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Chapter 27
“Haah, thank goodness you’re not hurt.”
“I told you I wasn’t injured. No, but more importantly—how did you even know I was here?”
Lucia, still bewildered, suddenly turned her gaze toward Herwin. But he shook his head firmly.
It wasn’t as if Herwin would’ve told Lucas, so then—who on earth…?
“How could I not know what happens to you! Of course I’d find out!”
“This afternoon, there was a rumor going around among the first years about a big accident. And when Agnes’ young lady’s name came up, this guy completely lost it.”
Ares explained in Lucas’s place. His stiff expression had softened, if only slightly.
Lucia could imagine all too well what kind of commotion Lucas must have caused.
“You must suffer a lot because of your foolish brother. Allow me to apologize instead—”
“Hahaha! Don’t worry. Thanks to that fellow, life’s never boring!”
Ares laughed heartily. Even so, Lucia scratched her head awkwardly.
“Um, by any chance… that person over there…”
“…Isn’t that Arista’s brother?”
Her friends quickly realized not only that Lucas was Lucia’s real brother, but also that the person who had accompanied him was none other than Lord Lydia.
Their eyes shifted to the side.
To Arista, who had hidden herself away in the corner.
Hearing her friends whisper, Ares turned his head—and immediately grimaced.
“Arista?”
The long blond hair, trying to hide away in the corner, trembled at once.
“What are you doing here?”
Ares looked at her as if staring at something strange. Arista too frowned, but shut her mouth once she felt everyone’s eyes on her.
“And you? What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I heard my friend’s sister was sick, so I came. Ah—don’t tell me you know Lucia?”
“…Your friend, you say?”
Arista turned her head to the side with narrowed eyes. And there, she met the same clear gaze that Lucia had.
“Uh… hi? So you’re Miss Arista?”
When Lucas awkwardly greeted her, Arista’s violet eyes wavered.
Although three years had already passed since Lucas and Ares became friends, this was the first time Lucas had ever seen Arista in person.
“Hello. I’m Arista Lydia. I’m Lucia’s friend…”
“Right, I’m Lucas Agnes. Funny, isn’t it? Our siblings are friends.”
“Y-yes, it really is funny.”
Usually, Arista was friendly even to strangers, but now she was extremely shy.
Others noticed as well—especially Ares, who eyed her strangely.
After finishing introductions, Lucas suddenly turned his head sharply. His focus was entirely on Lucia.
“What exactly happened? Do you know how shocked I was to hear you fainted?”
“Oh, um… a sword blade flew toward me for a moment—”
“What? A sword blade?!”
“Herwin saved me, so I wasn’t hurt. I don’t even know why I fainted, but when I woke up, I was already in the infirmary.”
Unlike Lucia, who spoke casually, Lucas was deadly serious.
“What bastard dared to do such a thing to you?”
His voice, stripped of all playfulness, carried raw killing intent. Sensing her brother’s genuine fury, Lucia averted her eyes.
“Lucia, look me in the eyes. Who was it?”
Beads of sweat rolled down her face. If she admitted it was Arista, she couldn’t imagine how Lucas would react.
So, for everyone’s sake, she chose silence. Lucas shifted targets.
“Does anyone here know who did it?”
The heavy aura of hostility swallowed the room. Brian and Ethan swallowed hard, while even Herwin broke into cold sweat.
“U-um…”
Lucas’s head whipped around. The voice belonged to Arista.
“It was me… I was the culprit…”
“…What?”
“Arista, you?”
Not only Lucas but even Ares was stunned by the unexpected revelation.
Arista trembled, unable to lift her head, as she confessed her wrongdoing.
“I-I was sparring with a friend when my sword snapped. And that broken blade flew toward Lucia… I’m so, so sorry!”
Lucia thought Arista might burst into tears. The rims of her eyes were faintly red.
Lucia then felt Lucas’s grip on her shoulder tighten. When she looked up, his expression, once merely shocked, had hardened into something much colder.
Smack!
“Ahh!”
Lucas suddenly grabbed his forehead where Lucia had flicked him.
“Lucia! What was that for—!”
“Why the scary face? It was just an accident.”
“An… accident?”
“Yes. I don’t know all the details myself, but it’s not like she deliberately tried to hurt me. Arista already apologized right away. And besides, thanks to Herwin, I wasn’t hurt at all.”
Silence followed. The crushing tension lifted slightly, but the stiffness remained.
Lucas’s face looked conflicted.
He had been ready to never forgive the person who endangered his sister, only to learn it was his best friend’s little sister—and that it was nothing more than an accident.
Even now, his chest burned with anger, but showing it outright seemed impossible.
At last, Lucas spoke.
“Herwin, you saved our Lucia?”
“…Yeah.”
Meeting Lucas’s sharp eyes, Herwin tensed. After staring at him for a moment, Lucas let out a long sigh.
“Haah… thanks for saving her. At least you were there. If you hadn’t been…”
Lucas trailed off. Arista bowed her head even lower.
“…As long as Lucia’s unharmed, it’s fine.”
Her tightly shut violet eyes snapped open, trembling.
“Lucia says she forgave you, so I can’t say otherwise. If she’d been injured even a little, things would be different—but…”
Lucas turned to look at his perfectly safe little sister.
“Since she’s fine, that’s enough. Just remember—even an accident can hurt someone.”
“O-of course! I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again! And I’ll treat Lucia well too!”
Arista reaffirmed the promise she had once made to Lucia. Lucas gave a faint chuckle.
“Then that’s good.”
Relief spread over Arista’s face. She felt reassured now that everything had been resolved.
Ding~ ding-ding~
Just then, the bell rang for class.
“Brother, you should go now.”
“Che, if it weren’t for class, I’d just stay here. Maybe I should skip this once—”
“I’ll tell Mother and Father.”
At Lucia’s determined attempt to send him away, Lucas’s shoulders slumped.
“Come on, let’s get to class.”
Ares dragged him off in the end.
“We’ll head out too. Get some rest. We’ll come check in on you during the next break, okay?”
Arista and the others also rose for class.
Lucia waved goodbye, then glanced to her side.
“…Herwin, aren’t you going?”
If he wanted to attend class, Herwin should’ve gone too—but he still sat on the side chair.
“No, I’m not.”
“…Why not?”
“You really don’t know why I’d stay?”
He raised an eyebrow. She had a hunch, but couldn’t bring herself to ask outright.
“…Because you’re worried about me?”
“Yeah.”
It was a simple, emotionless answer—yet for some reason, it made her heart race.
Lucia’s face flushed bright red. Noticing, Herwin quickly turned his gaze aside.
“Herwin.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry…”
Lucia apologized for her behavior during their previous fight.
Herwin’s eyes dimmed slightly. His lips parted as if to speak, but he stayed silent.
Instead, he gently laid her back down and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
“Get some rest. You said you don’t remember, but… your hands are shaking right now.”
At his words, Lucia glanced down at her trembling hands.
“You must’ve been really scared. So rest for today.”
How did he always notice the little things even she didn’t realize herself?
That was Herwin—always attentive in ways she couldn’t ignore. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t give up on liking him.
Lucia buried her face in the blanket, then peeked at him.
“Herwin, can I ask one favor?”
“What is it?”
“Hold my hand.”
She timidly stretched out her left hand.
Normally, she’d never dare such a request. But right now, she felt he might accept. She waited nervously for his response.
After a pause, Herwin reached out.
“Like this?”
“Hehe, yeah.”
“Then sleep.”
His large hand wrapped around hers, warm and steady. She felt his rough calluses, but also his gentle heart.
“I like you, Herwin…”
Her voice trailed off as her eyes fluttered shut. Once he confirmed she was asleep, Herwin brushed the brown strands from her face.
Rustle—
A short distance away, behind a screen—
A woman had been watching the two with eyes blazing.
She clicked her tongue softly, then hurried away.
The sweltering summer had begun, and the first semester was nearing its end.
The chaos that had once plagued the academy had settled, and fewer people now tried to approach Herwin. They had realized it was impossible to get close to him no matter what.
Curiously, ever since the day Lucia’s life had been saved by him, the girls who used to beg her for an introduction no longer approached at all.
Instead, when she passed, they only whispered and muttered among themselves.
In their gazes, Lucia recognized something familiar—jealousy.
They thought she and Herwin were something special.
And whenever their eyes fell on her, Lucia never knew how to respond.
If it were true—if she and Herwin really had grown closer—it would be fine. But in reality, they were still just childhood friends.
Worse, she knew full well who it was Herwin truly liked.
Still, things had changed.
Since that day, she had grown closer to Arista.
Arista had kept her promise to do better—almost to the point of smothering her with care and devotion.
Lucia had resolved not to hate her, yet with Herwin’s feelings in mind, she still couldn’t open her heart fully.
But as time went on, with Arista steadily drawing closer, Lucia’s guard slowly lowered.
Of course, seeing Herwin with Arista still hurt sometimes—but no longer as much as before.
Yet gaining one thing meant losing another.
The closer she became with Arista, the more distant she grew from Bianca.
They no longer shared secrets or confided in each other.
Though they still spent time together, Bianca now mingled freely with others, thanks to her friendly nature.
At first, Lucia felt lonely about the growing gap between them. But she accepted it—after all, Bianca had her own life to live.
As these changes settled in, the semester neared its close.
Which also meant—summer vacation was coming soon. And with it, Herwin’s birthday.
