SRC 12

Chapter 12

With Noah’s persuasion added on, I finally sighed and nodded.
“Alright.”

When I thought about it, anyway, there were rumors that I usually got close to Liam, and even if someone like me stayed by his side, it didn’t seem like it would create false rumors.

“Shall we go, Lady?”

Liam extended his hand as if he had expected my response.
“I can’t promise my dancing skills, though.”
“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead.”

Naturally holding hands, Liam and I stepped onto the dance floor where people were dancing.
Just as a new song began, Liam placed one hand on my waist, and I placed one hand on his shoulder.
Raising our joined hands and stepping in rhythm, the dance began.

Fortunately, it was slow music, so my feet didn’t get tangled, and I could dance.

“For someone whose skills aren’t guaranteed, that’s pretty good.”
“I never said I couldn’t dance at all.”

Liam whispered almost so no one else could hear.
I also lowered my voice, sensing the mood.
“You’re not even nervous being this close.”

I guessed roughly what kind of girls Liam had been meeting.
Surely, there were more than a few girls captivated by the Crown Prince’s looks or background.
If it were ordinary girls, they would probably be dizzy just from seeing Liam’s face.

“Why would I suddenly be nervous? The only thing I’m worried about is stepping on your feet, Liam-senpai.”
“Honestly, you’re the second most unusual person I’ve met.”

The first one didn’t need asking—Emma, of course.
Probably in his life, Emma had experienced all the firsts.
So to Liam, Emma wasn’t unusual; she was special.

“Even being second is an honor.”

At my words, which carried no real soul, Liam let out a small laugh.
“You’re fun, Kongkong, as always.”
“If you don’t fix that humiliating nickname, it’ll work against you.”

Even out of pity, my desire to help Liam vanished.
“This is the one thing I can’t give up?”
“You’ll regret it.”
“I’m curious why you’d regret it.”
“There’s just something about it.”
“Hmm.”

Liam suddenly closed his mouth, as if lost in thought.
Then he tossed out a seemingly random comment.
“The thing I said earlier… I didn’t mean that the dress made you okay.”
“Then what did you mean?”

Liam seemed to choose his words carefully.
“You look pretty today.”

Startled by the sudden words, I fell silent this time.
“If I say something like this, you’ll probably say you’re ordinary and that my sister is prettier.”

Correct.
In Liam’s eyes, wasn’t it only the beautiful sister in the dress he saw?
I never imagined the compliment would be directed at me.
After all, I was just an extra with ordinary looks.

“But to me, you’re pretty too. So you can have some confidence.”
“I’m just stating facts.”
“I mean my words are facts too.”

Looking at his serious face, I suddenly felt embarrassed.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, so I dropped my gaze to my shoulder.
“…Thank you.”

I felt my heart suddenly fluttering.
My ears were probably burning from embarrassment.
Where did the person who said he wasn’t nervous just now go?
But who wouldn’t be flustered hearing such words from that face?

“Nervous now?”

Liam asked teasingly, his voice carrying a smile.

Snap.
“Ah.”
“I’m sorry. I did say I was nervous about stepping on your feet.”
“I could feel it was on purpose…?”
“It was definitely an accident.”

I stepped on Liam’s foot with my heel and feigned innocence.
I didn’t want to admit, even for a moment, that I’d been captivated by him.
Luckily, I stepped on his foot at just the right timing.
The music ended perfectly.

“One song is enough, right?”
“Yeah, if we danced two songs, my feet wouldn’t survive. I’ve shown enough effort, so leaving quietly now, no one will complain.”

It seemed Liam was planning to slip away to a corner of the welcome party hall.
But as a freshman and one of the party’s main characters, I intended to stay near the center.

Releasing his hand, I returned to my spot.

“You looked so good together, Olivia.”

Siana clapped, impressed by our dance.
“I only went as a substitute because my sister wasn’t here, that’s all.”
“Still, Liam-senpai smiled at you, didn’t he?”
“He was mocking me, saying I was strange.”
“Really? Hmm.”

Siana’s words made me recall Liam’s compliment unnecessarily.
No, I shouldn’t take it seriously.
He was probably trying to look good to me too, as a strategy to impress my sister.

I waved my hand to erase the thoughts floating in my mind and moved back toward the food.
They say when you have a lot on your mind, sugar in your head helps.

“You really only think about food, Olivia.”
“I eat to think, Siana.”

Siana didn’t nod or comment; she just held an empty plate and began taking food like me.
I was serious about what I said.
I decided to let Liam confusing my mind slide for now.

I had a more important problem.
I finally confirmed all four male protagonist candidates.
The question now was how to progress their relationships with my sister.
To do that, I needed to know all four of them. Even if Aiden joined the student council in April to become close, I couldn’t think of a way to get closer to Lucas.

“Why is it harder with someone my age?”

Lucas rarely attended club activities, making it harder to meet him.
Going to his class directly would be strange. Which method should I choose?
Should I secretly follow Lucas just to seize the opportunity?

While I pondered, Emma and Aiden, having finished dancing like Liam and I, approached me.

“It’s nothing, but I get nervous when people are watching.”

Aiden had carelessly loosened the bowtie around his neck.
“The welcome party isn’t over yet, senpai.”

Emma scolded him calmly, but Aiden shoved the loosened bowtie into his pocket carelessly.
“I like freedom.”

“You two looked good together.”

Siana complimented Emma and Aiden, just as she had done for Liam and me.
Aiden and Emma didn’t look particularly pleased.
Their expressions were awkward.

“I just filled in for Aiden-senpai because he didn’t have a partner.”
“Being that honest is embarrassing for me.”

Aiden exaggeratedly looked sad, wrapping his arms around himself.
Using the excuse that he had no partner to take Emma.
Clearly, experience makes a difference.

“And you, little sister… dancing with the Crown Prince, impressive, huh?”
“I only did it because senpai took my sister first.”
“Took? That sounds harsh. Just say you had a prior appointment.”

It wasn’t wrong, so I corrected it willingly.
“You jumped ahead.”
“Ah, you’re harsh, little sister.”
“My sister only says what’s correct.”

Emma protected me and spoke up.
This brother-complex situation was serious, no matter what.

“But I understand Aiden-senpai’s feelings. He must’ve felt uneasy.”
“Huh?”
“My sister is so popular, after all…”

Aiden looked flustered.
Quick-witted, he seemed to immediately grasp the hidden meaning in my words.
“No, it’s not like that.”
“It’s okay. You did well as you could.”

I gave a thumbs-up, regardless of whether Aiden understood the meaning.
Aiden folded down my fingers, probably thinking it implied something weird.
“Don’t misunderstand. Emma and I aren’t like that.”

He even said it seriously to me.
I was confused by his serious attitude.
Had Aiden not realized his feelings yet?
Or was he just embarrassed and pretending in front of us?

“That’s right, Olivia. Don’t misunderstand. Aiden-senpai and I aren’t involved in any way.”

Emma placed a wedge between the two of them.
I glanced at Aiden.
Strangely, he didn’t look hurt or upset.
Rather, he seemed relieved that the misunderstanding was cleared.

What was this ambiguous attitude?
After thinking it over, I reached one conclusion:
Aiden was fully acting, thinking it wasn’t yet time!

Quite skilled.
I liked Aiden’s strategy and mentally added points back to him.