Chapter 6: Counsel

“These past few days…”

“…Huh?”

It was after school as usual, during study group.

While Marie was explaining a formula to Malcolm, Sierra leaned in close and whispered to me.

“Didn’t you and Marie get closer?”

Her voice was low enough that Malcolm and Marie wouldn’t hear.

When I glanced at her, she was looking at me with a rather amused expression.

“Why do you think that all of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden. It’s just obvious.”

I tried to brush it off, but her simple response left me speechless.

‘Is it that obvious?’

Not that I particularly mind if it is.

As Sierra pointed out, Marie had been acting especially friendly toward me lately.

“Emil! Did you sleep well? Let’s do our best today too!”

“Emil, teach me this too. …Huh? Oh, I—I forgot! One more time… Please?”

“Emil… Are you heading straight home after this? No, it’s just…”

Her attitude had changed drastically since the pop quiz.

‘And Malcolm’s reaction has changed too…’

As an additional outcome, Malcolm, who used to cling only to Sierra, had recently started showing interest in Marie as well.

Even now, instead of asking Sierra for an explanation, he had gone to Marie.

Swoosh…

At that moment, our eyes met.

Smirk.

Malcolm gave a subtle, almost imperceptible smile.

…Was he hoping I’d get jealous?

Of course, it was a small smile, but since I’d fallen for his tricks before, I noticed it right away.

Malcolm was wary of my relationship with Marie.

Which meant everything was going according to plan.

“So? What’s going on between you two?”

Sierra asked again as I exchanged glances with Malcolm.

“Why are you suddenly making such a fuss?”

“What do you mean, ‘suddenly’? I’m just curious.”

“Hmm, you usually only care about studying and have no interest in other people.”

“That’s rude. I’m actually very interested in romance, you know? You’re making it sound like I’m some golem that only thinks about studying.”

“You’re interested in romance?”

“Of course. It’s a common topic among girls. …And, for the record, I have more friends than you do.”

I couldn’t argue with Sierra’s point.

Yeah, well, it’s true I don’t have many friends.

It’s by choice, but still, I can’t deny it.

“So? …Hmph, judging by how you’re dodging the question, there really is something going on, huh?”

Since I didn’t respond, Sierra took it upon herself to continue the conversation.

‘This is a little tricky.’

It’s not that I don’t want to say anything.

But in the end, I don’t intend to end up with Marie.

So if I acknowledge her question now, it could cause trouble later.

What should I do?

After a moment of thought, I decided—

“What about you?”

“Huh? Me?”

I chose to redirect the conversation.

“I mean Malcolm.”

“If I’m wrong, my bad, but from what I see, Malcolm seems pretty interested in you.”

Looks like I made the right call.

Sierra, just like I had earlier, fell silent, struggling to find a response.

“Why do you care?”

And then, she turned my own question back on me.

Of course, I already had a response prepared.

“I told you, I’m very interested in romance.”

“…It’s nothing special. Malcolm is just naturally sociable. Unlike someone.”

“Really? If you say so.”

“…You’re annoying.”

“You’re the one who brought it up first.”

“Ugh…”

Sierra pursed her lips in frustration, clearly understanding my point.

‘Your question wasn’t exactly pleasant, you know?’

And as I expected, she didn’t ask anything else about Marie after that.

‘That aside, it seems like Sierra and Malcolm haven’t made any progress either.’

I also confirmed Malcolm’s state of mind.

Of course, it was obvious that Malcolm was very conscious of Marie right now.

But judging by Sierra’s reaction to my question, nothing major had happened between them.

Which meant I could proceed with my plan as intended.

At that moment—

“What are you two talking about?”

Marie, having finished her tutoring session with Malcolm, walked over to where Sierra and I were sitting.

Sierra, who had been sulking just moments ago, suddenly smirked as if she had come up with something.

What now?

“Just having a little secret chat with Emil.”

“…Huh?”

This little—

When I glared at her, Sierra smirked triumphantly.

She was getting her revenge in her own way.

And of course, her goal was—

“A secret chat…?”

To make Marie jealous.

‘She’s trying to mess with me and gauge Marie’s feelings at the same time.’

As expected from someone who earned second place in the rankings purely through effort, unlike me, who had the easy-mode advantage.

“What were you talking about…?”

Marie fell right into Sierra’s trap. Without even trying to hide it, she sat next to me and tugged at my sleeve.

Her soft pink eyes were practically begging me to tell her.

It was as if she was telepathically saying, ‘Tell me too…’

“Hmm… I see.”

Sierra, seeing Marie’s reaction, smiled in satisfaction.

As expected, she had confirmed the situation through Marie’s response.

Then—

Crack—

A small sound came from in front of us.

Looking toward the source, I saw a broken pencil lead.

Malcolm’s gaze was still on his textbook, but his grip on the pencil was tight, his fingers trembling slightly.

‘Oh, this is good…’

I smirked.

The two girls Malcolm had been interested in, Sierra and Marie.

It seemed that seeing them both engaged in a strange tension around me had really gotten to him.

And at the same time—

I recalled the moment in the first timeline.

When he stole Marie from me, kissed her, and then mercilessly beat me up.

…This feels great.

It was purely by chance, but thanks to Sierra’s little stunt, I got a good show out of it.

“It was nothing. Just some silly banter.”

Marie silently studied Emil’s expression as he tried to brush the topic aside.

Emil’s answer was simple: “It’s nothing.”

But Marie didn’t believe him.

‘What kind of secret do they have that only the two of them know?’

It bothered her.

Even though she knew she should be focusing solely on studying, that “secret” kept nagging at her mind.

And then—

“Let’s stop the chit-chat and focus again.”

Seeing Emil share something private with Sierra…

It made Marie feel an inexplicable sense of unease.

A very familiar unease.

‘It feels just like back then.’

Like when she watched Damian walk into his father’s study after being summoned.

At the time, she hadn’t understood what she was feeling.

But now, after experiencing what happened with Damian, Marie knew exactly what this feeling was telling her.

It was a warning.

A warning that something might be taken away from her.

And yet—

Even knowing that, Marie couldn’t do anything about it.

Should she cling to Emil and ask until he gives her an answer?

Just like when she used to follow her brother around as a child?

Would she feel relieved if he said there was nothing going on?

But if…

If he said there was something…

Marie shook her head lightly.

‘I can’t focus on studying because of Emil.’

This midterm exam was more important than anything to her.

Yet here she was, wasting her thoughts on the boy sitting next to her.

If Damian found out, he would definitely look at her with disappointment.

And that was something Marie absolutely did not want to experience.

But still…

Still, she couldn’t get Emil out of her mind.

So, after school, when the study group session was over—

“Malcolm…”

“Hm?”

Marie stayed behind after letting Emil and Sierra leave, taking the chance to talk to Malcolm alone.

Seeking his advice was nothing new.

As her longtime friend, Malcolm knew everything—from her being an illegitimate child to her strained relationship with Damian.

That’s why Marie wanted to talk to him about this too.

“I… I have something I really want to say.”

The setting sun cast an orange glow over the empty classroom.

Malcolm blinked at her words, looking momentarily dazed.

Then, scratching his head with slightly flushed cheeks, he nodded.

“Okay… What is it?”

Thankfully, Malcolm was willing to listen.

That alone made Marie smile brightly, feeling grateful for her kind friend.

So, she confided in him.

“Emil… he…”

“Huh?”

“What do you think Emil and Sierra’s relationship is?”

“…Emil?”

The moment she asked that question, Malcolm’s previously warm expression hardened into something cold.

“—So anyway, right when my brother was about to leave, I suddenly heard Emil’s voice…!”

Leaning against the windowsill side by side, Marie spoke with excitement.

Her signature pink eyes sparkled as she recounted the story, clearly giddy with excitement.

And Malcolm—

Tightly…

As he listened to her cheerful story, his hand clenched around the windowsill.

The feeling surging through him was unmistakable—displeasure.

‘She’s making that face… while talking about him.’

Not just his hands—his clenched jaw, too, held tension.

‘Marie… why are you talking about Emil like this…?’

Why was he feeling this way?

He had always listened to Marie’s troubles before.

Yet never had he felt such an unpleasant sensation while doing so.

And then—

“So… I guess you could say Emil has been on my mind lately. Ah, you know how important this midterm is to me, right?!”

“…Yeah.”

“But I keep thinking about Emil, and I can’t focus at all! What should I do? Do you have any good ideas?”

What answer should he give her?

What would he normally say?

‘Just ask him directly. Or I could ask for you?’

That’s what he would usually say.

But this time, he couldn’t.

His mind was a tangled mess, full of thoughts that made his head spin.

Why was he feeling this way toward his childhood friend?

The answer came to him immediately.

Jealousy?

No.

It was possessiveness.

Marie had always been there with him, ever since they were young.

Somewhere along the way, Malcolm had begun to think of her as someone he had to protect and take care of—like a younger sister.

But now—

Hearing her talk about another boy with such a happy expression—

It made his stomach churn.

So—

“I don’t know for sure.”

“Yeah?”

For the first time in his life—

“Emil and Sierra…”

Instead of giving Marie advice for her sake—

“Maybe they like each other?”

“What?”

—He told a lie, for his own sake.

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