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When the bell signaled lunch break after Melodic Literature, Aster and Katharina slipped out to the garden near the music room, settling beneath the shade of a sprawling oak. The air was gentler there, far from Flavia and the others, the quiet rustling of leaves a welcome reprieve compared to the chatter of the dining hall.

Katharina’s maids had prepared an exquisite spread that morning—delicate finger sandwiches layered with cucumber and smoked ham, buttery pastries, pastel-colored macarons, and tarts filled with jewel-bright berries. All of it was neatly packed into a wicker basket, which Katharina had carried along herself. She decided it was the perfect day for a picnic and insisted on sharing it with Aster. Together, they spread the blanket, settled down, and began nibbling at the feast.

“Lord Randall’s answer was surprising, wasn’t it?” Katharina said lightly, her tone casual as she picked up a sandwich.

Aster flinched. “He… he meant the flower.”

Katharina smirked, her eyes glinting. “I don’t remember saying otherwise.”

Aster groaned, covering her face with both hands, her cheeks warming. “Today was just as embarrassing as yesterday. I want the earth to swallow me whole. I can’t believe I said that in class.” The memory of her impromptu words stung almost as much as her Numerical Analysis disaster the day before.

Katharina tilted her head with a playful smile. “But your answer was quite poetic as well. Who were you referring to? Lord Ranley, perhaps?”

Aster froze mid-bite, her fingers tightening around her sandwich. “I… sigh. I was caught off guard. I was supposed to answer ‘Aster’ too, but I wasn’t expecting Lord Randall to choose it first. So I changed my answer at the last second.” She hesitated, then her voice softened. “Actually, about my answer… When I said it’s the kind of love I hold for someone I can’t remember, I meant Aunt Sally. I love and treasure her, even though I have no memory of her from my childhood. She’s always been there for me, for as long as I can remember.”

Katharina’s expression softened for a moment, though mischief quickly returned to her smile. “And what about the other part? The kind of love you imagine for someone who may have long forgotten you. Who is it?”

“Well…”

“Well?” Katharina pressed, leaning closer with anticipation.

“I… guess it was about Lord Ranley,” Aster admitted at last, her voice barely above a whisper.

The scene shifted to a memory.

✦ Flashback ✦ 

It was only last year when Aster first came to Celentine Academy. That was when she first saw Ranley. She had been on her way to the library when she heard someone call out to the boy walking ahead of her.

“Lord Ranley!”

A group of girls hurried after him, their eyes shining with admiration. Aster froze in her tracks.

‘Ranley?’

That name… the only name she could remember from her childhood. And the boy before her had the same brunette hair as the figure in her memories. 

‘Could it be him?’

Before she could stop herself, she followed. She watched as he paused to greet the girls chasing him, his smile radiant, easy, and kind.

Days passed before she finally gathered the courage. One afternoon, spotting him alone by the fountain, she seized her chance.

“Lord… Lord Ranley?” Her voice trembled, though she didn’t even know why she was doing this. “That’s… that’s your name, right?”

Ranley looked up at her with his usual charming smile, assuming she was just another admirer.

“Uh… yes?”

“So that really is your name,” Aster murmured to herself, almost in relief. But Ranley caught it, tilting his head, confused.

Her pulse quickened. She could turn away now, save herself the embarrassment. But no—she just risked it, desperate to find out something, anything, from her past. Her fingers instinctively brushed the necklace tucked inside her uniform as she asked in a rush:

“Do you… do you perhaps… remember me?”

“Should I?” Ranley asked, still smiling, but without recognition.

“Oh… sorry, I—” She hesitated, stopping herself from revealing the necklace.

“Then I promise to remember you from now on,” Ranley said smoothly, the corners of his lips lifting into that effortless smile. “What’s your name, my lady?”

“Aster. Just… Miss Aster. I’m not a noble, but a scholar here.”

“Oh, I see. That explains it,” Ranley mused lightly. “You must be new here if you don’t yet know the noble way of greeting a noble for the first time.” He grinned with easy charm. “Well then, Miss Aster, it’s a pleasure to meet you. A curtsy is the proper way to introduce yourself next time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, someone is waiting for me.”

He bowed politely, that warm smile lingering before he turned and walked away.

Aster’s heart skipped a beat. She still had much to learn in the world of nobles. Maybe he didn’t remember her… but he had been kind, even after discovering she wasn’t one of them. And that alone was enough to convince her.

‘He must be the boy from my memory.’

✦ End ✦ 

Now going back to reality.

“Wait, wait, wait… You fell in love with him because of that?” Katharina nearly choked, reeling at the confession. Then she gave a mock sigh. “Well… who am I to judge someone in love?”

But her playfulness didn’t last. She paused, studying Aster intently.

“But how can you be so sure Lord Ranley is the same boy? The one in your memory… do you even know his family name?”

Aster shook her head.

Katharina groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. “There could be dozens of people with the same name! And brunette hair isn’t exactly rare. Look at Lord Randall, for example—he shares a first name with the crown prince. Prince Randall Etienne Valemont and Lord Randall Aurelius. Same first name, different family name.”

“Uh…” Aster faltered.

“What about other features?” Katharina pressed. “His face, for example? A scar? A mole? The color of his eyes?”

“Sadly, I don’t remember any of those things,” Aster admitted. “His face is so vague in my memory that I can’t even recall the color of his eyes. Not even in my dreams is it vivid.”

“The more I hear, the more I doubt it’s Lord Ranley,” Katharina said bluntly.

Aster’s voice softened, uncertain “I don’t really know… Maybe it’s not just about my childhood memories. Maybe it’s wishful thinking…wanting it to be him so I can finally find closure, a way to cope with what I’ve lost. You know… maybe I just want to stop searching. And since he smiled at me, even knowing I wasn’t a noble…it felt easier to believe. He’s been kind to me and—”

“But what if you find out he’s not the same person? What then?” Katharina cut in, her tone firmer. “I get that you’re desperate for a clue about your past, but to not even be skeptical? I think you’re just looking at him through rose-colored glasses. There’s no way I’d call Lord Ranley kind.” She shook her head. Then, with a softer smile, added, “Still, since you’re my friend, I’ll support you… at least until you come to your senses.”

Katharina laughed to lighten the mood, and Aster laughed with her. But in the quiet of her heart, the question lingered.

‘What if he’s not the same person? Would I still like him?’

But if that were true, it would mean starting over… empty-handed, with no clue to her past.

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The setting shifted to a private dining room where Randall and Wren sat across from each other, sharing a meal before their next class. On Thursdays and Fridays, the afternoon lessons divided by gender—while the ladies attended Refined Expressions courses, the young men were sent to the Knight’s Arena for Martial and Chivalric training.

The rich aroma of steak filled the room, but Wren’s attention was elsewhere.

“Asters, huh?” He twirled his fork idly, then shot Randall a knowing look. “Is there something I should know?”

Randall, ever composed, carved his steak with elegant precision. “What are you implying? I merely performed the task at hand. Since I happened to see asters from the balcony this morning, that’s what came to mind.”

Wren scoffed lightly. “Of all the possible answers, you chose that?”

Randall met his gaze evenly, unruffled. “Would it have been better if I’d chosen love instead?”

Wren let out a sigh, shaking his head. “You know that’s not what I meant.” Then, after a pause, his tone shifted to something more thoughtful. “But if you had chosen love… what would your answer have been?”

Randall set down his knife, his expression still unreadable. “How do you expect me to answer that? Those who know me would expect me to say that duty outweighs emotions. That love is about sacrifice… setting aside personal feelings to choose what is right for the greater good.”

Wren studied him carefully. “But is that what your heart truly believes?”

Randall didn’t answer right away. His gaze drifted to the window, where the garden stretched beyond in quiet bloom. His thoughts slipped back to the way Aster had spoken in class that morning.

“Love is an unshaken bond that exists beyond time and memory. Even if one forgets, the other continues to remember.”

Her words had lingered in his mind far longer than they should have.

“The kind of love I imagine for someone who may have long forgotten me.”

The echo of her voice replayed in his thoughts, soft yet unshakable.

A quiet sigh escaped him. Perhaps that was what unsettled him the most. Because maybe, without realizing it, he was the same… clinging to a memory of someone who might have long since forgotten him.

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