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Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
The one who opened the door and entered wasn’t Dana or the other maids, but Orion.
He brought the tea that I always drank after a meal, and put it on the table.
“Here.”
He poured the tea and handed it to me.
“Thank you.”
I spoke in a low voice.
It was only then that I felt sorry for not answering him properly because my situation was complicated when he welcomed me.
“I am worried looking at how you eat. I will order them to make some midnight snacks, so if you get hungry, just call anyone any time.”
I silently nodded to the gentle voice.
As a sip of the warm tea went down my throat, my feeling was more calmer.
Although it was still heavy because of the situation that still hadn’t been resolved.
Then, he carefully talked again.
“Today, it seems like something bad happened in the academy. No?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
When I admitted it, he nodded his head.
As I opened my mouth, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
Rather, I felt like my head was being sorted out.
“My friend did something in secret without telling me.”
The encounter with Young Duke Bolton, or that he was close to notice Jeremy actually weren’t that important for me.
What troubled and distressed me was that Zen . . .
“I’m upset. They didn’t even talk or discuss with me before deciding on something big.”
“I see.”
He responded to me with an ambiguous expression.
While I was questioning his expression, I recalled what Sir Rune had said.
“Orion’s friend is only me. He has no other friends.”
Come to think of it, if Sir Rune decided on something big without discussing it with Orion and kept it as a secret, that could be finished as a sin of throwing contempt at his lord.
I wondered if it was okay for me to consult about my sorrow that was caused by a friend to Orion who had no friend.
“As expected I shouldn’t have told–”
“No. I can hear you out. Marianne, please tell me.”
I hesitated and didn’t know why, but I briefly talked about what happened at the academy to Orion, who seemed very desperate to listen to me.
On second thoughts, I did have to tell him about Jeremy and Young Duke Bolton.
“Sir Young Duke of the Bolton Family came to the academy as a special guest lecturer. Jeremy, I mean, His Highness casually applied for a swordsmanship class, and the two almost encountered each other.”
“It must be troubling.”
“And so, I talked back a bit to him to shift his gaze.”
Orion stared at me with a serious expression.
He looked like he was checking if I was hurt.
“I’m fine. I have nothing cut except for a few strands of my hair.”
“He cut your hair?”
As Orion made a crumpled face, I shook my head.
What happened with Young Duke Bolton was fine after all.
If the class was canceled, then that’s it, and if we avoided each other, then we wouldn’t have quarreled.
Since the academy was vast, as long as Jeremy was also good at avoiding him, then he wouldn’t have anything to do with him.
“If the Bolton Family treated you like that, then it’s reasonable for me to–”
“It’s fine. I’m also not really troubled with that. He also knows that even if he can cut the hand of a viscount’s son, he can’t hurt me.”
“Ye, yeah. You’re so smart Marianne. Yeah, it’s no surprise.”
“Rather than that, my friend . . .”
As I skipped it to tell about my friend’s problem, Orion’s face was a level darker.
He looked like he would solve everything when I told him about Young Duke Bolton, but when I was about to tell about my friend, he looked like he wasn’t confident in giving advice.
“That friend who made a secret, after doing something without discussing it with me, they also avoided my call.”
“They are really too much.”
“Right?”
Objectively speaking, it was disappointing enough.
My feelings bubbled up as I got Orion’s agreement.
He looked at me, then spoke as if he had made up his mind.
“If you want, then I can–”
“What should I do for us to get along again?”
Orion, who was about to say something but was blocked with my question, tilted his head again with a questioning expression.
It seemed like he was surprised with ‘for us to get along again’.
“But they made a secret, did something without consulting you, and even avoided your call?”
“But they are a dear friend of mine.”
“That . . .”
Orion looked like he was suffering from racking his brain with a flustered face.
“Just like how Sir Rune is a dear friend to you, Orion.”
He was the only one, so he must hold him very dear.
Orion didn’t refute me, and was deep in agony.
I didn’t ask because I really wanted an answer, but looking at him who was thinking that deeply and seriously, I felt like he would continue to think until he got the conclusion.
I changed my words because he looked like he would suffer without being able to sleep.
“After talking this out, I feel better. Thank you, Orion.”
Hearing my thanks, Orion looked clueless.
“But I didn’t do anything?”
“You listened to me. I want to say that I’m upset but my friend doesn’t accept my call. I have no one to complain to. Maybe I was sad.”
Usually, I would chat about something like this with Rany.
But she was in a situation where she rolled her sleeves up to go to catch Bertin somewhere out there.
Orion looked reluctant, but then he smiled.
“If it relieves you by talking about it, then that’s enough.”
Wetting my mouth once again with the slightly bitter tea, I looked at Orion who offered a sandwich made in the kitchen.
There was nothing solved, but somehow I felt more relieved.
I suddenly thought that maybe this was the reason everyone always spoke of family.
Family.