My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 38

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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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Episode 38
Evelyn stared intently at Joy’s face as she asked.
She couldn’t fathom how Joy had managed to get Cyrus to run an errand for her.
“Well.”
Joy drew out her words before breaking into a playful smile.
“I told him a streetlight was broken.”
“What?”
That was false information. The light was dim from age, but it worked fine. Evelyn had seen it on the way over, so she was certain.
“So I asked him to go check instead of me. I told him that if he ran into you on the way, he should walk back with you—dark streets are dangerous, after all.”
“……And he just agreed to that?”
“Almost immediately.”
It was hard to imagine Cyrus accepting someone else’s request so readily.
In any case, Evelyn was moved.
“……Joy, were you worried about me?”
Worried I’d be afraid walking alone in the dark.
Never mind that the streetlight wasn’t actually broken.
“Are you getting emotional over me right now?”
“Of course I am.”
Who else would she get emotional over?
“Anyway, it’s good we found the books we needed right away. We just got the debate topic for the inter-school competition a little while ago.”
At the word “debate,” Quinton vanished entirely from Evelyn’s mind.
“The topic came out?! What is it?!”
Her voice rose instinctively.
“My goodness, you really do care more about this, don’t you?”
What else would she care about? It was a precious opportunity for bonus points.
“So tell me already. Is it one of the topics we predicted?”
Truthfully, the topic didn’t matter. Environment, politics, religion—Evelyn had no intention of losing the inter-school competition.
“No, not at all. But it’s quite an interesting one.”
Joy retrieved the guide from the desk and handed it over.
Evelyn’s eyes widened momentarily as she took it.
[Debate Topic: Is a lie told with good intentions justified?]
“A lie……”
The moment she saw those words, a thorn that had nagged at her until now suddenly drove in deep.
“Right, a lie. We’ve been assigned the opposing position.”
Which meant she would have to argue that lies are never justified, regardless of intent.
“…….”
The feeling was strange.
“Evelyn Underwood” was a false existence created to conceal her true identity.
And now she was supposed to stand before others and argue that lies cannot be justified.
Wasn’t that itself a bitter contradiction?
Did she even have the right to say such a thing?
“Isn’t it perfect?”
Unaware of Evelyn’s thoughts, Joy smiled softly.
“Honestly, I don’t believe it when people say they lie for someone else’s sake. It’s all hypocrisy.”
Joy made this declaration with her chin propped in her hand.
Evelyn knew who those words were really meant for. Joy’s parents.
Did Joy know?
That Evelyn too was lying to everyone for the very same reason.
“Evelyn.”
Joy turned her head. Evelyn’s face reflected in the depths of her dark gray eyes.
“You think the same way, don’t you?”
The sudden question caught Evelyn off guard. But she quickly summoned her trained smile and answered gently.
“Yes, I do.”
A lie.
This time, too, it came so naturally.
‘……There’s no choice.’
And just like that, the excuses came to her as well, familiar as a well-worn path.
“I…… think I’m a bit tired, Joy.”
For some reason, talking further had become unbearable. Evelyn let her body collapse back onto the bed.
“I’ll rest for a bit. We’ll talk about the debate competition again tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s what happens when you sit in the library all day long. Anyway, that’s nerds for you.”
Fortunately, Joy didn’t suspect anything was amiss.
Soon the lights went out, and darkness fell over the room. Evelyn curled herself small beneath the blankets, trying to organize her thoughts.
‘Hiding my identity while attending school is a rule of the royal family.’
So I can compete with other students on equal footing.
And beyond that, it’s also for the safety of everyone at school.
‘So there’s no other way.’
* * *
[Debate Topic: Is a lie told with good intentions justified?]
After receiving the topic, the following week was nothing short of war.
Evelyn and Joy practically monopolized a corner section of the library.
Joy marveled at the arguments Evelyn had organized, and Evelyn was thrilled by Joy’s sharp speeches.
Though physically exhausted, for those moments they were so engaged that Evelyn could almost forget the guilt of living a lie.
And then, on the Saturday morning two days before the debate competition.
-Your Highness.
Owen’s voice through the receiver carried a note of difficulty.
The task Evelyn had asked him to do wasn’t really that hard.
“Owen, please. I’m only asking you to help Joy’s biological mother receive surgery.”
That morning, Joy had received an urgent call from her step-brother.
Their mother’s condition had deteriorated rapidly, and the hospital was recommending immediate surgery.
Already struggling with medication costs alone, they couldn’t afford the massive surgical expenses.
Despite their mother’s protests, her step-brother had contacted Joy out of desperation.
But Joy herself had no clear way forward.
Rich as her father’s family was, she couldn’t freely manipulate all their funds.
And finding her biological mother was a secret no one in the Carter Family knew about. Any hasty move risked the family actively obstructing her treatment.
Knowing all of this, Joy had been pushed to the brink of tears, helpless and trapped. Evelyn had made an excuse to slip away and called Owen from a corner of the dormitory hallway.
To ask him to help Joy.
“Just tell them it’s an anonymous donation from some foundation!”
The words tumbled out in desperation—and they were lies, of course.
But there was no choice.
If everything ended like this, Joy would collapse in despair and resentment at her own powerlessness.
Evelyn couldn’t bear to see that.
She wanted to do whatever she could, right now. No matter the cost.
-Your Highness.
Unlike Evelyn’s urgency, Owen’s voice remained remarkably calm.
-That woman is…… if I may say so, a liability for the Carter Family.
“Owen!”
-I don’t mean to insult her. I’m referring to the fact that the Carter Family wishes to keep her hidden.
The Carter Family had commanded respect since an era when rigid social hierarchies existed.
For such a family to have borrowed a maidservant’s body to produce their heir, then taken the child and claimed her as their own—that was quite a damaging secret.
Especially in a world like today’s.
“That doesn’t mean I can do nothing. She’s important to Joy, regardless of who she is!”
-Your Highness, please calm yourself and listen.
“…….”
-If it becomes known that your funds flowed into that woman’s treatment, you will be suspected of trying to obtain leverage over the Carter Family.
Avoiding unnecessary conflict was also the policy of the small nation of Alden’s royal family.
Especially now, when the Poisoning Incident from five years ago still hadn’t been entirely forgotten.
The balance between vast wealth and long tradition was delicate. One couldn’t move carelessly on such unstable ground.
Intruding hastily into another family’s shameful secrets was hardly wise.
When faced with potentially troublesome matters, one must turn a blind eye. For “Princess Evelyn,” that was the right course.
“I understand what you’re saying.”
Evelyn managed to respond.
“But I don’t care.”
-Your Highness!
“Even if it causes problems, I don’t care. I’ll find a way.”
If the Carter Family took offense and withdrew their support, Evelyn might lose her Succession rights in the worst case.
For the sake of peaceful coexistence between the royal family and the greatest household.
“That’s not the worst thing that could happen in this situation.”
The worst would be watching someone precious to Joy suffer helplessly without lifting a finger.
There could be nothing more terrible than that.
“I know it sounds childish. But I mean it.”
She was aware this wasn’t an appropriate choice for a princess.
She understood Owen, bound by his oath to her, would find her answer disappointing.
-It is my principle never to do anything that would bring harm to you, but—
He drew a deep breath.
-It is also within my duties to help you find what you seek and protect what you wish to protect.
“Owen.”
-I don’t think you’re being childish. I’ll look into what routes are possible.
“Thank you.”
-It is my pleasure. I’ll be in touch.
After hanging up, Evelyn leaned her forehead against the cold wall and murmured to herself.
“……Will it be alright?”
And it was as she quietly turned to make her way back down the corridor that she heard snickering laughter echoing from a corner of the stairwell below.
Two members of Tiffany’s Angels were rifling through a female student’s bag.
Objects lay scattered across the floor, and the girl stood with her back pressed against the wall, her head bowed.
Standing before her with arms crossed was Tiffany Vance.
Evelyn moved directly toward them.
“Stop.”
Tiffany turned her head slowly.
“Oh my, class president. Finished with your whispered phone call?”
She smiled thinly.
“Lighten up. We’re just having fun, right?”
Having fun?
Speak for yourself.
Evelyn was about to snap something sharp. But her mouth wouldn’t open.
Because now Evelyn’s gaze wasn’t fixed on Tiffany’s shameless face.
It was fixed on something above it.
A hairband.
The thing gleaming softly atop Tiffany’s head.
It was a product Evelyn knew very well.
And for good reason—
‘I was the one who made it last time.’
When she appeared as Princess Evelyn for the New Year greeting.

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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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