<Episode 16>
“How rude can they be?”
“I know, right? Whether Lucia accepts their request or not is up to her. It's ridiculous how they act like that just because they were rejected.”
Christine and Bianca clicked their tongues at the female students' rude behavior.
“Haha, it can't be helped. It's always like this.”
“Lucia, it's not something to laugh about. You always laugh it off, so those girls think they can take you lightly.”
“That's right, Lucia. In situations like this, it's better to speak your mind than to stay silent.”
“Hahaha……”
No matter how much they nagged, Lucia just laughed it off, causing the two to sigh.
“Herwin must be having a hard time too. If people are coming to you and bothering you like this, how much worse must it be for him?”
“Wouldn't it be the opposite? Honestly, Herwin isn't exactly an approachable person. That's why so many people ask Lucia to introduce them.”
“Is that so? Well, I did find Herwin difficult at first. It was fascinating because he was a celebrity, but he was also a very difficult person to approach.”
Bianca gave her characteristic cheerful laugh.
“By the way, Lucia, I've been wondering about something.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Have you ever liked Herwin, even once?”
Lucia's heart skipped a beat. She shook her head, worried that she might have inadvertently revealed her feelings.
“No. Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“Oh, just because. Herwin is so perfect. I thought you might have liked him at least once.”
“Bianca, if Lucia liked Herwin, would she be acting like this now?”
Christine gently chided Bianca.
“Even today, there have already been three girls asking her to pass on messages to Herwin. Who would just stand by and watch other girls approach someone they like?”
“That's why she's rejecting them all now.”
“Rejection is a given. Lucia has never gotten annoyed at people, no matter what kind of favor they ask.”
That was true. In situations like the one just now, Lucia had never once shown annoyance or anger.
Usually, if she refused indirectly, most people would back down obediently, but sometimes there were those who would get annoyed and ask if she couldn't even do that much. Like the female students just now.
Even in those situations, Lucia maintained the same attitude throughout.
“Hmm… then why doesn't she accept their requests if she doesn't like Herwin? She could accept them at least once.”
“Well, because Herwin doesn't like it. And in the first place, if they truly want to become friends with Herwin, they should have the courage to talk to him themselves.”
Lucia explained calmly, and Bianca nodded.
“……I guess that's true.”
It was a statement made to justify herself, but it wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, the reason she had rejected the girls' requests was all because of this.
If someone liked a person, especially if they were in a position where they had to introduce others to that person, then naturally anyone would dislike it.
She didn't show it, but she felt uncomfortable every time she received such requests.
Lucia was always wary of being consumed by her emotions and tried to deal with things as objectively as possible.
Sometimes, she felt jealous of the girls who approached him and wanted to interfere.
However, she didn't do so because that was one of the things Herwin hated the most.
So Lucia remained silent even when the girls who had been rejected by her approached Herwin.
She knew very well that Herwin wouldn't easily accept such girls in the first place, and even if he did, she thought it couldn't be helped if he was interested in that person.
She couldn't even control her own feelings, so how could she arbitrarily control the feelings of others?
'Of course, if that situation were to happen… it would be heartbreaking.'
Fortunately, that had never happened before. But if such a thing were to happen…….
She didn't want to think about what would happen after that.
Bang!
A sound like an explosion was heard, and the three girls quickly raised their heads.
A cloud of dust was rising from the Training Field in front of them.
“What's going on?”
“I'm pretty sure Herwin was there.”
“Ah! I can see them now!”
Bianca pointed to the cloud of dust that was scattering like cotton candy. Two silhouettes could be seen inside.
One was a large figure close to 180cm, and the other was a slender figure that appeared to be in the mid-160cm range.
“Waaaaah!”
The students surrounding the Training Field cheered.
Whoosh-
With the sound of wind slicing through the air, the dust cloud was surprisingly split in half.
Clang!
The two swords clashed, and the remaining dust scattered in all directions in an instant. As it did, the figures of the two people were revealed.
“Wow, Princess Lydia is amazing.”
“To be on par with Herwin like that. She's incredible.”
Herwin and Princess Lydia Arista were the top two in the first-year swordsmanship class.
Both of them were surprisingly close to reaching the realm of Sword Expert.
“Keuk!”
At that moment, the outcome was decided.
Herwin was the one who found the weakness first. This victory was his.
As the fierce match ended, the students who had been watching applauded.
The two took a moment to catch their breath, then bowed to each other and talked.
They might have been sharing feedback, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, judging by the smiles on their faces.
“They're like a match made in heaven. How can they look so good together?”
“They're both so perfect that I don't even feel jealous. It's like a match made in heaven.”
“Don't you think Duke Peneus and Princess Lydia look better together? There's too much of a difference with Lady Agnes.”
Other students who were watching the two of them like Lucia began to subtly put Lucia down, saying that Herwin and Arista looked good together.
They weren't far away, so she could hear them faintly even if she didn't want to.
However, because the surroundings were noisy, Lucia was the only one who heard it.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't hurt by their words, but she wasn't particularly anxious about them pairing Herwin and Arista together as they pleased.
'I can see why they're jealous.'
Rather than being jealous of Arista, she was more jealous of the girls who approached Herwin with ulterior motives.
“Haa, I'm thirsty after sparring.”
“It's hot! I want something cold to drink.”
The group that had finished their class slowly came towards where Lucia and the others were.
Brian and Ethan approached the stairs first.
“Did you wait long?”
Brian wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and smiled gently.
He was just as handsome as Herwin, so the female students around him cheered softly.
“We didn't wait that long.”
“You've worked hard.”
Bianca and Christine greeted the two.
“I'm ashamed to have kept such beautiful ladies waiting in this scorching heat.”
“Ugh, go say those cheesy things to those girls over there.”
“……….”
Bianca shuddered at Brian's cheesy remarks and rubbed her goosebump-covered arms, while Christine gave him a rare look of disdain, scanning him from head to toe.
He was the type who liked women very much, befitting his actions and appearance.
That's why he instinctively tried to woo women. The cheesy behavior he had shown when he caught Lucia as she was about to fall on the first day was also one of those things.
However, except for the beginning, he had never acted that way towards the group.
Whether he realized that his seduction wasn't working, or whether he thought it was okay to just be friends, he acted like a normal male student, just like Herwin and Ethan.
Of course, there were times when he acted unconsciously.
This time, whether it was purely a joke or not, Brian just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
“You've both worked hard.”
Lucia greeted them belatedly. Brian, who was wiping his sweat, looked down at her. Lucia was holding a water bottle in her hand.
“If you don't mind, can I have some of that?”
“This? It's been touched by my lips, would that be okay?”
“Of course it's okay. I'm incredibly thirsty right now.”
“I guess you would be thirsty. Here you go.”
Lucia readily handed the water bottle to Brian.
“Don't drink it all, leave some for me too!”
Ethan, who was dying of heat next to him, grabbed onto Brian.
“I know, just wait a moment.”
Brian opened the lid and tilted the water bottle to drink. Just as his lips were about to touch the opening of the bottle.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, someone snatched the water bottle away.
When she turned her head, Herwin was standing there, having arrived without her noticing.
He chugged the water that Brian was about to drink.
Brian and Ethan stared at him with dumbfounded expressions.
“Ah, that hits the spot.”
“What's the meaning of this?”
“What do you mean drinking it all!”
Brian and Ethan glared at Herwin, who was calmly taking a breath next to them.
Herwin glanced at the two who were resenting him with his red eyes, then turned his gaze to Lucia.
Then, he lightly tossed the water bottle so that it would land in her hand.
“Finders keepers.”
“This is a complete thug.”
“You bad guy! How could you drink all the water when there's only one bottle!”
Herwin listened to the raw criticism with one ear and let it out the other.
What could they do even if they were angry? The water was already gone.
“Herwin was wrong. Here, would you like to drink this instead?”
Arista appeared behind Herwin. Ethan cheered when he saw the water bottle in her hand.
“As expected, Arista! You can't even compare her to that narrow-minded guy?”
“Thanks, Arista.”
While Ethan was chugging the water, Brian gave her a seductive smile from the side.
Arista chuckled and nudged Brian as if to tell him to stop. Then, she looked at Herwin with a competitive gaze.
“I may have lost today, but I'll definitely win next time.”
“Go ahead and try hard. But it won't work against me.”
Herwin raised the corner of his lips provocatively. Considering his taciturn personality, the fact that he was joking like this was proof that he was quite close to Arista.
Arista Lydia. She was in the same class as her, but they didn't have much contact, so they hadn't had any significant conversations.
The male students had become friends with her through swordsmanship class, but the other three girls hadn't. They were just classmates who greeted each other in passing?
Looking at Arista, she could see why she was popular with both men and women.
She was pretty, smart, good at sports, and even had a down-to-earth personality. There wasn't a single thing about her that was lacking.
As she was looking at Arista without thinking, their eyes met.
Lucia flinched without realizing it. Whenever she met her lilac-like soft purple eyes, she felt like she was being drawn into her.
Usually, when eyes met, they would either look away or smile awkwardly, but strangely, she always stared intently whenever their eyes met.
As always, Arista stared at her, and Lucia, unable to bear it any longer, finally asked.
“Um… is there something on my face?”
“Huh?”
“No, I just thought there might be something on my face since you keep staring…….”
Lucia smiled awkwardly, but Arista just stared blankly. She felt like things had become even more awkward, and sweat broke out on her forehead.
“Actually, I've felt this since the first day of school.”
Arista, who had been silent, finally opened her mouth. She bent down and came closer to Lucia.
“You look a lot like someone I know.”
“Someone you know? Who……?”
“Um, I don't really know their name, I just met them once… but you somehow look like them. Especially these eyes.”
Arista's hand reached towards Lucia's eyes.
Lucia flinched without realizing it as the beautiful woman came closer. She felt like Arista's purple eyes were scanning her entire body.
“I feel this every time I see you, but your eyes are really pretty. They're like a clear lake.”
“Th, thank you…….”
Whether it was because of the compliment or because she was giving her a beautiful smile, she felt embarrassed for some reason and her face flushed.
“Arista! Let's go now!”
At that moment, Arista's group called out to her from afar.
“Ah, I have to go now. Let's talk again later.”
Arista said goodbye to Lucia and left for where her group was.
