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Chapter 47
“Thank you.”
Suddenly, Liam pulled me into his arms.
“Uh… senpai…?”
“Thank you for keeping me safe. If anything had happened to you, I really…!”
Could it be he was crying?
His voice trembled, and I couldn’t bring myself to push him away. I reached out to his broad back and gently patted him to calm him down.
“What are you doing, Liam? Won’t you let go?”
Noah, watching from the side, exploded in anger, but it seemed Liam couldn’t hear him.
“What did you do to my little sister?”
Of course, my sister didn’t hold back.
She forced Liam to release me and pulled me back into her own arms.
Liam seemed to have regained his senses and looked quite shocked at his unconscious action.
“S-sorry.”
“It’s okay. That can happen when you’re overwhelmed with emotion.”
I was surprised too but tried to act as normal as possible.
At that moment, the people Aiden had called appeared.
They were all wearing the same black clothes, clearly the ones protecting the academy.
While they rounded up the male students, the group started talking without me.
“We need to go to the principal’s office now.”
“We should all go together to properly report the incident.”
“What about Olivia?”
“We’ll take her home. Olivia has nothing to do with our business.”
My sister excluded me firmly from the conversation.
It seemed the matter in the principal’s office wasn’t related to scholarships.
I had thought I knew these people well from reading pure romance manga, but that had been a misjudgment.
They were clearly hiding secrets from me.
“Olivia’s already become deeply involved. So I think she has the right to know.”
“Aiden-senpai!”
“I think the same. As you can see, Olivia is neither weak nor childish. She’s more than capable.”
I didn’t fully understand what they meant, but I felt encouraged that Aiden and Lucas thought positively of me.
Good job! Praise me even more!
“Noah also thinks it’s better to stay together to protect Olivia.”
“Give me the chance. This time, I want to protect her properly. Absolutely.”
Noah and Liam didn’t agree that I was fragile, but they seemed willing to join in on this unknown task.
My sister fell into deep thought over their words.
But in the end, it seemed her decision was still negative.
“I can’t let Olivia be in danger again.”
This time, I stepped forward myself.
“Sis, don’t worry about me. Whatever you can do, I can do too. And if it’s something that could put you in danger instead of me, I want to protect you too.”
I thought that as the female protagonist, my sister could face worse things than I could.
The reasons might differ, but I wanted to protect her anyway.
Just like she wanted to protect me.
“Olivia…”
“Of course, if you really don’t want me involved, I won’t do anything. But that doesn’t mean you should decide I’m incapable of it. I can do it.”
Her eyes wavered endlessly at my words.
After hesitating, she finally nodded.
“Alright. But you promise to protect Olivia properly. Everyone.”
“Of course.”
“Naturally!”
“I’ll help as much as I can.”
“I’ll protect Olivia properly too.”
I accepted everyone’s promises, including Emma’s.
Could it be… I finally had people to protect me too?
A warm feeling rose in me.
Once the decision was made, I could go to the principal’s office with them.
When we knocked and entered, a shocking person was sitting there.
“Teacher Saint?”
“Yes, I am the principal of Saint Louis Academy, Saint Lucida.”
Teacher Saint seemed prepared and didn’t look surprised at my entrance.
After kneeling the male students before the desk, we lined up behind them.
“You really can’t help but cause trouble, can’t you?”
“Mmph!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already called the police to meet us through the back entrance. Soon, you’ll be heading to jail. And according to imperial law, you’ll be punished. Just because you’re not yet adults doesn’t mean the punishment will be light.”
The three boys looked uneasy at the future Saint Saint had predicted.
If you weren’t ready to handle this, you shouldn’t have started in the first place.
While looking down at the children, Saint Lucida spoke to me.
“So, you’re the kidnapped child.”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Just her presence was intimidating, but as the principal… it was even scarier.
However, unlike her usual sharp demeanor, she smiled gently.
“Any injuries?”
“I’m fine. Nothing at all.”
I even swung my arms to prove my well-being.
“You weren’t scared, and you’re quite brave.”
“Everyone came to rescue me, so I wasn’t afraid.”
Half a boast, but Saint Lucida laughed out loud at my words.
“You truly are remarkable.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did no one explain anything before bringing her here?”
No one could meet her gaze; each avoided eye contact.
It seemed they were pushing the explanation duty onto Saint Lucida.
Finally, she sighed and began the story.
“Our school has a club called ‘The Wildflower Lovers.’ You know it, right?”
“I’m also a member of that club.”
I didn’t understand why she’d ask something obvious.
“This club, as the name suggests, seems to focus on loving wildflowers, but that’s not its main purpose.”
As expected, the club had a secret I didn’t know.
“The wildflowers symbolize students in difficulty. And those here are the ones who help them.”
Ah… so that’s why Liam had told me not to step on wildflowers carelessly when I first joined the club.
Not literal flowers, but students in trouble, meaning don’t treat them roughly.
Also, I finally remembered the duty Liam mentioned.
It wasn’t the duty of a crown prince; it was a duty as a club member to act for the students.
Give me back my tiny respect for him.
“But why did you pick the academically excellent ones?”
Saint Lucida shook her head.
“We chose those in urgent need.”
“Others are in urgent need too, though?”
“But those who can deliver results among them are more likely to succeed. Grades are just one indicator.”
I still didn’t fully understand the criteria, but that wasn’t important.
“So, am I included among those in urgent need?”
“That’s something we have to see.”
“How do we find out?”
Saint Lucida gestured for everyone else to leave.
Now it was just me and her, face to face.
“Alright, prove your urgency. Then you can stay in the club.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Then of course you leave. Do you really need to stay here otherwise?”
Her cold words almost hurt me.
I didn’t know the urgent stories of the other members, but I wanted to stay in the club too.
I wanted to do something for the students and honestly be among them.
I realized I had to be honest about my own urgency.
After thinking, I spoke.
“I actually joined this club to find a brother-in-law candidate.”
“A brother-in-law? You mean Emma’s husband?”
“Yes.”
As expected, Saint Lucida looked puzzled.
It made sense; joining a club just to find a brother-in-law seemed absurd.
But to me, it was urgent, my only goal.
“I want my sister to be happy. So I want to personally see, consider, and choose the perfect match for my perfect sister.”
“Is that really something that would make Emma happy?”
Even Saint Lucida asked the question Aiden had once left me with.
I had been confused by that question for a long time, but now I finally had an answer inside me.
“Of course, I will prioritize my sister’s happiness. If she dislikes something, I’ll never force it on her.”
Lucas had taught me that painfully.
Everything revolves around my sister.
I am just there to support.
But that didn’t mean I’d stand by and do nothing about her happiness.
That was why I worked so hard to enter the academy—it was my goal.
“This is my urgency. Even if you think it’s trivial, I won’t give up and will keep trying. And if possible, I hope to consider this together with other club members.”
“So everyone here is a brother-in-law candidate, huh?”
Saint Lucida was quick to understand.
I smiled instead of answering.
“Then… have I proven my urgency?”
Saint Lucida remained silent for a moment, then opened her mouth.
