Chapter 66: Chapter 66

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: A Candid Talk and an Unexpected Encounter

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I quickly got beside Sharun and sprinted alongside her.

I led her to the nearest restroom.

"I should probably get some water."

It seemed she didn't even know her own alcohol tolerance.

She's going to suffer from a pretty bad hangover tomorrow if she keeps this up.

I went downstairs in the lodging to get some water.

And just as I grabbed a bottle of water preserved by freezing magic,

I saw a familiar face.

"Oh."

The other person recognized me and let out a short sound.

Between her honey-blonde hair, I could see her slightly flushed cheeks.

The sweet scent of alcohol wafting subtly from her body tickled my nose.

Just as Sharun had said, Isabel seemed to have had quite a bit to drink.

'She looks better than Sharun.'

At that moment, Isabel covered her face with both hands.

"Ah, w-well, I only drank a little to go along with the atmosphere."

Isabel wore a thoroughly flustered expression.

Her behavior gave me a strange feeling.

'This isn't really a feeling of liking, but rather...'

'...some other kind of emotion, I wonder.'

"Isabel."

I tossed her a water bottle, and Isabel caught it.

"Let's talk for a bit."

"Huh? Oh?"

Her eyes widened, as if she never expected me to initiate a conversation.

"Before that."

I pointed upwards.

"Let's get the drunkard back to her room first."

Let's move Sharun, who was practically a dolphin in the restroom.

***

After safely getting Sharun back to her room,

I walked out onto the lodging's terrace with Isabel.

The distinct sounds of summer insects chirped from all directions.

In the distance, the blue sea sparkled, reflecting the starlight.

*Shwaaaa—*

The sound of waves carried on the breeze made me feel at ease.

I took in the sight of the sea for a moment, then turned my head.

There, I saw Isabel, seemingly a little sobered up, enjoying the summer breeze.

Dressed simply with a cardigan draped over her, Isabel was as beautiful as a painting.

True to a main heroine, she possessed outstanding beauty.

Yet, she didn't meet my gaze.

To be precise, Isabel avoided my eyes.

I watched her for a moment, then spoke.

"Isabel."

"Ah, yes."

Isabel replied to me a beat late.

I was silent for a moment, then asked.

"Why are you so wary of me?"

Isabel's shoulders twitched.

She wrapped her hands around her own arms.

It was an unconscious, defensive gesture.

"...Wary? Who's wary?"

"Just today, for instance. On the beach, or after you had a drink."

Isabel parted her lips.

Perhaps embarrassed that I had seen right through her, her face turned beet red.

I watched Isabel for a moment, then leaned my back against the terrace railing.

"Tell me. If there's a reason, I'll listen."

"..."

Normally, she might have just turned away.

But perhaps because of the alcohol, Isabel didn't turn away immediately.

She repeatedly opened and closed her lips.

It seemed she couldn't find the words right away.

As I waited patiently for her,

her lips finally, barely, opened.

"...Because I don't want to disappoint you."

"Disappoint?"

Hearing that, I looked at Isabel with a puzzled expression.

Isabel had turned her head, her face even redder than before.

The night breeze blew once more.

Golden strands fluttered like the Milky Way in the night sky.

The distinct scent of the sea tickled my nose.

Mixed with that sea scent were Isabel's sweet fragrance and the smell of alcohol.

"...You know, I... it's embarrassing, but I thought of you as my rival."

She was thinking the exact same thing I was.

"I dislike you for slandering Lucas, but I still highly valued your mindset.

Honestly, I also wanted to move forward like you."

Intoxication makes people honest.

Especially once the reins of their lips are loosened, they can't stop.

"But now, seeing you happily playing with the children, I wondered if this was right."

Isabel gave a slightly bitter smile.

It was a kind of compulsion.

Isabel's ability to survive and live again was due to her rivalry with me.

In such a situation, if she were to leisurely play, she wouldn't be able to accept it herself.

"That's a useless worry."

And I bluntly called it useless.

Isabel looked at me with a slightly indignant feeling.

"I'm doing the same thing right now, aren't I?"

Isabel blinked.

While Isabel was resting now.

I was also resting in the same resort as her.

"Isn't that enough?"

"...W-well, that's because I'm falling behind."

"I'm not someone you can catch up to by training one more day."

In fact, when you really think about it, I don't particularly feel like I'm ahead.

It's just that Isabel thinks that way.

"Isabel, people need to rest when they can. I don't know exactly what your mindset is, but...

I think you should at least have the chance to see if you're on the right path, don't you?"

"..."

Isabel, who had been quietly mulling over my words, suddenly let out a soft laugh.

When I frowned, Isabel waved her hand apologetically.

"No, it's just... it feels like this is the first time you've been kind to me."

"...I only did it because seeing you so self-conscious was unappealing."

"Right, I suppose so."

Isabel said that, then looked back at the night sea.

"...I guess, since you're dating Hania, I can just catch up during that time."

Isabel offered a tipsy smile.

What was in that face was bitterness and loneliness.

"I'm sorry, but that won't happen."

So I decided to shatter her smile a little.

"My relationship with Hania is purely fake."

"Huh?"

"It's just a matter of circumstances. Do you really think Hania would date me?"

I didn't know about the other kids, but...

...I thought it would be better to give Isabel a hint.

If she was going to make me her goal.

I had to become a goal so high she couldn't reach it.

Only then could our rivalry continue to be formed.

"More importantly, I have no intention of dating anyone."

I'm not Hanon, to begin with.

It would be disrespectful to date someone in this form.

Isabel blinked her large eyes.

Soon, after a brief silence, for some reason, she wore a gentle smile.

"Right, so that's how it was."

It was a smile that somehow even seemed relieved.

My eyes slowly widened.

Unconsciously, I opened and closed my mouth.

'This is...'

It's no wonder Sharun might have mistaken this for love at first glance.

Isabel had been in a psychologically unstable state.

This was a result of losing Lucas, her pillar of support.

I filled that void with anger and resentment.

Isabel had endured half a semester leaning on that anger and resentment.

And in that process, she leaned on me, the object of her anger and resentment.

My idea of becoming a moon to replace Lucas, the sun, had hit its mark.

"Indeed, you..."

But here.

An unexpected outcome had emerged from Isabel.

There's a word: 'love-hate'.

A psychological state of holding both affection and hatred simultaneously.

It indicates that affection and hatred are, more than one might think, separated by only a thin sheet of paper.

One might suddenly feel hatred for someone they once held deep affection for.

Conversely, one might develop affection for someone they once hated intensely.

"You feel like you'll never leave, that you'll always stay by my side."

Emotions are that complex.

"Ah, s-staying by my side, I mean, like, continuing to contend with me."

Isabel had to rely on me psychologically.

Even if it was through terrible emotions like anger and resentment.

She had to lean on me to survive.

And in that process, I had taken root too deeply within Isabel.

'The innate possessiveness and monopolistic desires people have.'

Even the emotions that should have originally been directed towards Lucas.

I had somehow replaced them.

'So this is what Sharun meant when she said Isabel was seeing me and Lucas as interchangeable.'

Isabel wasn't healing yet.

She was merely enduring by overlaying me with Lucas.

If by any chance I became disappointed and left her, she wouldn't be able to bear the sense of loss again.

That's why she had been desperately trying so hard until now.

'When she heard that Hania and I were dating.'

The anxiety Sharun felt from Isabel wasn't jealousy, but rather...

...whether it was a romantic relationship or any other kind of relationship.

It was anxiety stemming from the fear that I might withdraw my attention from her in some form.

'That day, when the children asked about the class's relationships, her furious reaction...'

...perhaps unconsciously revealed her psychological state.

Isabel's eyes met mine once more.

Her eyes smiled brightly.

"I seem to be talking a lot today. It's just because I'm a little tipsy, so you don't have to pay too much attention."

Was that smile truly bright?

I felt as if there was no light in her eyes.

Yet, I didn't see any immediate way to "resolve" Isabel.

Really, was this direction okay?

Isabel's smile was so bright it made me wonder that.

When she someday realized I wasn't like Lucas.

Would she be able to endure it?

I don't know.

*Shwaaaa—*

The sound of the night sea waves echoed amidst that uncertainty.

***

Perhaps because Isabel's smile from yesterday wouldn't leave my mind, I couldn't sleep well.

"Haaah..."

I let out a yawn full of fatigue and slowly rose.

Then, Iris's arm, which had been wrapped around me as she slept, gently fell away.

I carefully pulled the blanket over her so she wouldn't get cold, then quietly slipped out.

On the opposite bed, Hania was sleeping with a face full of resentment.

It seemed she was quite furious about having her spot next to Iris taken.

I wondered if Hania might stab me with jealousy soon.

As I walked outside, the morning air felt refreshing.

I lightly stretched as part of my usual routine, then began to run outside.

Now, if I miss a day of running, I feel utterly uncomfortable.

As I ran along the coast, I saw a few others running besides me.

Well, the people here were all students from Jerion Academy.

They all had training habits ingrained in their bodies.

'Refreshing.'

Morning runs change one's mood.

The frustration that arose from my conversation with Isabel last night also seemed to dissipate a little.

*Thump-thump—*

Just then, I started hearing footsteps beside me.

Someone who was morning jogging had caught up to me.

'Running hard, aren't they?'

I put some distance between us, moving to the side to give them space.

However, the other person didn't avoid me; they ran alongside me.

Realizing this, I turned my head, filled with curiosity.

There, I saw a boy with short black hair.

My eyes slowly widened as I saw his face.

"Hello. This is our first time meeting in person, isn't it?"

He gave me a gentle smile as he met my gaze.

'Oh, damn it all.'

'I thought the First Prince would send someone.'

'But I never imagined *this guy* would come.'

The identity of the person running beside me.

He was Hanon Ayley.

Not me, but the real Hanon Ayley.