SRC 28

“Aiden sunbae.”

Why does this person like appearing behind others so much?

I turned around with an innocent smile that said I had done absolutely nothing.

Anyone could see from his eyes that Aiden clearly suspected my behavior.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just thinking about the security of our club room for a moment.”

“Were you planning to break the window and get in?”

“Of course not. I was just checking if it was sturdy. Hahaha.”

Naturally, my ridiculous excuse didn’t work.

Aiden stepped closer and spotted Lucas through the window.

“Were you watching Lucas?”

“Not necessarily.”

I tried to resist, but Aiden, quick-witted as ever, reached a swift conclusion.

“Do you like Lucas?”

“Not at all. Absolutely not. That’s a misunderstanding.”

Seeing me cut it off so firmly, Aiden looked confused.

“Then why are you secretly staring at Lucas?”

“That’s just about the club room’s security—”

“Ah, because of that brother-in-law candidate?”

His sudden sharp remark left me speechless.

I needed to make an excuse quickly, but my mind panicked and I missed the timing.

“Last time you said you were looking for a male lead candidate from a novel… I guess that wasn’t it?”

“No, Lucas is also a male lead candidate—”

“I asked you to show me that novel.”

“It’s a terrible draft…”

“From what I can see, there probably isn’t a single word about a novel written in that notebook you’re hiding.”

Cold sweat poured down my back.

Why was he suddenly being so sharp and making this difficult for me?

“Let me see that notebook.”

“It’s private.”

“Oh? What if I go to Lucas right now and tell him that Olivia likes him and has been secretly watching him?”

Damn it.

I had no choice but to reach into my pocket, praying that my terrible handwriting would make it impossible for Aiden to understand anything.

Like I was being dragged to a slaughterhouse, I slowly held out the notebook.

Before I could even fully offer it, Aiden snatched it away.

“Terrible handwriting.”

That sounded hopeful.

I prayed he wouldn’t be able to read a single word.

“Liam Grayson. Noah Logan. Aiden Carter. Lucas Benjamin.”

Damn it.

Out of all the words, he read the most important ones perfectly.

“So these were the other three? Not male lead candidates—your brother-in-law candidates.”

There were also detailed evaluations of each person filling the pages.

It felt like all my shame was being laid bare.

Unable to look at Aiden’s expression, I covered my face with both hands.

“These evaluations are quite ruthless.”

He must have read the section about himself.

I didn’t think I’d been that harsh…

But maybe from his perspective, it was different.

“So in the end, you chose Lucas over Liam, Noah, and me. That’s why you’re spying on him like this.”

“…Yes.”

What was the point of hiding it now?

I lowered my head, feeling like biting my tongue.

Of all people, to be caught by one of the candidates themselves while searching for a brother-in-law.

I was so embarrassed I could go crazy.

“Hmm. This sounds fun.”

“Huh?”

I expected criticism or ridicule from Aiden.

Instead, something completely unexpected came out of his mouth.

“I’ll join you in this plan.”

“You mean the plan to find my brother-in-law?”

“More precisely, you’ve already concluded Lucas is the best candidate. So now you’re trying to connect Lucas and Emma, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As expected of the student council president, he grasped the situation quickly.

“Then it would actually be better to get my help. You and Lucas barely have any points of contact.”

“I do get supplementary lessons in Introduction to Magic from Lucas every Friday.”

“Really? But that alone won’t be enough to close the distance between him and Emma.”

“I already arranged for my sister to drop by where we study every Friday.”

“Why?”

That question rendered me speechless again.

If I said Emma thought I liked Lucas, Aiden might misunderstand too.

“So there must be another reason Emma has to come?”

“There is.”

“Well, that’s secondary. But just brief meetings like that won’t be enough to move their relationship forward.”

That was something I’d been worrying about too.

For Lucas to truly realize his feelings for my sister, he needed both a trigger and time.

If he didn’t realize it himself, my help would mean nothing.

“But is there even a possibility that Lucas and Emma could end up together?”

Aiden asked the fundamental question.

“I’m certain Lucas likes my sister. He just hasn’t realized it yet.”

“You’re not just jumping to conclusions?”

“No way.”

As far as I knew, this world revolved around my sister.

All the male lead candidates would have feelings for her—I just had to draw them out.

It just so happened that Lucas was my chosen target.

“And what makes you so certain?”

“My intuition.”

At my sparkling gaze, Aiden looked even more uneasy.

“That’s a dangerous basis to trust blindly.”

“Sometimes it’s the most reliable answer. Human instinct isn’t that flimsy.”

“Hmm.”

Aiden hesitated briefly.

I couldn’t guess what he was thinking.

“Alright. I get the general direction.”

Thankfully, he seemed convinced.

“So you’ll keep it a secret that I’ve chosen Lucas as my brother-in-law candidate?”

“On the condition that I help you.”

“Aren’t you busy enough with student council work and studying? I heard you’re practically a ghost member here.”

“I can’t miss out on something this interesting.”

Unfortunately, this situation seemed to have triggered something inside Aiden.

Even if I sighed, I didn’t have a good enough reason to refuse his partnership.

“Fine. I’ll accept your help.”

“That’s more like it.”

Why did Aiden’s satisfied smile make me feel so uneasy?

Was it really right to get on the same boat as him?

But it was already done.

All I could do now was cooperate with Aiden and somehow make Lucas my brother-in-law.

“Let’s work hard together from now on, partner.”

“Part…ner? I’m not sure we’re at that level, but yes. Please take care of me.”

I deliberately gripped the hand Aiden offered with extra force to hurt him.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to affect him at all.

Now that I had gained both a reliable ally and a potential troublemaker, I couldn’t act recklessly on my own.

Aiden had bluntly pointed out that my actions were far too noticeable.

Instead, he confidently told me to trust him and wait, so I decided to sit still and see what he would do.

Naturally, nothing happened during break time.

I wanted to go to Class S every break just in case, but because Aiden told me to restrain myself, I couldn’t move at all.

I was frustrated, wondering how exactly he planned to connect Emma and Lucas.

And just like that, club activity time arrived.

I realized it would be difficult for Aiden to act immediately.

When he said “wait,” he clearly didn’t mean just a few hours.

“Hello, Senior Liam.”

When I opened the club room door, Liam was, as always, sitting there reading a book.

Why did this senior always skip homeroom and sit here?

I suddenly felt sorry for his homeroom teacher, Mr. Pavelo.

“You’re here?”

Liam greeted me without lifting his eyes from the book.

It was such a familiar sight that I didn’t bother questioning it and went to sit in my usual spot.

“Noah has arrived!”

“Hi.”

As always, Noah and my sister Emma entered together.

And as always, my sister didn’t forget to glare at Liam.

It seemed Liam no longer found her gaze bothersome.

Noah cheerfully spoke to me.

“Hi, Noah.”

“How were classes today?”

“Since I didn’t fall asleep, I think that counts as a success?”

“It’s hard to call that a success…”

Though he looked gentle, Noah was strict when it came to studying—befitting someone who taught in place of Academy instructors.

“Even so, I can finally form a sphere by myself in elemental magic class.”

That’s right.

Thanks to Noah’s special training, I had finally succeeded in using my magic during class!

“You can’t maintain it for long, though.”

Noah hit me with reality again, but it didn’t hurt at all.

Just knowing I had succeeded made my heart burn with pride.

“Then shall we begin club activities?”

Finally, Liam closed his book and stood up.

We naturally followed, getting up to retrieve our gear.

At that moment, the club room door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.

“We’ve finally arrived!”