Back at Olivia’s dorm, Lianca heard a knock at the door. She hurried downstairs to open it and found Litte standing there.
Lianca froze for a mont, then asked, “Uh, Litte, what brings you here?”
“Uh... didn’t Senior Olivia say she was inviting us for dinner?”
“Huh? Sister went out to buy groceries,” Lianca said, peeking outside. Seeing no one else behind Litte, she asked, “Wait, Litte, did you co here alone?”
The implication was clear: Where’s Orson?
Although seeing Orson reminded Lianca of that embarrassing incident, part of her still wanted to see him again.
“Oh, Orson had so stuff to take care of. He said he’d be here later.”
“Well, Sister’s out shopping anyway. Co in and wait,” Lianca said, stepping aside to let Litte in.
“Mm-hmm.” Hearing this, Litte nodded. “Sorry to bother you.”
The two of them sat awkwardly in the living room, waiting.
Half an hour passed, but neither Orson nor Olivia showed up.
“Um, Lianca, Senior Olivia said she went out to buy groceries, right?”
“Yeah,” Lianca nodded. She didn’t understand why her sister hadn’t co back yet. “What about Orson? What’s taking him so long?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s really busy with Student Council stuff,” Litte said, shrugging.
—
“Orson, try this.” Olivia held a small piece of cake up to Orson’s mouth.
Resigned, Orson took a bite.
“Not bad,” he said.
From the start, sothing had felt off to him.
It was as if Olivia had turned this outing into a date between a couple, with all sorts of intimate gestures.
The original plan was to create an opportunity for Litte and Lianca. So why did it feel like they’d ended up separating them just to create an opportunity for himself and Olivia?
“Um, Olivia...” Orson hesitated before bringing it up. “You seem to be enjoying yourself?”
“Of course,” Olivia nodded. “Aren’t you?”
“...” This damn woman was using her usual tactic of throwing the question back at him.
“If we’re just talking about strolling around, it’s fine,” Orson said. “I’m not particularly interested in this kind of thing.”
“So that ans you’re more interested in who you’re strolling with?” Olivia clasped her hands behind her back, looked at Orson, and revealed a smile.
“...” Orson turned his head away. “It’s getting late. Let’s find a place to eat.”
“Sure~” Olivia didn’t press further and instead nodded, leading Orson to a restaurant she often frequented.
As Orson and Olivia walked away, Litte and Lianca erged from the crowd.
Watching the two disappear into the distance, Litte and Lianca exchanged glances and decided to follow.
Earlier, they had waited in the dorm for a long ti without seeing either Olivia or Orson.
“You know, Lianca,” Litte suddenly spoke.
“Hm?”
“Do you think Orson and Senior Olivia might be together right now?” Litte speculated.
“That seems possible.” Lianca nodded in agreent.
“Could it be that they deliberately sent us away just so they could be alone?”
“Highly likely!” Litte wholeheartedly agreed.
“Then... should we go look for them?”
“Mm!”
The two began searching for Orson and Olivia and eventually spotted them wandering around the academy’s comrcial district.
Seeing the pair’s intimate gestures, both Litte and Lianca felt a pang of discomfort but didn’t know how to confront them.
After all, Orson and Olivia were officially engaged. Going on a date and having dinner together was perfectly reasonable.
Since they were relaxed and off-guard, neither Orson nor Olivia noticed the two following them.
Orson was increasingly frustrated. He couldn’t figure Olivia out.
He knew her excuse of “freeing her sister from the engagent” was just nonsense, but he still didn’t understand her true motives for agreeing to the engagent.
Initially, he thought she had her sights set on securing the Antica Duchy’s support for herself.
But the more he thought about it, the less sense it made.
Determined to get to the bottom of it, Orson looked across the table at Olivia and spoke up.
“Olivia, there’s sothing I need to clarify with you.”
“Hm?” Olivia tilted her head, looking at him.
“What is it?”
“The reason you chose to replace Lianca isn’t just about freeing your sister, is it?”
“Oh? So you’ve figured it out?” Olivia covered her mouth, looking at Orson, her face slightly flushed.
Goodness, if Orson was putting it so plainly, did that an he understood her feelings?
If that were the case, wouldn’t this inevitably lead to marriage?
“Yeah.” Orson nodded.
“So, what’s your take on it?” Olivia asked softly, doing her best to suppress her shyness.
“Well...” Orson thought for a mont before replying. “If your goal is to marry the future Duke of Antica, then I think you’d be better off focusing on Litte.”
“What?!” Olivia stared at Orson, her face filled with surprise. “Why would you say that, Orson?”
“Isn’t your aim to secure the Antica Duchy’s support by marrying ? If that’s the case, I’ll be honest—I have no interest in the position of Duke of Antica. Litte is the one who will inherit that title.”
“So...”
“Orson, you idiot!” Olivia interrupted Orson’s words with a look of annoyance.
Orson thought she was upset because he didn’t want to compete for the dukedom, so he tried to explain his reasoning.
There’s no way soone as smart as Olivia actually likes , right?
Before he could say another word, Olivia leaned in.
“Orson, I don’t care whether or not you’ll be the Duke of Antica.” As she spoke, Olivia directly confessed her feelings. “I don’t care about the identity of my fiancé. As long as it’s you, that’s all that matters.”
Her direct words left Orson completely stunned.
So... Olivia really does like ?
Her eyes sparkled with emotion.
“I don’t know why you think of as soone who only cares about personal gain, but I hope you’ll take a fresh look at in the future.”
This rare mont of vulnerability was a result of Olivia’s growing anxiety after the incident where Lianca had nearly made a move on Orson.
It was as if she was afraid soone might steal him away.
“Olivia, you...”
At that mont, a familiar voice interrupted them.
“Orson, Senior Olivia, so this is where you’ve been.”
Litte’s voice caught their attention as she approached with Lianca.
“Uh... Litte?” Orson looked at the two approaching figures in surprise.
Olivia clicked her tongue in annoyance. Her body, which had been leaning forward, returned to its original position.
“Lianca and I waited for you two at the dorm for ages, but you never showed up. So we figured you might be out and decided to look for you,” Litte said as she sat down beside Orson, while Lianca took the seat next to Olivia.
Although they hadn’t overheard the conversation, Litte and Lianca could easily guess what had been happening based on the atmosphere.
To prevent Orson and Olivia’s relationship from progressing further, Litte had decided to intervene as a third wheel.
For so reason, Lianca also felt uneasy seeing Olivia and Orson together.
Her sister was supposed to be taking on the engagent to spare her, yet she seed to be thoroughly enjoying her ti with Orson.
And it didn’t look like she was pretending.
“Uh, I just happened to run into Olivia while I was out. Then I suddenly rembered I hadn’t thanked her for helping last ti, so I decided to treat her to a al... and, well, I forgot about the rest...” Orson awkwardly lied.
“I see~” Litte replied, not paying much attention to Orson’s words but instead casting a slightly provocative look at Olivia.
Sure enough, she caught a hint of displeasure on Olivia’s face.
Hmph, finally, I managed to score a point against this cunning woman.
I wonder if she’s fuming now that her little sche has been disrupted.
“So, Senior Olivia, what were you and Orson talking about just now?”
“...” Olivia stared at Litte in silence for a mont before taking a breath to steady herself, her expression returning to its usual calm and composed deanor. “Nothing much, we were just discussing so Student Council matters.”
“Oh, so Student Council matters can get Senior Olivia this worked up, huh?” Litte pressed on, continuing her attack.
“Alright, Litte, that’s enough,” Orson stepped in to help Olivia out. “With all the preparations for the academy festival lately, we’ve been under a lot of pressure, so it’s natural for emotions like this to co up sotis.”
“Right, Olivia?”
“Yes.” Olivia nodded, shooting Orson a grateful look.
She then turned to Lianca.
“Lianca, why did you co out with Litte?”
“I... I was worried about you, Sister, so I ca to find you...”
“And, well, didn’t you go out to buy groceries? Why didn’t I see you with any?”
“Uh...” Olivia froze for a mont before replying, “Ah, that’s because I ran into Orson before I went to buy groceries, and, well... I forgot about it. Hehe.”
“It seems the Student Council must really be busy if it’s making Senior Olivia forget sothing so recent.” Litte continued to mock and tease Olivia from the side.
Watching the odd atmosphere between them, Orson was a bit bewildered.
But it didn’t feel like the right mont for him to step in.
Thankfully, at that mont, the waiter arrived with the dishes, alleviating the awkward tension that carried a faint hint of hostility.
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