Ch.80Praester’s Hypothesis (3)

As I turned to look at the twins who were clutching my clothes, they let go as if they hadn’t realized what they were doing.

Maybe they thought Daisy was taking me away. Though really, I was the one leaving.

I felt I needed to talk with Daisy, but the problem was there were too many people around for that.

The twins were one thing, but Judy too… I hadn’t even spoken with her yet.

It wasn’t that I was unhappy about Daisy becoming my partner, but having to be torn away from Judy like this made my heart ache.

I had thought I could be her strength. I believed that since we shared the same wounds, we would support each other through life.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Anyway, it was already in the past. Holding on would only bring more pain.

Just as the twins would make things difficult for themselves by not letting me go, if I didn’t let Judy go, both she and Daisy would suffer.

“…Do you have… time?” Daisy asked, watching me as I stood there lost in thought.

I nodded, glanced once at Judy, then spoke to the twins.

“…Kids. Let’s part ways here for today.”

“……”

“…Escort…” Asena mentioned escorting, but both she and I knew this wasn’t really about needing protection. She just didn’t like me talking with Daisy.

I didn’t want to argue for long. Having made my position clear today, that had become my weapon.

“I still don’t understand why you’re trying to expel me.”

“……”

“I told you. I don’t want to be someone who can’t do anything. So… don’t hold me back now. I won’t listen to unreasonable tantrums anymore. Or tell me the reason right now.”

“…”

Kirsy lowered her head and walked past me first.

Asena also mulled over my words for a moment before moving on.

Kirsy walked up to where Daisy was… then slowed down beside her, glaring at her as she passed.

What wrong had Daisy done? I was surprised by Kirsy’s behavior, and I wanted to say something about her rudeness, but I felt too drained to act.

Asena heard my sigh, looked at me once, then simply ignored Daisy as she walked past.

After the twins disappeared, I looked at Judy who remained.

“……”

I opened my mouth but no words came out. In truth, I should have spoken with Judy before talking to Daisy.

But everything had happened so quickly that the timing got messed up. I never expected to be involved with someone else so soon.

It was painful that my first words to Judy after that incident would be like this, but I spoke anyway.

“…Judy. You should also go in—”

“—It’s fine.”

Judy cut me off.

I blinked for a moment and asked, “…What?”

“…I’ll still be Daisy’s escort.”

She spoke stiffly with a hardened expression.

Not wanting to show her me talking with Daisy, I suggested once more.

“…Judy, I can be the escort…”

“……Caden.”

Finally, Judy’s expression wavered as she called my name.

And sure enough. As she wavered, my heart became firmer. No, rather than becoming firm… as she wavered, I steeled myself.

If I wavered here, it would only be hard for both of us.

Pretending not to notice anything, I hardened my expression.

Judy continued, “…After you finish talking with Daisy… talk with me for a bit too.”

My gaze shifted to Daisy who remained.

Perhaps because she was now my betrothed, I felt instinctively that her opinion should be considered regarding this promise to meet Judy after our conversation late at night.

Before I could verbally ask her, Daisy nodded first.

“…Yes. Of course that’s fine.”

Then she lowered her voice and said, “…You need to resolve things.”

****

We walked along the night path, relying on moonlight. Daisy and I walked together, with Judy following ten steps behind.

I steeled my heart. As if everything had been a duty, I intended to show Judy an unwavering appearance. This would make it easier for her to detach from me.

“…Huff.”

I sighed and put aside thoughts of Judy. I needed to pay attention to Daisy beside me, not just think about Judy.

“…You must be troubled?” Daisy asked me lightly. From her first question, I could feel how considerate she was of me.

“…Ahaha.”

I gave a weak laugh. I didn’t pretend to be strong. There was no point in pretending since she would see through the lie immediately, and I had already shown her my vulnerable side several times.

“…Looking at you, Caden, it seems you’ve been through a lot.”

“…Hardship?”

“You have siblings with strong personalities to take care of… family issues… and all the things you get involved in…”

“Everyone has their own burdens to bear.”

“…Still. Now you even have marriage issues. Just a few days ago, you told me you were going to marry Judy.”

“…That’s true.”

The gap between Daisy and me gradually narrowed. Was it because it was dark? With each step, Daisy came slightly closer until her shoulder was almost touching my arm.

“Caden. You don’t… dislike me, do you?”

“What?”

“Even if it was for a short time… you must have shared your heart with Judy as your friend and potential spouse. Are you disappointed that I’ve become your partner instead…?”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Her honest words made me honest as well. When someone opens their heart, I couldn’t be rude enough to hide my feelings.

“…As I’ve said many times, Daisy, you’re someone I respect. Having you as my partner is nothing short of a blessing.”

Thinking about it, this is actually crazy. Being reincarnated as a commoner in this novel and ending up with the character I liked most in the world-building. How would one even calculate these odds?

“…But… Judy… I mean…”

I hesitated as I continued. There’s a fine line between being honest and saying unnecessary things.

“…Yes. Well, I am troubled.”

So I ended my statement vaguely. Daisy seemed to understand my feelings and didn’t press further.

“…If I were in your position, I’d feel the same way. When your betrothed changes overnight… you’d wander, looking for a place to settle your heart.”

“……”

Daisy was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath. From that moment, a warm feeling began to emanate from her shoulder. Not her body temperature, but her heart reaching out to me.

“…But now, settle with me.”

“…Pardon?”

I was inwardly surprised by Daisy’s words as she suddenly closed the distance.

This side of her was unfamiliar to me.

I had never seen this aspect of her while reading the book, nor did I expect to see it.

Daisy approaching me with romantic feelings was, as she always had been, upright and unwavering.

“Settle with me, Caden. I’ll be your strength.”

“……”

No matter how much I mulled over her words, I couldn’t get used to them. Perhaps it’s because we had never had this kind of conversation before.

With Judy, being friends, we had shared various jokes and teasing to close the distance, so I only felt slight awkwardness. But with Daisy, with whom I had maintained a consistent distance while only exchanging words of encouragement, this felt strange.

I didn’t dislike it, but I had a few questions.

“…Daisy, you’re not forcing yourself, are you?”

“…What?”

Since we hadn’t been this close, I was worried that she, being so diligent, might be pushing herself.

“…Pfft.”

Daisy burst into laughter at my words. She found it so funny that she stopped walking and laughed for quite a while.

After laughing for a while, she wiped her tears and said to me, “No, Caden. I’m not forcing myself.”

“…I see.”

“To be honest… I think I’ve developed feelings for you.”

“…What?”

As Daisy started walking again, I followed her.

“…When did it start? From the moment you gave me a flower, saying I was the most beautiful? From the moment you directly said you wanted to be my escort? From when I realized your upright character? From when we were together every day? From when you protected me from the bees? From when you took my side instead of the twins’? From when you sent food to our territory?”

“………”

After saying that, Daisy looked up at me and smiled. Despite the night, somehow her smile was clearly visible.

“…Hearing all this, I have quite a few reasons to like you, don’t I?”

“……..”

“But I think I realized my feelings… when I heard you were going to marry Judy. At that time… I felt a bit uncomfortable.”

Daisy spoke honestly. Then, she looked up at me for a moment.

“You understand, right? I’ve been honest with you, Caden. So please be honest with me too.”

“About what?”

“………Caden. Did you… have feelings for me too?”

Once again, a big step. Daisy approaches me.

“It’s hard to believe that everything you’ve done for me was just kindness. You’ve consistently done this only for me, not anyone else…”

I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came out. As she said, the truth was so clearly visible, yet acknowledging it was so difficult. Is the heart always like this?

…..No. That’s not it.

The reason I can’t speak is.

“…Focus on me, Caden.”

Daisy whispered in a small voice, almost like she was pouting.

Yes, the reason I couldn’t easily acknowledge that fact was probably because of Judy walking behind us.

And I realized that when Daisy said it. Unconsciously, I was still thinking about Judy while pretending not to.

While Daisy understood, rudeness was still rudeness, and it was something I needed to overcome.

Let me think about this separate from Judy. I resolve once more.

With that mindset, answering wasn’t difficult. After all, it was an attraction I had openly shown.

“You’re right, Daisy. I did have positive feelings toward you.”

“……”

“Not quite… love, but as you said, perhaps attraction.”

“…Why?”

To Daisy’s questioning, I replied with a smile.

“…Actually, I somehow knew about you even before coming to the Academy.”

“…What? About me?”

“Somehow, yes. So everything you did caught my eye. And that only generated positive feelings.”

Being nighttime, I couldn’t see her reaction clearly. I could only infer her emotions from her slightly awkward steps and her straightened head.

Daisy didn’t speak for a long time. Only the sound of our footsteps became our conversation.

After walking around the girls’ dormitory once, the entrance where we would go in appeared in the distance.

And then, I felt a soft touch on my pinky finger.

Daisy had carefully hooked her pinky with mine.

“…..”

Now I noticed that her stride had also shortened, and she was lowering her head as if hiding it from me.

“…Caden. I know you’re confused.”

She said.

“…But just as I became yours, you became mine. So…”

She didn’t finish her sentence. There was no need to. Roughly, it seemed like a signal to forget about Judy.

It seemed less like she was doing this because she liked me, and more like she was acting first for our sake. To make it easier to sort out our feelings.

“……”

I nodded and didn’t pull my finger away. Like that, only when we reached the dormitory entrance did Daisy release my finger.

Now I could properly see Daisy in the light coming from the building. Her face was flushed.

She glanced at Judy who was walking behind us, then said to me.

“…Finish up… well.”

Then, without lingering, she turned and entered the dormitory.

I stared at the dormitory where Daisy had entered for a long time.

Now it was time to turn around and talk with Judy.

But for some reason, my body wouldn’t turn.

After taking three deep breaths, I decided to turn around.

I inhaled.

…..Once.

…..Twice.

-Thump.

At that moment, something wrapped around my waist.

Looking down, I saw two trembling arms embracing me.

“…Judy.”

“……..”

Like her, I couldn’t find words for a while.

Finally, patting her arms that were embracing me, I quietly said.

“…I’m sorry.”

The trembling of her embrace intensified.

Since she was about my height, I felt something hot flowing down from her face buried against my back.

“…Caden… how could this happen?”

She asked me with a tearful voice. Hearing her voice, I bit my lip.

“…I… I must have expected a lot… without realizing it… you, who would be completely on my side for the first time…”

“…….”

“…How can something be given and then taken away like this…?”

I suppressed even my sighs as much as possible. I didn’t show signs of being troubled. But no matter how much I tried to hide my feelings, she probably knew how I felt to some extent.

“…I’m sorry.”

I said once more. That was all I could say.

“…Can’t we… somehow be together again? I’ll talk to my father well… so you too—”

“—Judy.”

The more she revealed her honest feelings, the heavier my heart became. So here, I made a decision. To draw a clear line.

“…It’s already over.”

“……..”

-Thud.

Her trembling stopped, and she bumped her forehead against my back once. As if she had weakly hit me.

Of course, my back didn’t hurt, but it hurt my heart.

She released her arms.

And trudged toward the dormitory.

I started taking deep breaths again.

I felt like I had to.

Judy’s footsteps, heading into the dormitory, stopped at the entrance.

She turned her head slightly to look at me.

After mumbling, she finally said.

“……Caden. Couldn’t I… even be a concubine?”

Only then could I feel how much strength I had been to her. How much must she have looked forward to marrying me to say such things? How much could she not let go? How hard must it be to remain alone in the Ice Family?

What feelings must she have had to mention becoming a concubine, having lived a difficult life as an illegitimate daughter?

After a long time without answering, I finally managed to say.

“…You know it’s not something I can decide.”

“…….”

She seemed to accept this and disappeared into the building without saying anything more.

****

Immediately after her conversation with Caden, Daisy went up to her room.

Her room, which she entered while sorting through numerous emotions.

-Creak.

Inside, besides her roommate, there were two more people.

Familiar faces.

Asena Praester and

Kirsy Praester were sitting on the sofa.

“…Daisy. Let’s talk.”

As soon as she entered the room, Asena spoke coldly.