I have come to a realization just now that there are still many things that I actually donât know about Lariensa.
I know that she loves eating and is not picky about her food. She doesnât particularly hate anything.
I donât think thereâs anything (or anyone for that matter) that she likes in particular (except me).
âBrother? What are you doing there?â
I was so immersed in my own world thinking about Lariensa that I didnât realize that Lycan was not by my side. Currently, he was looking at a scarf from a store window.
âDo you think Lara will like that as a present?â
Instead of answering my question, Lycan took out a white scarf and put it on his neck.
When his finger accidentally touched his neck, I flinched reflexively.
Then, I felt Lycanâs blue eyes, which resemble Laraâs, stare at my face for a while.
âI-Iâm sorry. Without realizing, IâŚâ
Lycan did not answer. However, he nonchalantly placed the scarf around my neck.
âLara doesnât wear a scarf or anything like that.â
âI know.â
âSo why the scarf then? Do you want it?â
âNot funny.â
ââŚokay.â
Iâm just saying, arenât you being too serious?!
Lycan looked at the scarves of different colors for a long time and, as if he liked it, picked up the white scarf he had first picked up and bought it.
Lara definitely looks good on white.
âHere.â
Eh⌠Why are you giving it to me?
âAhh⌠You want me to pass it on to Lara?â
However, Lycanâs forehead crumpled.
âEhh?! Why are you angry?â
âTie it around your neck.â
âYou mean tying it like a rope?â
ââŚWear it as a scarf. â
âYouâre not giving it to Lara?â
âYouâre so tactless.â
Isnât that too much!?
If I donât have tact, then itâs because my circumstances with Lara have changed now, not because I was always this tactless!
Hah, I never imagined Lycan would give me a scarf!
âYour hair⌠put it up.â
I had never imagined this situation to happen at all.
As I kept mumbling by myself, Lycan brushed off my hair on the shoulder and put it back. That action took me by surprise that I immediately pulled my hair back on my own. Afterwhich, Lycan put the scarf around me.
He was careful not to touch my neck.
âYou still had bruises on your neck thatâs why I bought it.â
âI know, itâs hideous, right?â
âWho said it was hideous?â
Sigh, why do I live such a chaotic life even in this world?
âItâs not like that. Itâs almost faded away anyway. I canât even see it anymore.â
He wore it around me loosely so that I wouldnât feel stuffy. Afterwards, he stepped back.
âSo, how does it look on me?â
ââŚpretty than I thought.â
I didnât listen to what he was saying. Of course, I was excited since anything that is free is welcomed by me with open arms.
Oh yeah!
I jumped joyfully on the spot as this event of me receiving a gift from him was like a once-in-a-lifetime event for me.
I thought for sure that Lycan would look at me with a disgusted look like my friends. ButâŚ
ââŚâŚâ
Whatâs with that enchanted expression?
Feeling embarrassed, I stopped moving and scratched the back of my head.
âI didnât expect you would like it that muchâŚâ
âAhem, so now weâre going back to pickingâŚâ
âWhy donât we eat first?â
âWhat?â
âYou donât want to?â
âAre you treating me dinner?â
âWell, itâs usually the person who asked to eat to pay for the meal.â
Emily doesnât do that, though?
âŚIs this situation a little bit different? Then Emily, Iâm sorry. I get to have a free meal without you.
Iâm not the type of person to refuse someone if theyâre buying food for me.
Then, I chased after him.
The place where Lycan took me was to a restaurant which I can only say had unreasonable prices than the ones in our academy.
I was nervous just by looking at the exterior, but when I looked at the menu, I became even more stiff.
âI canât chooseâŚâ
âWhatâs wrong? Is there anything that you like?â
No matter how thick-faced I am, this wasnât right.
The Jellinus family and ours are just next to each other, and I know better that Lycan is not born with a golden spoon on his mouth.
I know that the academy gives huge allowances to scholars but stillâŚ
âI-Iâll have thisâŚâ
I carefully chose the cheapest food on this menu. I donât know what it is, but itâs the cheapest!
But Lycan felt skeptical about my menu selection.
âNo need to be conscious. I know you donât like salads with only vegetables.â
Itâs just salad with only vegetables, but itâs this much!?
Too expensive!
âIf you really canât choose, Iâll choose for you.â
I thought he ordered just enough for the two of us to eat, but the foods that came after were enough to make my eyes pop out of their sockets.
When it comes to quantity, itâs like we have the buffet all by ourselves. Why are there so many?
âIf you canât finish it all, we can just leave it here.â
ââŚHave I offended you in any way, brother? In our past lives, perhaps?â
âI donât follow. Why do you think that?â
Because this is too burdensomeâŚ
âYou said youâre buying, right? So Iâll eat to my heartâs content.â
Yeah, sure. Letâs just enjoy all this free food! It would be rude to refuse a blessing in front of me.
And we shouldnât leave any food behind! If we do so, weâll go to hell!
âGood to see you eat well.â
âAck! Cough! Cough!â
âSlowly.â
Really, whatâs wrong with himâŚ
How am I supposed to reply to that?
This is awkwardâŚÂ Why donât I bring up a new topic?
âIâm glad that your punishment is lighter than I thought.â
âI was prepared to face some kind of punishment when I did it. Moreover, it would have been unfair if they made it heavier since I just did it out of emotion and spite.â
âEmily was really jealous about it. Youâre so different from his brother.â
âI was angry because of what that professor did to my sister, but that day, I wasnât exactly angry about LariensaâŚâ
âReally?â
âIâŚâ
Lycan glanced at my neck and clicked his tongue.
âYou really canât read between the lines.â
Hmm⌠Iâll just live without any sense. Youâll find out things, even the ones you donât want to know, if youâre too sensible.
Lycan and I continue to eat without a word after that.
After eating, I really thought we were going to buy Laraâs gift for real this time.
However, Lycanâ
âIâll buy you some ice cream.â
Bought me a dessertâ
âThis hairband matches your hair color.â
Put a green headband over my headâ
âCover yourself. Itâs cold right now.â
And gave me the coat that he was wearing!
âItâs late. Weâve got to go now.â
As we walked on the street at night, I could see my reflection from the window of a store we were passing by.
Lycanâs coat, the white scarf, and even the hairbandâŚ
We went out to buy my present for Lara, but it seems that I was the one who was getting a lot of presents now.
This situation was so strange for me.
I bit my lower lip for a while, and soon after, something touched my lips.
It was a lollipop.
As I opened my mouth, Lycan put it inside. The sweet taste of lollipop covered my tongue.
âI have to put something in your mouth for you not to do anything strange.â
âWhen else have I done something strange?â
âAs long as thereâs food, you eat well even though you feel pressured. If I buy you ice cream, you immediately empty your head even though something was bothering you earlier, and now I have to give you candy so you donât bite your lips.â
Did I do that? Certainly, the moment I eat something, my head feels lighter.
âIf someone gave you some candy, Iâm sure youâll go with an adult you donât even know.â
âYou think Iâm stupid?â
âThatâs how cute you are.â
Ah! I was caught off guard!
This time my heart skipped a beat.
ââŚWhy are you so nice to me?â
I tried to pretend I didnât know what it was, but Lycanâs attitude toward me was too blatant.
âWe werenât even on such good terms before.â
Lycan walked slowly towards me without minding my anxiousness. But when I stared at him, he finally opened his mouth.
âOne of my friends said he had a crush on someone.â
ââŚYes.â
âWhen I asked him how he realized that he liked her, he said he bought her food and clothes and thought that it wasnât a waste no matter how expensive it was.â
âAre you saying youâre starting to like me?â
Oh, pleaseâŚ
âAt the very least, youâre not that dense.â
Of all the women, why me?! First, Sibel, now, you too?!
Itâs a lot different than before. Iâve never seen a woman like you before.
Donât let this novel stray away from its original path!
âSo⌠you bought me all these things, pretending to do me a favor for you to confirm your own feelings if you really like me or not?â
âNo, I was really going to help you choose a gift for Lariensa.â
You didnât even choose one, though.
âSo whatâs your conclusion? Wasnât it a waste?â
Lycan smiled instead of answering me.
Without a trace, it was like a blissful and tranquil smile like that of an innocent boy.
âNo. not at all.â
I realized for the first time that Lycan was a person who could smile so brightly like that.
âI had so much fun with you today.â
He didnât confess openly. But knowing him, I knew that those words were as good as a confession.
This is definitely a difficult situation, butâŚ
âD-donât smile like that!â
âOh? Why is that?â
âBecause⌠Just donât!â
âWalk beside me. You know, the streets are very dangerous at night.â
âDonât be such a gentleman, now!â
The heck, why am I getting hotâŚ
ďź ďź ďź
âLariensa would appreciate it more if you give her a letter rather than a material gift.â
Itâs not that I didnât get any advice, but⌠it just wasnât very helpful.
âWhat should I doâŚâ
Currently, I was sitting in a chair in our dormitory room, staring blankly up at the empty ceiling. Lara sat down near me and asked.
âMarin, is something bothering you?â
ââŚLara.â
âYes?â
âThis⌠I just happen to hear this from someone.â
âReally?â
âYes, so this is a story from a distant friend of the sister of the cousin of the friend of our classmate.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âTo sum it up, itâs just a story of a person we donât know the name of.â
âUh-huh.â
âSo that girl had a friend who was very close to her. However, her friendâs brother and her didnât get along well.â
âWhy didnât they get along?â
âJust because?â
âHer best friend must have been troubled by it. How nice it is to just get along with each other like my brother and Marin.â
Haha⌠her best friend isnât even a bit troubled by it since sheâs slow-witted.
âAnyways! Moving on, her best friendâs brother suddenly confessed to her.â
âDid she hate it?â
âNo, she liked it.â
âWhaaat?!â
Lariensaâs eyes sparkled.
âIâm so jealous!â
âOh?â
âIf those two get married, that personâs family, friends, and relatives would also be tied together with the other personâs family.â
Is that what it means?
âMarin!â
ââŚHmm?â
âYou and brother should really marry each other!â
Cough, cough! What are you saying, Lara?
âIâll tell my brother to confess right away. Why didnât I think of this before?â
Lara was really about to run to her brother.
Wait, Lara, donât go!
âMarilyn, Lariensa! Weâre here!â
Fortunately, before Lara could really run out of the room, Emily, Natalie, and Violet opened the door.
Whoo⌠thank God.
Now, this story would then be skipped over.
âBoth of you, change quickly into your school uniforms.â
âWhy? Weâre still taking a break, right?â
âI knew this would happen. We have to gather at the auditorium right now.â
Todayâs just a regular class day, so why?
âIt looks like they have some important announcements to make.â
Lara and I immediately dressed up and followed our friends to the auditorium.
ďź ďź ďź
The place was noisy and crowded as all the students of the academy had gathered.
After a while, the well-dressed vice principal went up to the podium, facing the students who were lined up.
âDear students. I am the vice-principal of Cloud Academy. Iâm aware that all of you have suffered due to the recent incident in the academy. Thatâs why we decided that we are going to hold a festival to comfort our dear students!â
Youâll make us have fun so that we can forget about it, and then the whole incident would now be cleanly buried. I see what you did there, vice-principal.
âIt will be held next week, andâŚâ
The festival would last for three days; coincidentally, the first day was Lariensaâs birthday.
What a coincidence, right? She really is the heroine.
Even though the festival date is right around the corner, the acrobatic troupe and the chefs are already ready⌠Wahh, money is really the best!
âLetâs take this chance to throw Lariensa a party at the same time.â
âIâve already collected all the materials that we need.â
âOkay, there are also chefs on the day of the festival, so I donât think weâre going to run out of food.â
We planned the party, ignoring the boring speech of the vice principal that followed.
âHow about you guys? When are your birthdays?â
At Emilyâs initiation, they revealed when their birthdays are. Except for Lariensa, everyoneâs birthday was still a long way off.
âMarilyn, when is your birthday?â
Violet asked me.
âItâsâŚâ
At that moment, I pondered.
âWhich of the two dates should I say?â
The real Marilynâs birthday or my own birthday?
ââŚa secret.â
I ended up making another secret to my friends again.
âWeâll know if we ask Lariensa anyway.â
At Natalieâs words, I had no choice but to laugh.