergs.”

Noel hesitated and spoke.

He was right. The academy set the level of punishment in consideration of both Felix and Eric’s positions, but it did not think about Lucy’s position, another victim.

Although she was the top student, Lucy was a commoner. The Academy may have been secretly hoping that a student from a noble family would take the top spot, not a commoner. That’s why they didn’t take the chance to take the test from Eric.

However, Eric was not entirely to blame for Lucy’s lower-than-expected ranking. No, at some point she didn’t care a bit about Eric.

It was a completely different boy who gave her a hard time while preparing for the exam.

“Well, actually, I didn’t miss the test because my necklace was missing.”

Lucy answered, shaking her head.

“I just… I couldn’t concentrate on studying because I wasn’t feeling well this time. I was really nervous when I took the test.”

“You can’t always be in good shape. I think it’s great that you’ve been in first place for a year and a half!”

Noel suddenly spoke with a loud voice.

After that, he tried to relieve Lucy’s subdued mood. Then, he suddenly turned his head and looked toward the main building. Lucy’s eyes followed his sudden action.

A man with blond hair, who was very visible from a distance, was walking this way. Lucy realized at once that he was Felix just by looking at him walking with one hand in his pocket.

“Well, I’m going now.”

Lucy got up from her seat. She didn’t feel like running into Felix now. Suddenly, Noel stood up following Lucy, who was about to leave the bench.

“Oh… Isn’t that Felix sunbae?”

Noel asked, following Lucy, who was moving quickly.

“I think he is coming to you”

Ignoring Noel’s words, Lucy kept walking. As Noel kept glancing back, Felix seemed to be following Lucy without stopping.

Lucy slipped into a nearby building as fast as she could. Hiding behind a large pillar, Felix came into the building and looked for her. Soon after, he couldn’t find Lucy and disappeared.

“Why are you hiding? I think Felix came to thank you.” asked Noel, who was hiding with Lucy behind the pillar.

“Thank me?”

Lucy asked back with a quizzical look at Noel’s words.

“They both topped this time. Felix and Adrian. Adrian is a given, but it’s all thanks to Lucy that Felix also took the top spot”

Both of them?

Lucy opened her eyes wide.

Adrian and his twin, Felix, were expected to have good brains, but she never imagined Felix could get the top spot in such a short period of time.

See? You can do it well. 

Lucy thought of Felix preparing hard for the test without realizing it, and shook her head in surprise.

But now it’s none of my business.

Whether Felix was at the top or last place, it was no longer Lucy’s business. Looking at where Felix disappeared, she smiled bitterly.

* * *

Lucy doesn’t want to think about Felix any more. However, not hearing his name was not easy because the news that he joined Adrian to the top spot was such a hot topic among other students.

The book club members were also constantly clamoring about the surprising news.

“I heard Felix sunbae failed in all his subjects before”

“How did he get a perfect score at once?”

“I guess he’s been hiding his skills”

“Or the duke put pressure on the academy to fix his score a little.”

“Well, if you’re the successor, and you’re inferior to your brother, you’ll look terrible.….”

“Shh!”

Adrian appeared as the wild speculation crossed the line. The members hurriedly shut up and watched Adrian’s countenance.

But he didn’t seem to hear the murmur. As soon as he came in, he took several envelopes with Berg’s seal from his bag and held them out to the members.

“Take one at a time.”

It was an invitation to a banquet to be held in the Berg family mansion two days later.

“That day is Felix’s birthday and me. I want everyone who has time to come.”

It was the first time that his juniors were invited to his birthday. Last year alone, only two male students, who always go with the twins, were able to receive invitations.

“Huh? Can we go?”

Jemima asked with a surprised look on her face whether she thought the same thing.

“Of course, it’s my last birthday before I become an adult. I really want you guys to come this time.”

Everyone was buzzing with excitement and anticipation, and hurriedly opened the invitation from Adrian.

In it, Lucy became alone in a difficult situation. It was only a few days ago that he went to see Felix first and asked him not to see her again in private, but now she’s invited to his birthday banquet.

She slipped the invitation she received from Adrian on the table. It seemed embarrassing and strange for her to attend.

Adrian found it and pushed the invitation back to Lucy. He asked quietly after confirming that the other members were distracted by the invitation.

“You’re not coming?”

“Oh, that’s….”

Lucy, who couldn’t answer because she couldn’t bear to see Felix’s face, hesitated.

“Don’t be so discouraged.”

Adrian, however, began to cheer Lucy up with a friendly tone as if he had misunderstood something else.

“Being the top is not given. It’s not easy at all. I know that very well.”

Then he grinned playfully. At that moment, Lucy was surprised to see Felix on his face.

“And just because your grades are down this time doesn’t mean it’s over. You can pull it up again on the next test. I’m sure it’ll go up next time because you’ve been doing well so far.”

It was all the more touching because it is said by Adrian, not anyone else. She never thought about it before, but somehow, she felt the same way thinking that she should try harder to protect the first place.

“So why don’t you come to the banquet instead of being depressed?”

He presented the invitation once again. But still Lucy hesitated, Adrian asked with a worried look.

“Wait, you don’t look so happy or do you have any other concerns?”

“It’s just… it’s the scholarship.”

Perhaps because of Adrian’s soft voice, Lucy unwittingly brought up her own troubles.

“Scholarship?” 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to take the top spot this semester…… I don’t know if I can get a reduction in tuition for the next school year.”

“Oh, I see.”

Adrian looked sad when she finally found out about Lucy’s real problem. Then he tapped the invitation and said in a confident tone.

“Then you should come to the banquet even more.”

Lucy looked puzzled by Adrian’s vague words.

“Even though it’s our birthday party…. There are more aristocrats who come to put their eyes on the next Duke of Berg than the people who congratulate us from the bottom of their hearts or they just want to make more connections with our father. That’s why most of the people who will attend the party are our father’s acquaintances. Maybe you can find someone there to back you up.”

Lucy opened her eyes wide at Adrian’s unexpected words.

A sponsor.

It was an unexpected way to find a sponsor other than Baron Conor.

It was common for high-ranking nobles to sponsor talented children. The children of the lower aristocracy, who had no financial leeway due to the collapse of the family, used to form a sponsorship relationship with them to continue their studies.

It didn’t sound so bad. Of course, she was a commoner, not of noble birth. Nevertheless, she has been at the top for three semesters. That point deserved a good enough score.