When Orson returned to the dormitory, Litte had just co back from the library. Seeing Orson rushing in, Litte looked puzzled and asked:
“Um... Orson, what’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to still be in a eting?”
“Mm, the eting’s over,” Orson said, sitting on the sofa in the living room.
“Litte, co sit. Let’s have a proper chat today.”
“Ah, okay...” Although she didn’t understand why Orson said this, Litte obediently sat on the sofa across from him.
“Litte, are you hiding sothing from ?” Orson asked, staring intently at Litte without saying another word.
Litte’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, could it be that Orson has discovered I’m a girl?
Her heartbeat quickened as panic set in.
If Orson finds out I’ve been lying to him, he’ll definitely be angry...
Will he abandon ? Or will he punish harshly?
No, what if he’s just testing ? I absolutely can’t confess!
With this thought, Litte shook her head.
“No, of course not. Why would I hide anything from you, Orson?”
“Really?” Orson continued to stare at Litte, then let out a sigh.
“Fine, I’ll take your word for it.”
“Eh?” Litte was stunned. She hadn’t expected Orson to believe her so easily.
“I just didn’t expect...” Orson said, his expression turning sorrowful. “That my dear Litte has grown to the point where he can lie to his older brother without feeling the slightest guilt.”
“Sigh...” He sighed again, this ti deliberately.
Litte panicked.
She hadn’t thought Orson would be so hurt by her lie. Quickly, she said, “Orson, I-I’ll tell you everything! Please don’t be upset, okay?”
“No need.” Orson waved his hand dismissively. “Litte, do you think I asked because I didn’t already know?”
“Eh!?” Now it was Litte’s turn to be completely dumbfounded.
He already knows? So Orson already knows I’m a girl?
Then why has he kept by his side? Is he waiting for to confess and then...?
As her thoughts spiraled, Litte’s face grew increasingly flushed.
Just as her imagination was running wild, Orson spoke again:
“You went out for lunch with Donny yesterday, didn’t you?”
“Ah?”
The twists and turns caught her completely off guard.
“So that’s what this is about...” Litte sighed in relief upon realizing the topic wasn’t what she had feared.
“Mm. What else did you think I was talking about?” Orson asked, squinting his eyes. “Could it be, Litte, that you really are hiding sothing else from ?”
“No, no, absolutely not,” Litte quickly shook her head. She then recounted everything Donny had said during their eting the previous day.
“So Donny t with you just to talk about this?”
“Mm.” Litte nodded.
Orson listened, and it beca clear to him what Donny’s intentions were.
He wanted to sow discord between Orson and Litte, exploiting the darkest corners of human jealousy to make Litte feel that Orson owed him for the past eighteen years. This would, in turn, make Litte resent Orson.
However, Donny’s words were a mix of truth and lies, with plenty of deception woven in.
And the best way to dispel lies is with the truth.
With this in mind, Orson looked at Litte seriously and said, “Litte, would you like to hear the real story about ?”
“The real story?” Litte asked, confused. “Are you saying there’s a fake one?”
“Of course there’s a fake one,” Orson nodded. “For example, what Father tells others—that’s not the truth.”
“I don’t know all the details about what happened back then, but I can tell you about my identity.”
“Mm?”
“I’m not Father’s biological son, nor am I adopted, as Father claims.”
As Orson’s words fell, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck Litte’s mind.
“Orson, you an...”
“Mm. What Donny said might actually be true. I was indeed found by the duke’s household and mistakenly assud to be his child—a re orphan.”
“If I hadn’t been there, Father would’ve expanded his search and likely found you directly.”
“So for these past eighteen years, you’ve been suffering in the countryside in my place,” Orson said, placing his hand on Litte’s.
“But I, Orson, am not the kind of person who is greedy and ungrateful.”
“When I attended the banquet last night, I witnessed the internal strife of the Bonaventura family. Blood relatives scheming against each other more viciously than enemies—I don’t want us to end up like that.”
“Father raised , gave the best education. Now that you, his biological child, are here, I would never harm you.”
“On the contrary, I will do everything I can to support you until the day you ascend to the position of duke.”
Orson looked at Litte, his eyes filled with sincerity.
“This is not just to repay Father for raising but also to make up for my guilt toward you... because the one who should’ve suffered was .”
“If you still don’t believe , I’m willing to swear an oath.”
“No need.” Litte shook her head. “I believe you, Orson.”
She smiled brightly.
“If you really wanted to harm , you’ve had plenty of opportunities. Whether it was in the forest or any other ti, you could’ve easily gotten rid of . But you didn’t.”
“If anything, I was the one who doubted you, keeping the matter with Donny from you. That was small-minded of .”
With both of them taking a step back, the tense atmosphere between the “brothers” instantly dissolved.
If Donny could see this scene now, he’d probably be grinding his teeth in frustration, cursing Litte for being so spineless.
If Litte had even a shred of ambition, he wouldn’t be content to grow up under Orson’s protection.
Seeing the misunderstanding resolved, Orson felt relieved. Then, sothing occurred to him.
“So, Litte, aside from the matter with Donny, you’re not hiding anything else from , right?”
“Mm-hmm, of course not,” Litte replied softly, lowering her head.
At least for now, there’s no way I can let Orson find out I’m a girl.
“Alright.” Orson didn’t press further.
Maybe Litte was hiding sothing, but even the closest of couples keep so things to themselves.
As long as it wasn’t sothing major, it didn’t matter.
With that thought, Orson changed the subject.
“By the way, Litte, you’ve started attending Professor Hecatia’s class, right? How’s it going?”
“Uh...” Litte scratched her head, her expression complicated.
“That class... well, although it’s called ‘Basic Alchemy,’ Professor Hecatia just gave an alchemy manual and told to study it on my own. She said to ask her if I didn’t understand sothing.”
“But she’s usually busy, so...”
“That’s just so typical of her teaching style,” Orson said with a sigh.
Litte’s choice of class truly turned out to be a “hidden gem.”
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