NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28 - This is about my friend.
TN: One final thanks to Clone Trooper for the support. 10 chapters. Goodbye to bonus chapters for now(?)
“Phew…!”
Crack!
The fixed sandbag broke apart, spilling its contents.
Tsk.
Need to replace it.
Looking around, damaged and broken training equipment was strewn about.
She felt sorry for the servants as she rang the bell.
Ding, ding.
It didn’t take long for the white-haired old man to arrive after the bell rang.
“You called, Miss?”
“Ah, Grandpa. Sorry, but could you clean this up?”
“Understood.”
Her mood didn’t improve.
She couldn’t forget that incident.
She was frustrated that she couldn’t fight just because she didn’t have a weapon.
She could only leave everything to Siwoo and watch.
She was frustrated that she couldn’t comfort her friend, trembling after killing someone.
Why couldn’t she?
She was scared.
Just because it was the first time she saw a corpse.
For such a trivial reason.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
She repeatedly struck out in frustration, one, two, three, four times, accelerating as she used her ability.
It didn’t take long for the last remaining sandbag to be devastatingly torn apart, spilling sand everywhere.
Seeing that reminded her of the villain collapsing while spewing blood, making her even more frustrated.
Amelia was no longer shocked by seeing a corpse for the first time.
…But the frustration of being unable to help her friend didn’t subside.
What a pathetic girl.
She said she could do anything to achieve her goal, but she gave up on helping a friend.
That’s why she’s a piece of trash who is all talk.
“…Ah, my hand hurts badly.”
When she looked down, blood was dripping onto the floor.
She had only noticed it now.
“Miss, use this.”
“Thanks, Grandpa.”
He roughly applied the ointment and wrapped a bandage around her hand.
It’s a high-performance medicine, so it should heal by tomorrow morning.
“Miss, did something bad happen? You seem to be venting your frustrations lately.”
…She couldn’t tell him.
Grandpa cares for her a lot.
But he’d raise a huge fuss if she told him she met a villain at the academy.
Nothing good would come of that.
She’ll have to be vague about it.
“No, it’s nothing….Just something frustrating happened.”
“I see. Please let me know if you have any worries. I may be able to help.”
Help.
Come to think of it, neither she nor Siwoo had ever asked anyone for help.
That’s because they were afraid of Arte.
They couldn’t risk being labeled villains just for accusations without any evidence.
But if she asked for advice without revealing Arte’s identity?
…What could go wrong?
“Actually, Grandpa…”
“Yes, Miss?”
“I have something I want to ask.”
“Please go ahead.”
Amelia looked at the butler, who had watched over her since childhood, with a serious expression.
…Maybe he would know.
The answer to the dilemma she was facing right now.
Why Arte is so interested in Siwoo?
“It’s not about me, but about my friend.”
“I see.”
“… She’s acting a bit strange.”
“In what way, Miss?”
Um…
In what way is she acting strange?
She couldn’t mention the important events. Just strange things in daily life.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t find the right words to explain her suspicions.
‘What should I say?’
Fortunately, Grandpa waited patiently for her.
…Ah, got it. Let’s try saying it this way.
“She’s unusually interested in a certain male student.”
“A male student, you say?”
“Yes.”
Grandpa suddenly started fixing his posture.
What’s up?
It looked like he was smirking, too.
Or was that her imagination?
“Ahem, ahem. Pardon me… So? Please continue.”
“Oh, right.”
… It’s probably nothing.
Amelia decided to brush it off.
“That friend seems to be looking at this guy named Siwoo with an unusual amount of attention.”
“Hmm, Siwoo… Ah, you mean the student Siwoo in the same class, right?”
“Yeah, and–wait, how did you know that, Grandpa?”
“There are ways to find out anything.”
The same old line again.
Well, Amelia didn’t really care.
He probably just did a background check or something.
Ever since she was little, he’s checked out all the boys around her.
‘I guess old habits die hard.’
…Thinking about background checks suddenly reminded me of what Jeffrey said.
If anyone even tries to look up her information once, they’ll sense something off.
Surely he didn’t look up Arte too, did he?
A chill ran down her spine.
“…Do you know Arte Iris?”
“Arte Iris? A girl in the same class? I haven’t looked her up, but shall I?”
“No, don’t bother. I already looked into her.”
“I see. Understood.”
Amelia let out a relieved sigh.
Looks like he didn’t look into her, thankfully.
It’s better if he doesn’t know.
Jeffrey was wary of her for a reason.
He’s an information broker. He’s sensitive to even the potential of threats.
No matter how powerful her family is, she can’t just bring someone Jeffrey was so wary of into her home.
“Anyway! That friend seems to be paying an excessive amount of attention to this guy Siwoo.”
“…Excessive, you say?”
Ah.
Now that she thought about it, she did say ‘friend’ but then mentioned Arte’s name.
Was that too obvious?
She quickly glanced at Grandpa’s expression, but he didn’t seem suspicious, just intrigued.
Didn’t notice?
That’s a relief.
“Yeah. She keeps looking at him during classes, too.”
“I see…”
“And after school, she follows him around whenever she can.”
“I understand. Anything else?”
“Else? …Um, ah. She even joined the same club as him. And they were on the same exam group, too, I think?”
“…!”
“Plus, she doesn’t seem interested in their other classmates. Her attention is only on him.”
After hearing the whole story, Grandpa teared up.
He is acting a bit strange today.
What part of this made him want to cry?
“I see. Well, Miss, it seems you’ve finally reached that stage…”
“…Whatever misunderstanding you have, this is about my friend.”
“Yes, yes. Your friend. I understand.”
…Did he really understand?
It’s getting annoying.
But she’s the one asking right now, so she should be patient.
“But I don’t understand the reason….Do you know, Grandpa?”
“?! You mean you didn’t realize?!”
“What, what? Why are you so surprised? Did I do something wrong?”
“Wrong…no, not at all. Ahem, my apologies. I was just momentarily surprised.”
Why was he clearing his throat like an announcer before making a big announcement?
With an unnecessarily solemn face, Grandpa spoke to her in a serious tone.
“Allow me to explain. The reason your… friend’s gaze is fixed on that young man is…!”
What Grandpa said next surprised her.
It…makes sense!
Even those who have lived long have something special about them. Is this what they call experience?
“Thank you, Grandpa!”
“No need to thank me.”
Amelia felt better.
With this, she could help Siwoo!
…The feeling of solving his problem melted away the guilt she felt earlier.
***
“Siwoo. Come here quickly. It’s urgent.”
“Huh, okay?!”
Siwoo was flustered.
He had been worried about Amelia, who had seemed gloomy these past few days after that incident.
She seemed to be in a bad mood ever since going through that experience.
But today, her energy seemed higher than usual.
She looked happier somehow.
Did she finally get over it?
Siwoo didn’t refuse Amelia’s guiding hand and followed her into the secluded alley where they usually talked.
“…So, what’s the sudden urgency?”
“What urgency?”
“Well, we only talk here when…”
It was only when discussing countermeasures against Arte.
Siwoo was about to say that but closed his mouth. Since Amelia had also recently suffered a mental shock, he should be considerate…
“I know. Don’t worry about it.”
“…Are you okay?”
“With what?”
He asked her urgently, but she just looked puzzled about what the problem was.
She must have completely gotten over it.
He respected her for that.
In Amelia’s situation, he probably would have holed up in his room for days.
…Just recalling that memory–her touch and scent–helped forcibly stop the gloomy feelings from overwhelming him.
Maybe he could say he’s indifferent to it now?
She overcame it all by herself without any of that.
“…Well, okay. Today’s discussion is about why she’s been watching you.”
“What?!”
Siwoo was caught off guard by what Amelia said.
Her reason…!
Her goal was to steal the artifact hidden inside the Secret Room somewhere in the academy.
No matter how he thought about it, the reason she was watching him had no connection to that at all.
Did she figure that out?
Siwoo was amazed.
“You, you found that out…?!”
“Yeah. Grandpa helped me out.”
“…Grandpa?”
“My butler. Don’t worry. I hid the fact that it was about Arte well.”
Um, was that so?
…He felt a bit uneasy, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
He could finally learn why Arte was watching him.
“So, so what’s the reason?”
“It’s…”
It’s?
Ba-dump, ba-dump.
His heart was pounding.
The secret he thought he could never unravel about why Arte was watching him was about to be revealed.
“Love.”
“…What?”
Without realizing it, Siwoo ended up asking Amelia to repeat herself.
Author’s Note:
You all saw it, right…?!
A beautiful fan art arrived!
Kyaaah, it’s so pretty!!!!
K007 drew it for us!
And you saw this too, right…?!
The cover artwork is complete!
HOMY drew it for us!
So beautiful!