Episode-720
Chapter : 1419
Lloyd rubbed his face with his hands. "Why does everyone assume I have the energy for a harem? I barely have the energy to put on socks in the morning."
He was tired. The confrontation with Isabella had been necessary, but it was exhausting. He had made a powerful enemy, protected his partner, and fueled a scandal all before lunch. It was a productive day, but a headache-inducing one.
He needed fresh air. The air in the tower smelled like ozone and old books. He grabbed his coat and slipped out the back door, hoping to avoid the main courtyards where the gossip was thickest.
It was late evening. The sun had set, painting the sky in deep purples and blacks. The Academy grounds were mostly empty, save for the few diligent students heading to the late-night study halls.
Lloyd walked towards the botanical gardens. It was usually quiet there. The plants didn't gossip. They just ate bugs and looked green.
As he turned a corner onto a gravel path, he saw a figure sitting on a stone bench under a weeping willow. It was Airin.
She was staring at the moon, her hands folded in her lap. She looked small. She looked lonely. And she looked so much like Anastasia that for a second, Lloyd’s heart forgot to beat.
He stopped. He should turn around. He should leave her alone. He had enough complications with Mina and Rosa and Amina and Isabella. Adding Airin to the mix was like adding nitroglycerin to a smoothie.
But then she turned and saw him. She didn't look away. She didn't whisper. She just offered a small, sad smile.
"Professor," she said softly.
"Scholar Airin," Lloyd nodded, walking over. "Enjoying the night air? Or hiding from the rumor mill?"
"Both," she admitted. She patted the empty space on the bench. "It is loud today. The whispers are very loud."
Lloyd sat down, leaving a respectful distance between them. "I apologize for the noise. My life seems to be a magnet for drama. I try to be boring. I really do. But then someone yells at me, and I have to yell back, and suddenly everyone is talking."
"You defended Lady Mina," Airin said. It wasn't a question. "They say you stood against the Princess. That was brave."
"It was necessary," Lloyd sighed. "Bullying is efficient, but it’s ugly. I don't like ugly things."
"Most people would have stayed silent," Airin observed. "To protect their position. To protect their reputation. You didn't care about those things."
"Reputation is just a shadow," Lloyd said, looking at his boots. "It changes with the light. Character is the object casting the shadow. I worry about the object, not the shape on the ground."
Airin looked at him. Her eyes were searching his face. "You look tired, Professor."
"I am tired," Lloyd admitted. He leaned his head back against the tree trunk. "I am tired of politics. I am tired of games. I just want to build things. I want to fix things. But every time I pick up a wrench, someone hands me a sword."
He hadn't meant to say that. He usually kept his guard up. He kept his masks tight. The Major General. The Genius. The Merchant. But here, in the dark, with a girl who looked like his lost past, the masks felt heavy.
"I understand," Airin said quietly. "Everyone looks at you and sees the Hero. The Genius. The Lord. They see the power. But they don't see the weight."
Lloyd turned to look at her. "And what do you see, Airin?"
"I see a man who is carrying a very heavy backpack," Airin said with a small laugh. "And he refuses to put it down because he thinks if he does, the world will fall over."
Lloyd chuckled. It was a genuine sound. "That is... a very accurate description. Although sometimes the backpack is full of angry cats."
"You are lonely," Airin said. It wasn't an accusation. It was a gentle observation. "Even with all the people around you. Even with the Princesses and the Ladies. You are standing in the middle of a crowd, but you are standing alone."
The truth of her words hit Lloyd in the chest. She was right. Mina was his partner, but their relationship was secret and fraught with danger. Rosa was his wife, but they were at war. Amina was his political ally. But Airin... Airin was just seeing him.
Chapter : 1420
"It's the curse of leadership," Lloyd deflected, trying to lighten the mood. "It's lonely at the top. The air is thin. The coffee is expensive."
"You don't have to be alone right now," Airin said. "We can just sit. The plants don't care who we are. The moon doesn't care about the scandal."
"That sounds nice," Lloyd said. "I like plants. They are very non-judgmental."
They sat in silence for a while. It wasn't the heavy, loaded silence he shared with Mina. It wasn't the icy silence of Rosa. It was a comfortable silence. A peaceful silence.
For the first time all day, the buzzing in Lloyd's head quieted down. He watched a firefly buzz past—a real insect, not the corporation—and felt a strange sense of calm.
"So," Lloyd said after a few minutes. "How is your project? The self-watering pot?"
"It drowned the begonia," Airin admitted sheepishly. "I calibrated the water rune wrong. It created a small geyser. My roommate was not happy."
Lloyd laughed. "That's progress! You created a fountain. Failure is just success that is wet."
"You are very optimistic for a tired man," Airin noted.
"I have to be," Lloyd said. "Pessimism is heavy. I'm already carrying the backpack, remember?"
The garden was vast, a labyrinth of hedges and flowerbeds that seemed to go on forever. Lloyd and Airin began to walk. It wasn't planned; they just fell into step together, moving deeper into the quiet sanctuary of the greenery.
The gravel crunched softly under their boots. The air smelled of jasmine and night-blooming lilies. It was a world away from the stone corridors and sharp whispers of the Academy halls.
"You know," Lloyd said, hands in his pockets. "Most people avoid me right now. They think I'm radioactive. Or they think I'm going to challenge them to a duel. Why aren't you running away?"
Airin looked up at the stars through the leaves. "I don't listen to gossip. It's usually boring. And... you helped me. In the market. In the classroom. When Zeba was hurt. I judge people by what they do, not what people say they do."
"That is a dangerous philosophy," Lloyd warned playfully. "You might find out that I am actually three goblins in a trench coat."
"I suspect you are actually a very tired bear in a trench coat," Airin countered. "Grumpy, but soft on the inside."
"Soft?" Lloyd feigned outrage. "I am steel! I am iron! I am... okay, maybe a little soft. But only for cats. And good pastries."
Airin giggled. It was a light, musical sound that made the shadows seem a little less dark.
"I have a secret too," Airin said, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Everyone thinks I am this brilliant scholarship student. The 'Princess's Scholar'. They think I have a grand destiny."
"And you don't?"
"I just want to open a bakery," Airin confessed. "I like magic. Magic is useful. But bread... bread makes people happy. Healing magic fixes a wound, but a warm bun fixes a bad day. I want to make people smile, not just patch them up so they can go fight again."
Lloyd stopped walking. He looked at her. In his past life, Anastasia had loved baking. She used to make these terrible, rock-hard cookies that he ate anyway because he loved her. Hearing Airin say this was like hearing an echo from a life he could never touch again.
But instead of pain, he felt a warm nostalgia.
"That is a worthy dream," Lloyd said seriously. "Maybe the most worthy dream I have heard in this entire castle. Everyone wants to rule, or conquer, or become the greatest mage. You just want to feed people. That is... noble."
"It's not noble," Airin shook her head. "It's simple. I like simple."
"Simple is a luxury," Lloyd said. "One I can't afford right now. But maybe, one day... I can buy a loaf of bread from your bakery. And I will pay you in compliments."
"I accept gold too," Airin said with a grin. "Flour is expensive."
"Mercenary," Lloyd accused. "I like it."
They continued walking. The path wound around a pond where moon-frogs were croaking a rhythmic song.
"Can I ask you something?" Airin asked, her tone shifting to something more hesitant. "About the burden."
"The backpack?"