Elsewhere, Litte and Orson walked along the road back to their dorm.
“So, Litte, what were you doing at Olivia’s place today?” Orson asked, breaking the silence between them. It was starting to feel a bit awkward.
“Uh...” Litte hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth.
After a mont of thought, she decided to co up with an excuse.
“Well, Lianca didn’t co to class today, so I was a bit worried about her. I asked for her dorm address and went to check on her.”
“I see.” Orson nodded, feeling even guiltier.
Of course, Litte was concerned about Lianca, while I almost ended up in an inappropriate situation with my future sister-in-law, who might also beco Litte’s sister-in-law.
“Hey, Orson,” Litte suddenly asked, “why were you at Olivia and Lianca’s dorm?”
“? Oh...” Orson thought for a mont and decided not to hide it. “Olivia ca to , saying that Lianca hasn’t been in a good ntal state lately—partly because of —and asked if I could help. So I did.”
“Oh.” Litte nodded. “I see.”
“Yeah, that’s all there is to it.”
“Then what exactly did you and Lianca talk about upstairs?” Litte asked abruptly.
“Uh... well...” Orson’s eyes darted around. In truth, most of the conversation consisted of Lianca speaking while Orson barely did anything.
But there was no way he could tell Litte about how Lianca had almost pinned him down!
“I just talked to her about life and dreams, and she suddenly had an epiphany.”
“Really?” Litte clearly didn’t believe him. “Then why was Lianca blushing when she ca downstairs? And during lunch, neither of you dared to look at each other. Would talking about life and dreams cause that?”
“Uh...”
“Or is it that, Orson, you and Lianca didn’t just talk about those things upstairs?”
“No, no, Litte, don’t overthink it,” Orson quickly denied, shaking his head. “Nothing happened between and Lianca.”
After all, as her older brother, and with a fiancé already, getting involved with soone Litte cares about would be absolutely inexcusable.
Litte stared at Orson for a long ti before finally looking away.
“Alright, fine, I’ll take your word for it.”
After this exchange, Orson beca even more certain that Litte had feelings for Lianca. Otherwise, why would he care so much about her?
But then, why didn’t Litte just tell or Olivia directly? Why go so far as to secretly follow us?
Maybe it’s just that young people don’t want others to find out about their secret crushes, Orson figured.
He hadn’t expected that even after altering the story’s original trajectory, Litte and Lianca would still find their way to each other. Was this so kind of narrative inevitability?
Turning to Litte, Orson said, “Litte, if you’ve found soone you like, then go for it. Do your best to hold onto your happiness.”
With these words, Orson left, heading to the Student Council to work on preparations for the academy festival.
Litte stood frozen for a mont, Orson’s words echoing in her mind. Gradually, her cheeks turned bright red.
“O-Orson, what kind of nonsense are you saying...” she thought, flustered.
Could it be that Orson already knows I like him?
After all, the sleepwalking excuse was pretty far-fetched.
Then why would Orson encourage like that? Could it be that he likes too, but just doesn’t want to admit it?
No, no, no! Even if that’s the case, it would be way too bold to make the first move!
Covering her face with her hands, Litte returned to the dorm. Out of habit, she walked into Orson’s room, flopped onto his bed, and buried her face in his pillow, taking in the familiar scent. Only then did she feel a sense of safety.
For her, just being able to live with Orson was enough...
As this thought crossed her mind, her consciousness grew hazy, and she drifted off to sleep.
—
Elsewhere, Elsa sat in her dorm, looking at Aphro.
“Aphro, I’m so bored. Co shopping with .”
“Princess Elsa, His Majesty just reminded you a few days ago to focus on your studies at the academy and to handle your Student Council duties properly.”
“Oh, co on, Aphro~” Elsa whined, clinging to Aphro’s arm. “You know as well as I do that no matter how hard I work, I’ll never beat that monster Orson in academics. Since I can’t get first place, who cares about the rest of the rankings?”
“And the Student Council is boring too! I’ve spent the past few days cooped up writing plans with everyone—it’s sooooo dull! Just co shopping with , please~”
“...” Aphro checked the ti before saying, “Princess, don’t forget there’s an internal eting with President Orson this afternoon.”
“Oh, right.” Elsa finally rembered. “I almost completely forgot about that eting if you hadn’t ntioned it.”
“Then, Aphro, why don’t you do a reading for ? See what this year’s academy festival will be like.”
“That’s too broad to predict,” Aphro replied, shaking her head.
“Then...” Elsa thought for a mont. “Hmm... How about this: will this year’s festival be better than the previous ones?”
“Alright, let take a look.” Using the gemstones Elsa handed her, Aphro perford a divination. After a mont, she nodded. “This year’s festival will go very smoothly. If you continue working as you have been, Princess, you’ll play an important role in it.”
“Good enough for !” Elsa said, her confidence bolstered by Aphro’s prediction.
With renewed energy, she stood up and left the dorm, heading to the Student Council office.
—
That afternoon, the Student Council’s internal eting proceeded as scheduled.
“As you all know, the academy festival is fast approaching. Today, we’re here to discuss how we should arrange and organize the event and to determine how each departnt will collaborate,” Orson said, glancing at the others seated around the table.
Everyone began presenting their ideas and proposals.
Finally, Orson summarized and consolidated the discussions.
“Alright, here’s the general plan for the festival. In the morning, we’ll have class-based activities. These will serve as a warm-up and don’t need to be overly professional.”
“Then, in the afternoon, the club activities will take center stage. Each club must host unique events, even the Go-Ho Club!”
Hearing this, the head of the Communications Departnt raised a hand.
“President Orson, isn’t it a bit much to ask the Go-Ho Club to participate? Wouldn’t that be...”
“Isn’t the Go-Ho Club still a club?”
“But they hardly ever do anything...”
“That’s fine,” Orson said, shaking his head. “You have to believe in people’s potential. Who knows, maybe precisely because they haven’t done anything, their event will turn out to be the best of all.”
“Alright...” The head of the Communications Departnt nodded.
“In the evening, we’ll build up the festival atmosphere to its peak. We’ll have a musical theater performance in the auditorium and a magic show in the plaza.”
“Finally, we’ll wrap up the festival with a fireworks display in the plaza as the grand finale.”
“This flow of events should work well, don’t you think?” Orson looked around at the group.
“Yes.” Everyone nodded in agreent.
“Good. During this ti, I’ll need the Communications Departnt and the Publicity Departnt to spread the word about the festival.”
“The Coordination Departnt and the Office will handle the planning and scheduling of events.”
“Lastly, the Disciplinary Committee and the Residential Life Departnt need to step up during the festival. Since it’s also an open day, the Disciplinary Committee should increase patrols, and the Residential Life Departnt must ensure the dormitories are well-managed to prevent theft.”
After assigning the tasks, the eting was adjourned, and everyone returned to their respective duties.
“Olivia, aren’t you going to get to work?” Orson asked, noticing that Olivia was still lingering in the office.
“You’ve already assigned all the work my team needs to do, haven’t you?” Olivia said, continuing to sit beside Orson.
“Orson,” she began, “can you tell honestly what happened upstairs with Lianca?”
“Nothing happened,” Orson said, shaking his head. “Lianca thought my appearance was part of a dream. People do all sorts of things in dreams, right?”
“That’s true.” Olivia nodded. “But I’m curious—did Lianca say anything about ?”
“About you?” Orson thought for a mont. “She did say sothing like, ‘What you said is exactly what my sister told ,’ when I was comforting her.”
Orson didn’t dare ntion the part where Lianca had talked about rebelling against her sister. He didn’t want to risk straining their relationship.
Hearing Orson’s words, Olivia nodded.
Just as Orson thought she wouldn’t press further, Olivia suddenly asked, “When Lianca was trying to do that kind of thing to you, did it not cross her mind that you’re my fiancé?”
“Uh, I wouldn’t know...” Orson froze for a mont before shaking his head. “She didn’t say.”
Olivia squinted at him, her expression unreadable. But instead of pushing the matter further, she left the office.
“Well, as much as I’d love to spend more ti with you, Orson, I have so things to take care of,” Olivia said regretfully as she stood and walked out.
“Oh, by the way,” Orson called out just as she was about to leave.
“What is it? Trying to make stay?” Olivia smiled at him.
“No,” Orson replied, shaking his head. “Just rember to drink more hot water.”
“...” Olivia’s smile froze. She turned around and slamd the door shut in frustration.
Watching her reaction, Orson clenched his fist and quietly cheered like a child.
Finally, I managed to annoy that troubleso woman.
—
anwhile, back at the dorm, Litte lay on Orson’s bed, having a nightmare.
In her dream, Orson was nothing like the kind and gentle older brother she knew.
On her first day ho, she had tried to approach Orson, only to be coldly humiliated by him before he slamd the door in her face.
In the days that followed, no matter how polite she was, Orson kept his distance and avoided her.
Unlike the Orson in reality, who was always smiling warmly, the Orson in the dream wore a perpetual expression of indifference.
Why? Why would Orson suddenly change? In reality, he’s always so kind to ...
But deep down, a voice told her that this cold and distant relationship was what was truly normal for the children of a duke.
In front of their parents, Orson would act close and affectionate, but as soon as they were alone, he would always push her away.
“Litte, don’t you think it’s disgusting for a boy like you to keep following around?” Dream Orson looked at her with disdain, his tone filled with contempt.
“After all, soone raised in the countryside will always be a countryside bumpkin,” he continued, saying the words that hurt Litte the most.
When Litte opened her eyes again, it was already evening. Orson was sitting at his desk. Hearing movent from the bed, he turned to look at her.
“What’s wrong, Litte?” Orson asked, walking over to the bed. Noticing the sweat on her forehead, he pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped it away. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“Mm.” Litte nodded. “Orson, I’m sorry. I was so tired when I got back that I accidentally went into the wrong room and fell asleep on your bed.”
“It’s alright,” Orson said with a smile, shaking his head. “If you’re still scared, you can sleep here tonight. I’ll keep you company.”
“Then... what about you, Orson?”
“I’ll sleep downstairs or in your room. It’s no big deal,” Orson replied.
“Alright.” Litte nodded and lay back down.
See? It was all just a dream. There’s no way Orson would ever treat so coldly.
But as she lay there, she suddenly felt a hand wrap tightly around her neck.
“Orson, you...” Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at him.
But Orson’s grip only tightened, and she could no longer make a sound.
The gentle warmth in his eyes had been replaced by a fierce and ruthless glare.
“Litte, I’ve told you before—don’t trust anyone, not even .”
“Haha, you useless thing. After all the effort I’ve spent training you, you still let down your guard around .”
“Fine, with you dead, I’ll beco the legitimate heir to the dukedom!” Orson said, his tone bordering on madness.
Litte, staring at this version of Orson, unexpectedly began to laugh.
“What... what are you laughing at?!” Orson demanded, his grip loosening slightly, just enough for Litte to speak. “Speak up! If you don’t, don’t bla for continuing!”
Cough, cough. Litte coughed a few tis before rasping, “You... you’re not Orson.”
“What makes you think I’m not Orson?!” Orson snapped, pointing to himself. “Look closely! How am I not Orson?!”
“If Orson wanted to kill , he’s had tens of thousands of opportunities before this,” Litte said. “And besides, Orson promised that he has no desire for the position of duke.”
“Oh, so you trust Orson that much, huh?” The so-called “Orson” sneered, his expression changing as he revealed his true self.
It was soone with the exact sa appearance as Litte.
The only difference was in the eyes—Litte’s were a bright purple, while this person’s were a deep, bloody red.
“Little Dark... it’s you,” Litte said. “Why are you always trying to drive a wedge between and Orson?”
“I told you before—Orson is dangerous,” Little Dark said, her tone calm now. “If you die, I die too. I don’t want to die. That’s all there is to it.”
“But, Little Dark, do you think I have the ability to leave Orson now?” Litte asked in return.
“Even so, you should still be on guard against him!”
“Little Dark,” Litte said firmly, her voice resolute. “If soone is willing to treat you as an equal regardless of your past, if soone extends a hand to help you even at their own risk when you’re in trouble...”
“Then, wouldn’t it be worth giving your life for that person?”
“Litte...” Little Dark fell silent. She had co this ti to remind Litte not to beco too complacent in her peaceful everyday life and to keep her guard up so she might survive any potential danger.
But now, it seed that Litte valued Orson even more than she valued her.
This version of Litte was, in Little Dark’s eyes, already “beyond saving.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)