TPCF 01

Chapter 1

“You’re heading to the station this early in the morning?”

“Yes. I’m trying to catch the first train.”

“What about Rutger? You’re going with him, right?”

Anita bit her lip, thinking hard for a way out of this predicament.

‘I’m going all the way to Aberdeen University to avoid Rutger. If not for him, there’d be no reason for me to go that far in the first place.’

Of course, if she said that out loud, her mother would immediately press her for details about what was going on with Rutger. So, Anita rolled her eyes around and came up with a vague answer.

“Not sure.”

Mrs. Rodel sighed and patted her back, as if comforting a naive child.

“Of course, Anita. I trust you. I do. But if you’re going with Rutger…”

“I know. You don’t have to worry. We agreed to meet at the station.”

A complete lie.

Considering Rutger’s lazy nature, Anita had planned everything out. He likely bought a train ticket for around 12:30, his usual time to wake up. By then, she would already be at Valder Station.

Grinning mischievously out of her mother’s view, Anita grabbed her heavy suitcase and left the house. There was a brief tearful moment when Laura wept about how could their young lady be going off alone to the big city, but Anita used the excuse that she was short on time and hurried out into the garden.

Even so, when she passed near where Rutger’s bedroom window might have a view, she shaded her eyes with her hand like a spy from the Empire and tiptoed carefully. But soon enough, she gave up—realizing how pathetic it was to be this cautious just because of him. She wasn’t a criminal. And thinking that Rutger would care enough to chase after her just from seeing her? That was nothing short of delusional.

She caught a carriage on the main road and arrived at the station just as the hour hand ticked from six to seven. Grunting with effort as she dragged her suitcase, Anita sat down on one of the benches lined up for waiting passengers and leaned her back against the wall, finally able to breathe.

She tucked her suitcase into a corner where it wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, then pulled out a book she’d brought to read while waiting for the train.

“Anita.”

“……!”

Frozen mid-page, Anita swore under her breath.

What the hell is he doing here at this hour?

There’s only one reason to come to the train station. But she stubbornly denied reality.

“I’ve been looking all over for you. Move over a bit.”

It was still early, and the station was quiet except for a few passengers and staff. Anita had been occupying an entire bench, but now had to scoot over at Rutger’s unexpected request. So many empty seats, and yet he had to come over just to annoy her.

Unbothered by her glare—or pretending not to notice—Rutger shamelessly sat beside her and unfolded a newspaper from who-knows-where.

“You read the paper now?”

“Nope. Figured I’d try it from today. What are you reading?”

Anita slid away from him slightly as she opened her book.

“Nothing important.”

“Then why’re you running away?”

“…Don’t come any closer.”

Every time she moved, Rutger moved closer too. After several rounds of this, Anita found herself at the very edge of the bench, unable to go any farther. Rutger now sat shoulder-to-shoulder with her, leaning in.

“Why are you avoiding me? Got something to hide?”

“No. More importantly—why are you here?”

Trying not to sound rattled, Anita responded with forced gruffness. Rutger shrugged and replied in a nonchalant tone.

“Your mom told me. That you left ahead of schedule. So heartless of you. How could you just abandon me and go?”

…Mom, why would you do this to me?

‘I thought I knew Rutger well. Guess I was wrong.’

Turns out, he was the kind of person who’d get out of bed early just to mess with her.

Trying to act unfazed, Anita turned back to her book. She could feel his green gaze piercing into her.

“…What?”

“Why doesn’t your book have a cover?”

Flustered, Anita instinctively raised the book to hide her face. Rutger often made fun of the titles she read, so she’d gotten into the habit of covering them with her fingers. But that was too much work—so after much deliberation, Anita had torn off the entire book cover.

Now all Rutger could see was a plain brown inside page.

“What kind of book is it? Something dirty?”

“It is not!”

Startled, Anita raised her voice. The few people nearby shot her chilly looks, making her shrink back and lower her tone.

“This is one of the early works of Ruels, the tragic genius from the time of Elton III! Although he was never recognized in his time, he’s finally receiving the attention he deserves today. This book is a biography of the great hero Oliver Nilsson, who was born of low status but didn’t let that stop him from living an extraordinary life. In fact, one of the most famous lines from this book is from when he stood before the Emperor and said, ‘My humble birth is no wall to me. It is merely one of the many trials I have overcome.’ This quote is—”

Anita stopped mid-rant, seeing Rutger’s expression.

He was smirking with one corner of his mouth raised—his usual mocking face. She’d seen it more times than she could count. Plain ridicule.

Combined with his already cold appearance, Anita’s confidence crumbled like a sandcastle against the tide.

Rutger believed reading was a waste of life. He was the type to prefer doing something once rather than reading about it a hundred times. He often called himself a realist, but to Anita, he just seemed like someone who hated books and was proud of it.

What a damned realist.

Whenever she read, he’d smirk and say she should come back to reality. And now, his face looked exactly like it did back then.

“Then why did you tear the cover off?”

“Well, you…”

She was about to snap, “Because of you,” but stopped herself. If she said that, it would make it clear she was conscious of him. And she didn’t want Rutger to know that. Just thinking about the teasing she’d get was humiliating enough.

“What? What about me?”

His perfectly sculpted face suddenly came closer, and Anita stopped breathing. It felt like one wrong breath might cause disaster. Like she was diving underwater, she held her breath. Watching her, Rutger gave another half-smirk.

Beeeeep—

A loud whistle tore through the air. To Anita, it sounded like the trumpet of an angel. Jerking her head back as if avoiding contact, she twisted her body like a startled worm and jumped to her feet. Struggling with her heavy bag, she began heading toward the station staff.

“Not even gonna say goodbye?”

“…….”

“Anita.”

“We’re getting on the same train anyway…”

Mumbling her excuse, Anita forced an awkward smile and chose to escape. Everything around Rutger always felt awkward. Breathing was hard. Even fixing a stray lock of hair felt too deliberate.

She couldn’t tell if this nervousness was like standing before a strict headmaster… or facing someone she had feelings for.

Either way, Rutger was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable presence in her entire (albeit short) life.

Avoiding even the chance of eye contact, Anita climbed aboard the train without looking back. She prayed that their assigned seats would be far apart. Holding on to that hope, she began searching for her designated seat.