For Your Failed Unrequited Love

When Lucy was with the students at the academy, she still felt as if she were a country girl from the countryside. But when she was with my father, she was relaxed as if she had lived in the capital all her life.

Just like when she first came to Bethel and could not keep her mouth shut when she saw the enormous city, her father also could not hide his surprise at the brilliance of Bethel.

It was Lucy’s first time showing and telling her father to a place, so she was excited to take her father around Bethel’s famous landmarks.

The square, the market, the palace, and so on.

Lucie was delighted to see her father’s face light up and admire the places he saw, as if he was a child.

Furthermore, she felt relaxed because she was with her family, letting go of the strains he felt when interacting with people she wasn’t close to. Her natural smile sprung from her lips.

Maybe that was why she felt the time spent with her father went by faster than usual, and it wasn’t long before they had to say their goodbyes.

The sun was already setting in the horizon.

Lucy, unable to hide her sorrow and regret, held hands with her father and walked to the line of carriages.

“That fast?”

Lucy looked discouraged when she heard her father’s saying that he had to go back to Brom after two weeks. She wanted to beg him not to go if she could, like a child. However, Lucy endured the feeling because she knew how inconvenient it would be for the villagers to have the only doctor in the village gone for nearly a month.

She wished she could see him again during the week of her father’s stay. But that didn’t work out either. The midterm exam will begin in two week, so she wanted to spend her weekend studying.

She has to keep her top position because she has to get the scholarship.

Lucy hid her disappointment and told her father about the situation. When she said she had to study for the exam, her father also looked disappointed, but he nodded and understood her situation.

“Don’t worry about me, just study hard,” her father soother her, his tone soft. “We’ll see each other again during the summer vacation.”

Summer vacation.

It felt so far away.

They walked with their hands clasped tightly, and soon arrived in front of the carriage. Her father told her to take a private carriage, but Lucy refused. After all, all the private carriages were occupied, and there was not a single carriage left.

“Well, the travel takes about the same amount of time as the public carriage.”

Lucy walked to a public carriage as if it were not a big deal.

The carriage had no walls, and it was a carriage with a tent for a roof, so it could barely prevent rain. In fact, it was more like a large cart than a carriage.

“Here’s the carriage to the Academy! I’ll be leaving in five minutes!” the old coachman cried, standing by the carriage.

Lucy’s father reached out to her to help her get on the carriage. She lifted her skirt slightly and climbed into the carriage.

As soon as she entered, she saw people sitting in the corner of the carriage first. Surprisingly, one of them was Felix. His friends whom she had seen in the restaurant were also with him.

Lucy managed to hide her astonishment and sat close to the entrance.

You’re also riding this carriage?

There were no private carriages left, but she never imagined that the duke’s children would ride in such a crowded, old carriage. Regardless, Felix and his friends were sitting face to face and engrossed in their conversation.

“Lucy,”

She heard her father’s voice calling for her, and she turned around. He was standing by the carriage.

“It’s late, Dad. You should go.”

“Yes, and this.” Her father took a small cloth bag out of his arms.

Lucy accepted the pouch, it was quite heavy. “What is this?”

“It’s not much, but… If you need anything, buy it using that.”

“It’s okay, Dad. Isn’t this your pocket money?” Lucy asked, anxious, as she returned the money pouch.

However, her father shook his head and refused. “I don’t think I’ll spend as much money as I expected, so I’m giving you some of it. Don’t worry.”

The money pouch went back and forth between the two several times. Eventually, Lucy couldn’t beat her Dad, so she placed the pouch inside her bag.

“Thank you, Dad.”

Her Dad spread his arms wide and hugged Lucy tightly. “I love you, my daughter, Don’t get sick and stay healthy.”

“I love you too, Dad.” Lucy also gave her father a heartfelt farewell hug.

At last, she heard the coachman’s shout of departure. Her father let her go with a sad smile.

“If anything happens, you must write to me immediately.”

Her father’s final behest rattled through the sound of wheels that began to move. Lucy nodded and waved to him. Soon the horses began to run at a fast speed.

The figure of her father waving his hands in front of her was getting smaller and smaller. After some time her father finally disappeared, Lucy stopped waving and sat down immediately.

Ah…

Lucy, who inadvertently turned her eyes forward, made eye contact with Felix, who was looking at her. His face glistened in the crimson sunset, in the rattling carriage.

Lucy gulped with her eyes widened. But unsurprisingly, Felix turned away first. After that their eyes never met again.

Lucy tried to calm her pounding heart.

Why is my heart beating so fast?

Seeing herself responding like that just because their eyes met once felt weird.

Felix was now turning away from her and looking at the sunset sky. He didn’t seem interested in Lucy at all.

It was a coincidence that our eyes met.

Her pounding heart gradually calmed down, and Lucy turned away from him, her eyes gazing at the road.

The carriage rattled along.

As she returned to the Academy, the sun gradually set and the whole area was engulfed in darkness. The carriage stopped in front of the gate in the pale moonlight.

The students rushed out of their seats to get off. Among them, Lucy, who was sitting close to the door, was the first to leave.

She tried to go down carefully, but she stumbled as she stepped on the hem of her skirt.

“Ahh!”

Fortunately, there was no sloppy tumbling to the ground. Lucy, who barely stepped on the ground, held her center and stood up straight.

However, one of the pouch she had kept in her bag came out and fell to the ground. It was the money pouch she received from her father.

Coins poured out of the old pouch and rolled over the dirt floor. Seeing the coins scattered in all directions, Lucy’s face turned white and she immediately knelt on the ground. She stretched her arms around to pick up the scattered coins.

A pair of female and male students, who were getting off from behind her, glanced at her figure and avoided the coins.

A few more feet crossed in front of her as she continued to pick up the coins. Lucy was ashamed and lowered her head. Her face flushed red.

“Lucy, you idiot,” she said to herself. “Why do you have to stumble here?”

She felt even more ashamed because she knew who was going to get off behind her.

“I’m sure I’m the only one in this academy who carries a bunch of silver coins like this,” she murmured to herself and kept picking up the coins.

After a while Lucy realized that someone was standing behind her. She stopped picking up coins and looked back.

There stood Felix and two of his friends, looking down at her.

She quickly lowered her head again. Her face was burning red; she felt like she was about to explode.

Lucy waited for Felix to pass by quickly. But no matter how much time had passed, he didn’t leave.

Are you going to watch me pick up coins?

Lucy looked down at the floor and frowned, she was so embarrassed. She would rather this moment be a dream, but the feeling of the cold coins in her hand was too vivid.

Then, a big hand appeared in front of her. The hand picked up the coins Lucy hadn’t seen.

It was Felix. He suddenly knelt on the ground like her, and looked under the carriage. He reached over with his long arms and took out several coins.

“There’s one here,” one of Felix’s friends, standing by and watching, pointed to the coin at his feet.

“Hey, Felix. down here,” said the other, tapping on the wheel of the carriage.

“You pick it up too,” Felix said, looking at the two in displeasure.

“Just pick it up while you’re at it.”

However, as Felix stared at them fiercely, they also began to pick up the coins quietly.