Episode 27
"Haa, I'm glad you weren't hurt."
"I told you I wasn't hurt. More importantly, how did you know I was here?"
Lucia, who had been dumbfounded, suddenly turned her gaze to Herwin. He shook his head.
Herwin wouldn't have told Lucas, so who else could have...?
"How could I not know about your business! I have ways of knowing everything!"
"There was a rumor going around among the first-years this afternoon that there was a big accident. Agnes's name came up, and this guy's eyes went crazy."
Ares explained in Lucas's stead. He wasn't as bad as Lucas, but his hardened expression had softened considerably.
Lucia could easily imagine the ruckus Lucas must have caused.
"I'm sorry for all the trouble my foolish brother has caused you. I apologize on his behalf..."
"Hahaha! It's okay, thanks to that guy, there's never a dull day."
Ares laughed heartily. Nevertheless, Lucia scratched her head, feeling awkward.
"Um, is that person..."
"...Isn't that Arista, Brother?"
It was only a moment after realizing that Lucas was Lucia's older brother that her friends noticed that the person with Lucas was Arista Lydia.
Their gazes turned to the side.
Towards Arista, who had already hidden in the corner.
Ares, hearing his friends' whispers, turned his head. And immediately contorted his face.
"Arista?"
The long blonde hair, which had been trying to hide in the corner, twitched.
"Why are you here?"
Ares grimaced as if looking at something bizarre. Arista frowned in the same way, then closed her mouth as she felt the gazes on her.
"Why are you here, for that matter?"
"Why else? I came because my friend's sister is sick. Oh, are you perhaps acquainted with Lucia?"
"...She's your friend?"
Arista turned her head to the side with a scowl. And then, she met Lucia's clear eyes.
"Uh... hello? So, you're Arista?"
Arista's purple eyes wavered as Lucas greeted her awkwardly.
It had already been three years since Lucas and Ares had become friends, but this was the first time Lucas had seen Arista in person.
"Hello. I'm Arista Lydia. I'm Lucia's friend..."
"Yeah, I'm Lucas Agnes. It's amazing that siblings are friends."
"Y-Yeah, it is. It's really amazing."
She, who was friendly to even strangers, was extremely shy.
Whether others felt it too, her friends, especially Ares, looked at her with strange eyes.
After greeting her, Lucas turned his head sharply. His attention was solely focused on Lucia.
"What on earth happened? I was so shocked when I heard you fainted."
"Well, a blade flew at me..."
"What? A blade?!"
"Herwin saved me, so I wasn't hurt. I don't know why I fainted, but when I woke up, I was in the infirmary."
Unlike Lucia, who spoke casually, Lucas was serious.
"Which son of a bitch did that to you?"
Lucas's voice, devoid of any playfulness, was filled with murderous intent. Lucia, sensing that he was genuinely angry, avoided his gaze.
"Lucia, look me in the eye. Who was it?"
Lucia was sweating profusely. She couldn't even imagine what Lucas would do if she said it was Arista.
In the end, she chose silence for everyone's sake, and Lucas changed his target.
"Does anyone know who did it?"
A heavy murderous aura filled the surroundings, and Brian and Ethan swallowed nervously. Herwin was also sweating cold.
"U-Um..."
Lucas's head snapped around. The owner of the voice was none other than Arista.
"It was me... I'm the culprit..."
"...What?"
"Arista, you?"
Lucas, as well as Ares, were taken aback by the identity of the unexpected culprit.
Arista couldn't even dare to lift her head and confessed her mistake, trembling.
"I-I was sparring with a friend, and the blade broke. And that blade went towards Lucia... I'm so sorry!"
Lucia thought Arista was about to cry. The corners of her eyes were slightly red.
Lucia felt Lucas's hand, which was holding her shoulder, tighten and turned her head.
Lucas, who had initially been flustered, was now wearing a serious expression and had a cold look in his eyes.
Clack!
"Ugh!"
With a cheerful sound, Lucas grabbed his forehead.
"Lucia! Why all of a sudden...!"
"Why are you making such a big deal out of it? It was just an accident."
"An accident...?"
"Yeah, I don't know the details, but... anyway, it wasn't like she intentionally tried to hurt me. I already received an apology from Arista. Besides, Herwin saved me, so I'm perfectly fine, right?"
A moment of silence passed. The atmosphere, which had been so heavy that it was hard to breathe, had eased a bit, but it was still tense.
Lucas looked complicated.
He had thought he would never forgive the culprit who had put his sister in danger, but the culprit turned out to be his best friend's sister, and the accident was just a coincidence.
He was still so angry that his heart wouldn't calm down, but it was difficult to express his anger.
After a moment of silence, Lucas opened his mouth.
"Herwin, you saved our Lucia?"
"...Yeah."
Herwin tensed up as he met Lucas's sharp gaze. Lucas stared at him for a moment, then sighed deeply.
"Haa, thank you for saving Lucia. It's a relief that you were there. If it weren't for you..."
Arista lowered her head even further as Lucas trailed off.
"...It's enough that Lucia wasn't hurt."
Eyes that had been tightly closed suddenly opened wide. Purple eyes flickered.
"Lucia has forgiven Arista, so I can't really say anything. It would have been different if Lucia had been hurt even a little..."
Lucas looked back at Lucia, who was unharmed.
"It's good that you're safe like this. I just hope you'll keep in mind that people can get hurt, even in an accident."
"O-Of course! I'll make sure this never happens again! And I'll be good to Lucia, too!"
Arista reaffirmed her promise to Lucia. Lucas chuckled at the sight.
"That's a relief, then."
A sense of relief washed over Arista's face. She was relieved that the situation seemed to have been resolved well.
Ding-dong~ Ding-ding~
Just then, the bell rang for the start of class.
"Brother, you should go now."
"Tch, if it weren't for class, I'd just stay here. Just skip this one..."
"Should I tell our parents?"
Lucas's shoulders slumped at Lucia's attitude, which was trying to get him out of there at all costs.
"Alright, let's go to class."
In the end, he was dragged away by Ares.
"We'll go too. We'll come back during the next break, so get some rest. Okay?"
Arista and her friends also got up to go to their next class.
Lucia waved goodbye to her friends and turned her gaze to the side.
"...Herwin, aren't you going?"
Herwin should be going to class too, but he was still sitting on the auxiliary chair.
"Yeah, I'm not going."
"...Why?"
"I've been saying this since earlier, are you really asking because you don't know?"
Herwin raised one eyebrow. In fact, she had a rough idea of why he was staying here. But, she couldn't bring herself to ask, wondering if it was just her imagination.
"...Are you worried about me?"
"Yeah."
It was a very simple answer, devoid of any emotion. But why was it so exciting?
Lucia's face turned bright red in no time. Herwin noticed her change and turned his gaze away.
"Herwin."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry..."
Lucia apologized for her behavior when they had fought last time.
Herwin's eyes darkened. He moved his lips for a moment, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
Instead, he laid Lucia down on the bed and covered her with the blanket up to her shoulders.
"Get some sleep. You said you don't remember, but... you're shaking."
Following his words, Lucia looked down at her hand. Her hand was trembling slightly.
"You must have been very surprised. So, just rest today."
Even she didn't know, but how did Herwin know?
He always noticed and took care of even the smallest things that she didn't even know about herself. It was because of this consideration that she couldn't let go of her feelings for him.
Lucia buried her face in the blanket and glanced at Herwin.
"Herwin, can I ask you for a favor?"
"What is it?"
"Hold my hand."
Lucia peeked out her left hand.
She wouldn't have even been able to ask for such a favor normally, but she felt like he would grant it now. Lucia waited for Herwin to answer, feeling nervous inside.
After a moment of silence, Herwin reached out his hand.
"Is this okay?"
"Hehe, yeah."
"Then, go to sleep now."
The large hand that was enveloping her hand was very warm. She could feel the hard calluses on his skin and his rough but gentle heart.
"I like you, Herwin..."
Lucia's eyes gradually became drowsy and soon closed. Herwin, confirming that she had fallen into a deep sleep, brushed aside the brown hair that was covering her eyes.
Rustle-
A little further away from the bed where Lucia and Herwin were.
A woman with fire in her eyes was staring intently at the two of them from behind a screen.
Then, she clicked her tongue softly and hurried out of there.
* * *
The hot summer began, and before they knew it, the first semester was slowly coming to an end.
The chaotic atmosphere on campus in the beginning had calmed down a lot, and as a result, the number of people approaching Herwin had also decreased significantly.
They had realized that there was no way to become close to him, no matter what they tried.
Moreover, strangely enough, the female students who had been begging Lucia to introduce them to Herwin no longer approached her after the day Lucia had her life saved by Herwin.
Instead, they would whisper and mutter something as Lucia passed by.
Lucia could feel a familiar aura in their eyes.
It was jealousy.
They thought that Herwin and Lucia had a special relationship and were jealous.
Lucia didn't know how to react whenever she received their gazes.
It would have been fine if she and Herwin had progressed into a good relationship as they mistakenly believed, but the two were still just childhood friends.
Rather, she was just dumbfounded because she knew who Herwin truly liked.
These weren't the only changes.
After that day, Lucia became friends with Arista.
Arista was so devoted to Lucia, hovering around her to the point of being burdensome, as if her promise to do well wasn't a lie.
Even though Lucia had decided not to hate Arista, she couldn't fully open her heart to her as long as Herwin liked her.
However, as they gradually became closer, and Arista continued to approach her steadily, her feelings towards her gradually eased.
It still hurt to see Herwin with Arista sometimes, but she no longer got caught up in a whirlwind of jealousy like before.
However, if you gain one thing, you lose another.
As she became closer to Arista, she gradually drifted apart from Bianca.
They no longer shared secrets with each other, nor did they confide in each other.
They still hung out together, but Bianca often socialized with other friends.
She was as sociable as Ethan, maintaining good relationships with people all around.
Lucia was initially sad that she had drifted apart from Bianca. However, she thought that she had her own life, so she didn't bother to show it outwardly.
Just as she was gradually getting used to these changes, the first semester was coming to an end.
That meant that summer vacation was approaching, and at the same time, Herwin's birthday was not far away.
