Chapter 33: Dream (4)

 

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

 

Asena fell into a situation where she couldn’t do anything.

 

She wanted to turn everything upside down and go back to the Pryster estate with Cayden.

 

She didn’t learn anything from the academy anyway, and she had met all the people she needed to meet, so there was no reason to stay here.

 

Asena accurately grasped her social position. She was someone who didn’t have to go out.

 

The weak or the needy tried to decorate themselves, form groups, and make connections, but Asena Pryster didn't have to do any of that.

 

However, she was not just a Pryster, Asena was a girl as well; she also became a weakling in front of one person: Cayden Pryster.

 

In front of him, Asena decorated herself, tried to say pretty things, and committed stupid mistakes; emotions kept grabbing her and shaking her, preventing her from thinking properly.

 

As a result, there was a tug-of-war between reason and the desire to explode with anger.

 

She couldn’t believe the situation now.

 

Was this all a situation that was created by her own mistakes?

 

She regretted it...

 

She just wished that no woman would covet him.

 

She just wanted others not to think of her and Cayden as siblings.

 

These two goals, which, summed up in writing, were very simple, but he was moving away from her because of them.

 

“……”

 

Cayden slowly began to kneel on one knee. Then, his hand, which only twins used to touch, grabbed Daisy’s hand.

 

Asena trembled. She unwittingly clenched her fists.

 

The appearance of Cayden swearing allegiance to another woman was not something she could stand.

 

Afterward, as Cayden kissed Daisy’s hand, Asena just closed her eyes.

 

‘Be patient,’ She thought. ‘Until we have a plan, I must hold on.’

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

“Unnie.”

 

In the hallway, Keirsey spoke to Asena who pretended to be okay.

 

“…Why is that person behind…?”

 

Keirsey frowned and looked at Judy Ice.

 

Keirsey's hostility towards Judy was quite high because she was a woman Keirsey saw every time she went to visit Cayden.

 

Judy gave Keirsey a brief bow, and Keirsey also awkwardly accepted her greeting.

 

“…It's because of the student council escort training for the Knights Department... She'll be with me for the next few weeks.”

 

At Asena's words, Keirsey immediately responded to the term‘Knights Department’.

 

“…uh? If it’s the knight's department… what about Oppa?”

 

Asena didn’t have to answer. She didn’t even want to. If she spoke out that he became Daisy’s knight instead of her own, it felt like losing.

 

Besides, she didn’t want to admit that she was the cause of it all.

 

Keirsey’s curiosity did not last long.

 

Keirsey’s eyes turned behind Asena's shoulder, and her expression turned to bewilderment.

 

“…..uh?”

 

“……”

 

“…Unnie…isn’t it?”

 

“…..”

 

“….Oppa, Did he become a knight of Daisy Hexter?”

 

“……”

 

As Asena did not respond, Keirsey did not wait longer.

 

She started walking closer to Daisy. She was thinking of finding out what kind of bullshit it was on her own.

 

“Oppa! Daisy-“

 

But before she could finish speaking, Cayden stepped between Daisy and Keirsey.

 

“……”

 

Keirsey was perplexed by the act of protecting Daisy from herself.

 

“….oppa..”

 

And then she started to feel sad.

 

Cayden was protecting another woman from her. It was as if she had been tormenting Daisy.

 

Keirsey grew up looking only at his broad back. For the first time, his back was facing another woman.

 

But Keirsey endured the injustice and asked him.

 

“….What happened?”

 

“I have escort training.”

 

“…Isn’t it right to become your sister’s knight?”

 

Keirsey actually didn’t want him to be anyone else’s escort if he wasn’t her own, but if it was Asena she was able to bear it.

 

And... that’s right.

 

Cayden was from their own family, so Asena goes.

 

Rather, she was more curious about how Cayden became Daisy’s escort while Asena was in the student council.

 

Could it be that he applied?

 

A suffocating frustration found Keirsey.

 

And just as anger was about to rise in this frustration, Cayden said.

 

“Ah, Keirsey. I have something to tell you tonight.”

 

“….uh?”

 

“I’ll first see off Daisy-sama to her dormitory, so wait.”

 

Keirsey hesitated for a moment at his voice, then came to her senses.

 

“…Oppa, don’t change the subject. What happened now-”

 

-tap.

 

Suddenly a hand grabbed Keirsey's shoulder.

 

It was Asena.

 

She advised Keirsey with a look she had never seen before.

 

“…Keirsey. Now… come with me.”

 

“…..”

 

Keirsey didn’t understand a single thing about this ridiculous situation. But instinctively, she knew something was wrong.

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

“…you did a great job today,” Said Daisy.

 

“...it’s my job.”

 

I fixed my posture and answered.

 

She was standing in front of her dorm's door, facing me.

 

Occasionally a few interesting little girls watched us, but we were getting used to it.

 

It was the first time I had come to the women’s dormitory. It was not originally possible, but it was allowed for a while in the name of practice.

 

“…Then have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Breaking the awkward air that flowed as we looked at each other, Daisy said her final goodbye.

 

But I had something to say to her.

 

“…Oh, Daisy-sama?”

 

“…Call me Daisy. It’s just practice, you didn’t really become my knight, did you?”

 

“…Then Daisy…I’m sorry. It was uncomfortable being involved in my family today.”

 

Daisy turned around, gave a small smile, and looked straight at me.

 

“…I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t uncomfortable at all. But, Cayden-sama—”

 

“—Call me Cayden.”

 

At my words, she smiled shyly.

 

“Then Cayden. I’m not worried. It’s more rewarding than uncomfortable.”

 

“…..yes?”

 

It’s rewarding...

 

In which part do you feel happy?

 

I tried to understand what she was saying, but I couldn’t figure it out.

 

And seeing me squeezing my hair like this, Daisy said:

“…Cayden. I feel sorry for you.”

 

“…yes?”

 

“…because you were adopted, you were hated by the twins. Despite your great abilities, they treat you like a burden to hide… Maybe that’s why bad rumors about you were circulating. It’s really uncomfortable to see...”

 

“…..”

 

“...Because I respect talented people. I understand the times when you had to endure to get that ability.”

 

All I could do was laugh out loud.

 

The more I listened, the more I thought I would cry if I didn't hold back.

 

It was hard to be treated like that by twins. Though I understood their concerns, so it was a little less difficult. But in the novel, the character I liked the most was the person who recognized me just now. I couldn’t help but feel happy.

 

“Winning a jousting match wasn’t easy. It was a win that was achieved by knocking off all horses in a single attack.”

 

In fact, in addition to that, the lance was also short. As she said, I had been working hard for this skill.

 

“…but you are such a wonderful person. The person who worked hard to be recognized by others….Twins..but the younger sisters ignored you…I didn’t like that. So I’m enjoying myself. If you’re by my side… at least I won’t ignore you. If you’re by my side, you might be able to avoid the twins’ ignorance even a little bit.”

 

“……”

 

Then, Daisy said to me with an ‘Oops’ expression.

 

“ah…! What am I doing standing in front of you and swearing at your younger siblings… Of course, it’s a secret from the twins?”

 

“…haha…don’t worry.”

 

Daisy put her hand on my arm.

 

“…Have you been having a hard time?”

 

I bit my lip.

 

“…you have suffered. Today, too.”

 

Daisy smiled again.

 

Yeah, that’s the part I liked about her; She is strong, yet kind.

 

It is a look that I liked when I read the novel, but when this favor goes directly to me, my heart sympathized even more.

 

“…Daisy.”

 

I called her name.

 

“yes?”

 

“…I swear again, I will be loyal to you while I am your escort.”

 

Daisy smiled and turned around.

 

Then she opened the door to the dormitory and entered quietly.

 

“…I believe you. Sleep well…?”

 

“Sleep well.”

 

✧ ✧ ✧

 

Immediately after, I headed to the twins’ room.

 

I didn't run into Judy while heading toward their room. Since she also lived in the dormitory, I thought she might have returned to her room already.

 

But on the way, my heart was strangely light. Was it because I made up my mind, or did the words I heard from Daisy comfort me?

 

I didn’t feel uncomfortable, afraid, or stuffy so much that I couldn’t understand.

 

It felt like a cool breeze was blowing in my chest.

 

Arriving at the twins’ room, I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

 

-Knock Knock

 

And before the third knock, the door burst open.

 

Unsurprisingly, Keirsey was still standing in front of the door.

 

As soon as she saw me, she ran to me with tears in her eyes.

 

It was a momentum that was difficult to stop, so I just surrendered my arms.

 

She hung up on me and started to cry.

 

“Oppa…! From Unnie.. uhh... I heard…! no…! Oppa, I mean I don’t hate you…!”

 

Still letting her hang on me, I walked inside.

 

“Don't cry.”

 

I ordered her to stop crying. But she just pulled her thighs up around my waist.

 

Asena was also standing in the room, she was waiting for me with a hardened face again.

 

My neck was already dripping with Keirsey’s tears.

 

“Come on, get off. I feel bad. My clothes are getting wet.”

 

“Ugh…! Sob…!”

 

I looked at Asena.

 

“Asena, what did you say?”

 

“…just that Oppa knows everything.”

 

“Well.”

 

I stroked Keirsey’s back and calmed her down.

 

“Come on, get down now. You can’t talk like this.”

 

Keirsey shook her head and clung to me, but this time I grabbed her under her armpits and pushed her away with a slight force.

 

With that power, Keirsey was forced to come down from me.

 

“Eh.”

 

I smiled slightly and cleaned up Keirsey’s messed-up face and said to her.

 

“…Keirsey. I told Asena, but… it’s okay.”

 

“…..uh?”

 

She looked up at me while she was crying.

 

Her eyes began to sparkle with life again.

 

“Oppa understands. Okay. It was my mistake; I forgot how strict the class system is in this world and what a symbolic position of the Pryster family is.”

 

“…I was wrong too...I won’t do it again. This time, it’s a real promise.”

 

Keirsey sat down on the floor and reached out a hand to grab my sleeve.

 

But I was not finished talking.

 

Asena also began to clench her fists as if she had expected my next words.

 

“So I mean... Oppa is going to leave the family now.”

 

“……”

 

Keirsey stopped crying for a moment and looked at me with both eyes blinking. The swaying eyes looked at my left face, then my right cheek, then my left eye, and then my right ear.

 

She continued to blink and said.

 

“…Oppa, I heard the wrong thing…”

 

“It may be painful, but…we shouldn’t have been a family.”

 

Bitterly, I told her the truth.

 

Bending my legs, I made eye contact with Keirsey.

 

Her eyes were still wandering.

 

“Oh my gosh… your whole pretty face will be ruined.”

 

I wiped her tears away and gave her a small smile.

 

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