PTSD Military Chaplain of the Academy

On a refreshing spring day, with the warm sunlight.

In fact, not long ago, I had felt the winter weather of February, so it wasn’t something to get overly excited about, but the mere difference in the numbers from February to March wasn’t just a simple change in mood.

Whatever it may be, the season has changed. The cold, harsh season has finally retreated, and soon new lives will begin to awaken. The existence of humans would inevitably stir positive feelings just because of that.

And that was the same for Laura von Adelheit, the eldest daughter of the Adelhaid Ducal House.

“Hmm…”

As the start of the new year passes by, the event of the entrance ceremony hit again for the second time. It wasn’t something to take lightly.

Laura strolled around the courtyard of the main building. Even though it had only been a month or two since she last set foot here, for some reason, it felt a bit new.

And that was probably due to the winds of change that had come upon Laura.

“Oh… look at that person.”

“Who? Another new student?”

“Not at all, you idiot! Can’t you see the color of the tie? That’s a second-year senior!”

“Oh? Now that you mention it…”

Just like Laura, two new students crossing the wide courtyard of the academy whispered among themselves as they brushed past her. Laura found herself unintentionally lifting her chin.

A new year, a new semester. And that means the start of a new grade.

Laura von Adelheit has become a second-year student.

The tie she always wore with her uniform had turned red, and she had become as familiar with the Caldera Imperial Academy as if it were her own home.

Getting used to the academy was a good thing. It meant she could take on the role of guiding her younger sister, Rina von Adelheit, around the academy.

With a somewhat new mindset, Laura attended the academy. Since last autumn, she had been taking a car to school from her family’s mansion, but after welcoming the new year, she had been allowed to return to the dormitory.

‘It feels a bit strange, though…’

Her father, Maximilian von Adelheit, had vacated Laura’s room in the dormitory to work on their strained father-daughter relationship, which had started to deteriorate from late summer of last year.

Determined to restore their warm family relationship, the Duke of Adelhaid had, for some reason, allowed her to return to the dormitory this time.

Although her relationship with her father was still in a cold war state, Laura was at least thoroughly satisfied with her return to the dormitory.

Having to take a car from the mansion had become tedious, and because her encounters with Professor Antorelli had drastically decreased “by chance,” Laura was really—.

“…Wait a second.”

Laura found herself unconsciously making a startled voice, quickly covering her mouth and looking around. Fortunately, there were no students looking at her strangely.

‘What on earth am I thinking?’

Laura quickly shook her head to rid herself of the impure thoughts from earlier. There was no way to understand why such unsightly thoughts kept coming to her, which was unbearably frustrating.

If she had to pinpoint the cause, it would surely be the recent trip to the Holy Empire. That was likely why Laura had begun to think of Professor Antorelli so often lately.

The trip to the Holy Empire. The snowy winter was more than enough to awaken the childlike innocence that only Laura could feel during her childhood.

The light snowflakes, when bundled and thrown, instantly transformed into a fun snowball fight. It was a season that, while cold, allowed one to appreciate the warmth all the more.

It was just before Christmas, and what’s more, right before the new year.

Welcoming the new year always brought a melancholic feeling, but at the same time, it infused expectations and hopes for a new beginning. Embracing all these emotions, Laura impulsively joined the journey.

And there, Laura saw.

On one of the days during the trip, the Sub-priest Sofia had disappeared with Professor Antorelli for quite a while.

Not only did they exit the lodging together in the late hours past midnight, but they also returned at dawn. It was virtually a situation in which it was reasonable to assume that the two had enjoyed a secret rendezvous.

What was almost a disaster was the fact that Laura had not slept until they left.

If only she had been sleeping, she would not have had to witness such an unpleasant sight.

If she had been dreaming during that time, she wouldn’t have been haunted by thoughts that made her uncomfortable.

Professor Antorelli and Sub-priest Sofia left hand in hand. Although they were traveling with a group that had come along, the two must have reserved a room separately.

Thus, entering the warmly decorated room they had set aside for just the two of them, Professor Antorelli and Sub-priest Sofia. Given their usual personalities, it was likely that Sofia would be the one to initiate any romantic advances.

They were both adults. There was no problem whatsoever. There was a slight age difference, but rather, that seemed to enhance the allure.

To put it differently, Laura, who was bound by a student identity, was in a completely different social position from them.

Laura couldn’t understand why she was having these thoughts and, furthermore, why thinking about them made her feel worse. She couldn’t even identify the reason.

Still, she imagined that perhaps, unexpectedly, Professor Antorelli could be the more proactive one.

This time, a different scenario began to unfold in Laura’s mind.

The place was exactly the same as before, a love nest built just for the two of them. This time, however, it was Professor Antorelli who led her first instead of Sub-priest Sofia.

Gone were the messy hair and disheveled glasses, as he smoothly tossed aside his glasses and swept his bangs back with an air of nonchalance.

The important thing was his eyes. Cold, analytical, with just a hint of arrogance, they seemed to harbor a deep wound, looking full of untold stories.

That cold, intelligent gem rolled toward Laura, who was trapped between the wall and Professor Antorelli, unable to move.

Laura felt at a loss, thinking she shouldn’t be feeling this way, pleading that they were teacher and student… but ultimately, she couldn’t push away the slowly approaching hand of Professor Antorelli, and instead…

‘…Ah, no!’

Laura found herself frozen in place. Like a quake had hit, her bright red eyes began to flicker this way and that.

‘Why, why has it turned into me?!’

Surely, even in the examples she had earlier, the subject had been Sub-priest Sofia—so when did Sofia become her? Laura stood there, squeezing her eyes shut, trying desperately to shake off those unholy thoughts.

Such a thing could never happen. How could Professor Antorelli be that kind of man?

But then, how could they have stepped out of the lodging together in the dead of night? No, was there even an explanation needed? It was already an established fact.

In any case, after that, what happened would have been no different from Laura’s imagination. They would share deep affections, affirming their love exclusively with one another, slowly…

“…I feel sick.”

Laura unnecessarily loosened her tie, only to quickly realize the gazes around her and retie it. It had only sullied her mood further.

She was aware that this was a pointless task. She recognized it, but…

‘Still, isn’t it a bit too much?’

Suddenly, this thought struck her.

Thinking back, hadn’t Professor Antorelli been acting oddly toward Sub-priest Sofia since that day? Laura trusted her intuition.

The dynamic between the two had surely shifted slightly since that night. It wasn’t a drastic change, but a subtle difference that, once recognized, continued to linger in Laura’s mind.

Surely, the two of them must have been up to something unusual…

“Laura!”

Hearing a familiar voice from behind, Laura quickly scattered her bizarre imagination into the air. Collecting her expression momentarily, she took a deep breath and turned around, smiling.

“Rina!”

“Hehe… I finally made it!”

Laura’s lovely sister, Rina von Adelheit, was energetically walking up to her from behind.

Yes, she was ‘walking up’. Unlike before when she came in a wheelchair or stumbled with someone’s support, she was approaching Laura solely with her own strength.

From nowhere else but the Caldera Imperial Academy, which Rina had desperately wanted to attend.

Laura wrapped her arms around Rina, who was running towards her. Though her body showed a bit of frailness, Rina had visibly become healthier.

“Are you here for the entrance ceremony?”

“Yup! Now, I’m a student at the academy just like you! Hehe…”

Rina beamed with joy once again. Her white hair danced beautifully in the wind, and her red eyes shone brightly, reflecting the aura of innocence, slightly pale yet accentuating her delicate beauty.

At that moment, Laura thought she could die happily right there.

“I’m so glad. I can attend the academy with Rina.”

“By the way, I almost couldn’t sleep at all last night.”

“That’s not good. You need to get enough sleep.”

Concern filled Laura’s gaze. Noticing this, Rina playfully rubbed her face against Laura’s and laughed heartily. The familiar scent of her sister tickled Rina’s nose.

“It’s fine. I had Lucia put me to sleep.”

“If it’s Lucia….”

Laura hesitated, unsure how to continue. She didn’t want to say something odd and ruin the joyful mood on the occasion of Rina finally coming to the academy.

However, her concern for Rina outweighed that thought.

“Rina. Is your body… alright now?”

“Yeah. Lucia and the attending physician helped me a lot. Thanks to them, I’ve even been exercising a little… Look! I don’t need a wheelchair anymore!”

Rina looked overly excited. Watching Rina bounce around with a satisfied smile, Laura reached out her hand toward her.

“Let’s go. We have to attend the entrance ceremony soon. I’ll guide you to the auditorium.”

“Okay. Thank you, Laura.”

As Rina’s soft hand was grasped, Laura felt that the troubling thoughts that had been previously surfacing were being completely erased.

With the refreshing wind at their backs, the two girls moved toward the auditorium.

Indeed, it was the season of beginnings.

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