There is no happy ending

It was all over now. I was willing to let Jade crawl away in the afterglow.

Jade hesitated.

‘I thought I knew you, but I’m starting to think maybe I didn’t.’

‘…….’

‘……It’s hard.’

‘Really?’

‘You’re too difficult, Bianca.’

Bianca took Jade’s words in stride and slipped off her shoes.

The feet were a private part of the body and not to be revealed to others easily, but there was a level of trust between Jade and Bianca that allowed them to be barefoot; they shared the same father.

Bianca leaned back comfortably in the carriage’s chair and glanced at Jade.

Jade blushed and tilted her head down as her gaze met Bianca’s. No wonder Jade was more difficult to deal with when Bianca was in a ‘good’ mood.

Bianca twisted her fingers in my hair. My dark brown hair curled around her slender, white fingers.

‘Don’t try to understand me, Jade.’

‘Because it’s …… presumptuous?’

‘Yes. I think, I come to a conclusion, and you follow it. What’s so hard about that?’

‘…….’

‘I never gave you permission to think.’

Jade’s body stiffened. When Bianca spoke to him like that, he felt like he wasn’t a person, like a rock rolling on the side of the road. Maybe she did see him that way.

Regardless of Jade’s feelings, Bianca continued.

‘It’s me that matters.’

She smiled.

Admission to the Volona Academy was a two-step process.

First, a written examination was conducted to select the successful candidates, followed by an oral examination. The mid-term entrance exam was more difficult than the regular entrance exam.

Bianca didn’t waste the time she was given: she studied for the midterm in the carriage or read the published papers.

She even debated with Jade for the viva voce, which meant that Jade had to take time out of her sleep to try to match Bianca’s level.

When Jade couldn’t keep up, Bianca would glare at her.

Jade’s eyes narrowed. Bianca’s posture and attire hadn’t crumbled from the long carriage ride.

Jade pressed her palms to her eyes and yawned, and Bianca scoffed at the sight.

‘You’re not getting any better.’

Jade’s white ears flared red.

Of course, Jade could have made any number of excuses.

For example, Bianca had been trained as an heir from an early age, while Jade hadn’t had any training since Bianca’s birth. But he couldn’t say anything.

He can’t help it. As far as Jade was concerned, Bianca was the only sister he had left, no matter how much she didn’t treat him like an older brother.

They were very young, Bianca had laughed at Jade’s finger as she snuck into a room she wasn’t supposed to be in.

To say we were close would be an understatement, but Jade was the kind of person who would do anything for my sister.

And…… somehow, the harder Bianca stood, the more precarious Jade seemed. She didn’t want to break, so she was feigning vulnerability, or so I thought.

It was the feeling of someone who had watched Bianca her whole life.

Jade spoke, her lips barely moving.

‘Take it easy.’

She would have been less worried if she’d been a little disheveled if she’d been a little more vicious. Anything was bound to break if you forced it too tightly, but Bianca always wanted to be aristocratic, and it looked like she was going to break. Jade was afraid of that.

‘The midterms aren’t for another three months.’

But no matter how Jade felt, it was boring to Bianca. She put down the book she was reading and sighed.

There was contempt in her eyes as she looked at Jade.

‘You’re trying to play big brother again just because you’re alone.’

‘That’s not it.’

‘Shut up, Jade. This is something I have to do.’

Bianca’s words shut Jade up, because yes, it was Bianca’s feelings that mattered, not Jade’s.

‘I’m not Eugene, and I’m not that girl who couldn’t do her job, who was weak and cried all the time.’

‘…….’

‘I get the creeps every time you treat me like that bitch. It makes me want to dig her body out of the grave and prove to you that I’m not even remotely comparable. You know?’

What a cruel thing to say. Jade let out a thin breath.

‘……we’re in a bannog.’

‘I know.’

‘Just rest until the ship leaves. I’m worried.’

Bianca said nothing, but Jade knew better than anyone else that it was not an unspoken affirmation.

So the carriage traveled for twelve days, arriving at the southern port of Bannog.

It had been a longer journey than expected. The journey usually took ten days, but the roads in Falborn had been well maintained since time immemorial, and the horses could have made it in a week if they had been hurried.

But Bianca wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, she took her time and chose a relaxed journey. It was somewhat of an escape, but she didn’t want to appear to be running away.

The salty, southern, humid air irritated Bianca’s nose in a way it hadn’t in the capital city of Bayern.

She could vaguely hear the cawing of seagulls. The well-policed and well-maintained primary-colored buildings of Bannog caught her eye.

Bianca’s eyes scanned the rows of distinctive architecture.

‘We’ll have to buy new clothes.’

The season was changing to summer. If Bianca wore the same clothes from the capital, she would faint from the heat.

Bianca had grown up in the capital, but…… Nagi was a northerner, born in a northern land. The cloth of the capital was a little too thick for Bannog. Jade nodded slowly.

Bianca then ordered Jade to go to the harbor and find out when the boat to Volona was leaving. She also kept an eye out for a dressing room that might be available.

They were lucky. The ship to Volona was leaving in three days. If it is bad, she would have to wait another month. Bannog was too hot for Bianca.

Bianca packed her things in a luxury hotel not far from the harbor. It wasn’t exclusively for the nobility, but they could afford to stay there, and most of the guests were.