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Chapter 14
“Tch, busybody.”
“Brat.”
“No matter what you say. I’m telling you to stay put and not cause trouble until your guardian arrives.”
The guardian referred to none other than Liam himself.
He had somehow also taken on the role of guardian for Noah and Emma, who liked causing mischief.
I wondered how Olivia would react if she saw Emma like this.
I was curious, but since Emma didn’t want it, I had no intention of telling Olivia.
He hurried to catch up to Aiden, who was walking ahead.
“Is the engagement story true?”
“What? You didn’t hear about it?”
“You know how I’m treated in the royal family.”
Liam was only the Crown Prince in name and had never really been treated as one.
His mother was the Empress, but her family was weak and had little real power.
Even though the Emperor truly loved the Empress, that did not translate into actual authority.
Rather, the powerful Imperial Consorts’ families were exerting influence and reaching into state affairs. Their children—his half-siblings—were always eyeing Liam’s position.
“It came up subtly at a gathering with the elders, but it’s not nonsense. The Empress seems to be taking it seriously.”
The Empress felt sad that her family could not provide strong support for Liam.
So she wanted to align him with a prestigious family to secure his position, no matter if it went against his wishes.
It seemed she deliberately hadn’t told Liam until the matter was decided.
“But at least I want to choose my Crown Princess myself.”
To Liam, the Crown Princess would be someone who would always be on his side.
He did not intend, like his father the Emperor, to weakly keep the Empress while taking another consort.
He wanted to welcome only the one person he truly loved as his Crown Princess and live together with her for life.
“I hope you carry that will through to the end.”
Aiden gave a vague comment that could be encouragement or something else.
“Do you think it’s right for me to get engaged to your sister?”
“For the family, it would be a good thing. But I’m not the family’s heir, so it doesn’t really concern me.”
Aiden had more siblings than just Rosalyn.
He had an older brother, the future head of the Carter family.
Since the heir was being trained, Aiden, the second son, had relatively free time at the academy.
“Then, can you oppose this engagement?”
“Sorry, but with my sister breathing down my neck, that’s impossible.”
“Even if she uses violence?”
Aiden sighed deeply at Liam’s sharp remark.
“No matter how I look at it, our parents spoiled her too much.”
Since she was their only daughter, they gave her whatever she wanted.
As a result, Rosalyn had developed a stubborn personality that would grab whatever she wanted if it wasn’t given.
Even though she was his own sister, Aiden felt helpless and troubled.
Aiden deliberately changed the subject.
“By the way, Olivia was pretty interesting when I actually met her.”
“When did you worry about whether she could join the club?”
“She seems similar to Emma but has a different personality.”
“You figured that out in such a short time.”
Aiden had actually arrived at the backyard early.
A friend had come to tell him immediately after seeing Emma being dragged away.
Then he saw Olivia hiding in the bushes.
At first, he was suspicious, wondering if she would do something, but he never expected she would step in and get slapped in Emma’s place.
“Anyway, she was an interesting friend.”
Even after only meeting briefly, Aiden had a positive impression of Olivia.
Liam also noticed that Olivia had a way of making people feel at ease.
It was surprising to Liam that Aiden changed his attitude after meeting her, though he had expressed concern at first.
Olivia, in her own way, had a power to draw people in, different from Emma.
Liam felt slightly disappointed that he wasn’t the only one who recognized this.
But he quickly let the thought go.
“Anyway, Aiden, you should fix your habit of doing anything for fun.”
“Why not? You only live once.”
Aiden placed his hand on Liam’s shoulder.
Liam, displeased, immediately removed it.
Spring was gradually approaching, and flower buds were starting to show.
Since the freshmen welcome event, I could go home with Liam and my sister again.
All the way home, Liam noticed me holding my head.
“Are you worried about something lately?”
My biggest worry was not studying… but my prospective brother-in-law.
No matter how I thought, I couldn’t figure out a way to meet Lucas, and it frustrated me.
I would need to meet all four of them to understand, but meeting Lucas was especially hard.
“Yes, I do.”
“What is it?”
I couldn’t act completely worried but also couldn’t say I wasn’t.
My sister asked me, looking concerned.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth, so I chose another answer.
“What would a student worry about? It’s about grades, of course.”
“You’ve only been at the academy a short while, and already?”
“Yes. That’s a student’s duty.”
I pretended to seriously worry.
I was actually worried about my grades, too.
Focusing so much on choosing a brother-in-law candidate made me neglect studying, which concerned me.
“What’s the subject you worry about most?”
“Um… all of them, but… Magic Studies?”
Magic Studies had been the trigger to recover memories of my previous life but also became traumatic due to the corporal punishment I received from a tutor.
And it was the subject of my homeroom teacher, Karen, which made my failure even more frustrating.
“Theory, huh? If you don’t understand it, it’s hard to apply in practice.”
Magic Studies taught the basic knowledge needed to use magic.
Even when applying that knowledge, if you couldn’t properly direct the magic, the tutor would hit your head, which had happened to me.
Liam rubbed his chin, seriously considering my worries.
My sister also seemed unsure how to help.
I just wanted someone to listen, not to complicate their thoughts.
“Well, you can only do your best, right! Haha!”
I tried to cheerfully change the subject, but they still looked worried.
I worried I might have said too much and added,
“It’s okay. I can just increase my study time.”
“It’s better to get help than study alone.”
“Should I teach you?”
“You’re busy with the student council and the club. I’m fine.”
“Then me?”
“You know Liam is busy as dorm manager too. I really don’t need help.”
Magic Studies was hard, but I felt too guilty to rely on them.
The content we were learning now didn’t match the first-year material anyway, so I didn’t want them to waste time on me.
“It might be good to learn from someone skilled in Magic Studies.”
“Especially someone strong in theory.”
Despite me saying it was okay, they didn’t give up worrying.
Then my sister suggested one option to Liam.
“If it’s him, he’s good at all studies, so it should be fine, right?”
“Hmm, thinking about it, he probably studies alone more than others since he doesn’t attend club activities much, so he has time.”
“Also, since he’s our age, it’ll be easier to learn together without feeling burdened.”
Without asking me, they had successfully picked one teacher.
“Who are you talking about?”
“There are two members who are only on the club roster. One is Senior Aiden, and the other is Lucas.”
“Ah, really? Aiden is in our club too? Lucas… that kid?”
I pretended not to know, waiting for my sister’s next words.
“Yes. Senior doesn’t come often due to student council. Lucas probably studies the rest alone.”
So Lucas neglected club activities to study.
I wondered why he joined the club if he was going to focus on advanced learning anyway.
“How about asking him to teach you?”
I pretended to think for a moment, then secretly brightened my eyes and said,
“Great!”
