Chapter 33: Abbreviation

Humans are incredibly sensitive to gazes.

They can tell immediately when the way people look at them changes, even slightly.

That’s just the kind of creatures we are.

And I had personal proof of this.

The day I passed out during training and was carried to the infirmary.

The day I got caught by the second heroine’s fan club while returning some borrowed clothes, and got thoroughly beaten up.

The very next day, I instantly noticed that the way people looked at me had changed.

It was a different gaze.

One that had shifted from baseless hatred to justified fear.

Back then, I thought:

‘Just how badly did Christina scold them for them to change like this?’

‘How hard did she mess with their heads that the students who used to growl at me now couldn’t even meet my eyes?’

Anyway, humans are extremely sensitive to how others look at them.

And the reason I’m going on and on like this is—

“Seo-yeon, would you like to have lunch with me today?”

“···.”

—because our dear Heroine Number Two, who had promised to pretend I didn’t exist after our group project ended, clung to me the moment I returned from the infirmary to the classroom.

That’s why I had been rambling about people’s gazes just now.

“Your Highness.”

“Yes? Did you call me, Seo-yeon?”

“Other students are staring.”

Students who had just witnessed Christina and me standing together were whispering as they glanced over.

Of course, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand their reaction.

After all, the academy’s infamous outcast, ‘Lee Seo-yeon,’ and the idol of the entire student body, ‘Christina Valentine,’ standing so close together—who wouldn’t be curious?

I’d be curious too.

If a celebrity I liked were standing with my school’s biggest outcast, how could I not be curious?

Christina responded casually.

“It’s fine. They’re just staring because they’re jealous of you, Seo-yeon. Don’t pay them any mind.”

“······Jealous of me?”

“Yes, of course. I’m kind of famous, you know?”

“···.”

Then why is that ‘famous person’ sticking to me?

You made a promise, didn’t you?

That we’d go our separate ways once the group project was over.

Those bitter thoughts churned inside my mouth, but—

“Haha, how flattering.”

“Right? I’m happy you think so too, Seo-yeon.”

—what actually came out was a lonely laugh of agreement.

What else could I do?

If the Empire’s princess wants to act this way—

What could an orphaned outcast like me possibly do?

I saw it coming, didn’t I?

I figured something like this might happen.

The moment I heard Christina visited me while I was unconscious, I had a feeling this was where things would go.

Ever since the school nurse mentioned both the princess and Kim Soo-ho had visited me, I had been expecting—

“···.”

Suddenly, a thought struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Wait a minute.

She said Kim Soo-ho came to see me too.

Why did Kim Soo-ho come?

After our last confrontation, he—no, he and Seo-yeon—should’ve felt nothing but discomfort.

Hadn’t he already cut ties with me?

Ever since Seo-yeon started getting obsessive, he’d been doing his best to stay away, hadn’t he?

And I helped with that.

I helped the kind-hearted protagonist distance himself.

Helped him cut ties cleanly, quickly.

So he wouldn’t care about me—about Seo-yeon—anymore.

But why?

Why is he paying attention to me again?

Why?

There’s no reason.

He already has other people around him.

That pushy princess who suddenly started clinging to him.

That saint, more devoted and beautiful than anyone.

There are already two people who like him.

Two people who hate me more than anyone else, yet adore him so deeply.

Not a half-baked childhood friend like me, but real heroines love him now.

So why?

Why is he looking at me again?

I don’t understand it.

I really don’t understand anything…

“Seo-yeon?”

“······Yes?”

“What were you thinking about just now?”

“······Me?”

Christina suddenly asked what I’d been thinking about.

I couldn’t help but feel confused.

What?

I wasn’t thinking about anything in particular.

But Christina, instead of understanding, looked at me like I was the strange one.

“Yes. Your eyes just now… Wait, are they always that lifeless?”

“···.”

“I mean, you normally have dead-fish eyes, but just now it was even worse.”

Should I even believe what she’s saying?

Or is this just another one of her usual attempts to mess with me?

I went with the latter.

“Your Highness. If you want to tease me, you can just do it openly like usual.”

“No, I’m not teasing you— Wait a second. When have I ever openly teased you?”

“······Oh, you’re right. You’ve never openly bullied me.”

My tone was playful, but there was meaning hidden beneath the words.

You never harassed me openly.

But indirectly? From behind the scenes? That happened more times than I could count.

I knew it.

And she knew I knew.

“···.”

As if to prove it, Christina’s lips, which had been moving so freely, fell silent.

“Honestly, I don’t understand why you’re acting this way toward me all of a sudden, Your Highness.”

“···.”

“Didn’t we make a promise? That you wouldn’t bother me anymore after the group project was over?”

“······Seo-yeon.”

“But looking at you now… it doesn’t seem like you had any intention of keeping that promise.”

I pretended I had expected this all along—feigned resignation, pretended to understand.

But the truth was, I understood this situation less than anyone.

Less than the students whispering while watching us.

“Didn’t you hate me?”

“···.”

“I thought you said you liked Soo-ho. Then why are you paying attention to someone who might be your rival?”

Why?

Is there even a reason?

My mind swirled with endless thoughts and questions.

“I mean, sure, I protected you during the group project, but… that was part of our agreement.”

“···.”

“I, Seo-yeon will be a member of Christina’s party for the duration of the project. That’s all I was doing—keeping my end of the deal.”

“···.”

“So why aren’t you keeping your promise?”

Even an outcast orphan like me kept her word.

But you—an imperial princess and the academy’s shining star—can’t?

That genuinely confused me.

So I asked Christina directly.

Finally, her tightly sealed lips opened.

“······Seo-yeon. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“Sorry?”

“The obligation to keep promises lies with the stronger party.”

“···.”

What… did I just hear?

Did the Empire’s princess just say that the weak don’t have the right to expect anything?

“That’s right. I used to hate you.”

“······Thanks for being honest.”

“As you already know, I liked Soo-ho.”

“······Liked?”

What’s this strange feeling of dissonance?

It was like she was saying her past self felt that way, but not her present self.

And that assumption turned out to be exactly right.

“Yes. Things are different now.”

“Don’t tell me…”

“I still like Soo-ho, but not as much as before.”

“···.”

Wow.

I really lived long enough to hear Christina Valentine say she doesn’t like Kim Soo-ho as much anymore.

Stunned, I pinched my cheek.

“Ouch.”

“······What are you doing?”

“Just checking if this is a dream.”

The pain told me it wasn’t.

Good thing, I guess.

If this were a dream, I’d still be passed out in the infirmary.

“···.”

Christina’s previously serious face now looked utterly dumbfounded.

“Please try to understand. Honestly, it’s hard to believe.”

“······Was it that shocking?”

“Yeah. After all the crap you put me through because of Kim Soo-ho, and now you say you don’t even like him that much? Why wouldn’t I be surprised?”

Christina had tormented me endlessly just because she saw me as an obstacle to her love for Kim Soo-ho.

And now she says that love has cooled off?

How could I not be shocked?

Not being shocked would be the weirder reaction.

“······Anyway. The situation’s changed.”

“···.”

“And like I said earlier, the responsibility of keeping promises lies with me, not you.”

“······That’s… honestly too much.”

“Of course it is. But you already knew I wasn’t a good person, didn’t you?”

Of course I did.

That was the problem—I knew too well.

No truly good person would torment someone over uncertain feelings.

Whatever she thought of herself, Christina Valentine was a villain in my book.

I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid enough to call someone who bullied me ‘kind.’

“So just accept it.”

“···.”

“Accept your weakness, and even if you don’t like me, deal with it.”

“······Haha.”

“You’re the weak one. I’m the strong one.”

If you don’t like it, tough.

Her confident, villainous smile practically screamed those words.

“Well then, shall we go eat lunch?”

“······Haa. Do whatever you want.”

“Great! Just stick with me, Seo-yeon.”

All I could do was nod in resignation.

She was right.

I was the weak one.

And the weak have no right to oppose the strong.

Not when it comes to promises—whether they’re official or childish ones from long ago.

I just had to accept it.

My opinion didn’t matter in the slightest.