SRC 33

“What does becoming close to Senior Aiden have to do with relying on me?”

I asked honestly.

I couldn’t understand why Noah had suddenly brought this up.

“It matters. I want to be your close friend.”

“Noah is already my friend.”

“I said close friend. That means closer than Aiden.”

I wondered why he had to be closer than Aiden just because we were friendly.

I tried to soothe Noah, who still had a displeased look on his face.

“Of course, you’re closer than Aiden. Why make such a comparison?”

“You chose Senior Aiden during club activities today.”

Aiden, who had recently become more diligent, showed up fairly often to club activities, though not every day.

I assumed Noah meant that because I had to follow Lucas and my sister, I ended up sticking with Aiden by necessity.

“That’s because Senior Aiden…”

I couldn’t honestly bring up Lucas here.

I had to think of some excuse.

“He teaches me lots of things… about life. He seems more experienced.”

“He’s only two years older than me, though.”

“Senior Aiden is more mature than he looks.”

“Noah, really?”

He clearly couldn’t relate to what I was saying, so I tried to explain with an easier example.

“Even his appearance gives off that vibe.”

“That’s true.”

Noah immediately agreed.

I wasn’t saying Aiden looked old or decayed.

It was just that his calm, relaxed presence made him seem mature.

“Alright. So Olivia chooses Noah over Aiden?”

“Well… instead of choosing one, can’t I rely on both?”

“Are you putting me on the same level as Aiden?”

He sounded offended just by being treated the same as Aiden.

“Aiden is a good person, and so are you, Noah. I think it’s fine to consider both of you as good people in my eyes.”

“Good person?”

Noah’s eyes widened at my sudden choice of words.

“Yes. You’re really a good person to me.”

He had given me advanced lessons and treated me kindly because I was my sister’s younger sibling. That made him a good person.

It might have sounded simple, but that was my conclusion.

“Me?”

Noah looked like he couldn’t believe it.

I nodded and repeated,

“You’re a good person, Noah.”

“A good person…”

He seemed to reflect on my words, as if he wasn’t used to hearing that about himself.

Now that I thought about it, maybe no one had ever told Noah he was a good person.

Being trapped in the role of a natural magic prodigy, perhaps no one had truly seen him for who he was.

Thinking that way made me feel a bit sorry for Noah.

“Others might see you differently, but to me, you’re kind and pure.”

Noah looked a little embarrassed.

“People usually don’t describe you that way. They call you cunning or sly.”

As expected, he hadn’t heard that before.

I wondered who might have said that… obvious.

Adults who lost the heir position at the Magic Tower probably recklessly said such things to Noah.

Or jealous students who resented Noah skipping grades.

From reading shoujo manga, I understood this situation well.

That was likely why those words had hurt Noah.

“A cunning, sly person wouldn’t give useless lessons or be friends with someone who isn’t beneficial.”

Noah stayed silent, expressionless, listening.

“Also, I know how hard it is to always show a bright face. Doing that makes you truly remarkable.”

I wasn’t saying it to flatter him; I genuinely meant it.

“Even if someone calls you cunning or sly, it’s not true. You don’t have to believe it.”

I hoped my sincerity reached Noah.

“So, to me, you’re a good person. Isn’t that enough?”

Noah slowly shook his head.

“Yes. It’s enough.”

Finally, Noah acknowledged it, and I naturally smiled brightly.

Noah also returned to his usual expression and smiled back.

“Let’s work well together from now on, Olivia.”

With a strong gaze, Noah reached out his hand.

Grasping his hand hidden under his long coat, I felt his strength grip mine with full energy.

It hurt a little, but I couldn’t pull away; it might have hurt him.

“Likewise, Noah.”

Perhaps this moment deepened the friendship we already had.

I hoped Noah felt no resentment.

Even though he was no longer a brother-in-law candidate, I wanted to continue our friendship.

“Shall we continue training then?”

“Eh? Wasn’t it over?”

“My motivation to teach just surged. When else would you learn if not now?”

Noah’s eyes glimmered ominously.

Though I had said I wanted to learn first, his gaze made me fear how far he would push me.

“Take it easy…”

In the end, Noah ignored my plea, and I had to use all my energy to continue magic training.

I didn’t understand why Liam and Noah suddenly showed hostility toward Aiden, who had become friends with me.

Even so, I continued to pair with Aiden during club activities.

The “matchmaking project” was still ongoing.

We tried various methods—pretending to get caught in a rope to force Lucas and my sister closer, faking wild animal appearances to show off Lucas’ masculinity, finding new wildflowers to bring them together—but they didn’t grow closer easily.

Lucas’ defense was remarkable.

Even after spending so much time with my sister, he panicked whenever she got close, maintaining just enough distance to respond in short sentences.

An observer might think he disliked her.

And my sister, being the typical oblivious heroine, didn’t notice his obvious feelings, even as his face turned red around her.

Unless Lucas confessed directly, their relationship wouldn’t progress.

“Impressive. Even after all our efforts, it’s useless.”

Aiden shook his head, wiping sweat.

“We’re running out of ideas. What should we do, Senior?”

A serious problem.

All our decent ideas had failed.

We had tried everything we could from behind the scenes.

“Then we’ll have to take action directly.”

“We’re taking action?”

“Yes, I guess so. To intervene, we’d have to reveal Lucas’ feelings, which we can’t do carelessly.”

We couldn’t risk embarrassing Lucas like last time.

I nodded vigorously, biting my nails, trying to squeeze out one last idea.

“How about a jealousy strategy?”

“Jealousy strategy?”

“Yes. Make Lucas jealous so he confesses his feelings to my sister.”

Aiden brightened.

“Oh, that’s good! If he’s jealous, he’ll worry about losing her and won’t be able to hold back his feelings, revealing them somehow.”

“The goal is to make sure my sister notices it.”

“Not an easy plan… but if done right, it could work.”

Aiden approved, making me thrilled.

Now we just had to execute it.

“Then shall we approach them as if we happened to meet by chance?”

“Oh, you’ve got a detailed plan, junior?”

“Ahem, I can be quite efficient when it comes to execution.”

Pretending to act casual, we approached Lucas and my sister, who didn’t notice us, observing as if by accident.

“Aiden? Olivia?”

Before greeting, Lucas’ eyes fell on us first.

“Oh… hi.”

Nervously, I gave an awkward greeting.

We had greeted like this the first time we met in the clubroom.

Lucas gave me a look like he didn’t understand why I acted so strange.

Aiden touched his forehead, showing sympathy for my awkward act.

Anyway, the plan had begun.

Aiden and I nodded subtly to each other, making sure Lucas and my sister didn’t notice.

“Wow, sis! I’m so glad to bump into you by chance!”