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Chapter 67
For Lionel, love was a useless and extravagant game of emotions.
That was why, when Rozia asked him about his ideal type, Lionel couldn’t give any answer.
Since he could not allow love in his life, an “ideal type” naturally couldn’t exist either.
So Lionel deflected the question back to Rozia.
“Hm. Is that so? Then what’s your ideal type?”
“I like someone similar to me. That way, we can understand each other better and share our worries together. Someone who connects with me like a soulmate—that’s my ideal type.”
“I see. I’m sure you’ll meet someone like that.”
At Lionel’s words, Rozia smiled brightly.
“Tsk. I know the kind of people you dislike pretty well, Lionel, but I don’t really know what your type is.”
“You know the people I dislike?”
Lionel asked the newspaper club president, honestly a little surprised.
He had rarely revealed his likes and dislikes openly in front of others.
“Yeah. You weren’t too fond of that guy who used to follow you around.”
“Oh, him. Right, that happened. Was it that obvious?”
“Obvious? Please. That wasn’t a friend, that was a stalker.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way… but still, it was tiring having him follow me everywhere. Maybe after that, I became a little sensitive.”
Lionel drummed his fingers lightly on the desk, then lifted his gaze to stare directly at Rozia.
His eyes were cold and humorless, but just curving his lips into a faint smile was enough to keep others from noticing.
But what about this woman in front of him? Surely, by now, his intent was clear enough.
The newspaper club president folded his arms and brought the conversation back to the earlier subject of Lionel’s ideal type.
“Wait. Does Lionel even need to say his ideal type? He already has Sasha right by his side. Don’t you think?”
Lionel simply smiled faintly without denying it.
“You know, you really should’ve said Sasha’s name right away. That way, you’d earn points with your future fiancée and win her love in advance.”
“But Sasha isn’t even here. Even if I said it, how would she know?”
“You really don’t understand how rumors work, do you? You don’t have to say it in front of her—things like that always spread around. You can’t just sit there relying on your good looks. You have to make it known publicly if you want to secure Sasha’s heart.”
Even without Lionel saying anything, the club president twisted his silence into his own interpretation, casually drawing conclusions about Lionel and Sasha’s relationship.
“Is that so?”
“Of course. You really don’t get how women think.”
“Women are too difficult.”
Lionel laughed lightly and let the president misinterpret him as much as he pleased.
When Lionel didn’t deny his relationship with Sasha, Rozia’s brows twitched slightly. But when Lionel’s gaze turned to her, she quickly smiled again.
“So, does that answer your question?”
“Of course, senpai.”
Lionel smiled at Rozia and slowly rose to his feet.
“Anyone thirsty? Maybe because the weather’s gotten warmer, I suddenly feel parched. Let’s go grab something cold at the cafeteria. My treat.”
This much of a public appearance was enough. But he knew others wouldn’t think so. If he stood up now, they’d surely stop him.
They’d complain that he just got here and was already leaving, or that it was too much to leave after such a long absence. They acted as if Lionel owed them his time.
But if he himself suggested going to the cafeteria, it gave him a natural excuse to slip away.
As soon as he finished speaking, Rozia jumped up eagerly from across the table and clung close to him.
“Really, senpai? I was just thirsty too! Let’s go together!”
She was especially clingy today. Annoyingly so.
‘So my warning earlier didn’t work at all. Or maybe she’s pretending not to notice.’
It seemed worth observing her a little longer.
Surrounded by student council members, Lionel left the student council room.
Laughing along as juniors and peers chatted with him, he looked every bit the popular, approachable senior.
All across the academy grounds, flower buds had begun to bloom, bursting into roses clad in vivid colors.
Their sweet, seductive fragrance heralded the start of early summer. Right in time for the roses’ peak bloom, Felodian Academy’s Summer Rose Festival was set to begin tomorrow.
After classes ended the day before the festival, Jaelyn ran frantically toward the student union building.
Her club had very few members, but the booth they had to set up was far from small.
When she and Stephan first planned and prepared it, she never imagined it would be this much work.
With only three members in the club, she and Stephan had gotten carried away, biting off more than they could chew.
But even if they had realized it sooner, nothing would have changed.
They weren’t sure whether the booth would be popular with the students, but regardless of success or failure, both Jaelyn and Stephan wanted to bring this idea to life.
Carrying a box stuffed with design plans she had sketched whenever she had spare time, Jaelyn entered the union building.
The halls were already bustling with students.
Everyone was busy carrying supplies for booths or discussing how to run their part of the festival.
The whole place hummed with the frantic energy of preparation.
Trying not to bump into anyone, Jaelyn hunched her shoulders and walked quickly through the crowd.
But there was no way to avoid a student who suddenly dashed out from around a corner.
The collision knocked the box from Jaelyn’s arms, scattering its papers across the floor.
“Oh—sorry.”
The student glanced at her briefly, then hurried off without helping.
Jaelyn crouched to gather her designs, when another pair of hands reached down to help.
She recognized them immediately.
“N-Nathan?”
Nathan neatly stacked the papers into the box, then lifted it easily with one hand as he spoke in a friendly tone.
“That guy bumped into you and didn’t even bother helping, huh?”
“Y-yeah. Thanks. I’ll carry it, so give me the box.”
“Come on. I’ll carry it for you to the clubroom.”
Walking beside her on the outer edge of the hallway, Nathan’s tall frame shielded Jaelyn from being jostled by the crowd.
“A-are you sure? Aren’t you busy with festival prep too?”
“Even if I am, I can at least help with this. Besides, I don’t really have much to do for the festival this time. No one will notice if I disappear for a bit.”
“B-but Nathan, you’re kind of hard to miss. People would notice right away.”
At that, Nathan burst into laughter.
“Hearing that from you makes me feel good. Guess I’ll have to be careful.”
“H-huh? Why?”
“Because I thought making people feel good was my specialty.”
Nathan winked at her playfully.
“Ah… r-right. I see.”
Jaelyn’s reply came out weak. Maybe lunch had been too heavy on butter? Her stomach felt oddly unsettled.
Nathan ignored her awkwardness and glanced down at the box.
“So, what is this anyway? Looked like blueprints. For the festival?”
“Y-yeah. They’re all for the booth we’re building.”
Nathan eyed the box skeptically—it was heavy.
“All of these? What kind of booth needs this many blueprints?”
“Ah, th-that’s…”
Before she could answer, they arrived at the clubroom.
Jaelyn opened her mouth to explain, but someone cut her off—Stephan, who had just noticed them.
“Huh? Why are you two together?”
“I’m a gentleman, you know. I saw Jaelyn carrying a heavy box, so I helped her out.”
Nathan puffed out his chest, proudly showing off his manners.
“Pfft…”
Adrian, frowning slightly, didn’t even look up. He was busy cutting paper with scissors.
Golden scraps were piled high around him, covering both the table and the floor.
The usually tidy clubroom was now cluttered with materials for decorating the booth.
Nathan placed the box he had carried for Jaelyn on the table beside Stephan and Adrian.
Tapping the lid lightly, he looked around the messy room—then pointed suddenly at Stephan’s face.
“Whoa. What’s with your face?”
Stephan’s complexion was far from his usual clear tone. Dark shadows stretched from beneath his eyes down his cheeks.
“I pulled an all-nighter finishing the magic blueprints for the festival. I’m exhausted.”
He yawned widely, right in Nathan’s face.
“Ugh! At least cover your mouth when you yawn. That’s basic manners.”
Even Nathan, who rarely frowned, looked disgusted.
“Sorry. But pointing at someone’s face isn’t exactly polite either, you know?”
Stephan mimicked Nathan by pointing back at him.
“S-Stephan, then… the blueprints you promised to finish by today, are they done?”
“Of course! Who do you think I am? I always keep my promises!”
He slapped the stack of papers on the table confidently.
