"A Remberer." Another touch from Phloria made the egg close and the hologram disappear. Then, Lith watched one showing Phloria playing with Lucky when the mastiff was still a puppy, both covered in mud from head to toes.
Another was about Jirni teaching her the basics of self defense.
"It’s how mages store their precious monts."
"Why did you never show them to
before?" Lith’s doubts were turning into a suspicion.
"Because those are my private monts." Phloria fiddled with her hair while she was staring at the ground incapable of looking him in the eye out of embarrassnt.
"I didn’t share them even with my sisters."
"Okay, let’s cut to the chase." Lith closed the Remberer, resisting the temptation to pry further in her life.
"Are you jealous?"
"What? Why do you say that?" Phloria’s flinching like that was a big tell.
"Well, whenever you called
after the gala, you seed nervous. You have always liked to keep so boundaries. To go slow and steady. Yet now you are offering
to sleep here and sharing all this stuff. Sounds..."
"Desperate?" She completed the phrase for him.
"No. I was going to say: ’out of character’."
"Oh." Phloria blushed up to her ears. She wished for the ground to swallow her whole, but the carpet remained still.
She walked to her bed, sitting on it before answering with a sad voice.
"Yes, I’m jealous. I don’t think I can compete with the Marchioness’ daughter." Phloria’s fears had gone through the roof when Jirni had pressed her to visit him during the last days of winter, instead of nagging her about her studies as usual.
"She’s better than
under every aspect. She’s very beautiful, moves and speaks like a lady. I’m just a clumsy giantess compared to her." Her eyes fell on her chest area, closing the speech with an unspoken comparison.
"Since when it’s a challenge?" Lith scoffed.
"Do you think I have a little book where I assign all the girls I know points or sothing? That I score them according to so standards? How shallow do you think I am?"
"Wait, did you say all the girls? As in there’s more?" Phloria was dumbfounded.
"Of course, there are. Ever since the rankings ca out, all the girls of marrying age of my village have been parading in front of
every ti I left my house. I keep getting invitations from small and dium importance nobles of the Lustria county.
"Most of them I didn’t even know they existed. To be honest, I expect to receive the sa attention from our female schoolmates Yurial did last year, if not even worse. Because now he is publicly engaged, while I am just ’an ignorant fool’.
"I expect them to think of
as a limitless letter of credit. I’m not stupid or arrogant enough to believe I’ve suddenly turned into a beautiful swan. They are all just gold diggers."
Lith sat on the bed beside her.
"Brinja is not different from them. Even after I saved her life, she never considered
nothing more than a brat with a glare. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have waited for so long before making a move.
"She probably heard about
from her mother and got curious. You are the only person I t since I joined the academy that looked at
as a person, instead of an asset. Even before we started dating, you sought my company and advice.
"You have shared with
your everyday problems, the quarrels with your mother, and even your dreams for the future." Lith swept the hair that was covering Phloria’s face before starting to caress her cheek.
"I wouldn’t have ever accepted to go out with you otherwise. Not even if you were the most beautiful girl in the world."
"Are you saying I am not?" Phloria had suddenly found her spunk back, hitting him with a cushion.
"Your words, not mine, rember?"
The mood while they walked toward the fifth year Lecture Hall was completely different from before. Phloria humd the whole ti, without forcing herself to be clingy or flirty.
Not even when several girls looked at him like they saw Lith for the first ti, giggling and trying to strike up a conversation with him managed to ruin her high spirits.
Especially because he dismissed them every ti with a growl. Lith had no ti to waste in pleasantries and hated leeches ever since his ti on Earth. He still vividly rembered all those that thought him being parentless was "cool
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