The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 221

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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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Special Side Story 34
“Teacher! Is anyone there?!”
A student raised her voice, searching for an adult among those gathered.
“Did they just get into a fight?”
“Why?”
Other students whispered to each other in alarm.
Something felt deeply wrong.
Cloe pushed through the throng of gathered students and stepped forward.
What she saw there was—
“……Viscount?!”
Lucas stood there, disheveled and breathing hard, his clothes in disarray.
And on the ground sat a boy with tears streaming down his face, staring up at Lucas.
‘What—what is happening?!’
Cloe’s eyes went wide with shock.
* * *
“……That is what occurred, Duchess.”
Larite concealed her bewilderment behind a composed expression as she regarded the teacher across from her.
It was true.
Her son Lucas, who had always been so docile, had gotten into a fight with a classmate.
Worse, he had grabbed the boy by the collar and thrown punches.
“However, the other students have also expressed their desire not to escalate this matter, and it is indeed a fact that those students were disrespectful to Miss Cloe.”
“I see.”
“Given the circumstances, we believe both parties can resolve this without disciplinary action.”
The teacher finished with those words.
Larite bowed her head slightly, her expression apologetic.
“I understand. Thank you for such leniency.”
“Not at all. This is hardly Lucas’s fault alone.”
“I will speak with Lucas about this at home.”
The meeting with the teacher concluded.
Larite slipped outside.
In the distance, she spotted her son standing with a deeply sullen expression.
“Lucas.”
Larite approached him quickly.
Lucas stiffened, his shoulders tensing.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not apologizing to them—not ever.”
He declared it firmly.
Then, still fuming, he pressed on.
“They said terrible things about Cloe first—calling her a commoner and all sorts of things. And…….”
“And?”
Larite tilted her head curiously.
Lucas’s lips moved soundlessly for a moment before he clamped his mouth shut, his face flushed with indignation.
Larite smiled wryly.
‘In his own way, he’s trying to protect Cloe.’
From her conversation with the teacher, she’d gathered roughly what crude insults the other students had hurled at Cloe.
Relying on her pretty face, they wanted to attach themselves to Lucas by any means.
They had deliberately targeted him to ruin her chances….
For Cloe, such words could only be shameful.
Knowing that, Lucas was likely keeping quiet about it out of consideration for her.
“Let’s head home for now.”
Larite said no more and led her son away from the Academy.
On the way back to the Townhouse,
Larite spoke quietly.
“About your fight with the other students today—”
Lucas glanced up at his mother with a start.
Larite continued calmly.
“I have no intention of scolding you for that.”
What?
Lucas blinked in confusion, his eyes wide.
He had truly expected to be thoroughly reprimanded.
Particularly since Larite usually disciplined him strictly.
As the next head of House of Claudius, I’d been told time and again to mind my conduct.
“I heard the explanation from your instructor earlier, and I understand why you were angry.”
“Mother?”
“Those children certainly were extremely rude to Cloe.”
Larite clicked her tongue sharply and drew a firm line.
“But you were still wrong to throw the first punch out of emotion.”
“……That is——”
“What did your mother and father tell you about that, Lucas?”
Larite fixed him with a stern gaze.
Lucas dropped his head, looking crestfallen.
“You said that if there’s a problem, we should talk first.”
“Yes, you remembered well.”
Larite nodded, her voice growing slightly gentler.
“I won’t make you apologize to those children. But when you see Cloe tomorrow, do comfort her properly. I’m sure she was quite frightened.”
“Yes, I will.”
He’d accepted obediently enough — for a moment.
Lucas then cast a furtive glance at Larite, gauging her mood.
“Actually, Mother.”
He hesitated for a long stretch,
before asking carefully.
“……How am I supposed to treat a girl well?”
What?
Larite’s eyes widened in surprise.
This feeling… something was afoot here.
“The same way you treat Irene, I suppose?”
Larite answered as if she knew nothing at all.
At that, Lucas’s face flushed crimson.
“That… that’s rather embarrassing.”
At the same moment, a mischievous smile bloomed across Larite’s lips.
‘My goodness, so our Lucas is getting flustered over a girl.’
Until now, as Viscount, Lucas had met young ladies of his station several times over, yet he’d never once shown such a reaction.
Which meant——
‘That boy is indeed conscious of Cloe.’
A strange new feeling washed over Larite.
Had her son already grown so much?
* * *
Cloe hadn’t slept a wink the night before.
It was shocking enough that Lucas had gotten into a fight, but to learn it was because of her——
And so, the next day.
With dark circles under her eyes, Cloe dragged Lucas off to the secluded back of the Academy.
The moment they arrived, the first words to spill from the girl’s lips were——
“Why did you do that?”
No, that wasn’t right.
Cloe bit gently at the soft flesh inside her mouth.
She’d come out here intending to thank him properly,
but the moment she saw Lucas’s easygoing smile, anger welled up inside her unbidden.
“Did you do it out of pity for me?”
“Pity?”
“If that’s what this is… you really didn’t need to.”
Lucas tried to speak, but Cloe shook her head, cutting him off.
She couldn’t seem to control her emotions.
She was so frustrated with how she kept putting Lucas in difficult positions.
Shame, gratitude, exasperation.
A tangle of emotions churned through her mind, filling it completely.
As if she might burst at any moment.
“My goal is to graduate quietly from the Academy. And you, Viscount, keep standing in my way.”
“Cloe, I——”
“It’s not that you’re a bad person, Viscount. It’s just that you’re so conspicuous, and naturally the attention falls on those around you. Of course people will notice me too, standing beside you. I——”
Cloe poured out her words in a rush, then drew a shaky breath.
And.
“……It makes me uncomfortable.”
The truth was, she felt guilty.
That Lucas was suffering all sorts of difficult situations because of her.
And she hated herself for harboring inferiority toward someone so genuinely kind.
Lucas’s unguarded nature.
Kindness scattered like sunlight.
Everything about him stood in such sharp contrast to Cloe.
And so whenever she stood before Lucas, she felt utterly diminished…….
“…….”
“…….”
Silence pooled between them.
Lucas regarded Cloe with an unreadable gaze.
And then.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you felt this way.”
Cloe’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
It would have been easier if Lucas had grown angry, or accused her of ingratitude with pointed fingers.
But he only offered his sincere apology.
“You know what, though?”
At the same moment, Lucas looked directly at Cloe.
His handsome face, ordinarily so bright and cheerful, had grown somber.
“I’ve never pitied you.”
“……Viscount.”
“I’ll be more careful from now on. Going forward…….”
Lucas offered a thin smile.
Like a wooden doll learning to smile for the first time, it remained awkwardly tentative.
“I won’t ever make you feel uncomfortable again.”
With those words, Lucas turned quietly and left.

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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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