Chapter 42: Empty.

What do students with no particular plans do once all classes are over?
Some head straight home. Some detour with friends. Some stay behind to finish errands on campus.
Normally, if you have nothing to do you go home; if you do, you stay. That’s how it works.

Does “not wanting to go home” count as an errand?
Unfortunately, no one ever volunteers to keep her company, so she’s always alone.
If she asked Yulan, he would stay with her without hesitation, but it feels wrong to waste his time just because she doesn’t want to go home.

So in the end, she leaves the classroom by herself, chooses the least crowded places she can find each time, and waits for the hours to pass.
She has considered killing time in the library or the cafeteria, but most people seem to have the same idea; those two places are almost always packed.

“…About an hour left, I suppose.”

She can hear the voices of students spending their free time however they like, but no one is in sight.
The neatly trimmed greenery is beautiful, yet the lack of color makes it look a little lonely; perhaps that’s just the scenery reflecting Violet’s own feelings.

The academy is fairly liberal, but students with no business here aren’t allowed to loiter forever.
Those in the student council or with official duties are one thing, but if you have no legitimate reason, you’re urged to go home. If you refuse without proper authorization, you have no choice but to comply.

That time limit is in one hour.
Not yet sunset, but the time when the color of the sky begins to shift.

The book she brought from home lies open on her lap. The volume she’s been reading for the past few days is almost finished. She’ll probably complete it today.

(What should I do next… I could go out, but if word gets back it’ll be a hassle.)

The desire to do whatever she wanted was still fresh in her memory, yet when she actually had free time and thought about it seriously, there were surprisingly few things she truly wanted.

The first thing that came to mind—going out—would be reported to her father the moment the carriage was requested.
Especially after she had once turned down Mary-June’s invitation, her father now arbitrarily believed Violet “owed” Mary-June.
One refusal had somehow accrued outrageous interest.
She was already coming home late every day; if Mary-June asked for anything, he would trample over Violet’s feelings without a second thought.

That was, frankly, a pain. And it wouldn’t exactly be painless for her.

So until now she had limited herself to things she could do inside the academy.
She had already been here four years, counting middle division. Buildings changed, but the essence did not.
There were new classrooms, but they were all used for lessons.

“…I guess I’m emptier than I thought.”

Not exactly a new discovery.
She had never had a particularly strong sense of self to begin with.
She had drifted along, doing as she was told, until it finally exceeded the limit and exploded; that was last time’s result.

Even if everything were stripped away, all that remained was an empty shell of a person.

(Oh… this might be bad.)

It hit her harder than expected.
So this was what it meant to be forced to face yourself.

She had wished for freedom, believed that if she could just escape that house she would be able to fly.

But that wasn’t true.
Freedom came with responsibility. Every choice was her own.
She hadn’t realized until this very moment how heavy that truly was.

“…Violet?”

“……!”

Her thoughts, frozen by the sudden intrusion of reality, jolted back to life at the voice that reached her ears.
When she looked up, Claudia stood there holding a stack of papers in one hand.

Now that she thought about it, this spot was close to the student council room.
That explained the lack of people. Few would dare make noise near where others were working, especially when the student council president himself was a prince.

He clearly hadn’t expected to see her here either; his eyes were wide.
It seemed he had uttered her name unconsciously rather than deliberately calling out.
Confirmation, meaning—did it matter?

They had noticed each other, and Claudia was the one who had spoken first.
He apparently couldn’t just walk away in silence.

“You haven’t gone home yet?”

“Well… yes…”

She couldn’t exactly say she didn’t want to go home, nor could she lie and claim she had business.
All she could do was give a vague, halting answer.
Whether he sensed something in her averted gaze, he didn’t press further.

“And you, Your Highness? Student council work?”

“Yeah… Regular students are supposed to head home soon, though.”

“Yes… that’s true…”

The sun had dipped a little lower; it wouldn’t be long before darkness fell.

Going home was only natural, yet this hour she felt almost every day never became any easier to bear.
Looking forward to coming to school might be a good thing, but dreading the return home added an unmistakable gloom. It wasn’t just her imagination.

Perhaps noticing the shadow that crossed her face the moment “going home” was mentioned, Claudia also fell silent.

A brief silence, thoughts spinning.
She searched for a reason to leave, yet her heavy feet refused to move, as though rooted to the ground.

Her hesitation must have shown.
It was Claudia who spoke first.

“Violet, after this… are you just heading home?”

“Yes, that was the plan…”

“If you have a little time… could you help me with something?”