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Chapter 30
“About Olivia?”
Lucas’s confused voice made me clutch my forehead.
It would have been fine if she was asking me, but asking Lucas that? Wasn’t that a bit much?
My heart sank, worried I might cause some unnecessary misunderstanding for him.
No matter how I felt, my sister was completely serious.
“Yeah.”
“What… should I think about that?”
Lucas blinked his innocent eyes, looking utterly clueless about what my sister meant.
In a way, that was a relief.
“Do you… have any kind of liking for Olivia?”
“I don’t dislike her, but is that considered liking…?”
My sister stroked her chin at Lucas’s ambiguous answer, silently gauging the situation.
Narrowing her eyes, she pressed again.
“More than just not disliking her?”
“I really don’t understand what you’re asking.”
Lucas couldn’t hide his discomfort. He wanted to answer honestly to Emma’s question, but seemed at a loss for what she meant.
Giving up on hinting, my sister spoke plainly.
“What I’m asking is—don’t you like Olivia?”
“Whaaaat?”
Finally realizing, Lucas shouted loudly, then quickly covered his mouth in surprise. Thankfully, no one else was around, so he seemed relieved.
Well, except for Aiden and me, that is.
“No, why, how….”
Despite his flustered reaction, he didn’t look like he was thinking “I’ve been found out!” or “How did she know?”
Rather, it was just a confused, “Why would anyone think that?” expression.
My sister seemed to pick up on that too.
“So you really don’t have any special feelings for Olivia.”
“No, really!”
Lucas waved his hands emphatically, denying it.
“Then why not? Olivia’s cute, kind, pretty—everything.”
Oh, sister…
Her brotherly gushes were spilling out so much that my face almost burned with embarrassment.
The worst part? Lucas was hearing this, and even Aiden nearby was watching with an intrigued expression. How humiliating.
“Olivia is a good kid, but just a friend.”
This time, Lucas spoke honestly without flinching. My sister surely sensed his sincerity.
Grumbling, she kicked a small stone on the ground.
“How strange. If you really knew Olivia, there’s no way you wouldn’t like her.”
“S-Sorry.”
Lucas apologized unnecessarily.
“You don’t have to. It’s not a crime that your heart doesn’t go toward Olivia.”
She reached out and stroked his head. Under her hand, Lucas blushed slightly.
Whether it was because he wasn’t used to a woman’s touch or because he was happy, I couldn’t tell.
“But why don’t you like her? Do you like someone else?”
My sister seemed convinced that if it wasn’t for that, there was no reason he wouldn’t like me.
I wanted to cover my face with both hands from embarrassment, but I had to observe the situation, so I restrained myself.
“N-No? Absolutely, not at all.”
Lucas, usually shy, spoke firmly, shaking his head as if yelling, “I like someone else!”
Thankfully, it didn’t seem like my sister picked up on that.
“Good, that’s smart. You’re too young to date anyway.”
“Y-Yes, yes.”
Though hesitant, my sister no longer looked at Lucas. She focused on the ground, searching for wildflowers, talking only to herself.
“I told Olivia too, but she wouldn’t listen. They say this age is perfect for dating, but if you just entered the academy, shouldn’t studying come first?”
“…Right.”
“See, Lucas, you understand.”
She straightened her back, smiled at him briefly, then returned her gaze to the ground.
Lucas was staring intently at her profile.
The emotions on his face were subtle and difficult to read.
But one thing was clear.
Lucas didn’t agree that now was the time for studying over romance, as my sister said.
“Lucas.”
My sister called his name softly.
“Yes?”
“Don’t like Olivia. Got it?”
Her decisive words made his face flush again. Lucas couldn’t possibly say no to her!
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Lucas confidently agreed, though this time he faced away, absorbed in wildflower hunting, his expression hidden.
After that, no further conversation occurred.
Aiden and I kept a little distance, watching the two silently focus on the flowers.
Only when we reached a point far enough that our voices wouldn’t carry did I breathe a sigh of relief and speak.
“You’re supposed to be helping them get together, right?”
“First, we need to assess the situation. If we rush in, it’ll be obvious.”
True enough, I nodded.
Aiden glanced toward where they were and looked curious.
“Why did it suddenly become that you like Lucas?”
Ah, so I had to explain this situation after all.
I held my head and said,
“That’s because I complimented Lucas too much in front of my sister to help them get along, and it backfired.”
After hearing my story, Aiden looked at me with a mix of disbelief and exasperation.
“So you basically advertised that you liked Lucas. You really don’t like him?”
“I swear, that wasn’t my intention!”
I stomped my foot indignantly, and finally, Aiden’s suspicion eased.
“Looks like Lucas really does have feelings for Emma, just like you said.”
“I told you.”
“I thought it was nonsense based on a hunch, but seems like part of it was true.”
“I told you!”
So even Aiden could see it at a glance. No wonder I had misunderstood.
But I also remembered how Lucas had flatly denied it before.
“When I asked him directly, he denied it.”
“You asked Lucas directly?”
“Yes.”
Aiden gave me a look of disbelief.
“Who would admit it before even acknowledging it to themselves?”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Indeed. According to Aiden, I had simply been too hasty.
“Forcing them together before he even realized his own feelings? Of course it wouldn’t work. And they haven’t been seeing each other long, right?”
Even if Lucas had been directed by the principal to join the club early before the academy started, the actual time they had spent together was barely over a month.
“Time spent together doesn’t necessarily equal feelings.”
“I never said Lucas’s feelings were small. I just meant he’d need time to notice them himself.”
“True enough.”
I was glad that it was Aiden who had seen through my scheming to find a prospective brother-in-law.
Seeing me nod obediently at his words, Aiden looked quietly pleased—as if having a cooperative subordinate made him happy.
Even though I was the main driver behind finding a brother-in-law, it felt strangely off.
“Then our task is clear.”
“What is it, Senior?”
“To make Lucas realize his own feelings.”
“How?”
Aiden crossed his arms, thinking, unable to come up with a solution immediately.
I also pondered alongside him.
“So the classic method is just to push them together?”
“With Lucas’s personality, he’d probably just say ‘S-Sorry’ and it’d end there.”
“You’ve analyzed him pretty well in a short time.”
“I followed him for a reason, you know.”
Not something to brag about, but it made me feel proud somehow.
“So, just lock them in one place?”
“That’d feel like bullying. I don’t want to do that.”
My sister had trauma from being locked in the gym storage last year. I didn’t want her to go through that again.
“For now, we just need to make sure they’re together. That way, opportunities will come.”
“Right. If Lucas keeps seeing her, his feelings will fluctuate, and he’ll realize what he thinks about her.”
“So continuing club activities is the best approach.”
“That seems like the most reliable connection.”
Indeed, the club was the biggest link the author had set up to bring the main characters together.
Though Lucas and Aiden had freaked out at the idea of being ghost members, if they could participate in activities again, opportunities to intervene would arise.
“Good. From now on, we’ll make sure Lucas can keep attending club activities. For now.”
“Good idea. As expected of Senior Aiden.”
I gave both thumbs up, showing my utmost respect. Aiden awkwardly returned the gesture.
“By the way, why Lucas and not some other prospective brother-in-law?”
Aiden asked the fundamental question now.
“Ah, that’s…”
I paused.
Lucas’s future career was a secret, so I couldn’t explain why I chose him.
If I said it was because he’d have a stable job, that would break the promise.
While I was debating what to answer, a voice interrupted.
“What are those two doing here?”
