Chapter 109: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat

Chapter 109

As Sylvia moved to a place where others couldn’t overhear their conversation, she glanced occasionally at the pure-looking girl with navy blue hair who was obediently following her, and she thought.

Marin Eloise, the class president of the 1st year Class B and the daughter of a famous hero couple.

From what she had seen so far, she thought she was a good person.

‘How can someone who looks like that be so shameless?’

Marin should have known as well, since she had seen it from the side.

That Yoon Si-woo had feelings for Scarlet.

In this world, there are laws, and among them, there is a clear rule that one should not covet someone who already has a partner.

Taking someone who is already with another person is something that might have happened in the distant past, in the law of the jungle followed by beastmen or the country of orcs.

Even though Yoon Si-woo was not formally in a relationship with Scarlet, it was clear that taking someone who is dating another person was socially condemnable.

‘But how can this person commit such an act and still speak so brazenly?’

What? She wants to get along well from now on?

She knew the truth.

Marin had provoked Scarlet by saying she had a matchmaking meeting with Yoon Si-woo.

A delinquent who teased by saying, ‘Hey, your man is amazing,’ and then clung to her saying they should get along well.

She couldn’t even imagine how humiliated Scarlet must have felt.

In many ways, Marin was even worse than Yoon Si-woo, who cheated on Scarlet.

So how could she look at her kindly?

“Um, can I now hear what you called me for?”

Marin asked curiously as they arrived at a secluded stairway landing.

Sylvia glared at her slightly and then opened her mouth.

“Miss Marin? You had a matchmaking meeting with Yoon Si-woo recently, didn’t you?”

“...How did you know that?”

“Well, I found out somehow.”

“...I didn’t know the successor of Astra was so interested in others’ private lives. So what about it?”

Marin replied, looking very guarded, perhaps knowing she had done something wrong.

Sylvia wanted to rebuke her harshly right away, but...

‘I need to stay calm. It’s best to end this with a warning if possible.’

Sylvia thought as she calmed herself.

As she said, after all, she was the successor of Astra.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to display such unseemly behavior in front of others.

“Miss Marin, I’d like you to keep your distance from Yoon Si-woo.”

“...What?”

“I’m asking you to keep your distance from Yoon Si-woo. If possible, it would be better if you could cleanly end your relationship with him.”

She spoke as gently as possible, hoping Marin would obediently follow her words.

After all, Marin was the one who inflicted an indelible wound on Scarlet.

But Sylvia had a feeling, seeing Marin’s frown after hearing her words, that things wouldn’t go as smoothly as she had hoped.

“...You’re quite rude, aren’t you? I don’t think we’re close enough for you to meddle in such matters.”

Sylvia sighed inwardly at Marin’s sharp reply, displeased with her words.

‘This is getting troublesome. Then again, if she were someone who would listen, she wouldn’t have done such a horrible thing in the first place.’

Sylvia wasn’t one to say unpleasant things to others usually.

But she didn’t want to hold back and remain silent even towards someone like Marin, so she issued a strong warning.

“It’s more of a warning than meddling. I’ll say it again. End your relationship with Yoon Si-woo. It’s best for you to do so while I’m asking nicely. If you don’t want to face any unnecessary disadvantages.”

“...Oh, so that’s what this is about. Unbelievable. I didn’t know the successor of Astra would go around threatening others just because her family is a bit powerful. I misjudged you. But what can I do, even if you threaten me? That guy is already head over heels for someone else.”

Marin scoffed, dropping her respectful tone, as if she had revealed her true colors after hearing Sylvia’s warning.

Seeing her mock Scarlet by saying Yoon Si-woo was deeply in love with her, Sylvia’s anger boiled over, and she could no longer hold back.

So she resorted to her last means.

“...It seems words won’t work. I have no choice but to show you what kind of family Astra is.”

Using the power of her family.

If it had been solely for her own sake, she wouldn’t have even considered it, but for Scarlet’s sake, it was different.

Even though she was just a nominal successor who mostly acted according to the will of the elders, there were countless things she could do with the slightest bit of power that name held.

Determined to get rid of such a shameless person for Scarlet’s happiness, Sylvia muttered to herself.

But Marin, perhaps relying on the prestige of her own parents, looked at Sylvia with a disdainful gaze and spoke.

“Go ahead, do as you please. Do you think I’d bat an eye at something like that? Threatening others for such a reason, you’re the worst.”

How can she be so shameless? Doesn’t she feel any shame for what she did?

Seeing Marin glaring and provoking her as if she had a face of steel, Sylvia spoke with genuine disgust.

“The worst would be you. Knowing the relationship between Scarlet and Yoon Si-woo, yet shamelessly taking Yoon Si-woo away... Even if Scarlet forgives you, I cannot forgive such an act. Just wait. Soon, the world will see your true colors.”

Upon hearing that, Marin made a strange expression and spoke.

“...Wait a minute, what did you just say?”

“Hah, what now? Are you suddenly scared? It’s too late. I won’t forgive you. Someone like you who tries to ruin Scarlet’s happiness.”

“No, no, weren’t you saying all this because you liked Yoon Si-woo?”

Suddenly, Sylvia’s face twisted in disbelief at the absurdity of Marin’s words.

Like him? Me? That guy?

Shocked at the outrageous statement, Sylvia shouted in anger.

“Of course not! That guy, who cheats on Scarlet! I already hate him to death!”

Hearing her, Marin showed a peculiar reaction.

She, who had been wearing a dazed expression, suddenly let out a hollow laugh.

Wondering if she had gone crazy, Sylvia stared at her as she sighed and muttered.

“Hey, I think you’ve got something wrong. Yoon Si-woo and I are just friends.”

Was she trying to deny it now? She should lie better.

Thinking so, Sylvia spoke.

“Do you think such a lie will work? I know very well that you had a matchmaking meeting with Yoon Si-woo.”

Marin laughed hollowly again and replied.

“I told you, I got rejected. Yoon Si-woo refused because he has someone he likes. So we decided to stay just friends. I’m not lying.”

Hearing that, Sylvia felt her brain freeze for a moment before asking again.

“...Rejected, and decided to stay friends?”

“Yeah, you might not believe it, but it’s true. The matchmaking meeting was something my parents forced on me in the first place...”

“...Then why did you get angry at my question earlier...”

"No, I just assumed you liked Yoon Si-woo. I thought you were hysterical because you were jealous of how close I got with him. How was I supposed to know you were that seriously involved in your friend's love life?"

Feeling the whispering of intuition, sensitive to the truth of what people said due to past wounds from others, Sylvia thought:

'...Huh? Why does this seem true?'

If what she said was true,

Yoon Si-woo wasn’t actually cheating,

And Marin had just gotten close to Yoon Si-woo because her parents forced her to go on a blind date.

In other words, it was all a misunderstanding on her part.

'Uh...uh, wait a minute... Then what on earth did I do... Ah...eh?'

Overwhelmed by the sudden, hard-to-accept reality, Sylvia felt as if the world was spinning before her eyes.

"Well, people can make mistakes."

Marin, speaking to her kindly, inadvertently sank her heart.

'Ah..... Aaaah!!!! What...what have I done!!!!! I’m such a fool! An idiot! A worthless sea cucumber!!!'

Recalling the things she had said to Marin, Sylvia felt herself slipping into a daze.

The shamelessness, the unforgivable accusations—she couldn't hate her past self more.

Her face flushed with shame, she wanted to hide in a hole, burying her head between her knees with her hands covering her face.

But she knew.

That no matter how much she wished, the things she had done wouldn’t disappear.

So she forced herself to stand up, repeatedly bowing her head and spitting out words of apology towards Marin.

"Ugh... I'm sorry! I... I didn’t know anything and... Ugh... I’m really sorry......"

"Ahaha... It’s okay, it’s okay. Well, it was a misunderstanding, so it’s understandable. Though it was a bit surprising."

Hearing Marin comfort her, Sylvia felt tears welling up.

'Ah...Ah... Thinking of such a kind person as trash makes me even more of a trash......'

As she was wallowing in self-blame, Marin smiled and asked,

"By the way, did you really think I took Yoon Si-woo from Scarlet?"

"Yes......"

"Hmm, so you’re rooting for those two as well. Ah, is it okay if I drop the honorifics? It feels awkward to suddenly be formal again."

Sylvia nodded to Marin’s question about dropping formal speech.

Whether it was formal or not, she had no choice but to do whatever Marin wanted now.

With such thoughts, Sylvia cautiously asked Marin,

"By the way, rooting for those two means......"

"Oh, I mean Scarlet and Yoon Si-woo. Don’t you feel like rooting for them when you see them together? They’re fun to watch. A bit frustrating, though."

"......Frustrating?"

"Well, it feels like their progress is too slow."

Sylvia was shocked by Marin’s words.

They were already at the stage of going to motels, and that was considered slow progress?

Could it be any faster?

While she was in shock, she remembered what kind of people Marin’s parents were and thought that it made sense.

After all, to a girl with parents famous for having a premarital child during their school days, anything else would seem frustrating.

As she pondered, she heard Marin mumbling.

"Well, watching them is not the only fun thing. It’s fascinating. Birds of a feather flock together."

Tilting her head in confusion, Marin waved her hand and said,

"Ahaha, don’t mind me. It’s nothing."

With that, Marin gently extended her previously waving hand.

As Sylvia stared blankly at the hand extended in front of her, Marin chuckled and said,

"Well, since we’re both rooting for those two, let’s get along."

*

After Sylvia, exuding a chilly aura, took Marin outside, I felt a bit anxious.

Without Marin, there was no one to control the unpredictable Florene, and I worried she might clash with Jessie, with whom she had quarreled before.

But the world of girls was far more profound than I had imagined.

“Hey! How can a girl go around looking like that? Wait a second, I’ll make you pretty.”

“Oh... I’m fine... Huh? Isn’t that a rare limited-edition cosmetic? I couldn’t get it even though I tried......”

“Hmm? I made this, so I have a few. Want one?”

“R...Really? Thank you!”

After chatting about cosmetics for a while, Jessie and Florene, who were previously at odds, were now getting along like old friends.

The world of girls was truly incomprehensible......

As I was thinking that, the two who had gone outside returned.

From the atmosphere earlier, it was easy to assume that a heroine catfight over the main character had taken place.

Honestly, I was worried that they had fought intensely, deepening their emotional rift, or that someone got hurt.

Love disputes are rarely clean.

I expected hair-pulling fights with accusations of "You thief!" or scary insults like "You have a talent for being a whore," which were the catfights I knew.

But the result was entirely different from what I had expected.

“......What did you two talk about?”

“Nothing much. Just agreed to get along from now on.”

Marin said with a smile, putting her hand on Sylvia’s shoulder.

With Sylvia’s personality, anyone touching her like that would have elicited a sharp reaction, but she just blushed and avoided my gaze.

What on earth had happened?

“Aaah! Marin, that’s unfair! I want to be friends with Sylvia too!”

Listening to Florene’s voice, I thought quietly.

Indeed, the world of girls was something I could never understand.

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