TOPWL 158

“My mind’s made up… it hasn’t changed.”

“All right. If that’s what you’ve decided.”

Khalid turned to the butler standing at the door and told him to bring the physician and prepare for surgery. The butler bowed and left the room. Yudit closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Had he made the right choice? He would certainly regret it—he was only choosing the path he thought he’d regret less. Yudit stared quietly at Hiore’s stubborn-looking face, then turned and walked out of the room.

***

The new school made a big impact. Promising top-performing students in each subject a study trip to the capital had been a clever move. Parents did everything they could to get their children into as many classes as possible. More parents than expected wished for their children to live better lives than they had.

The vocational school also proved popular. At the same time, many students began taking interest in basic academic subjects as well. Adults in particular were participating in large numbers—often deciding to take general education classes since they were already at the school anyway.

The active involvement of teachers was also a major factor in the rising enthusiasm for education. For a while, many of the teachers had fallen into a kind of malaise, having to show up to teach empty classrooms. But the influx of students snapped them right out of it. The fact that Prince Yudit and Duke Khalid frequently visited the school kept everyone sharply disciplined.

There was a time when there weren’t enough teachers to manage all the students, but the school had since resolved it by dividing classes into morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. Most children attended the morning and afternoon classes, while adults filled the night classes. Recently, there had even been discussions about opening a pre-dawn session at the students’ request.

One necessity for supporting education was a daycare. More children than expected couldn’t come to school because they had to care for younger siblings. For now, those siblings were simply brought into the classroom, but younger kids would often cry or wander around during lessons, disrupting the class.

Leaving them at home wasn’t an option either, so two classrooms were being converted into a daycare. It would be offered free of charge to families of enrolled students. The demand for childcare was so high that applications were already pouring in, even before construction had finished. The daycare was scheduled to open later that week.

“…That’s all. Any questions?”

The children were silent. Yudit glanced at the clock. About five minutes left. He had gone over last time—maybe it was fine to let them out a little early today.

“Then let’s stop here for today and do some self-study. You all worked hard.”

The class erupted into cheers as the children leapt from their seats.

“Keep it down—there’s still class next door.”

The kids quickly quieted. Some even clapped their little hands over their mouths, which made Yudit smile. They began whispering instead, their voices barely above a murmur.

“What do you think lunch will be today?”

“I hope it’s cream stew. When I grow up, I’m gonna eat that every day.”

“I like the white bread. At home, it’s always the hard kind, but here it’s so soft.”

“Who wants to play tag after class?”

“Me!”

“Me, me!”

Excitement made their voices rise again. Yudit pressed a finger to his lips and shushed them. The room quieted once more.

Before long, the end-of-class bell rang. The class president stood and led the farewell.

“See you tomorrow!”

The moment the farewell ended, the children bolted from the classroom. In no time, the schoolyard was filled with the sounds of kids playing. The once-empty yard had transformed into a playground. There were seesaws, slides, and horizontal bars scaled to children’s height, along with plenty of other fun structures.

That was because the playground had been the first hands-on project for students studying woodworking and metalworking at the vocational school. Under the guidance of skilled instructors, the beginner crafters poured their creativity into vivid, enthusiastic designs. As a result, the playground was packed with everything from simple, fun equipment to bizarre and artistic creations.

People who had discovered the joy of building kept adding to it. There were times when someone left work seeing nothing out there, only to return the next morning to find a new structure or statue had magically appeared. Some of the statues were now being displayed in the garden behind the school. Slightly eerie but fun, they attracted both kids and adults, who often strolled through the area after class.

Yudit smiled as he watched the children play tag and climb around the equipment. He was in charge of the foreign language class. Since it was still an introductory level, he mostly taught letters and vocabulary—but the students lately seemed to enjoy hearing about life, customs, and folktales from the countries instead of just the language itself. That had become a bit of a dilemma for him.

Just then, someone approached. It was Luka, with his honey-blonde curls bouncing.

“Luka, what is it?”

“I brought this for you, teacher.”

Luka held out a piece of paper with a nervous-looking expression. Yudit took it and glanced over the contents. It was a wildly abstract drawing, scribbled in colored pencil. Yudit narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher what it was. A jewel? A monster? A person? Then he realized it had yellow hair and purple eyes.

Yudit cautiously asked,

“Is this supposed to be… me?”

Luka’s face lit up with joy.

“Yes! It’s you, teacher. We were told to draw someone we like in art class, so I drew you.”

“I see. But… there sure are a lot of eyes.”

Yudit had assumed it was a monster because the entire face was covered with purple eyes. Luka nodded.

“Your eyes are pretty, so I drew a lot.”

“I see… thank you. I’ll treasure it.”

Luka nodded shyly with a smile, then looked up at Yudit and asked,

“Teacher, can I give you a hug?”

From the moment they first met, Luka had clung to Yudit with unusual affection. Maybe it was because they were both blondes and he felt a sense of kinship. Luka was usually too shy to do more than hover nearby, and it was the first time he had ever asked if he could hug him.

“Of course you can.”

When Yudit lowered himself and opened his arms, Luka threw himself into his embrace. The boy’s slender frame carried a faint, sour-yet-sweet smell unique to children. Luka hugged Yudit so tightly it made his back ache a little. It was hard to believe that such a small body could hold so much strength.

Yudit noticed up close that Luka’s expression seemed more somber than usual. Was something wrong? Was it okay to ask? As he gently patted Luka’s back, Yudit hesitated for a while, then met his eyes and asked,

“Luka, is something bothering you?”

At Yudit’s question, Luka’s eyes widened in surprise—then he shook his head quickly.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“All right. But if something ever is wrong, you have to tell your teacher, okay?”

Luka licked his dry lips, then hugged Yudit even tighter.

“I wish you weren’t a teacher.”

“Hm? Why?”

“Because… well…”

Luka struggled to finish his sentence, but just then, someone knocked on the door. Luka jumped and quickly hid behind Yudit. Through the small window in the door, Yudit saw Jayna standing outside.

“Jayna. What brings you here?”

Yudit greeted her warmly. Jayna’s face was flushed red, probably from running. She handed Yudit a book.

“Your Highness. The book is ready.”

Yudit took the book. On the cover, a snake coiled around a red apple sat in the center. The apple glowed temptingly, and the black scales of the snake shimmered like gemstones. He opened it and found the text neatly arranged across clean pages. Flip, flip—Yudit turned through it.

“It’s the first copy. I wanted you to see it before anyone else. I still need to check for typos or printing errors, though,” Jaina said, unusually excited.

Yudit flipped to the end, then turned back to the cover and looked down at the title. Beneath it, in bold gold lettering, was the author’s name.

Author: Yvonne Raylack