The Aftermath of First Love - Chapter 1

He sighed.

“Ah, youth… how carefree,” he muttered, though without any real resentment.

In the corner of the academy’s courtyard, where they thought they were hidden, two people were standing out quite conspicuously from the second-floor window. One of them was Adrian’s childhood friend and fiancée, Lady Posy Copeland.

Adrian and Posy’s estates were adjacent, and they had practically grown up together since they were little. Posy was the only daughter of Baron Copeland’s younger brother, who had passed away from an illness. Feeling pity for her, the baron and his wife had taken her in and raised her alongside their own son.

With both Adrian’s parents and the baron and his wife busy managing their small estates, they didn’t have much time for their children. As a result, the children of both families played freely and grew up alongside the local kids.

Adrian was surprisingly mature for his age, often acting as a stabilizing force among the children. He didn’t want to remember the nightmare of the day his brother and Posy’s adopted brother had ridden cows through the estate’s wheat fields. Even though he tried to forget, it was an unforgettable memory.

The person sitting with Posy, sharing a light meal, was Darnell Nelson, the Duke’s son. A blond-haired, blue-eyed nobleman gifted in both academics and martial arts. However, his popularity with young ladies and his grades had declined ever since he started spending more time with Posy.

Like many high-ranking nobles, Lord Nelson had a childhood fiancée, Lady Cheriliana Murdock, the marquis’s daughter. She had beautiful silver hair and a delicate appearance that made her an idol among the younger ladies at the academy.

It was unlikely that Posy, who wasn’t academically outstanding, would ever cross paths with Lord Nelson. Yet the person who facilitated their meeting was Adrian.

The academy, officially called the Royal Ripaltier Academy, had a broad admission policy and was divided into two courses: the General Studies Course and the Noble Course. The Noble Course, as the name suggests, focused on teaching nobles the skills needed to manage their estates.

The General Studies Course, on the other hand, was more specialized and open to people of all classes, from commoners to nobles, based on merit. It was essentially an institution for training the nation’s elite.

Having been diligent in his studies since childhood, Adrian joined the General Studies Course and achieved the top rank in his first term exam. This led to his being invited to join the student council.

And the president of the student council was none other than Lord Nelson. What happened next was pretty much as one might expect.

Adrian thought, “She’s just a novelty to him (a girl from the countryside, so to speak),” and that novelty appealed to Lord Nelson, leading to the present situation.

Adrian mused that it all felt like a plot from a clichéd novel. He personally didn’t mind if his engagement to Posy was dissolved at any moment.

After all, it wasn’t his choice or desire; it was an arrangement made by their parents, who were concerned about Posy’s future. But if it were between the duke’s son and the marquis’s daughter, it would become a much larger issue.

Looking down from the second-floor window at the courtyard enclosed by the U-shaped classroom building, Adrian noticed a figure standing by the window across from him, observing the same two people.

Standing by the window opposite, Lady Cheriliana Murdock raised her eyes and met Adrian’s gaze directly. Adrian returned a silent nod, but her expression remained unreadable.

Cheriliana Murdock was watching as her fiancée spoke to another girl, standing a little too close. Their engagement, arranged since they were children, had developed smoothly enough for mutual affection and a hint of budding romance, but that was only until a few months ago.

When Darnell started spending more time with a bold female student who had attached herself to the top-ranking student he recruited to the student council, rumors about their closeness began to spread.

When Cheriliana commented, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for a student unrelated to the council to enter the student council room,” Adrian, who was acquainted with the girl, bowed apologetically.

“She helps with sorting documents and other minor tasks, so I wouldn’t say she’s entirely unrelated,” Darnell replied with a generous smile, dismissing Cheriliana’s concern.

Cheriliana pressed further, “I’ve heard you’ve gone out to the lower town with that student recently. Isn’t that an inappropriate distance for a man and woman?”

To this, Darnell replied, “I had a guard with me, so we weren’t entirely alone. Besides, I just asked her to guide me since she knows the area well.”

“Why did it have to be a girl? Couldn’t the Viscount Garnet’s son have filled the same role?” Cheriliana questioned.

“Cheril,” he called her by her pet name, “why do you keep referring to her as ‘that student’? Why not call her by her name? Are you harboring petty jealousy or something? That’s not like you.”

Cheriliana’s feelings for him dissipated in an instant, like mist shattering into pieces. She felt the faint affection she had for him vanish completely.

“It’s only natural I can’t call her by name. Despite her frequent presence in the council room, she has never been formally introduced or presented to anyone,” she said coldly.

Startled by her calm response, Darnell replied hastily, “What, she hasn’t been introduced? I thought someone had already done that. I’ll introduce her soon.”

And so, after several incidents where Cheriliana tried to give him sound advice befitting noble fiancées, only to be dismissed, she eventually gave up on him.

Even without love, they could marry and raise the next generation together. But Cheriliana had given up on the dream of a bright marriage.

What had once been a sight that caused her a faint ache in her chest had recently turned into something akin to watching characters in a play. She couldn’t even laugh—it was like watching a poorly acted comedy.

As she raised her eyes, she made eye contact with Adrian Garnet, the viscount’s son, who was in the window across from her. He nodded slightly, then turned away.

What had he seen, she wondered?