The Butterfly That Swallowed the Fog
“How are you feeling now?”
Judy set the luxurious box down on the bedside table and studied Tilia’s face with concern.
“Good grief, you’re still so pale. I was afraid it wouldn’t work. Let’s go to the hospital.”
“No, I’m fine. I just had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yes. I dreamed I failed my exam.”
Tilia imitated wiping sweat from her forehead in a shaky motion.
“Ugh, even after it’s over, I’m still dreaming about failing. Isn’t the graduation exam terrifying?”
At the teasing remark, Judy’s worried expression softened into a smile.
“Oh my. You’re the valedictorian and you’re acting like this? I was shaking for three whole days when I dreamed of flunking!”
Judy plopped onto Tilia’s bed, rubbing her arms as if to ward off chills. Suddenly remembering something, she let out a startled “Ah!” and rummaged through her bag.
“Here. Chocolate.”
“Wow.”
“And this is medicine for an upset stomach. Mom bought it because you said you felt sick. It has to be taken after a meal.”
It seemed today was the day to take medicine.
Though Tilia accepted the digestive aid with a cynical smile, she was genuinely grateful for the thoughtfulness behind it—the only one among today’s gifts that carried genuine worry.
“Thank you. Please tell the countess I’m grateful.”
“Taking medicine right before exams. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy. They say you lay in the infirmary after taking it and barely woke up in time for the exam?”
“Yes… well… lucky me… But what’s in this box? Did your brother bring it from Ontaroa?”
Tilia quickly steered the conversation away, afraid Judy might start talking about something related to lies.
“The velvet ribbon looks incredibly luxurious. What’s the gift?”
“Oh, this? It’s not mine.”
The reply from Judy was far from what Tilia had expected.
“I was told the dorm prefect gave it to you to pass on. Now I’m dying to know—what is it?”
“It came for me?” Tilia’s eyes narrowed.
Who on earth would give me such a gift…?
Curiosity mixed with unease kept Tilia staring at the box as Judy scooted closer.
“I nearly died of curiosity carrying it here. Can we open it now? Huh? Huh?”
Overpowered by Judy’s insistence, Tilia hesitated only a moment before slowly unwinding the box’s ribbon.
The lid opened silently and without a sound.
But the instant the lid lifted, Tilia’s face hardened into a mask of stone.
“Medicine?”
While Tilia remained frozen, Judy’s tone stayed delightfully naive. The excited girl pulled out various medicines from the box and chattered happily.
“Let’s see. This one is great for removing bruises, and this is ointment for cuts… Oh, there’s a fatigue recovery tonic and bandages too.”
Judy stared at the assortment of medicines, puzzled, then turned to her roommate.
“Tilia, these all look like they came from a top-tier apothecary. Do you know who sent them?”
Tilia shook her head slowly.
“No. I don’t know.”
***
After the final exams of the semester, the period of grade calculation and corrections began. The academy’s rhythm slowed noticeably.
Even Tilia, who had lived through an intensely demanding schedule, now found a sliver of breathing room.
Of course, it was nothing grand—just enough time to read a book she had been too busy to touch or to begin light pre-study for the next term.
Yet Tilia treasured those small moments. The brief window between semesters, when everything finally felt lighter, was the one she had waited for all year.
But…
That kid.
While browsing the library, Tilia’s eyes narrowed.
Why is he here?
Her sharply raised brows moved toward the window seat where a young man sat at the far end of the aisle.
The central library, which had witnessed the academy’s entire history, was as weathered as that history itself.
The faint, musty scent of old books lingered, and the marble shelves—cracked in places despite recent repairs—still carried the weight of centuries.
And in that ancient place, Elex Davenport stood out like something freshly painted, glowing with an alien, almost luminous purity.
His long legs were crossed as he sat on the windowsill at the very back of the bookshelves. Summer sunlight poured down, turning his golden hair into molten gold and casting a mysterious, ethereal light along his noble nose.
I know you’re pretending to be aloof, but…
Tilia’s lips curved into a crooked, irritated line as she watched from the end of the aisle.
Why here? Of all places?
Annoyed, she shoved the book she had been about to pull back onto the shelf.
If it had been pure chance, she would not have reacted with such emotion. After all, it had been she who had once insisted they treat their night together as nothing more than a mistake.
Then why did he keep following her around like a shadow?
Tilia bit her lip, glancing sideways to check if anyone else lingered behind the shelves.
Elex Davenport had been orbiting Tilia for a full week since the exams—ever since the night they shared a bed. At first she had thought it was coincidence, simply her own overactive imagination reacting to him.
But…
“Tilia, did you have a dream…? Elex, you weren’t near the lecture hall, were you? Then how did you end up near the girls’ dorm? Are you two-faced or something?”
Even oblivious Judy had begun to sense his presence. It was clear now—he was indeed following her.
Why?
After confirming only two wide-eyed freshmen were on the nearby shelves, Tilia stared openly at Elex Davenport.
Even under her glare, he pretended not to notice, eyes fixed on the book in his hands.
But Tilia knew the truth. He had trailed her from the lecture hall through the main building all the way to this library.
Because she had seen him at every single one of those places.
Her brows drew together sharply at the thought of him. If he had simply followed her openly, she could have confronted him. Yet he never did. He would vanish during her travels and reappear the moment she reached her destination, as if he already knew exactly where she was going.
As if he had seen through her movements.
Since he had always arrived at places before her, she could never accuse him without appearing to be the stalker herself.
Tilia scowled at Elex, then lowered her gaze to the book he held.
Basic Ethics Theology?
The title of the thick book in his large, strong hands caught Tilia’s eye with genuine surprise.
After finishing the first stage of the graduation exam, why would he be reviewing basic theology?
Wait… no way.
Tilia’s tilted head straightened again.
So he’s already studying for the second stage?
The first stage had been an essay-style written exam; the second would be an oral debate evaluation.
Debate topics—designed to test critical thinking—were assigned by subject or integrated course. Students had to defend their assigned positions within their groups.
Topics usually came from advanced texts, though introductory ones sometimes appeared.
I haven’t read an intro book in ages.
Her focus, previously locked on other specialty volumes, shifted with sudden seriousness.
Now is not the time. I need to start studying today.
Just as Tilia reached for the textbook she needed right away, a hushed voice floated from across the aisle.
“Did you hear? Gregory Myers got caught in the end.”
Tilia froze, still holding out her hand toward the shelf, and listened quietly.
Word of Gregory’s punishment would mean nothing new to her—she had already heard about it days earlier.
According to Judy’s excited report, the teaching assistant who had leaked the exam answers had confessed to everything. What began as a simple cheating scandal had grown into something far larger: the academy dean himself was involved.
“It’s chaos right now. They say he was connected to the dean since admission. Even I heard it might not just be expulsion anymore—it could turn into an arrest.”
Judy had grinned and given a thumbs-up, confirming Tilia’s own suspicions.
While Judy felt nothing but joy at Myers’s downfall—something far grander than Tilia had planned—Tilia felt an unsettling chill.
She should be happy. She should rejoice that the scale of her revenge had only grown. Yet…
Why is it over already?
She had assumed the assistant had taken the full blame in exchange for whatever price he had been paid. A deeper transaction must still lie beneath the surface.
…What does it matter?
But Tilia quickly dismissed the thought and savored the simple pleasure of Myers’s ruin. She imagined the pathetic sight of him trudging out of the dorm with his suitcase, whistling under her breath.
No matter what darker secrets still lurked behind his fall, one thing was certain: he had collapsed completely, exactly as she had wanted.
“Right. He’ll definitely be investigated. I heard his family was already tied to the dean.”
From the quiet library came the faint, careless chatter of the new students.
Tilia’s gaze, still lost in thought, drifted back toward them.
“No, he wasn’t arrested.”
“Then what?”
“You know that thing… in his dorm room…”
His dorm room? What had been found in Gregory Myers’s room?
Just as Tilia leaned closer to catch the rest of the hushed words, she forgot that she was standing in an old library.
Her foot caught on a cracked marble tile beside an ancient shoe.
In the split second she lost her balance, she missed her chance to grab the shelf.
Thud.
A large hand caught her shoulder and pulled her upright.