SRC 26

“Why? My sister is this pretty, kind, smart, and perfect—so why don’t you like her?”

I clung to Lucas’s wrist desperately.

But Lucas coldly shook off the hand that was holding him.

“Of course that’s all true. But that doesn’t mean I absolutely have to like Emma noona.”

No, you absolutely do have to like her!

I couldn’t bring myself to say what I was thinking and only opened and closed my mouth.

“Anyway, stop talking nonsense. If weird rumors get into Emma noona’s ears, there won’t be any Introduction to Magic class or anything for you.”

After firmly warning me, Lucas headed toward Class S.

It was the first time I had seen Lucas, who was usually shy, act so resolute.

“Wait, think about it again, Lucas!”

I called out earnestly at his back, but he didn’t turn around.

I stood there blankly, watching him disappear. When the preliminary bell rang, I finally came to my senses and returned to class.

“Olivia, your face is really pale right now. Did something happen during lunch?”

Only after Siana held up a mirror to my face did I realize how shocked I actually was.

Not a single candidate likes my sister.

It was an unbelievable reality.

“It feels like the world I knew is collapsing.”

“Maybe your world is, but your reality is that you’re presenting in Imperial Ancient Language class soon.”

As I clutched my head, Siana coldly reminded me of reality.

Even if I was distracted, I had to hurry and interpret the ancient language text so I wouldn’t get on the teacher’s bad side.

“Siana, can I get some help?”

At my request for rescue, Siana held out her empty palm.

“Was our friendship something that could be converted into money?”

“Could you at least say that effort shouldn’t come for free?”

In the end, since I was short on time, I had no choice but to hand over my pocket money.

To think that I, the daughter of a merchant, would get ripped off like this.

Today was truly an unlucky day in many ways.

Unfortunately, my bad luck didn’t avoid Ancient Language class either.

Even though I had done the homework, I stumbled during my presentation. The teacher judged that I hadn’t prepared properly and coldly deducted points. I asked Siana for a refund, but she refused.

Saturday, the day Academy students loved the most, arrived.

Restless from early morning, I lay in bed, turning over the complicated thoughts in my head.

I absolutely did not oversleep.

“Olivia, get up.”

Without even knocking, my sister opened the door and came in to wake me.

“I’m up.”

“No, you’re lying down right now.”

“I mean my mind is awake.”

“I mean your body should be up too.”

Why are so many people being so cold to me these days?

Lying there like a corpse, I quietly rolled my eyes to the side.

My sister was sitting beside me, having pulled over a chair, her face full of concern.

“What’s wrong?”

It looked like she had something to say.

Instead of answering, she gently fixed my messy hair.

The faint look in her eyes created an uneasy atmosphere.

“Be honest.”

“About what?”

“You like Lucas, don’t you?”

“What?”

Startled, I shot upright.

“No, why, how, what makes you say that?”

“When we had that meal with Lucas last time, I could tell. You talked about Lucas the entire time.”

“Well, Lucas was right there. Who else was I supposed to talk about?”

“Besides that, it was obvious how favorably you look at him. Your gaze kept following him.”

Frustrated, I thumped my chest with my fist.

“No, I told you before. That time during class wasn’t like that. I just happened to look at him.”

“No. I could tell from the way you looked at Lucas. Your eyes were different from when you look at other people.”

That’s because I was looking at him approvingly as a potential brother-in-law!

I couldn’t say what I was really thinking, and my sister’s misunderstanding only grew deeper.

“Olivia.”

She took my hand.

“You’re still too young to date. So you need to put aside your feelings for Lucas.”

“In the old aristocratic days, I’d already be engaged by this age.”

I reflexively argued, then quickly shut my mouth.

Worry doubled in my sister’s eyes.

“Both you and Lucas should be focusing on studying right now. I know it’s hard to control your feelings, but let’s try to end this in a way that’s good for both of you.”

Could it be that all the male leads are denying having feelings for her because of this iron-wall mindset of hers?

With that thought, I asked her carefully.

“Then do you think dating is okay once you’re eighteen, like you?”

“That’s not what I mean, Olivia.”

“Then at what age do you think it’s okay to date?”

“At least once you’re an adult….”

This time, I firmly grabbed both of her hands.

I never expected my sister to have such old-fashioned thinking.

I thought she would naturally be open-minded. What a huge mistake.

“Sister, eighteen is the perfect age to fall in love.”

“Huh? Not seventeen?”

She looked slightly flustered, as if she thought I was talking about myself.

“I don’t think the Academy is only about studying. Building relationships with people is important too. That’s why there are after-school activities.”

“Th-that’s true?”

“But forcibly cutting off connections between people… I don’t think that’s right.”

“So you’re saying you’ll keep liking Lucas until the end?”

“No. I don’t like Lucas in the first place. I just mean I’m not against dating within the Academy.”

My sister’s neatly shaped eyebrows twitched, as if she couldn’t understand me.

“You’re not trying to change my mind right now so you can get permission to be with Lucas, are you?”

“Lucas and I are just friends.”

To think I was now saying the same thing the male leads had said to me.

Had I been forcing them to confess feelings they didn’t have?

Still, as far as I knew, there was no reason for them not to like my sister, which only made this more confusing.

Why did Lucas say he didn’t like her?

Did I provoke him too hastily?

Maybe he just hadn’t had enough interaction with her yet to realize his feelings.

But that didn’t mean I had any intention of giving up on Lucas.

Even if some other brother-in-law candidate had feelings for Emma, the best candidate in my heart right now was still Lucas.

In that case, I would have to support Lucas subtly instead of openly.

To clear up my sister’s misunderstanding, the best way would be to make Lucas confess to her directly.

For that, first I had to make Lucas realize his feelings, and second, I had to somehow get my sister to open her eyes to romance.

Which meant I absolutely had to clear up this ridiculous misunderstanding.

As I thought it over, a good idea came to mind.

“Sister, are you really that worried that I might fall for Lucas?”

“Yes. I’m saying this because I’m worried about you.”

“Then you can just keep an eye on us so I don’t fall for him.”

“Me? Keep an eye on you?”

She pointed at herself with her index finger, looking puzzled.

I curled my lips into a meaningful smile.

“You know the Introduction to Magic class Lucas and I take together. That’s the only time we really meet. So how about you come study with us then?”

“Friday afternoon?”

She looked troubled.

Well, she was busy with student council activities, so it must be hard to make time.

Just as I was about to rethink my plan—

“I can’t do it all the time. But I think I can manage briefly.”

“Briefly?”

“When you’re studying, I’ll stop by sometimes and bring snacks. And I’ll keep an eye on you then.”

She declared her decision with a rather solemn expression.

Since she couldn’t spare much time, this must have been her compromise.

“But I’ll come in whenever I want… so don’t even think about doing anything unnecessary instead of studying.”

“What would we even do besides study?”

“Like….”

I wondered what exactly she considered “unnecessary,” so I let her finish.

“Don’t hold hands and stare into each other’s eyes and stuff like that!”

…Is this because she’s the protagonist of a pure romance comic?

Or should I blame my own corrupted imagination?

“We already held hands when we shook hands, and if we’re studying side by side, how can we not make eye contact?”

“Gasp! You’ve already gone that far, Olivia?”

She reacted like I had crossed some forbidden line.

“It was just a sign of friendship.”

But the flames in her eyes showed no sign of dying down.

“I’m going to visit every Friday. So don’t let your guard down.”

“Please do come. Nothing will happen.”

Of course, for Lucas, her visits wouldn’t be ‘nothing.’

Just shaking his heart little by little like that would be enough to achieve my goal.

Of course, there was still a long way to go before reaching the final objective.

“Anyway, I absolutely oppose you dating, Olivia! Just so you know!”

After delivering her decisive blow, my sister left my room.

“I absolutely support you dating. It’s the perfect age for love.”

Even though she couldn’t hear me, I muttered that to her retreating back.