SRC 19

Chapter 19

For some reason, Liam seemed nervous.
Could it be that he already knew what I was going to ask?

I quietly turned my eyes to the side and then back forward.
“Shall we get going first?”
“Where to? You don’t even know the way.”
“Oh, right. Then please, lead the way first.”

I stepped back behind him, bent at the waist like a courtier, and extended my hand toward the forest.
Liam took a step forward with a hesitant look, as if unsure how to interpret my cowardly gesture.
I immediately followed behind him.

For a while, we walked silently, heads down, looking for new wildflowers.
During that time, I kept thinking about the right moment to ask my question.

But Liam was the one to speak first.
“What do you want to ask?”

Since I had already set the stage, I had to place my question carefully, but choosing the words wasn’t easy.
I decided to ask indirectly.
“Does your sister get along well in class?”
“What? Are you talking about your sister?”
“Yes, about my sister.”

Liam had a vague expression, looking both disappointed and relieved at the same time.
“Your sister’s doing fine. She has friends like me, so there’s no way she’s not.”
“Last time, someone named Rosalyn came and bothered her. Has that kind of thing stopped happening recently?”

Liam rolled his eyes left and right, then chose his answer.
“Hmm, she’s handling it well.”

That meant such things were still happening.
Even if she’s the heroine, isn’t everyone a bit too rough on her?
I thought, “I should just get rid of those villains myself!”

“Liam, don’t you help in times like that?”
“Me?”
He pointed at himself with a finger.
“Yes, you.”
I pointed at him as well.
What were you doing by her side that you let her go through that? The cause is clearly you.

“If I’m the cause, then me stepping in would be like pouring oil on a raging fire, wouldn’t it?”
“Still… didn’t you ever think you should protect her?”
“In first year, I did protect her.”

Oh, so in first year, he played the male lead properly.
Then why is he like this in second year?

“In second year?”
“And I realized that the more I helped, the stronger the backlash toward Emma became.”
“How bad did it get?”
“…To the point where Emma was trapped alone in the PE storage room.”

Thinking back, there was one day last year when she came home very late.
Her face looked strangely drawn for having just studied at school.
Her clothes were quite dirty too, which seemed odd if she only studied—but of course.
Rolling around in a dirty storage room, that explained it.

Hearing that, anger naturally welled up inside me.
“So, you decided not to help her at all?”
“Not completely. I just refrained from helping directly. It backfires instead.”

I was disappointed.
Even so, he just stood by while my sister suffered.
This wasn’t the male lead I had hoped for.

“Then wouldn’t it be better not to be friends with her at all?”
I asked sharply without realizing it.

Liam answered seriously.
“I haven’t told Emma that either. But she said it herself—friendships aren’t broken over something like this. She’s strong. I just trust her.”

There seemed to be a strong bond between them that I couldn’t understand.
Friendship. That word alone made me feel very disappointed.
What I felt from Liam wasn’t love.
It was friendship.

“Then… do you plan to keep being friends with her like this?”
I asked if he intended to change their relationship in any way—lover, wife, or otherwise.

“My friendship with Emma isn’t easily shaken. I guarantee that.”
He spoke firmly with confidence.
Even if he had feelings for her, it didn’t seem like he intended to reveal them.
It was clear he wanted to keep his heart locked and remain just friends with her.

“Thank you… for thinking of my sister as a good friend.”
Liam smiled at my sudden words of gratitude.
“Because you’re my precious friend’s sister, I’ll treat you well too—as long as you don’t fall for me.”
“I’m not sure calling me ‘Kongkong’ counts as treating me well.”
“It’s an expression of affection.”
“Why are you expressing affection toward me?”

Liam’s true affection should be for my sister.
Perhaps, unable to be honest with her, he expressed it through friendliness toward me.
I thought it might be better if he expressed that much honesty toward my sister instead.

“True. Why am I expressing affection toward you?”
“If you understand, stop.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s fun.”

Seeing Liam’s playful face, I couldn’t help sighing.
This guy, is now the time for jokes…?
With three rivals eyeing my sister right now!

In the end, I didn’t discover any new wildflowers and was teased by Liam the whole time.
I swore I would never help him again—unless he decided to change his relationship with my sister.

Thinking about it, marrying the crown prince would make her the crown princess.
Considering the royal power struggles often shown in comics or novels, being with Liam might be very difficult without strong resolve.
After the Rosalyn Carter incident, the crown princess position didn’t look so appealing.
It might be better to remain just academy friends with Liam.

“It’s not a deduction, it’s disqualification.”
“From the perspective of your ideal type?”
“I told you, I’m not your ideal type.”

After bickering until the end, club activities finished.
My sister seemed to sulk all the way home over the fact that I chose Liam, puffing up one cheek.
I spent the entire day explaining it was nothing.

“You really aren’t involved with Liam at all?”
“Yes. Going with Liam was just a protest about that humiliating title.”
“Right. Being friendly with him is fine, but nothing more.”

My sister also drew a line with Liam.
As I thought, maybe because he’s the crown prince, she kept her feelings locked up.

“Don’t worry. He’s not my ideal type either.”
My sister seemed somewhat relieved by my words.
Watching her, I wondered if she was interested in Liam and cautious because of me.
If that were the case, should I somehow help their relationship?
But for now, I couldn’t act recklessly without knowing her feelings.
For now, it seemed best to continue observing other candidates.

“Trust me, sister.”
“Okay, I will.”
We exchanged words that seemed to communicate but not fully.

Without delay, I went to examine the next candidate.
Every time I came to the second-year classroom, I felt watched.
Now used to it, I headed toward Class S.

But it was the moving-class period, so maybe everyone went elsewhere. Even during break, the room was empty.
Looking into the empty classroom, it seemed magical protections prevented me from entering freely. I only peeked around with a sigh.
After asking people to come to their seats, this made it nearly impossible.

“What’s going on?”
By coincidence, I heard the voice of the person I had been waiting for.
I quickly turned around at a tap on my back.

“Noah!”
“Hmm? Did you come looking for me?”
“Yes, I’m here for advanced study today.”

Until now, I hadn’t had advanced lessons with Noah, using the excuse of needing to adapt to the academy.
It felt a bit shameless now, but otherwise, there’d be no chance to be alone with him.

“Alright, then see you after school in the backyard behind the second-year building.”
“Not after club activities?”
“Skipping one day won’t cause problems.”

I had never skipped club activities before, so I wondered if it would be okay.
Noah spoke seriously to me.
“As the wildflower club president, I grant permission.”
“Alright, understood.”

There were three people with power in the club, but as an executive, I could trust Noah’s words.
“I’ll tell Liam and Emma.”
“So this club activity will just be Liam and my sister?”
“Not necessarily. Everyone will do what they want.”

Since there were few members, missing a few meant the activity would end early.
Removing the ghost member meant half were absent.

“Got it. Thanks.”

Before I knew it, the warning bell rang. I hurriedly greeted Noah and returned to the first-year building.