My High School Nerd Rival - Chapter 93

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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 93
Second equestrian class.
The changing room at the Royal Equestrian Center.
There was none of last week’s chaos. The students changed into their Equestrian Uniforms with unhurried ease.
Ivy moved naturally among them.
Or rather, she tried to. Even so, she kept pressing herself flat against the lockers, hiding away.
‘Don’t act strange.’
This was already Ivy’s fifth warning to herself.
Yet she couldn’t help but keep her gaze lowered, dodging the eyes of anyone who glanced her way.
It was all because of the comments she’d seen last night.
Someone saying that without Glasses, she looked like someone else.
Beneath it came follow-up comments asking ‘Who?’ and ‘Who’s the one wearing Glasses?’—demanding specific names.
Those hours had been hell for Ivy.
It took a while before an answer finally appeared.
‘Cyrus.’
When Ivy saw it, she’d thrown her phone across the room.
What was that supposed to mean—a joke?
But then other strange comments had followed.
‘Well, wearing Glasses is the classic way to hide your identity, isn’t it?’
Ivy found herself glancing around.
Worried that someone might look at ‘Glasses-wearing Ivy’ suspiciously.
Of course, it was needless worry.
This was a game.
When someone said ‘You look like the Princess,’ you just laughed and said ‘You’re only noticing now?’
Even as she thought this, Ivy pulled her hair back into a bun and quickly pulled on her Helmet.
She closed her locker and slipped out of the changing room.
The chatter of students filling the main building of the equestrian center reached her ears.
“Ivy!”
Someone called her name brightly, and she turned. Two students from her class were approaching with smiles.
“Look, look—Ivy kind of looks like her too, doesn’t she?”
A phone screen came close to her face.
When she turned to look, what she saw was… a photo of Princess Evelyn taken last Easter.
Hair neatly pinned up, sharp features, a smile directed at the camera.
Her lungs seemed to stiffen, and for a moment her breathing hitched.
“It really does look similar, doesn’t it?”
The phone came even closer.
She knew the rules of this game.
Hadn’t she just thought it moments ago? Just laugh and say ‘You’re only noticing now?’ like everyone else did.
Like everyone did.
“…….”
But.
The light in the eyes of the student holding the phone seemed to shift, infinitesimally. Just for an instant.
Surely not.
Her heart had stopped.
At that very moment, a dark jacket cut across her line of sight.
It was Cyrus, and he stood before Ivy with his back turned to the student with the phone.
As though no one existed behind him.
“Your chin strap isn’t fastened properly.”
Ivy reflexively touched her Helmet’s chin strap.
In that time, Cyrus had already begun walking toward the Stable.
“What, showing off again?”
“What a jerk.”
The students with the phone had already shifted their attention to Cyrus.
Ivy remained facing him, still holding her chin strap.
The truth was, it had been fastened properly from the start.
So why had he bothered to point it out…?
Was it because he’d noticed the troubled look on her face? Or was there another reason?
She couldn’t tell.
Ivy finally turned and followed the path he’d taken.
The Stable remained unchanged.
A place where the warm scent of horses and the soft sound of movement filled the air.
She could see Nix in the distance.
His well-groomed coat gleamed. It hadn’t changed since the last time she’d stroked him.
‘I’ll come again.’
A promise from before echoed in her mind. Nix was probably waiting.
He was a smart one, after all.
As Ivy approached, Nix’s ears perked forward.
He recognized her. Just like last time.
Nix always found Ivy.
Rumble-rumble.
A low, gentle whicker—a warm greeting that seemed to say ‘I’ve been waiting.’
Her steps halted.
Nix had already stretched his neck long over the fence.
A movement full of affection.
Her fingers gripped the hem of her clothes tightly. Without thinking, her hand would reach out.
Glancing around, the other students were busy with their assigned horses. No one was looking her way.
So just for a moment…
But her feet wouldn’t move.
‘Not now. It’s too dangerous.’
Princess Evelyn’s favorite horse.
A horse kept by the royal family.
If this horse showed its teeth and threatened everyone else, but then lowered its head and nuzzled against Ivy alone…
Even the slowest person would find it suspicious.
And now that the Princess Hunt trend was spreading, they’d immediately connect her to Evelyn.
Ivy forced herself forward.
She walked past Nix.
Behind her, she heard the soft tap of hooves against the ground.
Didn’t you see me?
He was calling to her.
Ivy squeezed her eyes shut and quickened her pace.
She couldn’t even bear to make the promise of ‘I’ll come back next time.’
* * *
The equestrian class ended.
Today, there was nothing improved from last week, and the instructor scolded them adequately before making them practice until their thighs trembled.
She barely managed to change back into her uniform in the changing room, then unbound her hair and let it fall across her face again. Just that much brought some relief.
She gathered her things and boarded the bus.
The eyes of the students already on the bus turned toward Ivy. It was only natural, yet she couldn’t understand why she felt so tense.
She lowered her head and hurried along the narrow bus aisle toward the back.
Several students hadn’t returned yet, so there were quite a few empty seats.
Where should she sit?
Then she spotted Cyrus by the window with a book open. The seat next to him was empty.
Ivy quickly sat down beside him.
“You came.”
He spoke without lifting his eyes from the book.
“It was empty.”
She answered as though it were nothing.
The truth was, she hadn’t chosen this seat for such a simple reason.
He had no interest in gossip, and also…
Ivy glanced briefly at his hand holding the book, then looked away.
“Earlier.”
When Ivy spoke again, he closed the book for a moment.
“Your chin strap—it was already fastened tight.”
He didn’t seem particularly surprised. He tossed the book lightly onto his lap and answered easily.
“Was it?”
That was all.
No, that wasn’t what she’d meant to say. Ivy wanted to tell him thank you.
Thank him for helping her escape that frightening moment.
But to do that, she’d have to explain what she’d been afraid of.
And so, in the end, all she could do was stay silent.
Soon other students returned, and the bus filled up. The teacher counted everyone, and the bus began to move.
Like last time, the ride back was quiet.
Everyone was too exhausted to chatter or play around.
The bus took a curve. Ivy’s shoulder tilted slightly against his arm.
Just as she was about to shift her body away, Cyrus opened his book again and spoke softly.
“It’s fine.”
“…….”
Was it only her over-interpretation that made it sound like permission?
Tap.
The edge of her shoulder settled firmly against his arm.
Now there was no momentum to blame.
He made no move to pull away.
‘……This is strange.’
The tight breath she’d been holding loosened gently.
Ivy suddenly realized she’d been tense this whole time, to an absurd degree.
“I’ll wake you up.”
He spoke again.
Without thinking, a small smile tugged at Ivy’s lips.
He’d said the same thing before, but then hadn’t actually woken her in time.
“This time for real.”
As if he knew she was remembering that, he added quickly.
She closed her eyes.
What came immediately to mind was Sports Day, the Science Building chemistry lab.
A strangely cool temperature, the faint smell of chemicals, curtains billowing softly.
And right beside her, Cyrus, and the quiet sound of him turning a thin page.
The noise gradually faded away.
Only then did fatigue become clear.
The things that troubled Ivy remained as they were, but now she felt only the warmth of contact.
And then she seemed to fall asleep.
When the school came into view, Cyrus woke Ivy as promised.
By tapping gently on the back of her hand.
Ivy lifted her head, which had been resting completely against his arm.
Resting completely against his arm.
Oh my.
“I—!”
She was about to ask if she’d been too heavy, but Cyrus answered first.
“As long as you slept well.”
* * *
Fabian looked up from his phone screen at the bench near the school gates when he heard an engine.
The bus stopped.
Students with tired faces spilled out one by one.
Through the bus window, Cyrus was visible, saying something briefly to someone in the seat beside him.
And.
Ivy lifted her head from beneath Cyrus’s shoulder.
She’d been asleep.
How careless.
She still hadn’t broken the habit of falling asleep anywhere.
Fabian smiled and rose from the bench.
His steps toward the school gates didn’t falter. The smile at his lips deepened, but his eyes remained perfectly still.
* * *
[URGENT] Notice
A broken window has been discovered in the Chemistry Lab at the Science Building (B Building 1st Floor Room 104).
Use of the classroom is completely prohibited until safety inspection and glass replacement are completed. Experimental Chemistry classes will be held in the 2nd Chemistry Lab (B Building 2nd Floor Room 204) until further notice.
We are investigating the cause of the damage. Any students with relevant information are asked to report it to a teacher.
—Facilities Management

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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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