I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 19

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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 19
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Thanks to Seton’s mediation, the two of them were able to have their conversation in a somewhat more suitable place.
The professor had graciously offered them his research office. No matter how few people sought out the counseling room these days, talking in such an open area was bound to spark strange rumors.
Of course, there was Seton’s personal desire not to witness Olivia and Aiden conversing alone in a “secret place,” but in any case, Olivia was satisfied with the outcome.
“Instructor.”
Even in a gathering where only those who had guessed at the nature of their relationship were present, Olivia did not forget to observe propriety. Aiden nodded with a composed face, as if to say go ahead.
“There’s no need to be formal. I saw everything just now.”
…….
“Why did you act like that back there?”
Aiden’s chin, which had been held high with such display, drooped dejectedly downward.
Olivia recalled the scene from moments before—when Professor Seton, Aiden, Olivia, and Eugene had all met in one place.
“Well, Olivia, it was an enjoyable time. I hope we can have a deeper conversation next time.”
“Thanks to you, Commander, my heart feels much lighter. I’ll be in touch soon.”
“Then by next time, will you have become someone who belongs to me?”
At those words, Aiden erupted like a madman.
He had only just barely been stopped from drawing his sword, insisting that it was a subordinate’s duty to hold their superior accountable for impropriety, and had been brought here to cool off.
An order where insubordination runs rampant like this…. Was it really acceptable? That much troubled Olivia.
“Right now, I’m not here as an instructor, but as your old friend.”
“How convenient that must be.”
Olivia’s tone was barbed. With good reason. She was no saint. She had been hurt by the chain of events.
“Right now, I’m here as a student, requesting a meeting with you as my instructor.”
“That’s right. That’s our Olivia for you.”
“Professor, couldn’t you just leave?”
Professor Seton, who had been gazing intently at them from the corner, shook his head with a pleased smile.
“This is my office.”
“Instructor, that’s not the real issue here.”
“Right, yes. Olive—I mean, Olivia.”
Aiden stammered several times.
Olivia looked at him sitting before her. This cowardly man she had long loved and would likely love for the rest of her life.
People in love sometimes experience incomprehensible moments. Even as darkness falls beyond the window, they think the sun lingers in this room alone—just like now.
Olivia gazed upon her sun and wondered.
If not for that face, could I have loved him any less?
‘Perhaps it might have been possible.’
But it was all futile speculation. Olivia had already fallen in love before she could even think such things, and that was precisely why she was sitting here now.
That was the reason.
Olivia would refuse Aiden’s offer.
“That day, you told me the Lux Knight Order wouldn’t work.”
“……Yes, I did.”
“I’ll tell you again, right here.”
Aiden’s face had gone pale. Even under the orange glow of the Magic Lamp lit in the room, his pallor was visible. Ripples stirred in his blue eyes.
“I won’t listen.”
“No, you have to.”
“Olivia!”
“Instructor, I’m going to become a knight of the Lux Knight Order.”
She did not know what he feared. Bloodshed? She had gripped a sword and trained all this time, never once excluding such a future.
Aiden wanted to protect Olivia. He wanted to push her into safety and draw a line, saying she must never step beyond it.
But that was not the life Olivia wanted.
“You, I….”
“I have things I want to protect too.”
“What?”
“It’s not just you who has things worth protecting. I do too. I also have things I want to protect.”
Perhaps it was the audacity of a mere student who had not yet become a knight. But having a lofty dream did not make it any less a dream.
Olivia wanted to protect Aiden. The man bearing some unknown burden alone, the person trembling with fear at the mere thought that Olivia gazed upon the same place he did.
Aiden stood frozen, as though caught in Freezing Magic, staring at Olivia.
“May I ask one more thing?”
“What is it.”
“In your assessment as an instructor, do I have the qualities to become a good knight?”
She was asking him to forget all personal connections—that he was her friend’s brother, her childhood companion—and evaluate her solely as an instructor of Veritas Academy.
Aiden was not a fool, and he appeared to understand her meaning immediately.
A long silence stretched between them. Even Seton, who had been watching with rolling eyes, couldn’t help but cry out.
“What are you even thinking about? Our Olivia is the finest kni—”
“You’ll make a fine knight.”
“That’s right! Olivia is the finest!”
Seton, who seemed frustrated by the long conversation, patted his chest and gulped down water. Olivia smiled warmly at him in gratitude.
“But, Olivia.”
“Brother, anything beyond that would be overstepping.”
“Olive.”
“I’m allowed to choose what I protect myself. That is my right.”
Olivia cherished Aiden. It wasn’t just that she wanted to share only good times with him—she dreamed of walking through life sharing difficult burdens side by side.
That was why Olivia, who would have accepted his words even if the sun rose in the west, made up her mind for the first time to choose differently from what he wanted.
“So please, just trust me this once.”
The light in the room faintly reflected in Olivia’s green eyes. As the flickering light danced in her gaze like the steady flame of her conviction, Aiden trembled for a moment.
He would be unable to stop her any longer.
It was an instinctive realization.
* * *
Time passed swiftly.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming up?”
“This… this… cliff?”
“What? Do you have an objection?”
Aiden relentlessly rolled his students along.
“Olivia…. What would happen if I killed my instructor?”
“That would be quite the problem.”
“Why? The instructor is trying to kill me, so why isn’t the reverse permitted?”
“Well, you haven’t died yet….”
“Look more carefully. I might already be halfway dead.”
“Sure, sure. You’re still very pretty today.”
Olivia spent the time until the practical exercise accumulating her anger toward Aiden.
During that time, the two of them had nine more sparring matches, and in the final bout before the practical exercise, Olivia suffered another defeat. Her record was now 1 win and 9 losses.
It was a terrible record, but considering the other students had 0 wins in 10 matches, this was actually quite respectable.
In fact, in their last sparring session, Olivia had managed to pin Aiden down completely beneath her.
Unfortunately, that lasted only about five seconds….
Still, if she’d held the advantage for five seconds, couldn’t she count it as 11 matches, 2 wins, 9 losses?
Of course, immediately after those five seconds, she had to surrender and be held down by Aiden without time to celebrate her joy. A pity.
“Still, I did beat you once.”
“Should luck count as victory?”
“If luck can cost you your life, doesn’t that mean dying by luck also counts as dying?”
“How do you always have to have the last word?”
“I’m simply following your excellent instruction never to back down.”
“……That’s true. You did well.”
The day that sparring ended, Aiden regarded Olivia with a distinctly uncomfortable expression, but ultimately said nothing more.
“Tomorrow is the day for assigning practical exercise groups.”
“Yes.”
“Well…. This much is at least barely acceptable.”
Instead, he offered only a brief word of praise in passing before disappearing.
Bennett was surprised that this counted as praise, but Olivia understood. It was the highest compliment, and nothing less than Aiden’s answer to the words she had spoken in Professor Seton’s office.
“Olivia? Olivia!”
“Oh, yes.”
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
Good things. Very good things indeed.
From afar, on the dais, her eyes met Aiden’s. Gazing into those seemingly emotionless eyes, Olivia resolved that she would absolutely succeed in this practical exercise.

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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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