NOVEL NEXT chapter 11
11: Fierce Battle! The Secret Duel of the Blonde and the Victim!
“A strange person, huh? From your description, Clyde, it sounds like just a mentally ill person who happened to be having a bad day.”
Hearing Clyde’s description, Allen nearly burst out laughing.
What was that? It was probably just a case of being beaten up by some thugs, but he was too embarrassed to admit it in front of the princess.
Though he wanted to mock Clyde, Allen decided to hold back for now, saving it for a time when he could properly tease him in front of his childhood friend.
So for now, he maintained a very friendly demeanor.
“Uh, maybe… I guess.”
Seeing Allen engage him, Clyde smiled a bit shyly.
He actually felt it wasn’t quite like that.
But the other party was the princess’s tutor, a well-known scholar throughout the kingdom, and Clyde did not have the courage to refute Allen.
His character, if one were to put it nicely, was gentle; in truth, it could also be described as weak and prone to compromise.
Even when struck, he would not retaliate, let alone voice a differing opinion.
It should be said that the boy named Clyde was self-aware; after all, he truly had neither a high social status nor exceptional combat skills.
Taking a step back, or even several steps back, was his way of navigating life.
Valentina was drawn to him purely because the people around her treated her so poorly; had there been a few more peers who could treat Valentina normally, she would not have been attracted to the timid Clyde.
The seemingly positive and pure Valentina was, in fact, just a girl yearning for recognition and warmth, one who loved to be pampered without realizing it.
This was something that Allen, who had toyed with many women, saw through long ago.
What Allen needed to do was naturally to diminish Clyde’s weight in Valentina’s heart and increase his own, the unexpected arrival in her life.
Though increasing Valentina’s fondness for him was a common tactic of Allen’s.
However, if he could lower Valentina’s fondness for Clyde, it would surely be twice the result with half the effort.
At that moment, an opportunity presented itself, and a glint of scheming flashed in Allen’s eyes as he casually posed a life-and-death question to Clyde, the unfortunate soul whose beloved woman he was about to steal.
“Ah, by the way, Clyde-kun, though it’s rather abrupt, I’d like to ask what you think about dragons.”
“…Eh?”
“Hmm? Dragons…?”
As Allen posed the question with a friendly smile, both Valentina, who was pondering whether the strange person was Noah, and Clyde, who was curious but dared not disturb Valentina’s thoughts and could only silently watch her, voiced their confusion.
Valentina had no idea why her teacher suddenly brought up this topic.
Thinking she had been exposed, her body involuntarily stiffened.
Fortunately, when she turned to look at Allen’s expression, she realized she had not been exposed, but Clyde’s answer made her tense up once again.
Clyde was a normal person; surely he would give a negative answer, right…?
“Uh, dragons are those very powerful magical beasts, right? I think they are indeed very dangerous, and without a doubt, they are evil beings, after all, everyone says so.”
Though he was unsure why this question had been thrown at him, the boy still took a moment to think before giving his answer.
And it was a very standard answer; the introductions to various magical creatures typically began with this kind of response regarding dragons.
Hearing this answer, Allen nearly burst out laughing.
Ha ha! He knew this foolish boy wouldn’t give any particularly special answer!
They all knew that Valentina, who dreamed of becoming a dragon-slaying hero, hated dragons.
The more he denied the existence of dragons, the happier Valentina would be; yet this foolish boy, due to his lack of eloquence and perspective, could not provide an answer more impressive than Allen’s.
Now, with one fondness increasing and the other decreasing, he had won hands down!
“…Right? Clyde thinks so too, doesn’t he?”
Because she had already mentally prepared herself, Valentina’s reaction was even calmer than when she had asked Allen the same question.
Even though waves of bitterness surged within her, she tried her best to appear happy, flashing a smile that looked no different from her usual self at her childhood friend standing before her.
However, even if that smile could deceive her half-siblings, who never took her seriously, it couldn’t fool Clyde, her childhood friend who was adept at reading others’ expressions.
Thus, after a moment of contemplation, Clyde added to his answer:
“…Ah, but I think maybe, just like there are good and bad people, there might also be good and bad dragons, who knows? Ha, haha, sorry, I’m not really sure either.”
“!?”
In truth, Clyde couldn’t be certain if his guess was correct, but from the way Valentina’s eyes sparkled even more than before after hearing his addition, he knew he had hit the mark.
Though he didn’t understand why, it seemed Valentina wanted to hear an affirmation about dragons.
How strange, considering dragons were both violent and lecherous, truly the monsters among monsters. If a dragon appeared before him, he would definitely run away.
But since the princess, his childhood friend, wanted an agreeable answer, he decided to respond that way; after all, he didn’t want to upset her.
“…I see, it can’t be said that it’s completely impossible, but the likelihood is extremely low, as there has never been any record of a dragon being friendly towards humans. Perhaps viewing the world with such optimism is a trait of your youth.”
In theory, both Allen and Clyde were capable of understanding Valentina’s inner thoughts.
However, believing he had completely grasped Valentina’s feelings, Allen failed to notice anything unusual and thought Clyde was just being foolish.
Come on, how could there be good dragons? That was such a naive thought, only a silly boy would think that way.
While Allen seemed to be praising Clyde, he was actually belittling his unrealistic fantasies.
“Hmm, Mr. Allen is right; it’s best not to be too idealistic. Clyde, you’re just too gentle. That’s both your strength and your weakness. But I respect you for believing that dragons can be friendly!”
And contrary to her expectations that her childhood friend wouldn’t agree with her, Valentina was now completely overjoyed, wanting to dance with excitement.
Hehe! Did you see that? Evil god! Clyde can totally accept dragons!
But being a princess, Valentina forced herself to suppress her inner joy, only allowing a hint of happiness to show on her face as she beamed a bright and radiant smile at Clyde.
That captivating smile was lethal to the young boy, causing his cheeks to flush immediately as he scratched his head and smiled even more bashfully.
Watching the strong feelings between the heroine and the suffering protagonist, the blonde-haired Allen couldn’t help but feel pleased in his heart.
How wonderful, the innocent and naive first love of the young people.
It’s just a pity that the more beautiful it is now, the more despair this silly boy will feel when he loses his girlfriend in the future!
I really look forward to that day coming!
Hehehehe!
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