Chapter 134: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 134
Silver hair that shimmered and rippled like waves when touched by sunlight.
And slightly pointed ears, more so than those of ordinary people, that occasionally twitched depending on her mood.
There were times when, while sitting in class and listening to the lecture, I would find myself absentmindedly staring at Sylvia, who sat in front of me to my left, captivated by the sight of her back.
After we became closer, whenever she noticed my gaze, she would often turn around and give me a sweet, smiling glance.
But today, something was different.
"...Huh."
I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination, but every time I looked at Sylvia today, she seemed to shrink back, visibly flustered.
Come to think of it, we hadn’t even greeted each other this morning.
Her reaction today was completely different from usual.
I couldn’t help but chuckle wryly as I thought about what might be causing Sylvia to act this way.
The day I moved out of Sylvia’s mansion and into Yoon Si-woo’s house.
I remembered the image of Sylvia, tearfully opposing my decision, almost desperate to keep me from leaving.
From my perspective, it was a decision made with both our best interests in mind, but to her, I might have seemed cruel for leaving without properly explaining my reasons.
But I couldn’t bring myself to tell her everything about my situation.
If she knew, she would’ve surely gone out of her way to help me, and I didn’t want to see her struggle like that.
As I pondered how to apologize to her, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, making me bite my lip.
If I apologized, Sylvia, being the kind-hearted person she was, would surely forgive me. But if I kept my distance, maybe I could create some space between us that had grown too close.
Even when I faced difficult times, even when I announced my departure from the mansion.
Remembering the emotional turmoil Sylvia had shown made my heart ache, but I felt that it might be better for both of us if I kept some distance.
Especially considering the shock she might face because of me in the future.
So, when the class ended and lunchtime arrived, I stood up, determined.
Leaving Sylvia, who I usually went to lunch with, behind.
However, my plan to have lunch alone was abruptly thwarted.
“...Um, Scarlet... Just a moment, please.”
Sylvia quickly stood up, grabbing the hem of my clothes from behind.
A wave of guilt washed over me, and I wanted to apologize right then and there. But I forced myself to maintain a neutral expression as I turned to her.
"...What's the matter?"
"I have something I want to say... Can you please come with me for a moment?"
I didn’t know what she wanted to say, but her expression was so desperate that I couldn’t refuse and nodded in agreement.
Could she be asking me to return to the mansion?
That thought crossed my mind, but as I followed Sylvia to a secluded area behind the courtyard, what she did was completely unexpected.
“I’m sorry... Really, I’m so sorry, Scarlet...”
Sylvia, who had called me out, looked as if she was about to cry as she bowed her head and apologized.
...I’m the one who did something wrong, so why is Sylvia apologizing?
I was momentarily taken aback and tried to stop her, but she began apologizing before I could.
"...You know, the truth is, the reason you were kicked out of the house that time... It was all because I asked your guardian to do it. I thought living in the mansion would be better for you, Scarlet... I’m really sorry...”
I tilted my head, not understanding what she meant, then I was shocked as realization dawned.
"...What? So, the eviction notice I got, telling me to move out... that was...?”
“...Yes, it was me. I did it so you would stay at the mansion...”
...Her unexpected confession left my head spinning.
Now that I think about it, Sylvia had visited me the day before I moved into the mansion.
I remembered how shocked she was when she saw the place I had been living in.
Considering she lived in such a luxurious mansion, it was no wonder that my previous home looked like a doghouse in comparison. Of course, she would have been worried about me...
No wonder the move had been so sudden, yet so meticulously planned.
I never would’ve guessed there was such a backstory behind it.
But still, was that really something she needed to bow her head and apologize for?
All she had done was show me kindness.
But Sylvia kept her head bowed deeply, as if she were a criminal confessing to a terrible crime, repeatedly apologizing.
“I did something terrible without even knowing... It wasn’t until after you left the mansion that I realized how awful I had been. I’m really, truly sorry... I sincerely apologize...”
“No, you don’t need to apologize like that...”
“No, I do... Now I understand how much pain I must have caused you, Scarlet...”
I tried to stop Sylvia from continuing to apologize, but she was so haunted by her guilt that she persisted, refusing to be consoled.
At this point, I was more flustered than anything.
I was the one who should be apologizing, so why was she...
However, Sylvia, with a face full of guilt, spoke to me.
"...I’m not asking for forgiveness. I won’t even ask you to stay friends with me or anything like that. I don’t want to remind you of any bad memories... So, you don’t need to be nice to me anymore. I’m really sorry for everything..."
With those words, Sylvia turned and ran off into the distance.
...What was that all about?
It seemed like I had succeeded in creating some distance between us, but I was left with an uneasy feeling.
*
After finishing my conversation with Sylvia, I headed to the dining hall, where Jessie and Mei were already seated, waving at me. I took the empty seat between them.
I put some food into my mouth, but the image of Sylvia apologizing earlier kept swirling in my head, and I couldn't enjoy the meal.
No matter how I thought about it, she hadn’t really done anything wrong.
...Maybe I should bring her some macarons later and tell her it’s okay.
Even though I had decided to put some distance between us, I was reminded of how hard it actually is to drift apart from someone you’ve grown close to. As I was pondering this, a loud voice suddenly echoed from afar.
“Ahhhh! There she is!”
I looked in the direction of the high-pitched, childlike voice and saw Florene Dolos, her pink twin-tails flying as she dashed toward me.
She may look small, but being from the Dolos family, she had physical abilities that would put most heroes to shame.
If she kept running toward me like that, it could be more dangerous than getting hit by a dump truck.
I considered jumping out of the way, but Florene skidded to a halt right in front of me, leaving skid marks on the ground.
Then, she bowed deeply, nearly bending in half, and shouted at the top of her lungs.
“I’M SORRYYYYY!!!”
It was the loudest apology I had ever heard, one that left everyone around bewildered.
But another apology?
I started to wonder if maybe there was some new trend of apologizing to me that I wasn’t aware of. Just then, I noticed Marin running over from a distance, urgently hitting Florene on the head.
“Florene! Didn’t I tell you not to shout like that in crowded places?”
“Ow! Hehe, right? I forgot because I was in a hurry.”
“Sorry, Scarlet. That must have startled you, right? Florene wanted to apologize to you, so we’ve been looking for you all through lunchtime.”
I nodded at Marin’s explanation and then turned to Florene.
“...Are you apologizing for what happened during the interrogation?”
“Yes! I wanted to apologize last week, but you didn’t come out last week!”
As she said that, Florene bowed her head again and apologized.
“I’m sorry! My dad’s usually really strict, so if something bothers him, he doesn’t let it go! And if I hadn’t suggested going to the front lines, none of this would have happened. That’s why I came to apologize to you!”
Marin gave Florene a strange look, seemingly puzzled by her cheerful demeanor while apologizing.
Even someone like Marin, who had known Florene for a long time, seemed to find her overly bright attitude during an apology odd.
Of course, someone else might have been angry with Florene, but since I knew from the original story that she was naturally like this, I just let it go.
...Still, one person was feeling overly guilty for something minor, while the other didn’t seem sorry enough. It was a strange contrast.
If only Sylvia and Florene could have been a bit more like each other...
With that thought, I lifted Florene’s head.
“...It’s fine, so there’s no need to apologize.”
“Really?! Wow! Thank you! Here, I brought these cosmetics as a gift for you. Take them! A girl should always keep herself pretty!”
“...No thanks, I don’t really use makeup.”
“Haha, no refusal allowed, just take it!”
I tried to refuse, but Florene was insistent, so I had no choice but to accept the shopping bag she handed me.
Once I accepted the cosmetics, Florene finally seemed satisfied and disappeared somewhere.
I sighed, feeling drained.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of someone like Florene who seemed to live without a care in the world.
If only I could live like that...
As I sighed, Jessie, sitting next to me, murmured with sparkling eyes.
“...Scarlet, those are really hard to come by.”
“...Do you want them?”
“Uh... No? As much as I’d like to, I can’t accept a gift that was meant for you, Scarlet...”
Seeing how interested Jessie was in the cosmetics, I thought about giving them to her, but since she refused, I decided to keep them.
I’ll never use them, so I guess I can sell them later for some emergency cash.
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And she's definitely going to use them now. Somehow
ReplyDeleteDefinitely on an unintentional date with Si-Woo.
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