I Thought Your Friend's Sibling Wasn't a Girl? - Chapter 85

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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 85
I need to get this man out of here first, Aiden thought instinctively.
“H-help— *cough*!”
“You. Let me have a word with you for a moment.”
He’d wanted to exact some personal revenge on those thugs, but it seemed ‘someone’ had already taken care of it—leaving him nothing left to do. Aiden’s face clouded over with frustration.
Aiden dragged him into a deserted alley and pulled him out of sight.
The faces of the men they’d left behind flickered in his mind, but this took priority. Aiden leaned in toward the man and whispered in a low voice.
“Commander, what exactly are you doing here?”
“Oh. I’ve been caught.”
He was at a loss for words.
Aiden stared at Yugin with an expression of disbelief, his mouth opening and closing before he finally burst out: “How is that supposed to be an explanation?”
“That’s what you call a reason!”
For the first time, Aiden understood the emotion Yugin must have felt whenever he returned from causing trouble.
It was chaos of the highest order.
* * *
To be honest, Yugin had no such plan to begin with.
He’d stepped out to give the brigade members their space while they dined together—a kindness befitting a superior—and while he was out, he’d happened to wander near where the Lumen Knights were gathered. Pure coincidence.
Running into those drunken fools, getting into it with them, then taking a bit more revenge on their behalf in the heat of the moment—all of it was just happenstance.
“Then dressing head to toe in black and slipping out was also coincidence?”
“I’m something of a public figure. When I want to move quietly, I cover my face. The way you do it.”
Honestly, there wasn’t much difference between how Yugin was dressed now and how Aiden usually looked, was there? He found that rather amusing.
“Stop lying.”
“What makes you think I’m lying?”
“You’ve never acted this way before.”
That was true.
Yugin held Aiden’s blue gaze steadily, then simply nodded in acknowledgment. Aiden pulled back his robe with an annoyed gesture and fixed him with a sharp stare.
“Why?”
“Well. That’s what I’ve been wondering myself.”
Why was this time an exception?
It was the very question Yugin had been asking himself as he made up excuses and came here.
For the first time, he’d surrendered to impulse and acted on his desires, and yet he’d continued questioning himself the whole while.
Aiden gripped his arm firmly and pressed for an answer. Perhaps that was why Yugin found himself wanting to be a little more honest.
“It’s because of Olivia.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Watching Olivia, I thought I’d try doing something I wanted to do for once. Petty revenge and the like.”
Hostility flooded into his blue eyes in an instant.
“I’ve mentioned it before. Watching Olivia makes me curious.”
“Commander.”
“And amazed.”
Olivia Kishear. She possessed remarkable talent—he’d thought her necessary for that reason alone. Yet watching her stake her entire life to reclaim her fiancé had been breathtaking.
That was how this interest had begun.
And now it had grown into something substantial, stirring his usually quiet heart without cease.
“I’ve always believed there was a perfect time for things. That only by becoming perfect first could the ending also be perfect. Of course, taking command of the Lux Knight Brigade has shifted my thinking somewhat.”
Aiden’s eyes wavered. Meanwhile, Yugin’s smile grew wider.
There were things you only understood once you spoke them aloud. Emotions that had been opaque and muddled suddenly became clear as they spilled from your lips, following the thread of your own words.
“But Olivia isn’t someone waiting for the perfect moment, is she? She’s someone who does her absolute best in whatever circumstances she’s given and produces the finest results.”
Watching Olivia gave him a sense of liberation. She was someone bold enough to do things he’d hesitated over, second-guessed, and never attempted.
Thanks to her, wasn’t he able to do something this satisfying? Yugin touched the unfamiliar cheap sword at his waist and laughed.
“That’s why.”
“…Why would you tell me such a thing?”
“Why? You asked first, didn’t you? I simply answered honestly.”
“That you’ve taken an interest in Olivia—and you chose to tell me, her fiancé, of all people? I’m asking what your purpose is.”
“Hmm. Did it sound that way?”
Aiden was now watching Yugin as though facing an enemy. Yugin met his gaze without flinching.
A fiancé in name only, a friend’s sister. There was much he’d heard about the nature of their relationship.
“From what I can see, you genuinely have feelings for her, yet you keep denying it?”
“For Aiden?”
“Yes, I mean—you keep spouting empty nonsense about her being a friend’s sister, family, and all that. It’s frustrating, honestly.”
Sena’s grumbling voice had echoed around him so vividly. Yugin had found himself agreeing with her assessment.
What person in this world took that kind of attitude toward someone who was merely a ‘sister’? So Aiden was stubborn to the point of foolishness.
Yugin left that rather harsh judgment of Aiden in place and allowed his smile to deepen. Since Aiden didn’t realize it himself, there was no reason to awaken those feelings for him.
“Then that must be it.”
An ominous aura radiated from Aiden. But Yugin simply shrugged it off.
If anything, he would have preferred Aiden to realize his feelings much later.
In Yugin’s heart, a feeling bloomed that he had never experienced before in his life.
Leaving Aiden behind, he turned back. Somehow, his spirits felt remarkably lightened.
* * *
The scorching summer sun vanished in an instant, replaced by the gentle chill of autumn air.
The three students who’d applied to the Lux Knight Brigade had adapted well and were each settling into their assigned roles. Even Olivia was no exception.
“To your left!”
“Yes, senior!”
Slash!
Olivia swung her blade, severing the tentacle of the monster that was rushing toward her companion.
The sensation of cutting through living flesh came through her palm with striking clarity. Without hesitation, Olivia pushed off from the creature and leaped back, slashing again as the thing snapped its teeth and lunged at her.
Her strength and reflexes had grown to a degree unimaginable from when she’d first arrived here. And—
“Olivia, at this rate, you’ll surpass our performance records soon, won’t you?”
“You’re too kind, senior.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
—countless real combat experiences.
Olivia had learned an enormous amount since joining the Lux Knight Brigade. Even apart from Aiden, she had no regrets whatsoever about choosing this order.
“You’re quite skilled now.”
“Thank you, senior.”
“I-I was just speaking my mind!”
Luka’s face flushed crimson as he spoke. Olivia smiled naturally and nodded toward him.
By now, she’d built friendships with most of the Lux Knight Brigade members.
At this rate, it was certain that Olivia would be the one to win the wager against Aiden.
Graduation wasn’t far off now. When that day came, the results would be decided.
Who had won, and what would become of the relationship between Olivia and Aiden.
“Olivia, where’s Aiden?”
“The commander said he had a meeting at Veritas Academy today and went there.”
“Oh? That’s unusual. He always ignored those before.”
“Commander Yugin went with him. It seemed like something serious.”
It did seem like something very important.
Yugin’s expression had looked far more grave than usual as he’d set out for the Academy.
Something related to the Field Training Exercise, he’d said.
Olivia tilted her head, recalling Yugin’s face when he’d come to find her.

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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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