Even though Jeffrey’s fate had been decided, Ashillya’s work was not over.
There was much left to do, from deciding how to deal with him to Siegfried’s undecided fate and the eting with the Holy Kingdom still pending.
Despite the heavy workload, Ashillya entered her room without showing any signs of fatigue and exhaled deeply.
Although she had been moving non-stop, feeling like she had accomplished a great deal, there was still a mountain of work to be done. Looking at the brightly risen moon outside the window, Ashillya unknowingly muttered.
“Especially today.”
I miss you.
It wasn’t just because she was thinking of him while contemplating different matters.
Simply.
It was a night when she missed him.
***
Step, step.
Step, step.
I started walking through the academy as usual. Of course, the people around were a bit different from before.
The biggest change was that Helena was not by my side. She had not tried to et since I returned from Duke Geyrus’s mansion.
Of course, I had expressed my desire to et her, but that too was not accepted. She was clearly avoiding .
“…So? What trouble have you caused this ti?”
As I blankly watched Sylvia moving with excited steps, looking sowhat happier for so reason, I turned my gaze to the voice coming from beside .
Whether she was displeased with being with Sylvia or didn’t like her own appearance following on Marquis Degrosis’ orders, Pala consistently had a disgruntled expression.
I smiled awkwardly and answered her.
“What do you an?”
“From my long observation, when a girl who used to follow you around disappears, it’s usually because of you.”
“…I never dread you were so interested in .”
“It’s orders. Can’t be helped, right?”
Despite hating following Marquis Degrosis’ orders, seeing Pala faithfully carrying them out made laugh.
She poked my side and urged to answer as if she didn’t like even the sight of laughing.
Of course, there was no way her delicate fingers could pierce my robust physique, honed by intense training.
“There was sothing that happened.”
Realizing I was avoiding answering, Pala narrowed her eyes and glared at , but I didn’t want to answer.
It was entirely a matter between Helena and .
“…If you don’t want to talk about it, fine. It’s not like I was that curious anyway.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of Pala moving with her lips protruding, though I didn’t understand why she was sulking.
Pala, Sylvia, Ashillya.
These three were not related to the original Felix, and they did not have deep connections.
But Helena was different. She liked the previous Felix and still likes him now. I simply didn’t want to bring up the story of her thinking she had lost soone more than a friend.
‘From the beginning.’
I still haven’t clearly answered who I am.
In such a situation, it wasn’t like I could say anything if I t Helena, but I still needed to apologize to her.
But since she wouldn’t et , there was nothing I could do.
“Felix! Hurry up and co!”
Nodding to Sylvia, who was jumping up and down and waving at a little ahead, I had no choice but to move my heavy steps.
“You’re late…! We’re going to be late because of you, Felix!”
“… Don’t worry, we have plenty of ti.”
Sylvia seed to vaguely sense that sothing had happened between Helena and .
So, she seed to be trying even harder to show a bright appearance. It was probably to make forget about the quarrel with Helena, even for a mont.
At her consideration, I couldn’t help but smile faintly and answer.
Sylvia nodded with a broad smile.
“Really? If Felix says so, then it must be.”
“…Why is she so cheerful again.”
Unaware of these circumstances, Pala didn’t seem to like Sylvia’s particularly bright appearance recently, but Sylvia paid no attention to her.
Or rather, she seed not to care about Pala’s existence itself. Pala, snorting at Sylvia treating her as if she didn’t exist, just shook her head.
In fact, it was obvious that it would have been the sa situation even if Helena had been here, so I didn’t pay much attention to their behavior.
No, if Helena was here, she might have irritated Pala even more.
“Felix…!”
“Hm?”
As I was walking and thinking about other things, I blinked slowly at the voice coming from beside and ca to my senses.
“What is it, Sylvia?”
“Um… what are you doing after we finish today?”
“Wow, in this situation…”
Ignoring Pala muttering as if dumbfounded, I stared at Sylvia’s face. She cleared her throat and averted her gaze, but her cheeks were slightly flushed.
“Well, I don’t have anything particular planned…”
In fact, I was going to try to go to the dormitory to et Helena, but thinking about it, that would probably make her dislike even more, so I was about to give up on the idea.
However, that didn’t an I wasn’t planning to do anything. I needed to continue writing the letters I had been consistently sending since returning from Duke Geyrus’s mansion and continue my thoughts.
As I trailed off in my answer, Sylvia’s expression suddenly brightened. Her appearance was already pretty, but when she smiled brightly, it really felt like she was shining.
“Then, can you spare so ti after we finish today?”
“…Ti?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Sylvia’s words. However, understanding the aning of her words didn’t an I understood her true intentions.
What did she want to do with ? Sylvia doesn’t usually say such things to other people. Or to be more precise, she doesn’t say such things to n.
Sylvia was already quite popular. Plenty of guys would confess even if she stood still or greeted them, so if she said sothing like this, the other person might really start thinking about marriage.
Therefore, I asked back with wide eyes at Sylvia’s words.
“Ah, yes. I have so things I need to buy in the city… I was hoping you could help .”
“Oh… was that it?”
I’m not sure if I would be of much help in buying things, but I thought it might be sothing extrely heavy.
As I nodded, finally understanding Sylvia’s words, she looked at with a bright smile.
“Okay, if that’s what it is.”
There was no reason not to help.
Because Helena was also avoiding Sylvia because of , she currently had no friends she could comfortably hang out with.
As I readily agreed, Sylvia nodded in response and opened her mouth.
“Let’s et at the academy’s main gate after we finish!”
“… We’re not going right after?”
“Uh, um? I… I have sothing to prepare.”
“Ah, I see.”
I felt slightly puzzled by Sylvia’s severely flustered response to what I had just asked out of curiosity, but I didn’t think much of it.
For so reason, Pala looked at us with disapproving eyes from the side, but I didn’t think much of that either.
Pala never liked Sylvia anyway. The only person she tolerated was Helena.
“Then I’ll go first since I’m heading this way!”
“Okay, have a good class, Sylvia.”
I stared at Sylvia’s retreating figure as she waved goodbye with a bright smile, then moved on to my own class.
‘I wonder if she’ll be there today.’
Helena hadn’t been attending classes for several days now. Seeing her occasionally in the academy corridors, it was clear she was only avoiding the classes she shared with .
It seed she had already spoken to the academy professors, as there weren’t even any professors looking for her separately.
“…But why are you following ?”
“Don’t you have any thoughts at all?”
“What’s this nonsense now.”
Pala spoke to in a curt voice.
I didn’t understand what she ant, so I tilted my head and asked her back.
Pala sighed deeply and pointed with her chin towards the corridor where Sylvia had left, saying:
“Don’t you have any thoughts when you look at her?”
“…Sylvia? What about her?”
“You and her right now…! Ah, nevermind.”
Pala, who had been raising her voice as if frustrated, soon shook her head as if giving up and let out a deep sigh.
It was Pala’s usual behavior of occasionally saying nonsensical things, but today, it felt like she had a lot to say but wouldn’t say it for so reason.
“What is it?”
When I urged her to answer out of curiosity, Pala frowned and shook her head again.
“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”
Leaving only those words, Pala disappeared, and I could only stare blankly at her for a while.
“… What’s wrong with her now.”
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