Chapter 60: Love (2)

I often hear people say that I am cold-hearted. I agree with that to some extent. Recently, with all the incidents happening around me, or perhaps due to the influence of my past life, I have developed quite an indifferent personality.

However, lately, I have been filled with so much happiness that I find myself smiling more often. My mouth curls up slightly, and sometimes I burst into laughter like a crazy person.

Especially when I’m with Marie, I can’t keep the smile off my face. Just looking at her made my lips twitch uncontrollably.

“Hehehe.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Isaac, why are you laughing?”

“I don’t know, it’s just coming out.”

Marie also didn’t try to hide her feelings, and we both giggled together. On the first day of our relationship, I was cautious and didn’t express my affection much, but as time passed, all those inhibitions disappeared.

Whether it was the complaints from those around us, the suspicious glances from Cecily and Rina, or the curious looks from others, we were too consumed with the sweetness of our first love to care about anything else.

We even got scolded by a professor once for not paying attention in class, but it was just a simple hiccup that we easily overlooked.

Anyway, Marie and I confessed our feelings to each other and some time had passed. All the exams and assignments were over, and we had relatively more free time, so we hung out together more often.

Perhaps because of this, people’s gaze towards us changed from suspicion to certainty. Even if you were not observant, others would predict, “Ah, those two are in a relationship,” just by looking at us.

And the result of this was revealed in none other than the dance hall we visited on the weekend. We had agreed to have our own personal time over the weekend.

“Hey, are you dating someone these days?”

“Yes?”

Adelia asked me directly as she returned as a spectator after taking a break.

I looked at her with a surprised expression. Adelia had seemed frustrated for a while, and she had even taken off her blouse.

Although she was wearing a tank top, I was almost caught off guard when my gaze turned to a risque place.

“Phew, it’s hot. So when will you answer?”

Adelia said to me in her husky voice, fluttering her tank top. I noticed her beauty, drenched in sweat.

In response, I hastily regained my composure and spoke up. I tried to suppress any strange thoughts by imagining Marie’s face as much as possible.

“How did you know?”

“I happened to see you hugging a white-haired girl. As if saying, ‘We’re in a relationship,’ openly.”

She giggled mischievously and poked my cheek with her index finger. Then, I gently grabbed Adelia’s finger and placed it on my palm.

“So? Is that all?”

“Is that all? Who wouldn’t be curious when their close friend’s little brother is dating someone? Who confessed first? Wait, what’s her name? I think I might know who she is from her white hair.”

Adelia asked a series of questions with her bright blue eyes sparkling. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t have bothered, but Adelia was different. She had a mischievous and curious side, but her nature was good.

If her nature wasn’t good, Nicole wouldn’t have taken care of her. Moreover, Adelia’s pranks had a strong feeling of seeking attention, so I couldn’t hate her.

“Well... Maybe noona knows who she is. Her name is Marie, and she’s from the Requilis Duke’s family.”

“Wow~, our cute little Isaac has quite good skills? And it’s the Requilis Duke’s family. Who confessed first?”

“Although Marie said something similar to confessing, we started dating because they both had feelings for each other.”

“Wow~”

After that, Adelia asked various questions with excitement. I didn’t know why she was so interested in other people’s love stories, but I couldn’t help but answer her as her eyes shone brightly.

“Youth, it’s all about youth. There’s nothing that can match the freshness of being in your teens. Are you thinking about marriage by any chance?”

“...That seems a bit extreme.”

In this world, once you turn 17, you are considered an adult and can get married. However, due to academic reasons, most people get married around the age of 22.

But because of the influence of my past life, even that time felt too soon for me. However, I couldn’t apply my past life’s common sense to this life, so I could only give a vague answer.

As I stared blankly at her, Nicole approached me and asked with a suspicious voice.

“Why are you acting like that? Did she say something?”

“Uh... no? She didn’t say anything.”

“Hmm... really?”

His eyes were so incredulous. It’s a natural reaction considering how many sins Adelia has committed.

“Phew. It’s hot.”

Then, just like Adelia did earlier, Nicole took off her top to dry off her sweat. Although she was wearing a sleeveless top on the inside, as Nicole’s well-defined muscles caught my attention, I couldn’t help but think that maybe the saying that women have a hard time building muscles due to their nature was wrong.

“Oh, right. Isaac. Didn’t you say you were dating that girl? The white-haired one I saw last time. Was her name Marie?”

Nicole asked me as she fluttered her collar to cool off the sweat. She was the one I had told everything to last week.

So Nicole knew that Marie knew my secret, and there was no need to hide it. But I couldn’t help feeling anxious.

Marie might be a good person, but in Nicole’s eyes, everyone was the same.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering if everything’s going well. Anything happening?”

“I’m doing well.”

“Well, that’s good. Hmm.”

Nicole left it at that and plopped down next to me.

“Don’t you regret telling her?”

“What regret? Oh, I do regret it. Why didn’t I tell her earlier?”

“You’re really something else. Yeah, you’re at that age.”

Nicole smirked at my response, unable to contain her amusement. Then, as if she had thought of something, she spoke up in a slightly hopeful tone.

“By the way, how’s the writing going?”

“I’m doing well. I’ll probably be done in two weeks.”

“It’s fast. Well, since the exams are over, there should be plenty of free time. You said the 10th book includes the story of the Elf Queen and Xenon’s master?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh~ I’m looking forward to that. A love story between an elf and a human, it’ll be another hit, won’t it? The elves will surely talk about it too.”

Nicole giggled and joked around. I couldn’t help but smile inwardly as I watched her.

Yes. It could look like a touching love story between elves and humans on the surface. But as the story continues, people will feel that something is wrong.

Because the Elf Queen and Xenon’s master will not be able to continue their relationship. It won’t be a cheesy plot where one of them looks at someone else.

Both of them are confident in each other, but the Elf Queen seems unable to pursue it due to a lifespan issue.

‘It’ll have to end in tragedy to make an impression.’

Xenon’s master will die later. Even worse, it’ll be by the hand of “Envy”, who used to be their student.

And the Elf Queen will sob and burst into tears at the fact that her master has died. Originally, this scene was a device to awaken Xenon, but upon closer consideration, I plan to write it in detail because it seems interesting.

I glanced at Nicole, who had an expectant expression, and then looked ahead and spoke again.

“Yeah, it’s going to be really interesting.”

Only to me.

Translators note:

Adelia is us lmao