Chapter 275: Pat her [2]
"..."
I simply stared at Diana without responding to her question.
The silence ensued between us for quite a while, though looking at Alicia’s face, I could see that it had started to become awkward for her.
But that was it.
It was only Alicia who seemed affected by the silence, as the one who had a role in it stood like a statue while looking in my direction.
"D-Diana?"
At the end, it was Alicia’s whisper that made Diana turn her attention away from me.
"What is it?"
But, I knew that the girl wasn’t going to let the matter rest.
"Uh... nothing."
Alicia whispered again, seeing all gazes directed at her.
"You don’t have to feel embarrassed about it."
Hm?
Diana spoke the words while placing her hand on Alicia’s shoulders.
Alicia seemed surprised at first, but then her face soon started to turn a light shade of red.
Anyone would be embarrassed if someone else directly mentions—
"Kael had promised me that going forward he will be good with you."
"..."
Huh?
I didn’t remember making such a promise.
"But for that promise to take effect, I think you will need to contribute from your side too."
Diana’s words made Alicia look blankly at her, before she shifted her focus to me.
Though I hadn’t promised any such thing, I couldn’t exactly back out from it, could I?
Diana had asked me to let her take control of things, so... I had to trust her on that.
After all, for her to trust me, I should at least show some cooperation.
"What do you mean by that?"
Sigh.
It wasn’t Alicia but Kevin who interrupted from the side.
Kevin had now begun to walk towards Alicia as he stood before her, as if blocking her view of me.
I, on my part, didn’t show any reaction to his antics, which seemed to have triggered him further, though he restrained himself from acting out against me.
"You don’t have to do anything special."
Diana uttered the words while looking at Alicia, not caring to respond to Kevin’s words.
I could feel the slight twitching of the brows on the guy’s face, though he did a good job at hiding his humiliation.
"Diana, the classes have begun, so I think we should—"
"Don’t change the topic, little girl."
"..."
"..."
Little girl?
It was quite a unique way to mention Alicia.
I had never seen Diana speak in such a way. Still, I didn’t know why, but I liked her style a bit.
Her new style, that is.
"Don’t you wish to see your family together again?"
"..."
"Huh? No one wants to see that, and I think you should just mind your business, Princess—"
"I don’t remember asking for your opinion... peasant."
"..."
"..."
This time I couldn’t really control my expression as my lips stretched into a small smile, which soon turned into a chuckle, which everyone noticed for sure.
"Cough... cough."
But it was Noah’s reaction that attracted the attention of everyone, as the guy had spit the water that he had been drinking from his bottle.
Though the statement was a little funny, I didn’t think it was funny enough to warrant such an action.
Haa...
That just went on to prove Noah’s childishness.
Why would he even be the protagonist of the game?
No matter what, the only reason Noah had always been in demand was due to his cheat-like abilities... nothing else.
Personally, I didn’t think Noah had a single quality that made him worthy enough of all the powers that he had received for free since his birth.
The simpler explanation would be like a boy who had topped the exam only because he was the one who had the question paper, as well as a pen to write the answers on the answer sheet... while the rest of the class had just got to know that they had an exam today.
No.
It was closer to the condition of the remaining students just getting to know that there was a thing called an exam in their life.
Yes.
That was how Noah had become the protagonist of the game.
My explanation might not have been the best one to describe his condition, but it was the best that could have been made with the amount of brain power that I could dedicate to thinking about that guy, without having to worry about any wastage.
After all... I didn’t really like having to waste my time and energy on Noah—
"So what was I saying? Yes... if you wish to see your family together again, just nod your head, but if you don’t, then you may leave for your classes. I won’t stop you."
Diana was serious with her words, at least, her face looked serious.
Kevin had now gone silent, knowing that any addition on his part would result in his own doom.
Diana really had a way with her words.
Peasant, huh.
Still, I felt like Diana should have used some other word, instead of insulting the poor peasants and comparing them with someone who wasn’t even in the position to be called... a peasant.
"So what’s your decision?"
My eyes shifted to Alicia, who stood at the same place, her head downcast as she thought about it.
Hm?
She was actually thinking about it.
I thought Alicia would simply shake her head in refusal while choosing to walk away.
Wasn’t that the behaviour that she had always displayed around me?
"You don’t have to answer Alicia, and just what’s your deal, huh? What are you even trying to do?!"
Kevin raised his voice at the end, as he held Alicia by her arm before starting to walk away.
But—
"Let her go."
Diana too grabbed one of Alicia’s arms as she stopped her from moving away.
Thinking about it, wasn’t Diana being too aggressive?
I had never known this side of Diana. Maybe she always had that soft princess mask on, making me believe that to be her real self.
But this version of her wasn’t bad either.
It was kind of... a wild one.
"Will you two stop pulling at me?"
After a long extended silence, Alicia finally uttered some words of relevance.
"Alicia—"
"What will you do if I nod my head?"
Interrupting Kevin, Alicia turned to look at Diana, who now had her lips stretched into a broad smile that was miles away from her princess behaviour.
"I will help you."
Though Diana uttered the words with conviction, I couldn’t help but feel amused by the situation.
Even if Alicia somehow accepted her help, I couldn’t help but think about what Diana would make her do.
Would she ask Alicia to apologize to me or something else?
Though it was beginning to feel interesting, I had become bored at the same time.
"Okay."
Hm?
"Help me."
Somehow Alicia’s voice had now turned firmer than before, as she raised her head to meet Diana’s gaze.
Wasn’t she embarrassed to say something like that when she knew I could clearly hear her words?
Didn’t she have some pride or ego that always seemed to walk around with the daughters of great noble houses?
I thought the resentment in Alicia’s mind towards me would have increased after I had... disciplined her sister.
But seeing the situation, I had to update my thoughts regarding this girl.
"That’s great."
Diana spoke in a cheerful voice while grinning at the same time.
"Just follow my instructions, and see how the world changes for you."
Though Diana uttered the words with excitement, I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
Diana at the moment felt like a scammer who had just locked in her new prey and was about to devour another feast of her life.
Alicia simply nodded her head, though I couldn’t see the expression that she might have been making at the moment, as the only thing I could see was Alicia’s small back.
She was facing Diana in a way that left no room for me to see her reaction.
"I think we should just stop with this game."
Kevin, as usual, seeing the events getting out of control, poked his nose in again, making Diana’s expression crumble.
"How about you ask for your sister’s opinion?"
Diana’s words made the guy look at Alicia, who now shifted her head to meet Kevin’s gaze.
"Alicia—"
Just as Kevin was about to say something, he paused midway... having some sudden enlightenment of sorts.
"Do as you wish."
Hm?
Kevin’s voice had suddenly gone softer as he shrugged his shoulders before patting Alicia on her shoulder and moving in Noah’s direction.
Now the two fools stood at the same place, observing everything in silence.
I had now begun to feel like I was some character in a circus, and everyone was here to watch my show.
Haa...
Diana really did have some skill in making me feel uncomfortable within minutes.
"Alright, so here’s my first instruction."
For some reason the surroundings had turned silent, as if everyone was curious to hear what the Veltran princess had to say.
Alicia looked to be the most determined, as I could see her looking in Diana’s direction with no movement whatsoever.
"Hug him."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Huh?
