I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 15

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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 15
Aiden’s acknowledgment—nothing more than that—yet Olivia’s face had grown noticeably brighter.
The sunlight caught her face, making it glow white. That expression was wonderful, truly beautiful, and yet……
Still, Aiden could not tell her what she wanted to hear.
“So go to a different order instead. I’ll speak well of you to Yujin.”
As he’d anticipated, Olivia’s expression stiffened slightly.
He’d been the one to steal the smile from her radiant face, and Aiden refused to acknowledge or accept that fact. But it was reality nonetheless.
Olivia’s voice dropped to a thin, resigned tone.
“Why do you dislike me joining the Lux Knights Order so much?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Ever since I decided to become a knight, I’ve never once held a goal of living safely.”
“Even accounting for all that, this place is far more treacherous than you think.”
Olivia had talent. And before her stood mountains of choices—paths where that talent could bloom magnificently, where everyone would recognize her merit.
Yet Olivia wanted to cast all of it aside. For the Lux Knights Order, no less!
It was absolute madness.
Yujin’s face and Seton’s face flashed rapidly through Aiden’s mind. His expression contorted sharply in response.
‘Why would you push her into such a hell!’
The Lux Knights Order had no honor.
Externally, they were regarded less as knights and more as errand runners, and the members of the Lux Knights Order were far more accustomed to ridicule and contempt than to glory.
Of course, that wasn’t the whole picture; they did have certain very secret reasons for undertaking all these burdens—or so he’d heard.
‘Which is precisely why it cannot be.’
He had no wish to drag Olivia into such secretive and perilous work. He was a man who hoped that not a single hair on her head would be harmed.
……Though training was an exception, of course.
In any case, the fact that Aiden shared Seton’s research office rather than the quarters where assistant instructors from each order stayed was for this very reason. He wanted to avoid unnecessary conflict.
Aiden hoped Olivia would not be subjected to such treatment, and he also hoped she would pursue work that carried somewhat more prestige. That was all.
Aiden took a breath to compose himself and put forth a calm suggestion to Olivia.
“Olivia. Listen carefully. If honor is the measure, another order would be far more—”
“I don’t want that.”
“—I know you wouldn’t. No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I’m not doing it.”
“Olive!”
Her mouth was set in a firm line, her eyes sharp and defiant. Now that he thought about it, Olivia did possess quite a stubborn streak……
“Olive. I have to go now.”
“I don’t want you to.”
“It’s not about what you want—it’s time for me to leave.”
……
“Olive? Will you let this go?”
“Give up, Aiden. Once she sets her mind to something, there’s no reasoning with her.”
That night, Aiden found himself having to stay and sleep at the Kishear Marquis Estate.
‘Her stubbornness… it hasn’t changed one bit from back then.’
Repressing the laughter that threatened to spill out while he was at a loss, Aiden set his own jaw just as firmly as hers.
“You can’t even endure the current training. Do you have any idea how brutal the Lux Knights Order’s regimen is?”
“Who says I can’t endure it? I’m the student who arrives earliest and leaves latest from the Training Ground.”
Damn. She was right. Now that he thought about it, Olivia had been an absolute fiend during training, radiating determination the whole time.
Aiden rushed to his next point.
“D-do you know how many External Dispatches we undertake? People prone to motion sickness couldn’t dream of it. You’ve had severe motion sickness since childhood.”
“Brother. I’m not the little Olive from back then. I’ve already conquered motion sickness long ago.”
“What? How?”
“Through Will and Fighting Spirit?”
“Don’t be absurd!”
“I’m serious. I’ve achieved a whole new level of enlightenment—that there’s nothing that cannot be overcome through Will and Fighting Spirit.”
That’s right. If things still don’t work out, one must ask themselves whether their Will and Fighting Spirit were insufficient……
‘No, get a hold of yourself!’
Aiden caught himself just as he was about to wholeheartedly agree with her.
“You’ll encounter plenty of monsters!”
“As it happens, I minored in Monster Classification. Is this what they call destiny?”
“You’ll be foraging for root vegetables and sleeping on bare ground regularly!”
“My goodness, I just learned last semester how to identify non-toxic plants! Naturally, I topped the class.”
“Damn it. Why are you so clever! Then, then……”
He had run out of arguments. Objectively speaking, Olivia was a perfectly prepared knight. The problem was that whenever Olivia was involved, Aiden became intensely, irrational.
Olivia’s face came into focus across from him.
His little Olive, who still preferred green dresses like she did when she was young.
Her eyes held a familiar affection that had never wavered—not from when she was far younger until now, not even once.
Looking at them, his heart sank with a heavy thud.
Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Red light poured through the window, tinting Olivia’s face.
Her face stained crimson in the glow of dusk.
Whoosh—
And over it, a phantom of the past overlaid itself.
“M-Mother……”
“It’s… all right. Soon…… everything… will be all right.”
Despite the words, a body growing cold, hands stained red with blood.
No. Aiden thought instinctively. Not her. Anything but her.
“……Brother?”
“It’s blood. Soaked in blood.”
“What do you mean?”
“I won’t… I won’t drag you into this hell too.”
Aiden spoke to Olivia, teeth clenched.
“The Lux Knights Order is not an option, Olivia.”
“Brother.”
“Please. ……I don’t have the strength to protect you while we fight.”
The moment those words ended, the smile drained from Olivia’s face.
* * *
What could the reason be? That’s what Olivia wanted to know.
Aiden, who had been stumbling and fumbling, suddenly shifted his manner as if something had triggered a memory.
He spoke of the Lux Knights Order as an absolute refusal, something that could not be, pleading with her earnestly. Every word carried such weight that Olivia, too, lost her voice.
It was a glimpse into Aiden’s true heart for the first time. Merely a fragment, but it was certain—the real reason he opposed her joining the Lux Knights Order.
That was why she decided to return to the Academy, canceling all other planned engagements.
Perhaps unable to fully hide her darkened mood, Panya suggested that it would be good for Olivia to return and rest at the Academy, gently pushing her along.
In exchange, Olivia filled a box with Panya’s favorite desserts. And then—
“You’re going back to the Academy, right?”
Olivia, who had just finished all of that and was about to return to the Academy alone, found Aiden at her side.
“……Brother? You’re still here?”
“I was worried. Let me take you.”
It was unnecessary consideration. Olivia had no need for such kindness now.
“There’s no need. I’ll go back alone.”
“Olive.”
“Instructor. I—”
That was when it happened.
“Aiden Oblion?”
“Who…… Sena?”
A woman popped out from the opposite alley, her eyes round with delight as she greeted Aiden warmly.
“Wow, it really is you! You’ve come back completely?”
The familiar greeting and light handshake that followed were brimming with genuine joy, and Aiden’s response carried the same warmth.
Olivia stepped back, retreating half a pace. It felt like the right thing to do.
As a result, she found herself observing them from a step away.
Sharing a bond, expressing genuine joy—that was clearly something that belonged to Olivia, and yet……
“Do you know how much I’ve missed you?”
“That’s funny. I heard you were dying without me around.”
“Who told you that? Who would relay such truth to someone on External Dispatch?”
“That’s not my concern.”
An oddly distant feeling settled over her.
The distance between him and his colleague, who had drawn near with warmth, and between him and Olivia, who had retreated in fear that this meeting was improper—somehow her chest felt hollow.
He claimed he received no contact while on External Dispatch, yet he seemed to know his colleague’s news quite well.
“Oh, who’s this? My goodness! Wait, could this be a romantic—”
“A student. Don’t say pointless things.”
“Is that so? Hmm.”
“A senior from the Knight Studies Department at the Academy. She’s about to begin her Final Practical Training.”
“Oh my. She could end up joining our order! Lovely to meet you. I’m also with the same order as this fellow. Call me Sena.”
She was a charming person with that winking smile. Olivia managed a smile and returned the greeting. Of course, even that modest courtesy was overshadowed by the firmness of Aiden’s voice.
“Stop with the pointless remarks. Miss Olivia, let’s go.”
“No, instructor. I’ll make my own way back.”
“What?”
“Talk with your colleague. I’ll head back first. Thank you so much for today.”
“Olivia Kishear.”
The moment he called her full name, the woman’s expression shifted subtly. Then, in a peculiar tone, she added a comment.
“Ah, the Kishear Marquis family……”
It was a peculiar tone.
Olivia pretended not to notice any of it. She offered a polite greeting as if nothing were amiss and turned to walk back toward the Academy quickly.
And yet, somehow.
“Olivia? Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“You look like you’re about to cry.”
She felt a little like crying.

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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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