Ch.110110. Inner Thoughts

Celia didn’t like Alkine.

…Let me correct that. It wasn’t that she disliked her. If anything, she rather liked her.

It was simply uncomfortable knowing they had feelings for the same person.

Of course, Ludion was publicly known for his abilities and strength, and his appearance was incomparably handsome, so there were many who admired him.

However… those people either didn’t dare approach him from the start or were stopped by Celia. They never even had a chance to get close.

But Alkine was different from those people.

Ludion treated her kindly… just as he did with Celia.

Alkine was already someone who had entered Ludion’s circle of relationships.

Having spent all this time with Ludion, Celia knew. She knew how incredibly soft he was toward people who entered his life.

Anyone could see how he would look exasperated but ultimately give in to whatever unreasonable demands were made of him, no matter how ridiculous.

Honestly, she couldn’t say she hadn’t taken advantage of that.

She had often relied on his kindness… occasionally making up flimsy excuses to fulfill her desires.

The tracking and surveillance magic she had placed on him was a prime example. She never thought he would actually allow it, but… anyway.

Celia had a headache knowing this.

It made her uncomfortable that Alkine was someone who could also rely on Ludion’s soft nature.

Yet she herself had been selfishly exploiting Ludion’s gentle side all this time.

-“You probably already know, but I’ll tell you anyway. I like Ludion too. So much that I don’t know what to do with myself.”

-“But regardless of my feelings for Ludion, I’m happy that you’re on Ludion’s side.”

Suddenly, she remembered what Alkine had said on the day she confessed.

At that time, she had hoped Ludion would firmly reject her.

Though she didn’t expect it, knowing he couldn’t do that. Deep down, she had hoped Alkine would return with a disappointed expression.

Celia hated this selfish side of herself.

She hated how she had arranged a date between Alkine and Ludion for his sake, only to regret it when she saw how much progress they had made.

She hated how Alkine’s presence made her feel so anxious all by herself.

‘Does Ludion know how much I’m agonizing over this?’

He probably didn’t know.

She had hidden it, hoping he wouldn’t find out.

She didn’t particularly want to show him this side of herself.

Despite all this overthinking, there was actually a way to resolve everything.

She could just ignore Ludion’s wishes and push her feelings onto him.

He would probably be a bit flustered at first but would soon accept it.

It would be easy. To restrict Ludion’s choices and actions by wielding her affection.

But… she shouldn’t cross that line.

Their bodies might grow closer, but their hearts would drift apart. That would be meaningless.

‘In the end, I have no choice but to maintain this ambiguous relationship.’

The longer this relationship continued, the more she would have these ugly, selfish thoughts.

Because Alkine was an attractive person.

She would continue to be bothered by Alkine’s presence and end up hating herself for it.

But… unless Ludion pushed Alkine away, there was no other solution.

So, Celia didn’t like Alkine.

Conversely, Alkine liked Celia.

How could she not like someone who, despite clearly loving Ludion so much that she didn’t want to give him up to anyone, still gave her a chance?

Was it just a chance? She even went so far as to push her own feelings forward, saying it was to raise her favorability.

Regardless of the reason, that wasn’t something easily done. If it had been her, she would have tried to monopolize Ludion by any means necessary.

If Celia had acted like her, she would have had to do something unsavory to wedge herself between them.

But Celia didn’t avoid it. Alkine thought that fact alone was remarkable.

‘How can she do that?’

Celia might not realize it, but Ludion was incredibly weak when it came to her.

Of course, he was kind to Alkine too, but with Celia, he was soft to the point of foolishness.

For example… the magic currently attached to Ludion.

Though her senses only vaguely detected it, it seemed to be some kind of surveillance magic.

Celia wouldn’t be maintaining that secretly; she must have gotten permission.

If she had asked Ludion for something similar, would he have nodded in agreement?

Probably not. He would have refused, saying something like, “Even so, this is a bit…”

Trust. Ludion had an unusual tendency to trust Celia.

No matter what action or words came from Celia, he would have an attitude of “she must have her reasons.”

Why would someone receiving such trust look after her? It was truly puzzling.

…No, actually, she knew why.

Unlike herself, who merely pretended to be mature by imitating her father, Celia was truly a mature person.

She was someone who, despite outwardly showing her desires, knew when to give up for Ludion’s sake.

That’s why Alkine could feel at ease.

It was clear that even if she became a nuisance in their current relationship, Celia wouldn’t push her away.

‘…I see.’

Now she understood why Ludion trusted her.

Deep down, he was certain that she wouldn’t act unreasonably.

‘This is bad.’

At this rate, the spot right beside Ludion would ultimately be taken by Celia… but somehow, she felt it would be okay to lose to someone like her.

Because in the end, she wouldn’t just push her own desires but would find a path for everyone.

So, Alkine liked Celia.

“…”

“…”

After revealing their innermost thoughts without holding back, the two remained silent for a long time, organizing their thoughts.

The first to break the silence was Celia, who had brought Alkine here and started this conversation.

“What’s with you? Just giving compliments. You’re making me look bad with all my self-deprecation.”

Despite her gruff tone, she couldn’t hide the joy in her voice.

She hadn’t expected Alkine to see her that way, and she seemed a bit embarrassed.

“I meant it. So… I had no idea you were thinking like that.”

Alkine seemed genuinely surprised.

She was the latecomer in this situation, so she hadn’t expected Celia to be so concerned about her presence.

Perhaps their sincerity had connected. Somehow, they felt much closer to each other.

So, the two began to discuss their current relationship more deeply.

“I want the spot right next to Ludion. I don’t like anyone coming between us.”

“I feel the same, but somehow I think you’ll be the one right beside him no matter what I do.”

“When you say it like that, you make me sound like the bad person.”

Celia said this, but she knew Alkine didn’t mean it that way.

“Does it come across that way? But Celia, you want to occupy the closest position even if it means being the bad person, right?”

“Of course.”

That’s why she could answer Alkine’s question so directly.

Hearing this, Alkine smiled slightly and said casually:

“Don’t worry about selfishness or whatever. Just do what you want. I’ll do the same.”

It was a kind of challenge, but she immediately regretted saying it.

Thinking about it, she realized her chances weren’t that great.

Celia seemed to have the same thought as she blinked and looked at Alkine.

“Alkine.”

“Yes?”

“Can you handle those words?”

“…No.”

At this moment, Alkine thought she was such a fool for getting caught up in the atmosphere and saying something unnecessary.

Seeing Alkine like this, Celia chuckled and said:

“I’ll let you take it back if you want.”

“I take it back.”

“No.”

“…”

“I’m joking.”

After lightening the mood with a joke, Celia enjoyed a brief moment of silence before gently bringing the conversation to a close.

“My thoughts are a bit clearer now. I’ll continue as I have been. However… I might say some unpleasant things to you in the future, so be careful.”

“That’s not particularly welcome news for me.”

“You brought this on yourself. Accept it.”

“Oh my… how did we end up falling for the same man?”

And so, their conversation about their true feelings ended in quite a light atmosphere.

And then…

“By the way, Alkine.”

“Yes?”

“While we’ve been agonizing like this, Ludion probably hasn’t given it much thought, has he?”

The conversation topic suddenly shifted to Ludion.

“Oh, come on. Surely not.”

Alkine said this, but somehow she felt that Ludion would be exactly as Celia described.

Setting aside talk about unconsciously trusting Celia more, he seemed to be thinking of accepting both of them.

There was a high possibility he hadn’t thought about Celia and Alkine’s inner struggles at all.

Thinking about it that way, it did seem a bit vexing, as Celia suggested.

The treatment of a capable man was so unfair.

“I’ve been very patient. So I’ve been thinking… since we’re in this situation, would you like to help me?”

“What are you planning?”

“If we go now, it’ll just be Ludion and us, right? No one else will come, so during that time…”

As Celia continued speaking, Alkine’s face grew increasingly red.

From this, one could guess that their conversation wasn’t about simple teasing.

A moment later, after Celia had conveyed everything, she asked:

“What do you think? Are you willing to help?”

“Wait, Celia. But Ludion didn’t do this to torment us…”

“Are you in or out? Just tell me that.”

“…I’m in.”

“I thought so.”

While the two were having this conversation, Ludion was waiting for them, completely unaware of what was coming.