SRC 25

“I’ll work hard.”

“Please take good care of her from now on too, Lucas.”

When my sister said that with a smile, the corners of Lucas’s lips loosened slightly.

I didn’t miss that tiny opening.

“Unni, did you know? Lucas has already finished studying up through the third-year curriculum.”

“Really?”

Her eyes widened.

“It’s nothing compared to Emma noona.”

Lucas grew shy and took a gulp of water for no reason.

As expected, praising Lucas in front of my sister was the right strategy.

The moment I sensed a positive reaction, my mouth wouldn’t stop.

“On top of that, he’s good at swordsmanship too. He’s skilled enough to spar with a teacher.”

“How do you know that?”

“Huh?”

I was flustered by my sister’s suddenly sharp question.

If I said I’d been watching Lucas during class, the atmosphere would definitely turn strange.

While I was hesitating over what to say, Lucas was also looking at me, clearly curious how I knew.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no way to dodge the question.

“I—I just happened to see it during class.”

“Happened to? That doesn’t make sense. Were you not paying attention in class and watching the training grounds instead?”

What is this?

I felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into a trap. Cold sweat trickled down my back.

“I just looked outside for a moment because the weather was nice.”

“Then you should have looked at the sky.”

She pressed me with the exact same words as Saint-sensei.

“The ground was nice too.”

Before I realized it, I’d given the exact same answer I had given Saint-sensei.

Naturally, my sister looked at me as if I were unbelievable.

Lucas, too, seemed to be eyeing me suspiciously.

“You… don’t tell me—”

Just as my sister was about to say something—

“Here you go!”

With a short shout and a loud clatter, a bowl of stew was set down in front of each of us.

At first glance, the stew’s color looked thoroughly unappetizing, but I quickly grabbed my spoon and exclaimed,

“Wow, it looks delicious! Let’s eat.”

At my awkward enthusiasm, my sister—who had still been staring at me with narrowed eyes—finally picked up her spoon.

Lucas followed her lead and dipped his spoon into the stew.

“Huh? It’s actually good.”

I had braced myself like I was taking bitter medicine and swallowed a spoonful with my eyes shut, but it tasted surprisingly good.

I had truly discovered a hidden gem.

I began shoveling stew into my mouth as if I were starving.

“Slow down.”

Some had splattered around my mouth, and my sister gently wiped it with a napkin.

“Thanks, unni.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lucas looking at me with what seemed like envy.

Oh no, this isn’t it.

But at this point, anything I said about Lucas felt like it would drag me into another trap.

“Olivia.”

“Yeah?”

As I deliberately kept quiet and focused on eating, my sister called me softly.

“Don’t tell me… you like Lucas?”

“Pff—!”

A piece of vegetable flew out of my mouth. Of all things, it shot straight toward Lucas, who was sitting across from me.

The vegetable chunk hit his cheek, bounced off, and fell under the table.

“S-sorry, Lucas!”

Panicking, I rushed over with my napkin.

Then I scrubbed his face as hard as I could.

“That’s enough.”

“It had to hit your face… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. And… that hurts.”

“Ah! Sorry!”

I had rubbed so hard that one of his cheeks had turned red.

Realizing I had caused a second round of trouble, I didn’t know what to do.

“Lucas seems fine, so calm down and sit, Olivia.”

My sister’s steady voice helped me regain a bit of composure.

I had tried to help Lucas, only to cause him trouble instead.

Nothing was going the way I wanted.

As I scratched my head awkwardly, my sister narrowed her eyes again.

“Seeing how strange your reaction is, I guess it’s true.”

“No, it’s a misunderstanding!”

My praise strategy had backfired!

I frantically waved both hands in denial, but my sister looked unconvinced.

Even Lucas was staring at me with an awkward expression.

No, it’s not like that!

Sweating nervously, I continued explaining.

“The only reason I saw Lucas at that time was because of pure coincidence. He just happened to be sparring with a teacher instead of another student, and I was surprised, so my eyes were drawn to it.”

“Your eyes were drawn to it?”

“Co. In. Ci. Dence!”

“You, who usually aren’t like this, keep praising Lucas, set up an opportunity for the three of us to eat together, and even observe him so closely. It really does seem like…”

“I said it’s not!”

I praised Lucas and arranged this meal so he could get closer to you, unni! And I kept observing him because he’s a candidate for brother-in-law!

I wanted to shout it, but I couldn’t say a word, which made it even more frustrating.

The one who rescued me from this swamp was Lucas.

“Noona, if she’s denying it this strongly, then it’s probably not true. She’s likely just praising me because she’s grateful.”

“But she said she saw you during class.”

“That’s…”

Lucas hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“It was probably because I was alone during class. I didn’t have anyone to spar with, so I ended up training with the teacher.”

My sister was momentarily speechless at his sudden confession.

He had even revealed something embarrassing just to save me.

I felt both grateful and sorry toward Lucas.

“So you don’t need to misunderstand.”

Seeing the two of us at a loss for words, Lucas gave a small smile and picked up the bill first.

“I’ll pay today. I’ll let you treat me next time, noona.”

“Huh? No, Lucas. I’ll pay.”

My sister immediately followed him, but he was faster, holding out a magic coin. It flashed briefly as the payment went through.

I hurried to the counter as well.

“Now I feel really bad, Lucas…”

I had taken up his study time to learn magic theory, failed to be of any help despite saying I would, and couldn’t even properly treat him to a meal.

“Don’t worry about it. Thanks to you, I found a new good restaurant. That’s a gain.”

His generosity only made me feel worse.

“Lucas, you’re quite kind.”

“Me? No, I’m not.”

My sister seemed to view him quite positively after seeing that.

Though he denied the compliment right away, he couldn’t hide how pleased he was.

“No, boys like you aren’t common.”

Shaking her head, my sister praised him again.

Wait, is this unexpectedly turning into a good atmosphere…?

It hadn’t gone as planned, but at least I seemed to have succeeded in creating a positive image of Lucas in my sister’s mind.

“Let’s definitely eat together again next time. I’ll treat you properly then.”

“Yes, definitely…”

Lucas nodded vigorously at my sister’s bright smile, even covering his mouth with the back of his hand as if to hide the upward curve of his lips.

Did he successfully score points with her?

I shifted my gaze back and forth, observing the two of them.

All the way back to the academy, they kept talking without pause.

Mostly my sister spoke while Lucas nodded, but the atmosphere was good.

“Olivia, why are you lagging behind?”

My sister called out to me as I walked a step behind them.

So as not to disturb them, I moved to the opposite side of her from where Lucas was standing, leaving my sister in the middle.

“Then you both get back safely.”

Once we reached the academy, my sister headed into the second-year building first. I waved at her, then glanced at Lucas.

“How was it?”

“How was what?”

“Having a meal with my sister.”

“Hmm, it was pretty tasty.”

“I’m not talking about the food.”

Honestly, how dense can you be?

I nudged his side with my elbow.

“I already know everything.”

“Know what?”

His puzzled face genuinely looked like he had no idea.

Since I had decided to properly support him, I figured it would be better to let him know I was a reliable ally.

I shook my head as if I had no choice and said,

“You. You actually like my sister, don’t you?”

They say sneezes and love are hard to hide.

With how obvious he had been, it was hard not to notice.

Even though I’d nearly caused a misunderstanding earlier, the truth was practically out in the open.

Well, except for my sister—the female lead, who was completely oblivious to the male leads’ feelings.

“What are you talking about?”

But at my words, Lucas’s expression hardened as he stepped back from me.

“You don’t have to hide it. I really won’t tell my sister.”

Seeing his uneasy reaction, I tried to reassure him.

“What do you mean you won’t tell her? I don’t like Emma noona!”

Lucas’s loud voice made passing students turn to stare at us.

Realizing he’d raised his voice too much, Lucas quickly covered his mouth, his face turning red.

But I was too confused to care about him.

Lucas… doesn’t like my sister either?

Wait, that’s not right, is it?