It wasn’t easy at all.
“Huh? Really? Then shall we eat together?”
First, Leo was far from being easy.
Before he made any same-sex friends, Leo already had plenty of opposite-sex friends, so there weren’t many people who’d casually ask him to eat together.
Normally, I would have had meals with Alice or maybe the whole group of friends, including Leo.
So, I should’ve just kept quiet.
When I first spoke to Leo, he looked at me with a bright smile. I even felt like a physical light was shining on me, and I instinctively squinted my eyes a little.
Leo considered me his friend. So, as a “friend,” I was probably making him happy by asking to eat together.
The problem was, it seemed like others didn’t see it that way.
Yeah, I realized that only after I spoke up.
Even if Alice or Charlotte spoke first, there was hardly anyone who would mistake them for liking Leo. The difference in their social statuses was just too big. There was no need to look for a logical reason why jealous people would interpret things that way—it was simply because they wanted to gossip.
The problem was, *I* was the one who spoke first.
Normally, I wouldn’t ask anyone to eat together.
And Leo responded with a smile.
Ah, this might look like something special to others—was the thought that came to me only after I spoke.
At least I was fortunate not to look around. If I had done that, I would have quickly realized how awkward it would be, turning me into the quintessential cool-dere heroine who, after realizing her mistake, awkwardly tried to hide it.
“...”
I could feel the intense gaze on me from the side.
Claire was squinting at me. *That* Claire Grace.
Usually, she would have been looking up at me with sparkling eyes, like a golden retriever.
No, wait, that’s not it. Forget what you were thinking.
Saying that would be pointless. At this point, suspicion had already deeply taken root, so anything I said would only sound like something suspicious.
“Claire.”
Before I could bring myself to speak, someone else had already moved.
It was Charlotte.
“Huh?”
Claire, who had been startled, turned around to see Charlotte holding her own shoulder.
“I found a nice restaurant nearby. Would you like to join? It's a place that serves Belvoir food, and even I thought the taste was quite good.”
“Oh, then I’ll go with my sister and Leo—”
“Ah, but it’s a shame. The place is almost full. I barely managed to get a reservation yesterday. I could probably fit two more, but wouldn’t it look like I’m going on a date with Leo? It’d be better if it were just two women, right?”
She was doing something completely unnecessary.
It was already going to be a problem asking Claire to come with us. People already suspected that I liked Leo, and on top of that, Claire had been against me marrying Leo.
It was clear the situation would get extremely awkward.
And I also had my own reasons for talking to Leo.
“Well then, can I join the remaining seat? I’d like to check out what kind of place a Belvoir local would recommend.”
Saying that, Alice stood up and casually moved to stand next to Claire.
Then Claire was practically dragged out of the classroom by the two of them.
“Hey, wait, sis, sis—!”
Claire screamed as she was pulled out, and the whole classroom watched with stunned expressions.
Then, their gaze shifted back to us.
...
Well, fine.
So that’s the way it’s going to be.
I had my own plans.
Leo had already become a bit closer to Sophia yesterday. There’s no better way to build closeness than to work together on something. And if that "something" was volunteer work, even better. It allowed Leo to subtly show how good of a person he was and to emphasize common interests.
Most importantly, it allowed them to spend time together.
So, calling Sophia over for a meal with the three of us wasn’t such a bad idea. Leo wouldn’t reject it.
If Leo had “one definite girlfriend,” it might ease some of the jealousy that others felt toward him.
Even though they were both from foreign countries, their family backgrounds were that of a baron and a knight, so the difference wasn’t so great. With Sophia’s personality, the Grace couple wouldn’t mind.
There was the issue with the Kingdom Spy, but that... well, I could deal with that later.
With those thoughts in mind, I turned my gaze toward Sophia’s seat—
—and met her eyes.
There were tears welling up in Sophia’s eyes.
Ah.
Wait, hold on. That’s not it.
Before I could even make an excuse, Sophia suddenly jumped up and dashed out of the classroom.
“...”
The entire class watched this unfold before their eyes and then turned their gaze back to me.
“Huh? Why is that? Is there something bothering Sophia?”
It’s you.
It’s *you*, you!
Okay, sure, I created this situation, but still!
“...Sylvia.”
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Someone called my name, and I turned to see Mia, who had quietly approached me, gazing up at me.
Maybe she wanted to ask to eat with me—
Before I could finish that thought, Mia gently took my hand and said,
“You’ve finally learned what emotions are.”
She said something completely nonsensical.
I stood frozen for about 2.5 seconds before recalling what she meant.
It was something I had said when I found the Marmaros and the gun in Mia’s room—the excuse I gave her at that time.
Mia smiled slightly, as though sincerely congratulating me, let go of my hand, and quickly left the classroom.
“...”
I stared blankly at her flowing black hair, when someone tapped me on the shoulder.
“Princess, I wish you luck.”
With a solemn expression and voice, Lena spoke to me.
Then, as if she understood everything without needing words, she gave a slight nod and left the classroom.
By the way, Jake and Lottie had been missing for quite a while. They probably went out as soon as lunchtime started to cause some trouble.
In the end, the only person left in the classroom with me, sitting in front of me with a puzzled smile, was Leo.
“...”
What is happening?
*
I didn’t shout “again!”
I carefully held onto the last thread of reason and thought it through. This was actually a pretty good opportunity.
Though it was incredibly embarrassing, this was a chance to sit down with Leo and have a one-on-one conversation, to understand the situation he was in and his true feelings.
Even if someone had a close younger sibling, there are things you can’t say because they’re a sibling.
Especially when it comes to the struggles of school life.
With Claire’s personality, even though she often bickers with Leo, if she heard Leo’s words, she’d immediately act to help him. But... things like friendship can’t be solved that way.
This kind of issue needed to be approached properly, step by step.
“Well, it seems we ended up eating together today.”
Since it was a bit awkward to eat in the classroom with everyone watching, we ended up going outside.
Of course, it wasn’t the academy garden. It was way too cold to eat outside.
So, we chose a small bakery not far from the academy.
It was lunchtime, so students sometimes came in, but this bakery only had one table. With the two of us sitting there, no one could really interrupt.
There were a few students who subtly hovered, trying to eavesdrop, but when they made eye contact with me, they quickly left.
“Now that I think about it, this is the first time.”
“Yeah.”
I spoke up immediately.
“I’ve hardly ever eaten alone with anyone else.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I continued, thinking hard and chewing on the cream cheese-covered baguette slowly.
“Because of that, it seems like we’ve caused quite an absurd misunderstanding in the classroom.”
“Haha...”
Leo gave a weak laugh at my words.
“Well, people always misunderstand things anyway.”
Then, in a slightly weaker voice, he said.
“...”
I silently stared at Leo and then asked,
“Has anyone ever bullied you?”
“...Huh?”
Leo widened his eyes and looked at me.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because your behavior seemed a bit off lately.”
“Aah, that...”
Leo awkwardly laughed and sighed deeply.
“I guess... how should I say it?”
With an apologetic expression, he added,
“Maybe my relationships with friends have gotten a bit skewed, and I don’t have many people to talk to lately?”
“I see.”
So that was it.
I barely managed to suppress a sigh.