Episode 23
"Herwin, there's something I want to ask you..."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Do you... perhaps like Arista?"
Herwin, who Lucia thought would answer anything, was momentarily flustered and stepped back. His reaction only fueled her anxiety.
"You really... like Arista?"
"Me, like Arista...?"
Herwin seemed confused. He couldn't hide his wavering eyes.
He seemed to be mulling over Lucia's words.
"I..."
Herwin frowned, and then his earlobes flushed. As if realizing something, his eyebrows shot up.
And then, a subtly elated emotion gently settled on his face.
It was an expression Lucia had never seen on Herwin before, but at the same time, it was an expression she was all too familiar with.
Because it was like looking in a mirror at herself when she thought of Herwin.
Just as her heart fluttered and her excitement couldn't be hidden when she thought of Herwin, the same was true for him.
That's why Lucia felt miserable.
She thought she had nowhere left to retreat, but she was wrong.
Lucia, pushed off a cliff with no end in sight, was filled with despair.
Her heart seemed to sink and stop altogether. Her mind went blank, and Lucia asked emptily.
"...So you do like Arista."
Herwin neither confirmed nor denied it. That's why it felt like a strong affirmation.
Lucia's lips trembled.
"Why? What's so good about Arista? Was it... because she saved you before?"
"...Lucia?"
Lucia's voice sounded strange. Herwin noticed the oddness and looked at Lucia. He shuddered without realizing it.
Lucia was making a strange expression, as if she was smiling and crying at the same time. Even though the corners of her mouth were curved in an effort to smile, only her eyes were crying.
"What's so good about Arista? Huh? Answer me..."
"Lucia, what's wrong with you? You look strange."
"Just answer me! What's so good about her?"
Even when Herwin interrupted, Lucia's question remained the same.
Normally, she would have immediately recognized Herwin's concern for her, but Lucia didn't have the capacity to figure it out.
Caught in a whirlwind of jealousy, her vision narrowed. In Lucia's eyes, it just seemed like Herwin was avoiding the question.
"Don't like Arista."
"...What?"
"I said don't like her. I understand that you like her because Arista saved you, but Arista isn't as good a person as you think."
The stories Lucia had shared with Bianca flashed through her mind.
'Lucia, take a good look. She's not interested in that guy at all, but she's just flashing those eye smiles and charming people, and subtly making skinship under the guise of jokes. Other people may not know, but I know. That's her flirting and managing her connections.'
'Ha, friends? What friends? There's no such thing as friends between a man and a woman. That's all an excuse. Look, you like Herwin too, don't you?'
'I knew it from the start. She may smile and act nice in front of you, but I'm sure she's gossiping and causing a ruckus behind your back, right? And she's a real pro. She knows how to make a man fall for her.'
From the time Lucia started disliking Arista until now, Bianca had been spouting negative things about Arista.
It used to sound too absurd, but now it seemed as if Arista was really managing her fish pond, just like she said.
Lucia eventually couldn't overcome her emotions and began to relay the words she had heard from Bianca.
It was Lucia's desperate attempt to somehow divert Herwin's attention from Arista.
However, as Lucia's words increased, Herwin's expression gradually darkened.
At first, he was confused about what Lucia was saying, but he gradually hardened his face and eventually pressed his lips tightly and frowned.
"...So Arista isn't as good a person as you think..."
"Lucia."
Lucia, who was speaking with a grotesque smile, stopped abruptly. Herwin's voice, which she heard in her ear, was so cold.
Lucia, sensing that something was wrong, raised her lowered head. And her eyes widened even more.
"Why... are you looking at me with those eyes?"
Herwin's face was tinged with a slight contempt, as if he were looking at gnats drawn to the Peneus family's name.
"Do you even know what you're saying right now?"
Lucia staggered back from the pressure emanating from Herwin.
"Are you insulting Arista right now just because I like her?"
"I, when did I insult Arista... I just wanted you to know the truth..."
"The truth? Do you think the words you're spouting are the truth?"
The lines between Herwin's eyebrows deepened even further.
"You're blinded by jealousy right now and you're trying to tear down Arista at any cost."
Thump-
The heart, which she thought had hidden its presence, sank down again.
"Why are you being like this? It's not like you. What you hate the most is saying things behind someone's back that you can't say in front of them, and spreading ridiculous rumors. But look at you now."
Herwin made a pitiful expression. Lucia couldn't refute his words.
Tragically, she was doing the same things as the people she hated the most.
"I, I..."
"Even if you like me, you don't have the right to control my heart."
Lucia bit her lower lip tightly.
"I'm disappointed, Lucia."
The heartless words pierced her ears.
Lucia could only stare blankly at the sight. He was giving Lucia the same stiff expression he showed to other people.
A change had occurred between the two people who no one could touch.
Lucia sensed it. That Herwin was disappointed in her now, and that he had created an invisible wall and was wary of her, preventing her from crossing that wall.
She had been completely pushed out of the line that Herwin had set.
All the efforts she had made so far had collapsed in an instant with a single choice.
Now, she might not even be qualified to stand by his side.
That fact ran through her skin and deep into her bones.
It was a sensation that could not be expressed with the word despair.
A single tear streamed silently down Lucia's face.
This time, Herwin showed no agitation and coldly passed her by.
"Think carefully about what you did wrong."
He eventually didn't comfort Lucia and walked away from her.
Lucia could only watch Herwin, unable to even grab him.
* * *
"Damn it...!"
Herwin, who was heading to the classroom with a hardened face, cursed while grinding his teeth.
His stomach felt blocked and stuffy, as if he had indigestion.
When Lucia had asked him if he liked Arista a moment ago, Herwin had finally realized that he thought of Arista in a special way.
Until then, she had just been one of his close friends, like Christine, but after facing the ogre in the mountains, his feelings for Arista had changed.
When he was injured by the ogre's attack, he thought he was as good as dead.
It was nearly impossible to avoid the ogre's attack in a situation where he couldn't move because he had badly sprained his ankle.
If he had known how to use Aura, he could have fought against the ogre, but Herwin had not yet been able to create Aura.
It was at that moment of crisis that Arista appeared.
'Herwin!'
She shouted so loudly that the forest echoed, and she spewed purple Aura from her sword like a waterfall, splitting the heavy rain in half and even splitting the ogre's body in half.
After that, he was half out of his mind and didn't even remember how he got out of the forest.
He only remembered Arista's figure splitting the ogre's body in half.
From that moment on, Herwin felt a deep affection for Arista.
The fact that she had saved him played a big part, but he was also greatly impressed by her ability to create such a powerful Aura.
So when he talked to Arista again in the infirmary, he thanked her and promised to spar with her later when he was fully recovered.
It was a long time since he had felt such a sense of competition and excitement.
Even before, he had enjoyed her because her skills were similar to his, but now it was an even more enjoyable and pleasant resonance.
Maybe this is the feeling of liking someone? He didn't know for sure, but it was definitely a special feeling he had never felt before.
'Arista isn't as good a person as you think.'
Lucia's words from a moment ago came to mind.
Her subsequent words were a series of confusion and shock.
She, who hated speaking ill of others more than anyone else, was spouting such words just because he had a crush on Arista.
Moreover, Lucia's words were all untrue. He was amazed at how she could see Arista in such a light.
Lucia's face when he pointed out her mistake flickered before his eyes.
Her already pale face had turned white and her eyes were shaking aimlessly, so he could tell that she was well aware of her mistake.
When Lucia insulted Arista, he was angry, but he also felt sorry for her because he knew that she was not the type of person to say such things to others.
That's why when Lucia shed tears, his heart weakened.
"Haa..."
He just didn't know how to look at Lucia now.
Herwin ruffled his complicated hair and entered the classroom.
"Herwin, why are you alone?"
"Where's Lucia?"
Herwin, who had gone to find Lucia, returned alone, and his friends were puzzled.
"Did you not meet Lucia?"
Bianca got up from her seat and approached him.
Herwin, who was already in a bad mood, frowned even more when he found her.
'...She's been hanging out with Bianca a lot lately.'
The point at which Lucia started to change was after she became close to Bianca. He suddenly wondered if she had changed under her influence.
When Herwin stared at Bianca intently, Bianca's earlobes flushed slightly without anyone noticing.
"Why, why?"
"...No."
It was unsettling, but he only had suspicions. He had felt subtly uncomfortable with Bianca, unlike Christine, so he thought he should take a closer look at her on this occasion.
"Herwin, did you have a good talk with Lucia? Did she say anything about me?"
Arista came forward. Herwin, who met her purple eyes, paused for a moment.
"I don't know either."
"What? What does that even mean?"
Arista was dumbfounded and told him to talk properly, but Herwin remained silent.
Creak-
The back door opened and Lucia entered. Her friends greeted her warmly.
"Lucia, are you feeling a little bett..."
Ethan asked brightly to break the awkward atmosphere, but he couldn't continue his words as soon as he saw her face.
Lucia's eyes were so red that anyone could tell at a glance that she had been crying.
The children were flustered. Herwin was also shaken inside, but he tried not to show it on the outside.
"...Lucia."
Arista called out cautiously, but Lucia ignored her and sat down in her seat.
Unfortunately, Lucia was sitting right next to Herwin.
Herwin glanced at her. Lucia silently covered her face with her long hair and lowered her head. Soon, she leaned on her desk and lay down.
The atmosphere became even more subdued.
The friends immediately sensed it.
That Herwin and Lucia had fought.
When other children fought, people around them tried to resolve the situation in some way, but this time, no one could do that.
Usually, Lucia was the one who mediated, and the fact that she, who always smoothed things over no matter what happened, had fought with none other than Herwin was truly an unusual event.
