The Novel's Professor

Under the starry sky, two figures held each other's hand as they stared at each other. Rio opened his mouth, deciding to break the silence. He lowered his head, muttering:

"I'm sorry for hearing that..."

Samantha suddenly raised her hand, putting it above Rio's lips. She chuckled as she replied:

"Don't be. It was a long time ago. The emotions and sorrow from back then had long disappeared."

Rio felt her finger tap on his lips. He tilted his head, confused. He shifted his gaze to Samantha. Samantha... in turn, realized what she had done and quickly withdrew her finger as she heavily blushed.

Rio narrowed his eyes, shaking his head. He paused for a while before asking:

"...Do you love teaching?"

It was an odd question—but that was one of the things that stuck to him at her story the most. He originally had thought Samantha merely forced herself to teach to forget about everything in her past.

"Silly. Of course, or else why would I teach?" Samantha chuckled, her hand tapping Rio's forehead. She continued. "Did you perhaps hear rumors about me in the faculty? Contrary to the rumors, I very much love teaching."

"... There are rumors?" Rio frowned, his brows knitting together.

"It's the workplace. There's bound to be one or two lying around, and it doesn't exactly help that I'm quite a controversial figure..."

Samantha explained, her hand waving in dismissal.

"In any case, you don't have to mind them! If you want to know anything about me, feel free to ask!"

Rio reluctantly nodded, turning silent.

Samantha stared at him, a soft smile curling on her lips. She shifted her eyes, turning her gaze back to the blanket of stars above. She continued.

"...But Mr. Rio. My point is... with all that explaining about my childhood and experience... If you're lost and clueless, I'm here to lend a helping hand. It might not be much, but I would be glad to help you!"

Rio widened his eyes slightly.

"I just want you to know, It's not all hopeless yet." Samantha chuckled, her blonde hair fluttering from the wind. Her visage seemed to shine like an angelic halo. "There are a lot of things in the world. Too much things to discover and admire upon. So... don't lose hope yet."

The pale crescent moon shone, the wind blew, fluttering the hair and clothes of both of the figures standing above the grass. Rio shifted his stare above the sky, staring at the blanket of stars. He held Samantha's hand tightly, finding little warmth from the frigid chilly night.

...Can a hope twice lost even rekindle for a third? No matter how he thought about it—it couldn't. Rio chuckled. The flaring flames of his desire to live and find fulfillment had long turned into ashes, what remained inside him was but the glacier ice, turning his desire cold.

Then again, perhaps there was a semblance of truth to her words. It was time to give up... wasn't it? It had been far, far too long since he had travelled on the endless road of the blind. It was time to accept the answer he found and move on.

It sounded so easy—and yet why was it so crushing to him?

Was it perhaps because he didn't want to acknowledge it and merely ignore it until he died? Or was it because he didn't want to find another thing to hope upon, and at the same conclusion, despair over the ending he would get?

Rio closed his eyes, his eyebrows fluttering from the wind. The cadence of Samantha's voice seemed to ring through his ears like a melodic symphony. It was perhaps the most beautiful song he had ever listened upon.

Under the starry night, he stood on the grass — completely ignoring the whole world as he reminisced the long gone forgotten memories of his life. A tranquil silence between the two figures descended, both neither talking as they contemplated silently under the rhythm of the stars and wind alike.

...However, like any beautiful masterpiece—it eventually ended. Rio opened his eyes once more, this time... holding a small ember of flame inside him. He loosed his grasp over Samantha's hand, letting her hand go.

Samantha quickly took notice of that, her eyes shifting to Rio. Her eyes widened in surprise, catching a momentarily soft smile from the man's expression—but as quickly as it went, quickly as it vanished.

"What if?.."

Rio muttered, his head turned above the starry sky. He felt his voice crumble, losing the indifferent tone he always had. He didn't know how he looked from Samantha's eyes, but it must've been a pathetic sight.

"...Everything would be the same as before?"

He knew his answer. He accepted his origin. But he couldn't move away from it. He was afraid...terrified of repeating everything once again. It was crushing. In his mind, it was better to die.

The inner demon within him haunted his thoughts. Irrevocably, everything would end empty. Like his family, everything would result into tragedy. Like his grandfather, everything would result in regret. Like his life, everything would result in... hollowness.

"Silly," Samantha suddenly chuckled, her hand behind her back. The wind blew, fluttering her body as she caressed her hair. A soft smile graced her lips as she continued. "Then you can give up and find another path."

Rio blinked, immediately shifting his gaze to Samantha's blonde visage. Give up...?

"There's no point in repeating suffering. There's no rule in the world saying you always have to take the hardest and painful path," Samantha said. "You can take the easy out, after all..." 𝘧𝚛𝗲𝘦𝚠𝙚𝙗𝙣o𝙫𝗲𝚕.𝐜o𝓂

Rio stared at her, his heart beating loudly.

"...It's been rough, isn't it?" Samantha said, her eyes staring at Rio. She smiled softly.

—It's been rough, isn't it?

Perhaps it was the silence of the night or the tranquility of the atmosphere, but the question seemed to echo inside his mind. It was like a song sung by the divine angel, bringing an otherworldly symphony of concern as the cadence of her voice repeated within him.

At that moment, something broke within him. The chains of his past shattered, liberating his mind. Forsaken, locked-up memories of his past suffering released on his mind, assaulting him with emotions and memories he never once thought he would remember.

Under the starry sky, Rio's body trembled as his eyes suddenly teared—dripping out small tears filled of sorrow. Tears so pristine pure white, it was a wonder since when it ever dripped again other than years in the past?

Rio opened his mouth, but unable to force out words. Gone was his cold, callous expression, what displayed was the crumbling face of a man lost in his own despair.

It was a vulnerable, pathetic sight... but truly, it showed, that the man from another place was not a monster in skin. Not a devil like Aza. But a human, just like any other.

Perhaps he realized it, he quickly averted his eyes, raising his hand as he brushed off his face. Rio bit his lip, his body turning back to Samantha.

A quiet silence erupted as Samantha silently stared at Rio's back. The silence stretched for a while until the noble lady decided to break it.

"Uh...Mr. Rio.." Samantha fidgeted, feeling nervous. "...Are you perhaps crying?"

"No." Rio instantly replied. He sighed, turning his back as revealed his face — it was back from the always callous expression he always wore. He continued. "You were just imagining things."

"R-right..." Samantha chuckled. She wasn't going to believe such a bold face lie..

"Its true." Rio insisted. His hand caressed his chin as he asked. "By the way, do you have a boyfriend or fiancé?"

Hearing that, Samantha was suddenly startled as her hand fidgeted in nervousness. A blush took over her face, she stared at Rio as she answered, stuttering:

"N-no..! But what's with the abrupt question?! Don't tell me.."

"Not what you're thinking." Rio replied, his hand waving in dismissal. "It's just that we were quite in an extremely romantic situation earlier. If anybody saw us, it could jeopardize your relationship."

"Extremely romantic...?" Samantha muttered, fidgeting nervously. She didn't think of that—but upon further reflection... she had to agree. "You don't have to worry about that..."

Rio raised his brows, curious. He asked:

"Why not? Relatively speaking, you're quite beautiful. Not only that, but you're also an elegant, noble lady. You have qualities of a nice human being; which is extremely rare. You are jolly, cherry and fun to be around. It isn't a stretch to call you a perfect person. If we're talking about it... you have the appearance, background, and personality. It's impossible for you not to have a suitor."

Samantha heavily blushed as she lowered her head deeply, extremely embarrassed to reveal her expression. It took a while before she answered, albeit reluctantly. "E-eh... well, I did have suitors in the past...but I'm not really fond of noblemen. I mean... I never had wonderful experiences with them."

"...Understandable." Rio nodded, turning silent. It made sense, her past was filled with noblemen and noble women turning their backs on her.

Samantha nodded back, her hand still fidgeting nervously.

At that moment, a tranquil silence descended on the atmosphere as both stood over each other awkwardly. Eventually, Rio decided to break the silence as he coughed loudly. "Cough... It's almost midnight. I think you should go back to the dorm for the day."

"...I concur," Samantha nodded shyly. "How about you..? It's already midnight..."

"Ah..." Rio shook his head, rejecting the offer. He continued. "I'm sorry, but I think I'm gonna stay here for a while."

Samantha raised her head, staring at Rio as she nodded understandingly. She sighed. She stepped forward, moving past Rio as she bid farewell.

"...See you tomorrow, Mr. Rio."

Rio took a while to reply, his eyes staring above the starry sky.

"...Yeah, see you tomorrow. Samantha."