Volu 4 Chapter 11 – Did She Fall for Soone Else?
“All correct~” Teresa leaned her head freely against my chest. That overwhelming scent of mint and herbs made my heart flutter.
Her eyelashes were like silver threads, fine as cicada wings. Her delicate snowy face flushed faintly with pink. Those violet eyes of hers shimred like a moon under pale silver light, carrying a subtle drunken daze. But due to her usual cold expression, the blush wasn’t very noticeable.
“You really do know best, Astrid.” As she spoke, the golden-haired girl nestled in my arms nuzzled her head against my shoulder like a kitten. The silky softness of her hair tickled my heart, like feathers lightly brushing across it.
“Mr. Buwen, you claim to understand , to believe that we’re similar and thus share the sa preferences. But as you’ve seen, it’s entirely possible for such feelings to be one-sided, born from a misunderstanding.”
“B-But…” Buwen still tried to defend himself. “That’s not fair, Miss Teresa. Astrid and you have spent so much ti together. It’s only natural for her to understand your habits, unlike …”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to say to you, Mr. Buwen.” Teresa pulled away from . As the warmth left my arms, the soft daze still lingered in my eyes.
“Astrid’s understanding of cos from days and days of being together. You’re right—perhaps love can co from a single glance, but I’ve never believed that love at first sight can rival a long-lasting bond.”
“What’s more, Astrid’s grasp of every little detail isn’t sothing that can be achieved through just casual ti together, is it?”
I couldn’t help but feel there was a hidden aning in Teresa’s words.
“That’s the answer I wanted to give you, Buwen.”
“......”
Buwen took a deep breath, glanced at , then placed a hand to his chest and bowed respectfully to Teresa. “I understand, Miss Teresa.”
“I respect your decision.”
“Astrid, you and Teresa must be really close,” Buwen suddenly said.
“...”
That left , who had been trying so hard to avoid Teresa, completely unsure how to respond.
“Apologies for bothering you just before class. I’ll take my leave now.” With that, Buwen departed with gentlemanly grace.
“Thank you, Astrid,” Teresa smiled and wrapped herself around my arm like a clingy little bird.
“Thanks for helping fend off that botherso confession. Of course, I won’t let you do it for nothing. I’ll treat you to ice cream later.”
There’s no need.
That was what I wanted to say. But just as the words reached my lips, Teresa tugged by the wrist and led into the classroom. I never got the chance to speak.
“Felicia, is Astrid in love, or is she fighting with Teresa?” Already seated in the classroom, Wenfu asked Felicia.
“Who knows?” Felicia was fixing her long twin tails, the corners of her mouth slightly curled.
Even Wenfu could sense sothing was off about those two? Then it really was obvious.
“If Astrid and Teresa are fighting, how should we get them to make up?” In a child’s world, everything was black or white, good or bad. To Wenfu, both Teresa and Astrid were very good people. Why would good people fight? She couldn’t understand.
“I don’t think we need to intervene. They’ll figure it out themselves.” Felicia smiled and glanced toward the door.
Wenfu followed her gaze and saw Teresa pulling into the classroom. I followed sowhat reluctantly. Under the glow of the crystal chandeliers, two Elven girls with contrasting hair colors walked side by side, looking like dazzling dancers on a stage.
“Eh?” Wenfu rubbed her little head.
Oh no, it itches... Am I growing a brain?
Just yesterday, the mood between those two had been awkward—why were they suddenly so close this morning?
Felicia wondered the sa. But as she’d entered the classroom earlier, she vaguely rembered seeing a male nobleman stop Teresa outside. Maybe that had sothing to do with it.
If it really did, then that nobleman deserved the “world’s kindest wingman” award.
Sohow, I had been pulled into the classroom by Teresa again, and the two of us sat next to each other as usual.
Slling her scent and rembering the words she had said earlier—“You know best, Astrid,” “a long-lasting bond”—even though I knew I had just been used as a shield, I didn’t feel the least bit angry. Instead, there was a hint of sweetness in my heart.
Mm, the ice cream in my hand was sweet too.
After class, around noon, I sat under a parasol outside a cold drinks and desserts shop, staring at the scoop of blueberry ice cream in the paper cup.
She rembered I liked blueberries—just as I rembered her little details.
“Astrid, is it not to your taste? Did I get your preferences wrong?” Teresa asked as I looked up.
She sat across from , her elbow resting on the table, lotus-like arms elegantly poised. Her golden silk-like hair fell gently along her pale, flawless collarbone, a few strands resting atop her well-endowed chest. With her other hand, she scooped a bit of ice cream and brought it to her lips.
“If you don’t eat it soon, it’ll lt. Or...”
She smiled.
A faint scent of mango wafted into my nose. I blinked, only now noticing the enticing scoop of mango sorbet she held right before .
“You want a taste of mine~?” Teresa licked her lips as if cleaning off a bit of remaining ice cream. But the way she looked at , her soft lips shimring, her words… they held another aning.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the sorbet seed strangely alluring. The glistening droplets didn’t feel like lting ice—they looked like…
I glanced at Teresa’s lips, then quickly looked away.
“No need.” I forced myself to resist the temptation and continued eating my own ice cream without expression. But only I knew how fast my heart had been racing.
It felt like a devil was whispering by my ear, urging to accept her kindness.
But this ti—I resisted.
I had a bad feeling. If I accepted, there would be no going back. Sothing would definitely change…
Teresa was like a swamp. The more I struggled, the deeper I’d sink. Rationally, I knew I should keep so distance. But rationality was just that—rationality. Neither Elves nor humans were purely rational beings.
Especially us Elves—we could be both absolutely rational and absolutely emotional at the sa ti.
It felt like an irresistible impulse—like a flood crashing through the walls of logic.
I kept my head low, avoiding eting Teresa’s eyes.
“Astrid, have you been avoiding these past few days?”
“...”
My spoon stopped.
Yes. That was a fact. Anyone with eyes could see it—how could soone as sharp as Teresa not notice?
Denying it would be useless. But I had no idea how to tell her the truth. I couldn’t just confess it all, right?
Say I was a fickle woman who loved whoever looked at her? That I had fallen into forbidden love and liked another girl??
How could I ever say that out loud??
I didn’t have that kind of courage.
If Teresa found out, how would she view ? She was a normal girl—not like , a bisexual…
“No need to feel pressured. I’m not trying to force you to talk,” Teresa said again, sweeping a lock of golden hair behind her ear, her every motion dripping with grace. “You’re a smart girl. You may feel confused, but I believe you’ll follow your heart and find your way.”
“Teresa, can I ask you a question?”
“Hmm? Go ahead.” Teresa seed pleased that I was willing to open up.
“Should I follow my heart—even if it seems completely absurd?”
“Absurd? Then let ask—how absurd is it compared to marrying a human and bearing their children?”
“That… wouldn’t be as bad,” I muttered.
After all, it was still within the Elf race. Compared to sleeping with a human, this wasn’t nearly as insane.
“Then there you go.” Teresa chuckled. “I guess all the things I taught you in the secret realm were wasted. After all this ti, you’re still asking this?”
“There are many things in this world that society doesn’t understand—because they’re bound by morals.”
“Of course, moral constraints are often correct. They exist to protect the greater good. But sotis, you just have to ask yourself: are you true to your heart? If the answer is yes, then follow your feelings.”
True to my heart?
Was I really being true to my heart?
I didn’t know.
I liked two people. That was sothing only a terrible person would do. But for so reason, I didn’t feel the least bit guilty or ashad. It felt completely normal.
I didn’t understand. Elves were supposed to be loyal to one love only. Once they fell for soone, they would never change. They never wavered.
Then why—why was I the exception?
Was I so kind of mutant Elf?
Maybe I saw “husband” and “wife” as different concepts. Maybe my loyalty had its own rules. Was I planning on a one-husband-one-wife setup?
Ti flew by when I was with Teresa. We returned to the dorm together. But on the way back, I still kept my distance. No matter how much I longed to be close to her, I had to suppress it.
She was Teresa. I was . Even between two girls, there were boundaries.
Besides, I had sothing important to confirm.
Back at the dorm, it was Wenfu who cooked lunch again. But unlike before, this ti she had help.
Teresa, though not great at cooking—Elves didn’t need fancy als—was skillful with her hands and helped a lot.
I sat on the couch in slippers, pulling up the cuffs of my black thigh-high socks, glancing from ti to ti toward the front door, as if waiting for soone.
I hadn’t been ho much these past couple days, so I hadn’t seen him.
Before long, I heard the door open, and a soft, emotionless voice said, “I’m ho.”
I rose silently and headed to the entryway.
The Divine Princesses shared the sa school and returned ho together. But the Divine Child School was farther from the estate, so they arrived a bit later.
Yimi took off her little yellow duck backpack and matching yellow schoolgirl hat, set them on the wooden floor, and squatted down to change into her duck-patterned slippers.
She had protested this design for a long ti, but under that rotten woman’s tyranny, she could only swallow her complaints.
But my attention wasn’t on Yimi.
It was on the figure behind her—also changing shoes.
I stared.
My gaze shifted from uncertainty to confusion, then to a lost daze.
Elves were highly sensitive to emotions.
And at this mont—I could clearly feel that…
I no longer had any romantic feelings for that boy.
The filter was gone.
Everything about him now felt stiff, chanical. Just like those novels said: once you fell out of love, even their every move felt bland.
Had I… really fallen for soone else?
I also noticed sothing strange—the Dylin standing before now gave off the exact sa feeling as the one I had seen before the Crown Tournant began.
It was like… Dylin was no longer Dylin.
Why?
“What’s wrong with you?” Yimi had finished changing into her ridiculously childish slippers and entered the house. Seeing standing there dazed, she gave a sideways glance. “What’s this weird Moon Elf doing now?”
To her, a four-hundred-year-old veteran, all of us were juniors. She never used honorifics when speaking to us.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. But the confusion in my eyes was clearly visible—and Yimi saw it all.
“Click. These juniors just keep getting more troubleso.” Yimi clicked her tongue, watching slink away and sit on the couch to question my entire existence.
She already had enough on her plate dragging around that oversized puppet every day, and now she had to live with a ntally unstable junior too.
Enough already.
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