SRC 17

Chapter 17

After washing up and getting ready, I went downstairs, and as usual, my mother and father were already sitting at the table.

Breakfast was laid out in an unusually extravagant way, far grander than a typical morning meal.

And, as always, my older sister hadn’t come down from the second floor yet.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, did you sleep well?”

My mother asked me kindly.

“Hmm… it was so-so.”
“Why didn’t you sleep well?”
“Well… I had a dream about my sister coming down.”

“And that’s why you didn’t sleep well? Was it a nightmare?”
“No, not exactly. It was a dream about my sister getting married.”

When I spoke honestly, my father, who had been reading the newspaper, suddenly closed it and wore a tearful expression.

“My daughter… getting married…”

Seeing the tears welling up in his eyes, I quickly tried to take it back.

“It was just a dream! It’s not real.”
“But just thinking that my precious daughters are getting married… it’s—”
“Don’t worry! I’m not going to get married!”

At my declaration, my mother’s eyes widened.

“Why are you suddenly saying you won’t get married?”
“No, that’s not exactly it. I just mean… not now, maybe later.”

Honestly, my dream was to rely on a rich, jobless husband and not get married myself anytime soon. But if I said I’d never get married at all, my mother would surely give me the death stare, so I phrased it carefully.

My mother, probably because her own marriage was so happy, believed that both my sister and I would inevitably be happy if we got married.

Of course, my sister already had at least four suitable candidates for a husband, so it seemed likely she would marry without issue.

But what about me?

I did want to experience dating, of course. But somehow, I couldn’t imagine myself actually getting married. Maybe it still felt too far off.

“Ah, it’s already this late.”

I got up from the breakfast table and grabbed my bag. At the usual timing, my sister came crashing down the stairs.

“I’m late, I’m late!”

As always, she ran off, holding a slice of bread in her mouth, speaking in exactly the same words every day.

“Come on, sis!”

Even though I had waited for her, she didn’t even look back and just ran straight ahead. I had no choice but to run after her at full speed.

I absolutely could not afford to get caught by Saint-sensei standing in front of the school gate.

So far, I hadn’t gotten caught, but my instincts warned me that if I did, it would be almost fatal.

The sight of my sister ahead reminded me of the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

Lost in that thought, I didn’t notice someone turning the corner.

Thud!

“Ah!”

I collided with the person and fell backward, bouncing off.

“Are you okay?”

A concerned voice reached out to me. I looked up, and the sunlight was shining straight into my eyes, showing only the person’s dark silhouette.

“I’m fine.”

I reached out and grabbed the hand the person offered. Thanks to them pulling me up with all their strength, I stood immediately.

Brushing the dust off my clothes, I realized who I had bumped into.

“Lucas, it’s you. Hi.”
“Hi, Olivia.”

“Sorry for bumping into you. You were surprised, right?”
“No, I’m fine. But you fell down. Are you okay?”
“I’m strong.”

I said it first, then instinctively checked myself for injuries, but thankfully, there was nothing wrong.

Naturally, Lucas and I ended up walking to school together.

“But why are you coming from over there?”
“I live in the dorm….”
“You live in the dorm?”
“Yeah, my house is a bit far from the academy. How about you?”
“Mine’s just around the corner.”
“That’s pretty close.”
“Blessed or cursed, I guess. At least I can walk here instead of taking a carriage.”

If my sister’s house had been a little farther, maybe she wouldn’t have had to shout, “I’m late, I’m late!” every day. Of course, without running while holding bread, she’d just look like the typical heroine of a shoujo manga.

“By the way… where’s your sister?”

Look at that. She pretended not to know, looking straight ahead while slyly asking about my sister.

I narrowed my eyes but tried not to smile.

“She went ahead. She might be late…”

At that moment, I realized the time, and my face drained of color.

“I can’t stay here, Lucas! Run!”

I grabbed Lucas’s wrist, and we ran. After a short distance, the flustered Lucas overtook me and even pulled me forward by the wrist.

I saw Saint-sensei glaring at their pocket watch in front of the school gate.

I shut my eyes tight and gave my final burst of speed.

“Safe!”

“Hmph. I’ll let you off this time, but next time, forget it!”

Thanks to Lucas holding me, I was able to run faster than my limits. We passed through the school gate just in time.

“Thanks, Lucas!”

I hugged him without thinking and bounced on the spot.

“Uh… yeah. That was close.”

Lucas looked a little awkward, but I was too happy to notice.

Meanwhile, my sister approached us.

“You two have gotten pretty close, huh?”

Her pointed greeting made Lucas immediately drop me.

“N-No, not really.”

I thought we had shared a sense of camaraderie passing through the gate together. Apparently, it was just me who felt it. Or maybe Lucas didn’t want even a tiny misunderstanding with my sister.

We continued talking as we headed toward the academy building.

“Come on, we’ve only met twice, anyway.”

Half-pouting, I replied sharply. I was slightly disappointed by his answer, which drew a clear line, despite knowing Lucas’s shy personality. I thought we had become good friends.

“Oh, and Lucas. Thanks for helping Olivia with her studies.”
“No problem… It’s something I could easily do.”
“Then can I treat you to a meal as thanks?”
“You… don’t have to…”

He looked flustered in front of my sister. I decided to answer for him.

“I thought about how to repay Lucas, and a meal seemed best. Lucas, how about coming to our house sometime?”
“I’m okay with that….”
“If that’s too much, how about eating together at the student cafeteria with my sister?”

“Emma-neesan? Me? With me?”

I wanted to say just the two of them, but that would be too obvious, so I shook my head.

“Three of us, together.”

Lucas’s disappointed expression was visible.

Hey, are you trying to hide your feelings or not? Might as well confess with your face already.

“…Alright.”

Lucas reluctantly nodded.

Emma-neesan smiled brightly and put her hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks, Lucas. I’ll make sure to get something delicious.”

Not daring to look at my sister, Lucas just nodded. Though I couldn’t see it from here, I was sure his ear closest to her was burning red.

Whether or not she blatantly favored him, it was a relief that Lucas had a good chance with her. Unlike the others, he had little connection with either my sister or me.

The fact that he agreed to help me with studies right after meeting my sister clearly came from wanting to impress her at first sight.

Thinking about it, Lucas’s feelings for my sister were genuine.

I felt sorry for him and wanted to help, so I put my hand on his opposite shoulder, just like my sister had.

“You can do it, Lucas.”

Lucas’s expression was subtly awkward at my inexplicable encouragement, but I didn’t care.

We parted ways as Emma-neesan headed to the second-year building. Lucas stared after her figure.

“Don’t worry, Lucas. Trust me.”

I winked at Lucas as he looked back.

“Huh? I don’t know what you mean…”
“Then study hard! See you Friday!”

I didn’t answer his question and headed toward Class A.

Class S, where Lucas was, was closest to the first-year building entrance, making it convenient. Class A, despite having the second-best students, was located at the very back of the building. Maybe it was meant to motivate students to work harder to get into S.

I ran excitedly to Class A and flung open the classroom door.

“Safe!”

Behind me, Karen-sensei quietly said,
“Ah… Out.”

Ah, it seems she’s getting accustomed to our class and has become quite strict.

I sighed sadly, accepted my tardy mark, and took my seat.