Chapter 31: Dream (2)

 

[ T/N: For the fastest release, read on ReadingPia.me ]

 

“Are you going to join our family as a vassal?”

 

Judy’s high-pitch voice seemed to tell how surprised she was.

 

“Shh..!”

 

I covered her mouth with my hand and looked around us.

 

It was attracting attention, but everyone quickly got back to what they were doing.

 

“…I still want to keep it a secret. I couldn’t quite decide which family to go to. I'm just asking first.”

 

Judy removed my hand and spoke in a lower voice.

 

“...You seem to forget it sometimes, but our families are hostile…! Even if I’m not talking about other things… wouldn't it be humiliating to come into our family and obey orders?”

 

“It’s meaningful because it’s the Ice Family, Judy.”

 

“What?”

 

“Because we’re hostile… If there’s a problem, I can help to serve as a dialogue between the Pryster and the Ice family.”

 

“…..”

 

“To exaggerate, I might be able to prevent future wars. Even if… the twins are ashamed of me and don’t like to think of me as a Pryster, we still get along. I can either convince the twins or convince the Ice Duke in such a case... Can't I come forward when the conflict intensifies?”

 

“…”

 

“And when it comes to humiliation… it’s pretty obvious that my efforts were ignored by my younger sisters…”

 

Judy squatted down. Putting her elbows on her knees, she sighed.

 

“Even if you say that, doesn’t it mean that you'll live for twins till the end?”

 

“…well, it’s because I can’t hate them. But again, I keep getting hurt when I try to stick with them... I feel bad...”

 

“…It still feels stupid.”

 

“…Think your own way.”

 

Judy frowned at the bright sunlight and looked up at me.

 

“…will you do it for everyone you like?”

 

“Well? What?”

 

“…Your friend... Will you love me too like twins?”

 

“……”

 

I scratched my head.

 

“I don’t know either.”

 

Judy also said while scratching her head like me.

 

“…Our family always receives vassals. But… you are a Pryster. I am not sure.”

 

“….okay?”

 

“Yes. So I’m going to write a letter to my father.”

 

I was surprised by her choice.

 

I hoped that something like this would happen to some extent, but it was impressive that she was so willing to send a letter to the Duke of Ice.

 

“…is it okay?”

 

I politely asked once.

 

Judy said with a very subtle smile.

 

“…if it’s father, it’s fine.”

 

“……”

 

I didn’t say anything else.

 

I just thanked her and patted her on the shoulder.

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

After class, Sir Horslow stopped everyone.

 

When he did this kind of thing, usually big things happened; when I first got Storm, when the jousting tournament was held, both times we were gathered like this. So in my experience, another big event must be approaching.

 

Sir Horslow stood on the podium and a worker, who helped with the class, passed him a list.

 

He looked at the list carefully and glanced at the students once.

 

We didn’t know what was going on, so we just looked at each other nervously.

 

When Sir Horslow’s eyes skimmed past me, my curiosity began to grow.

 

“What is that?”

 

When I asked Judy, she shook her head as if she didn’t know either.

 

Sir Horslow remained silent for a while, then lowered the list and said:

 

“It’s been a few weeks since you started training. As you can see, there are still a lot of immature students, but there are a lot of good students as well.”

 

The students stood firm at the sound of his voice.

 

Though not everyone looked into his eyes.

 

“The good students must have mastered the basics through hard work. So they don’t have to waste time in a place like this.”

 

“…yes?”

 

I listened to him, thinking that perhaps it was something crazy like leaving the academy.

 

“Don’t be nervous. Most students are still not good enough, so you'll still be here. But I will name two of them. These two will start practicing for the future.”

 

With a strange feeling, I looked at Judy.

 

Judy was also looking at me.

 

We instinctively felt who those two were.

 

Because the two of us were the best in this class.

 

“Cayden Pryster! Judy Ice! Come forward!”

 

At Sir Horslow’s call, we walked forward to the podium.

 

He reassured us again.

 

“…don’t be nervous. As I said it is just a practice for the future so that your body will feel more comfortable.”

 

As we stepped onto the podium, Sir Horslow told me and Judy, having one hand on each shoulder.

 

“You are going to practice escort.”

 

“The escort?”

 

“Yes. One of the important roles of a knight. Any more training here would be a waste of time. It is much better to gain experience.”

 

Judy gave me another questionable look.

 

I knew what she would be curious about. Because I also had the same question.

 

“…by escort... who are we escorting?”

 

Sir Horslow said as it was obvious.

 

“Members of the student council, who else?”

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

A day had passed, but Asena still hadn’t calmed down.

 

The image of Cayden dancing with Daisy couldn’t be erased from her head. That momentum got deeper as the night went on, and the fire that Cayden had put out for a while was burning in her heart again.

 

She wanted to say something to Cayden on the same day, but in the end, she collapsed in front of his aegyo.

 

He hugged her and said he was sorry, kissed her and asked her to forgive him… As his Asena, she couldn’t help but forgive him.

 

But in this case, it was the fault of two people.

 

Cayden was Cayden, but what about Daisy?

 

She opened the student council room and entered.

 

-Bang!

 

The door opened with a loud noise and attention was focused on her.

 

“Asena, the next time you come in, be a little more careful-”

 

The student council president, Lucille Hover, spoke something, but Asena ignored her.

 

She approached the woman who had stolen her Oppa, the man she loved at the ball in front of her eyes.

 

“…..daisy.”

 

“…yes?”

 

“Come with me for a moment.”

 

.

.

.

 

Asenalooked at Daisy with a stiff face.

 

The two were looking at each other in the bathroom.

 

Daisy, who did not know what was wrong, only looked at Asena’s mood.

 

“Asena, that’s a bad thing—”

 

“—Daisy.”

 

Daisy opened her mouth, but as if Asena didn’t want to hear her voice, she cut her off naturally.

 

“…yes?”

 

“I don’t think you understand from the last conversation we had, so I’ll tell you one last time.”

 

“…What?”

 

“My Oppa... Don’t be friends with Cayden Pryster.”

 

“……”

 

Daisy blinked.

 

“I think I said before that it wouldn’t be good to be friends with him.”

 

And after slowly digesting Asena’s words, she pondered for a moment, then expressed her doubts.

 

“…Asena, why do you hate your brother so much?”

 

“What?”

 

Asena asked the question coldly, but she felt her composure shatter.

 

“…even at the prom, you stopped him from talking to other people. And now behind his back, you are trying to prevent him from making friends. Why are you tormenting Cayden-sama so much?”

 

“…I came to warn you, not to talk.”

 

Asena took a step closer to Daisy.

 

But Daisy did not give in to the pressure and continued to share her thoughts.

 

“…He seems like a good person. It looks like he's putting in a lot of effort when you look at the jousting match. He looks great in my eyes, why do you hate him so much-”

 

“-Daisy. Shut up.”

 

The atmosphere became colder.

 

Daisy felt the air change with the words that just came out of Asena’s mouth.

 

She didn’t bother to follow Asena's commands usually, but this time she kept her mouth shut.

 

“…don’t wonder why. Just don’t be friends anymore. It is a warning.”

 

“…Asena, I see. But this time, I did not approach him.”

 

Daisy didn’t want to talk about whose fault it was, but it wasn’t that she didn’t have her own resentment.

 

It was Cayden who asked her for a dance. Not her.

 

But Asena did not accept her words.

 

“When he put out his hand, you could've refused it.”

 

“…Then your brother’s reputation would have been ruined?”

 

“It’s not your concern.”

 

“……”

 

Daisy, without realizing it, began to think to herself that Cayden was very pitiful. Looking at him, it seemed that he liked his younger siblings, but they didn’t seem to like him.

 

Fortunately, Keirsey had been seen hugging Cayden a few times, but in the end, Keirsey was also spreading lies about Cayden from behind.

 

Suddenly, Daisy felt that the symbol of the Pryster family - the snake - really suited Asena's student council uniform.

 

“….daisy. I don’t want to say that again.”

 

“……”

 

“…if you ignore it, it will bother me. Just know that.”

 

Asena spoke with a light tone and turned around, but the weight of her tone was hard to ignore.

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

Standing beside Sir Horslow and Judy, Cayden opened the door to the student council room and saw Asena and Daisy coming in.

 

Asena entered with a firm expression and was surprised to see Cayden.

 

“…..Oppa.”

 

“Hi~”

 

Cayden smiled and waved his hand toward both Asena and Daisy, but Daisy only gave a light bow.

 

Asena stepped forward and stood in front of him.

 

“…why are you here…?”

 

“...just wait for a while.”

 

Cayden looked at Sir Horslow and said.

 

Now was not the time to have a sibling conversation.

 

They had to bring a little more rigid atmosphere which would suit the setting and the place.

 

Lucille Hover, the student council president, spoke first.

 

“Asena. I meant to tell you earlier, but from now on, there will be escort training for excellent students in the Knights Department.”

 

“An escort training…?”

 

“Yes. From now on, one of these two knights will be with you in every move.”

 

Asena’s heart began to race at the unexpected words.

 

“…Oppa will protect me from now on?”

 

“Yes. As an escort... from the moment you leave the dormitory until you go back inside, your knight will protect you... We already got escorts last year, so this year, you'll get them. To be honest, getting an escort is not very convenient.”

 

Sir Hoselo intervened.

 

“It’s just like that. Being escorted will not make you comfortable. Even if these two are good at the task given to them, they are still young knights. They may actually make it difficult for the student council through their foolish actions. I will ask for your pardon in that regard.”

 

Showing his knightly courtesy to the student council, Sir Horslow completed his words.

 

But Asena couldn’t focus on his words from the middle.

 

She had no idea that such a gift would come: In the future, she would be able to continue being with Cayden for the whole day.

 

Except for the small advantage of being able to get into his dormitory, what she got was only dissatisfaction after joining the student council as it kept her busy and away from Cayden the whole time.

 

But this opportunity also came because she had joined the student council.

 

Thinking about it, a smile naturally began to form on her face, thankfully, Asena was good at controlling her emotions and hence resisted successfully.

 

She knew a lot of things would become easier in the future.

 

She wouldn’t have to panic or swear when he wasn’t there.

 

The warning she gave Daisy today had become unnecessary now that Cayden was close to her.

 

“Come on, Cayden. Say hello to your lord first.”

 

Sir Horslow ordered, and Cayden moved forward.

 

He slowly approached Asena and stood there.

 

Asena flinched as she instinctively wanted to give him a hand to accept him as her knight.

 

“Asena.”

 

“….yes.”

 

Cayden’s head turned for a moment.

 

There was no one in the direction apart from a desk.

 

“…..?”

 

Asena followed his gaze, and a moment of anxiety exploded. Because what Cayden was looking at was a single withered flower that he had given to Daisy.

 

“…I’ll be Daisy Hexter’s escort.”

 

For a moment, Asena seemed to stop breathing at Cayden's unimaginable words.

 

“….What?”

 

Meanwhile, Cayden was thinking that not just the Ice family, but the Hexter family could also be a good choice.

 

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