I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 12
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
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Aiden was rather unsettled.
“Everyone has been curious about why Olivia transferred.”
“Exactly, that’s what I’m saying! What on earth was the reason? Why would she suddenly drop Monster Classification, which she was doing perfectly fine in, to become a knight?”
“Well, that is…….”
“If you waste even one more second of my time with pointless chatter, I’ll make sure you see our ancestors’ faces during training tomorrow.”
“I—I heard she transferred to catch and punish—not kill, but—punish her fiancé who left behind an Engagement Annulment Document and ran away!”
It was because he had discovered that Olivia’s reason for transferring was real, and existed solely because of him.
Ever since Aiden had knocked Bennett away when he came asking, “Instructor, you’re really not Olivia’s fiancé, are you?” Aiden had been lost in thought.
Three days. Merely three days.
He had never imagined that such a brief engagement could hold such profound meaning for Olivia.
Olivia was the younger sister of his most treasured friend, practically family to him—which was precisely why this engagement made no sense at all.
“Mother. Do you love Father?”
“Of course I do. Very much.”
“But then why does Father—”
“Now then, Aiden. What did you learn today? Won’t you tell your mother about it?”
House Oblivion was what one might call a “scattered household.” There were scarcely any moments of family warmth, and the Duke himself had even brought a mistress into the home.
The sight of the Duke, a nobleman of the Laurentia Empire where Monogamy was codified in law, spouting nonsense about a “second wife” remained vivid in his memory.
He had no family. From the moment his mother died in battle protecting a Guardian Stone, House Oblivion and its territory had never felt like home to Aiden.
“Marriage holds no value whatsoever.”
Aiden truly believed this.
His parents had originally been very close friends. Their relationship fell completely apart only after they entered into a marriage contract for some reason.
Listening to servants gossip here and there made it easy enough to understand the situation.
Aiden did not want to lose Olivia. They were already far more bound and intimate than blood relations.
An unstable contract like marriage would only become the spark that destroyed their bond.
That was what he had truly believed.
“She threw down the Engagement Annulment Document and left on deployment immediately? Why?”
“……Because I thought the family would oppose it.”
“That’s laughable. Think carefully. It’s clearly not that reason at all.”
Lennie Windler, a knight of the Lukes Knight Order who had nearly become engaged to Aiden due to various complicated circumstances, had heard that the engagement was called off and pressed him for details about the situation.
After hearing the whole story, Lennie had bestowed upon him the nickname “stupid trash”—at the time, Aiden had found it irritating, yet somehow couldn’t bring himself to argue back, leaving him quite frustrated.
And now, seeing Olivia’s current state, Lennie’s words seemed entirely correct.
As increasingly complicated thoughts pressed down on him, Aiden began toying with the Engagement Ring on the ring finger of his left hand.
At the same time, he heard the murmur of students’ conversation from somewhere distant.
“Tomorrow is a day off. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Still thinking about it.”
Break time was now coming to an end. Aiden stood from his seat and, as he prepared for the next training, cast his gaze across the Training Ground where the students were gathered.
“……Again.”
They were sticking together once more.
His eye caught on a sight that displeased him greatly: Olivia and Bennett together.
Yesterday, after having quite an intense conversation with Bennett, he had learned that the two had no particular connection. But the fact that they hadn’t had any relationship until now was no guarantee they wouldn’t in the future, was it?
Olivia was, by any objective measure, an extremely charming beauty. With her calm chestnut hair, round eyes, deep green irises like forests held within them, and dimples that appeared whenever she smiled.
‘She’s very cute.’
And that wasn’t all. She gave her best to everything and was kind to boot.
The fact that she hadn’t shown any particular retaliation against him, despite his subjecting her to all manner of training for the past two months, made that clear enough.
Olivia had simply come to him several times with sword in hand and requested Sparring.
That passion—converting even her anger into training! It was so very Olivia that Aiden had to stifle his laughter.
In any case, anyone who knew Olivia would fall for her—it was only a matter of time.
Give it a bit longer, and foolish men declaring their love and affection would swarm around Olivia.
As her “close brother,” it was his responsibility to protect her from such things.
‘Did that bastard just flirt with Olivia?’
How dare he!
Aiden blazed with fury.
Only someone utterly ignorant of the fact that three years had already passed since Olivia had entered the Knight Department, and that over the past year, not a single person had confessed their feelings to her, could harbor such thoughts.
There were still five minutes left in break time. That would be enough for a brief conversation. Aiden stepped purposefully toward where Olivia and Bennett were.
“Instructor, you came!”
Olivia greeted him with a bright smile. Aiden was about to reflexively return the smile when he bit down on the inside of his mouth and composed his expression.
The scratch mark Olivia had left somehow felt a bit itchy.
“There’s still a scar left, isn’t there.”
Olivia’s eyes shone with delight as she spoke. Aiden pulled up the collar of his shirt to hide the mark, then asked the two casually.
“Do you two have any special plans for tomorrow?”
“Pardon?”
An awkward response came back immediately.
It was only then that Aiden realized he was standing here as a training instructor.
A training instructor asking a student pointless personal questions—that was grounds for disciplinary action.
Aiden hastily changed the subject.
“I’m just saying, training should continue even on rest days. If you let loose on a day off, then next time you’ll have to join those fools over there for basic training. You won’t be able to beat them in Sparring, after all.”
“Don’t worry, Instructor. Next time I’ll subdue you very impressively as well.”
“So you’re saying you’ll train tomorrow?”
“Pardon? No. Tomorrow I’m going out with my classmates. We’re heading to Suet Plaza.”
Out? With her classmates?
Aiden’s gaze immediately shifted to Bennett. Bennett nodded quietly, as if confirming that she was right.
So not only were they sticking together throughout training, but now they were spending their day off together too?
Aiden’s intuition was screaming a crisis alarm.
“So the two of you together.”
“That’s right. We’re classmates, after all.”
“What about your fiancé?”
“……Pardon?”
No, was he insane?
Aiden bit down hard on his own lips again, desperate to stop them from babbling. He bit with such force that a faint taste of blood filled his mouth.
“Never mind. Break time’s over! Everyone gather!”
He spun around and strode away from Olivia at a brisk pace, completely unaware that Olivia and Bennett were watching his retreating back with distinctly odd expressions.
The groans and moans of the students echoed through the Training Ground once more. Aiden looked down at them as he fell into thought.
‘Why do I feel so unsettled?’
Because Olivia, his “fiancée,” was associating with others? No. That couldn’t be it.
If that had bothered him in the first place, he wouldn’t have left her with the Engagement Annulment Document. So there had to be another reason for this…….
It was a good thing for Olivia to make many friends. And if she met someone decent among them, had an Engagement Annulment, or rather a new engagement, and married…… no, got married, that would be fine too.
After all, the notion that marriage was essential for a Noble Daughter still lingered in this age.
Of course, any man who claimed a place at Olivia’s side would have to pass his scrutiny. He could not abide the sight of some ordinary, mediocre wretch attaching himself to Olivia.
No matter how she grew, Olivia was his little Olivia, his precious younger sister.
‘Ah. So that’s it?’
Here at Beatrice, he didn’t see a single man capable enough to become Olivia’s match.
“Well. That must be it.”
His mind eased. This was the reason—he simply didn’t want to see decent men flocking around his precious younger sister.
He carefully examined the faces of the men wallowing on the ground. Sure enough, not a single one of them was worthy of being Olivia’s partner.
Aiden smiled faintly.
“Ha. I was wondering if I’d gone mad.”
“Pardon?”
“I thought I might actually be crazy.”
“…….”
“Well then! Add a hundred push-ups! Whoever finishes last starts Sparring first.”
He really was mad—why deny it?
The students glared at Aiden with that very sentiment written all over their faces, but his newly satisfied mind didn’t register any of it.
Though his conclusion was terribly flawed, Aiden was tremendously pleased with himself—a thought that would have caused Olivia to throw up her hands and drink cold water by the bucket if she’d known.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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