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Chapter 27
To catch Lucas, I had to know Lucas.
Having made up my mind firmly over the weekend, I decided to take action starting Monday.
As soon as break time began, I stood up with a determined expression. Siana looked at me and asked,
“Something urgent?”
“Something important.”
I smacked my palm hard against Siana’s in response to her encouraging high-five and left the classroom.
Thud!
“Ow.”
I ran straight into a massive wall and clutched my nose, which had taken the full impact.
“Are you alright, Kongkong?”
Of course, it was someone I wasn’t exactly happy to see.
I really didn’t like how we kept bumping into each other like this.
“Why did you come all the way here just to bother me?”
“I didn’t come to bother you. But I apologize.”
Liam lowered his head as if to check whether my nose was still intact.
Fortunately, it only stung at the tip—nothing worse.
Honestly, how solid is his chest that it feels like crashing into a rock?
“Then why did you come?”
“Hmm. To talk to you.”
At that unexpected answer, my eyes widened.
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“How’s school life these days?”
We walked home together every day, so it was strange for him to come separately just to ask that.
He must have heard all the small details I told my sister anyway.
Aside from the “finding a brother-in-law” mission, he probably knew more about my Academy life than anyone after Emma.
“You already know. I’m doing well.”
“But maybe you have worries you can’t tell Emma. It doesn’t seem like you’re telling her everything.”
He had frighteningly sharp intuition.
I had thought that as the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t care much about reading others’ moods, but he seemed surprisingly perceptive.
“Even between sisters, there should be some privacy. And I don’t think there’s anything in that area I could tell you about, Senior Liam.”
“That’s cold.”
“I’m just stating the facts.”
I still couldn’t believe he came all this way just to ask something like that.
Trying to find a hidden reason, I stared at him intently.
As if on purpose, he avoided my gaze and looked around at my classmates.
“How’s your relationship with your classmates?”
“It’s good. Thanks to you.”
“What did I do?”
“Well, since I’m close enough to have private conversations with the Crown Prince like this, no one would dare treat me carelessly.”
“You’re saying that outright.”
“Because it’s true.”
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, Liam placed his hand on my head again and ruffled my hair.
“Do your classmates study hard?”
“They’re not particularly outstanding, but they work hard at both studying and having fun.”
“No one left out?”
“At first they moved in small groups, but now everyone gets along with everyone.”
Thankfully for Teacher Karen, our class was filled with innocent and kind kids.
They studied moderately, dozed off moderately during class, and practically risked their lives over events during break and homeroom—a bunch of perfectly normal students.
I had talked to all of them, and there wasn’t a single one who bullied or excluded others.
“You’ve got good friends.”
“I guess it’s my ability—and luck.”
When I boasted a little, it must have pressed some button again, because he ruffled my hair once more.
“Hey, stop it. I told you not to.”
“I only do this because I feel comfortable around you. Try to understand.”
“If you feel comfortable two more times, I’ll be going to school with bed hair.”
I brushed his hand away and fixed my messy hair.
“Talking to you makes me feel at ease somehow.”
Liam suddenly spoke seriously, but I didn’t take it as a big deal.
I had heard that a lot since I was young.
“I’ve often been told that I’m easier to deal with than my sister because I’m more ordinary.”
I was used to seeing her every day, but to others, my sister was breathtakingly beautiful at a glance.
People would tense up talking to her, then naturally relax and breathe easier when they talked to me.
“Sometimes you compare everything to your sister.”
“She’s a very important person in my life.”
“Don’t you ever resent having such a remarkable sister?”
“Resent her?”
There had been times when I felt wronged, wondering why my sister was born with all the good genes while I received none.
But fortunately, I realized the truth of this world early on.
This was a pure romance comic, and the world revolved around my sister.
Once I understood that, I didn’t feel wronged or upset anymore.
Rather, I was proud that my sister was the heroine of a romance comic.
She never bullied me, and our parents never treated us differently.
That was why I grew up without becoming twisted, accepting reality as it was.
There was no need to explain all that to Liam, so I summarized briefly.
“Of course not. I love my sister.”
“…You two are really a strange pair of sisters.”
There was a lot implied in his short remark.
Anyone in the Grayson Empire knew that the imperial succession was complicated, so I could somewhat understand his feelings.
Seeing siblings who get along well might be hard to accept—or even enviable.
“But you’re wrong.”
“Huh? What am I wrong about?”
“You’re not easy to talk to because you’re compared to your sister. You just have a way of putting people at ease.”
Liam occasionally said things that caught people off guard like that.
At the unexpected compliment, I momentarily lost my words.
At times like this, I felt like he was seeing me as Olivia—not just Emma’s little sister.
“I’m just like that, I guess?”
Hiding my embarrassment, I regained a playful smile.
Perhaps sensing my flustered feelings, Liam didn’t continue the serious tone.
“If you ever have a problem you can’t tell your sister, make sure you tell me.”
“I doubt I’d go to you even if that happened, but thank you anyway.”
“Really. You never lose in an argument.”
“It’s another one of my strengths.”
Without responding this time, Liam turned around.
He didn’t forget to wave his hand behind him in farewell.
Maybe it was because he was a male lead candidate.
The way he spoke and acted was certainly different.
But I still couldn’t understand why he suddenly came to see me.
It didn’t seem like he came purely out of concern.
He was definitely a difficult person to read.
There was still something uncertain about considering him as a brother-in-law candidate.
Unlike Lucas, I didn’t feel that same conviction from Liam.
Because of Liam’s sudden visit, I failed to investigate Lucas.
Determined to do it next break time without fail, I returned to my seat.
“Was the Crown Prince your ‘important matter’?”
“No, he was an obstacle.”
“Oh dear.”
Listening to Siana’s sympathetic voice, I had no choice but to wait for the next period.
To observe Lucas as long as possible, I decided to use the entire lunch break.
Fortunately, Class S was in the same first-year building, so my uniform wouldn’t stand out.
That meant Lucas would be much easier to observe than the other male lead candidates from higher grades.
Although the route was farther than Class A’s, I actually thought that was better.
If I acted suspiciously near our classroom, my classmates would probably get curious and interfere.
I hid behind pillars and bushes as I made my way near Class S.
Right then, I saw Lucas coming out of the classroom.
As usual, he was carrying several thick books and some kind of bundle, heading somewhere.
I thought he was going to the Academy cafeteria, but unexpectedly, Lucas slipped into a club room instead.
Since I was secretly observing, I couldn’t follow him inside.
Wondering if there was a way to peek into the club room, I approached a window on the outside.
The window was higher than my height, so I searched around and found some bricks I could use as a step.
They were heavy, so I struggled to stack them up before climbing and peeking through the window at Lucas.
The bundle he brought was a lunchbox.
He placed a desk in the middle of the club room, opened it, and began eating with a book in one hand.
Had he always eaten alone like this, reading while he ate?
Maybe Lucas wasn’t being ostracized by other students—maybe he was isolating himself.
“Should I add social skills to the brother-in-law evaluation criteria?”
“Brother-in-law candidate?”
“…?!”
A chilling sensation spread from my back throughout my body.
In a situation that felt strangely familiar, a voice I definitely recognized had appeared once again
