<Episode 18>
‘Bianca would be okay, right?’
She had only known her for a little over a month, but the Bianca she knew wasn't someone who would carelessly spread other people's secrets.
Lucia finally decided to trust Bianca and barely opened her mouth.
"…I'm sorry for deceiving you. I actually like Herwin."
Gasp-
She heard a sound of someone quickly inhaling.
Well, of course. She must have thought they were just childhood friends, but in reality, one of them was harboring a one-sided love for the other.
"You're very surprised, aren't you?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah. I'm a little surprised… No, honestly, I'm very surprised. You've never shown any signs of it all this time."
"I tried very hard not to get caught."
Bianca was silent for a moment. No, she looked like she had a lot to say, but she didn't know what to say.
Seeing her keep moving her lips, Lucia let out a deflated sound.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions you want to ask, so ask me anything you're curious about."
"Is it okay? If it's uncomfortable for you…"
"I think it'll be okay if it's you. Now that I've been caught like this, it can't be helped, and you're not going to talk about my story elsewhere, are you? Right?"
"Ugh, why would I tell anyone else about this!"
Bianca waved her hands and even swore that she would never tell anyone else.
When Lucia gestured for her to ask anything, Bianca finally opened her mouth.
"Why have you been hiding that you like Herwin all this time? Even today, the girls were begging you to introduce them to Herwin. If they knew you liked Herwin, they wouldn't have asked you for that."
"Hmm… There's no point in other people knowing. As you know, there are a lot of people who gossip about me and Herwin. There's already a lot of talk in the current situation, so what would happen if they knew I had a crush on Herwin?"
"Ah… I see."
"I just like Herwin. But I hate that people arbitrarily judge and belittle me just because of that reason. That's why I hid it. And I have a promise with Herwin."
"A promise?"
Lucia hesitated for a moment. She didn't know how much she should explain.
"Bianca, can you promise me just one thing?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Promise me that you'll never tell anyone what I'm about to say."
"I told you I wouldn't tell anyone…"
Bianca, who was answering with a light laugh, paused at Lucia's serious expression.
"Yeah, I promise I won't tell anyone else. I promise."
Bianca's green eyes took on a serious light. Lucia felt relieved because of her trustworthy eyes.
And then she told her everything that had happened so far.
That she had been in love with Herwin since she was 8 years old until she was 16 years old, and that she had confessed and been rejected nearly 60 times so far.
She even told her about the promise that they would be close friends in normal times, apart from her one-sided love.
However, she didn't say anything about Herwin's trauma or any other personal matters.
Bianca, who had listened to her story for almost an hour, nodded with a serious expression.
"So that's how it is. Haha, isn't it a bit strange?"
"Yeah. It's very strange."
Bianca said bluntly.
"How can you do that? It's so amazing that you've been liking Herwin for 8 years and still hide your feelings and be friends with him in normal times."
"I guess so… I've been doing this for so long that I can act differently when I'm with him as a friend and when I'm confessing."
"Even so, if one person has a crush on the other, the relationship will become strange, but how have you managed to keep your relationship from going wrong for so long?"
"That's mostly thanks to Herwin's consideration. No matter how much we're friends, the relationship will inevitably break if Herwin avoids me. I'm grateful that Herwin quickly goes back to normal after I confess."
"…But aren't you upset that you've been rejected 60 times? If you've been rejected so many times, you might get a little annoyed… Ah, sorry. Anyway, you'd be upset if he never accepted you."
"It would be a lie if I said I wasn't upset, but it's okay. It's better than him accepting me against his will."
"Huh? Isn't it better to date him even if he doesn't like you right away? You might actually start to like each other if you date."
"…Conversely, he might never like me for the rest of his life. It has to be with someone who feels the same way as me. And Herwin doesn't just ignore my confessions. He answers me seriously every time."
"How are you so sure that he's taking you seriously?"
"Well, it's a feeling. I confess so often that he sometimes gets annoyed, but he basically doesn't ignore me."
"You trust each other a lot, don't you?"
Bianca exclaimed. Lucia, who had been lost in thought, suddenly came to her senses.
"Was it too serious of a story? I'm sorry. It's the first time I've told anyone else about this."
"It's okay. It's refreshing. When I look at you, you seem to reveal everything without hiding anything, but you always seem to have a secret."
"Did I… do that?"
"Yeah, that's why even if kids approach you easily, they can't treat you carelessly. You have an aura that can't be approached."
"Come on, don't exaggerate too much."
"No, really? That's what attracted me to you, too?"
"…Really?"
Lucia was lukewarm. An aura. She couldn't understand where that atmosphere came from.
"But what if Herwin gets a crush on someone or has a lover?"
"…Well, I don't know. Actually, Herwin has never dated anyone, and I've never seen him like anyone."
"But someday he'll like someone."
Bianca asked seriously.
She was laughing it off now, but as she said, that day would come someday.
'What will I do then?'
Actually, she didn't know. She had never experienced it before, so she couldn't imagine it well, and if he liked someone else…
"Wouldn't I just stay still?"
"What? You should immediately sabotage them, what are you talking about."
Lucia shook her head.
"That's not it. Herwin would hate it if I did that. I think I'll just stay by Herwin's side as usual and keep confessing."
"…You're really amazing."
Lucia smiled awkwardly, and Bianca let out a sigh that was hard to understand.
"Well, it's funny for me to tell you what to do with your own life."
Bianca, who had been leaning against the window frame, got up.
"If you ever want to talk about anything related to Herwin, feel free to talk to me anytime. You must want to tell someone your inner thoughts sometimes."
"Ah…"
"Don't worry too much because I'll never tell anyone else."
Lucia couldn't help but smile at Bianca's warm heart that cared for her.
"Yeah, I will."
"Okay, let's go now. They'll turn off the lights soon."
Lucia, who had parted ways with Bianca and entered her room, immediately lay down on her bed.
She felt strangely relieved.
She just told someone else her feelings, but she didn't know it would be so comfortable.
Lucia thought it was fortunate that Bianca had found out this time and quietly fell asleep.
* * *
From the day Bianca found out everything, Lucia shared a lot with her and confided in her, becoming closer than before.
Bianca enthusiastically supported Lucia's love and sometimes got rid of girls who tried to approach Herwin instead.
There were times when she felt burdened because Bianca seemed too conscious and acted too much, but other than that, she was a precious friend who knew her secret.
"Princess Lydia is acting strange these days."
"Huh? What?"
When Christine left her seat for a while and she was left alone with Bianca, Bianca glared at Arista in the distance with a displeased expression.
Lucia was puzzled by her sudden words.
"What do you mean, what? Can't you tell even when you look at her?"
Bianca pointed to Arista, hitting her chest as if she was frustrated. Next to her were Herwin and Ethan, Brian, and other male students.
It was a scene that was always seen during swordsmanship class.
"They're talking?"
"It's not just talking, if you look closely, she keeps touching Herwin."
Looking again, Arista was laughing loudly and poking Herwin and the other boys.
"I've been feeling it since last time, but it's clear that Princess Lydia has a crush on Herwin."
"Come on, no way."
"Oh my, look at this girl? You like Herwin, but you don't know even when you see that? Anyone can tell that she's interested in Herwin, so she's making physical contact with him!"
Bianca lowered her voice for a moment. Lucia began to get confused little by little as she continued to speak with a confident tone.
So she watched their situation closely again, but she couldn't quite understand the point Bianca was making.
There was no way she wouldn't know if someone liked Herwin.
Even when she looked around, she could clearly see the ulterior motives of the female students watching Herwin, so there was no way she wouldn't notice Arista.
Arista was talking and laughing with not only Herwin but also other boys.
"No matter how much I look at it, it's not. They're just close. If you look, she's joking around with Ethan and Brian as well as Herwin."
"Ugh, you're so frustrating. Okay, if that's what you think, there's nothing I can do. But aren't you worried? Princess Lydia is popular with everyone, regardless of gender or age! What if Herwin likes the princess!"
"Hmm… I don't know."
Lucia answered lukewarmly. Bianca made a dumbfounded expression.
"I~ don't know? Is that the answer you should be giving right now?"
"I don't think it's something to get angry about. It's hard to imagine Herwin liking someone…"
"…You do like Herwin, right?"
"Aside from whether I like him or not, Herwin isn't someone who suddenly likes someone. It's hard to imagine."
Whether this should be called nonchalant or naive. Bianca was momentarily speechless.
"Ugh, never mind, never mind. Let's not talk about it."
"…Are you angry?"
"I'm not angry! Why would I be angry!"
"Come on, you seem angry?"
Lucia gently grabbed Bianca's arm and acted cute in her own way, and Bianca's lips protruded.
She glared at Lucia for a moment before pinching her soft shoulder slightly.
"Do you think I'll just let you get away with acting cute?"
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Lucia's face was bright for someone who said it hurt.
While the two were joking around, Christine returned, and the swordsmanship class ended.
"Ugh, the practical evaluation is next week."
"I heard they're moving the location, I wonder where we'll go?"
"I heard from the upperclassmen that we're going to a mountain? The mission is to go to the target point and come back."
The Herwin group, who had finished class and returned to where their friends were, were talking about the suddenly given practical evaluation.
"Practical evaluation? What's going on?"
"Yeah, they suddenly said they're having an emergency evaluation next week?"
"I guess they're going to use this to rank us in the middle. It's already May, so it's about time for a mid-term check."
Brian and Ethan explained kindly.
Since practical training is a very important subject in swordsmanship, they sometimes took half a day or a whole day off to have classes in other places.
She wondered if this was one of those cases.
"I wonder if there will be any changes in the rankings this time?"
Herwin answered Ethan's question.
"Jeremy's skills have improved a lot recently. I think his grades will go up a bit?"
"Hmm, I just want to be average."
Brian didn't seem very interested in this evaluation.
"You don't seem to have any interest in swords, so why are you taking this class?"
"I didn't want to either. But what can I do? My father told me to."
Leaving Brian, who was sighing deeply, behind, Herwin approached.
"Lucia, where's my clothes?"
"Ah, I was wearing them because I was a little cold. I'll give them to you right now."
Herwin had entrusted his uniform to Lucia just before class.
Despite it being early May, the weather was quite chilly, so Lucia had been wearing Herwin's blazer over her shoulders for a while.
When Lucia hurriedly tried to return it, Herwin waved his hand.
"It's okay, you wear it. Can you give me some water?"
"Yeah, I already poured it in advance."
Herwin received the water bottle from Lucia and drank it in gulps.
The sight was like watching a couple who had been married for 10 years, and their friends stared at them blankly.
