CH 45

Kazen and Leto’s eyes stared at each other. The two were glaring at each other as if they were going to kill each other, and they didn’t even blink as though they were waiting for the other to take their eyes off first. It was Kazen who averted his gaze first. When he looked away first as if he was too lazy to deal with this, Leto folded his arms triumphantly as though he had won. Kazen then frowned, quickly regretting that he had averted his gaze. Both of them are truly childishly unmatched.

“Alright, let’s make a bet.”

Now he wants to bet. At Kazen’s words, Leto nodded, indicating for him to continue. 

“Whoever wins the cricket tournament, they will reveal the secret of the loser. It has to be a very big secret that only the two of us know.”

Kazen’s words surprised me more than Leto. If it was Leto’s secret, it must be the fact that he’s actually a man. Revealing this big secret just because you lost a cricket tournament? I tried to stop him from doing anything reckless, but Leto nodded willingly.

“Fine.”

“Leah!”

I hurriedly protested Leto.

“I, I think it’s best to not make such a risky bet.”

“Bree, no one even asked you to take part in this bet.”

Kazen replied firmly.

“But it’s a secret……”

“That’s the fun part. Isn’t that right, Leah? Or are you not confident?”

“Says who?”

Leto easily fell for Kazen’s provocation. It’s a big secret that could get him kicked out if he was caught by the academy, but he’s going to reveal this so easily? No matter how many times I tried to persuade Leto, it was not easy to change this stubborn man’s mind. Kazen, who ate all of my cherry tomatoes heartlessly, smiled in satisfaction.

“What if he fails to participate in the cricket tournament?”

“That won’t happen. It would be a disgrace if a child of the Arsene family didn’t even qualify for the starting lineup of the cricket tournament.”

You might fail, Kazen. As I was thinking secretly, Kazen grabbed my cheek and laughed.

“I can see what’s in your heart, Bree.”

“Le oh.” (Let go.)

“I’m a child from a family of seers. Don’t you think I can predict that I’ll definitely become the main player?”

Kazen let go of my cheek after saying that. Kazen’s painful touch made my cheeks sore. While I was looking at him with resentful eyes, Kazen slipped up from his seat as though he had said everything he wanted to say. I resented the sight of Kazen walking away from his seat confidently with only the corner of his mouth raised.

“Leah.”

After Kazen left, I looked at Leto as he ate casually. In conclusion, Leto would participate the cricket tournament, but if he lost to the arts department, his secret would be revealed and he would be expelled from the academy. What will happen if he gets kicked out of the academy?

‘No! Leto has another secret! What if he won’t reveal the grave secret that he was not a woman? Could there be another big secret?’

“Should I win?”

Leto spoke after a moment of silence.

“Huh?”

“There’s only one secret that he knows. I’ll be in big trouble if that was found out.”

‘Crazy! It must be the secret that he’s not a girl!’

As I struggled with my thoughts, Leto looked at me strangely and quickly flicked my forehead. Right, first of all, I should prioritise Leto and the cricket match. After stuffing the bread in one bite, I stood up and grabbed Leto’s shoulder tightly. Leto’s eyes opened wide and he stared at me for my sudden action.

“We can do it, Leah!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Let’s make sure to be the main fielders and beat Kazen.”

Leto nodded at my words, asking why I would say something that was natural.

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“……Don’t tell me these are the cricket contestants?”

I went to fill out and submit an application for the cricket competition, and my jaw dropped at the long line. I even saw a few familiar faces. Some students from the class were also waiting in the middle of the line, holding their applications carefully.

They glanced at Leto and I, and became a little wary. It seemed that they became cautious of the other party because they would become a competitor the moment they submitted an application.

“I didn’t know there were so many competitors.”

Leto did not respond to my words. I expected this to some extent, but now, I could feel the competition rate. With what kind of confidence did Kazen have to place a bet? Let alone me, could Leto even be able to occupy a position in the main team?

“Bree, you’re here!”

A classmate who spotted me, waved.

“……Leah is here, too?”

They noticed Leah next to me and laughed awkwardly. As I was saying hello, a tall guy suddenly cut in front of me. At first, I wanted to say something, but three more people cut in, probably being in the same group with the guy. No way, were they cutting in line?

‘No way.’

My prediction was correct. They casually cut in and ignored me and Leto. Unable to stand it, I wanted to protest, but Leto stopped me. It meant not to make a big deal out of it. I agreed with him and remained still, but the men gradually went too far.

Not only did he cut in line, but he was also noisy, drawing a lot of attention from the students. Eventually, I tapped the tall guy on the back. Then, a fierce looking man looked at me with sharp eyes. That was a new face for me. Were there kids like this in our grade?

“Hey, can you move back? And please be quiet.”

At my words, the man smirked. He seemed to look down on me as a short woman.

“Looks like Pierre and Arsene.”

Then, one of the gang behind the tall guy said.

“Oh, what an honour for a celebrity to talk to me.”

The tall man looked at me and spoke sarcastically.

“If you know that, then leave.”

“Why? Are you going to hit me if I don’t go?”

I frowned at the man’s words. The commotion from the other day must have reached his ears, so he was making fun of me.

“You better go.”

Leto, who had been listening to our conversation, eventually said something. When Leto fired his sharp eyes, the crowd behind him trembled. Unlike him, the tall guy didn’t erase his smile, as if he knew Leto well.

“Hello, Arsene. I see you here all the time, but I never see your face at the mansion.”

“Who are you?”

“Me? You wouldn’t recognise me if I said Reze, but you might know me if I say Padwinder.”

A famous count who ran a large trading company. The child who claimed to be Reze had black hair and eyes, and quite bad behaviour. He also didn’t seem fazed by the Arsene family. Rather, he was staring at Leto as if he was pleased.

“Ah. You wouldn’t know. Since it was always your brother who greets me when I visit the Arsene with my father. You were always stuck in that small room. So I wasn’t sure if you were a guy or a girl. Turns out to be quite pretty.”

“So what?”

“I thought you were a social misfit since you never showed your face. But not only did you enter the academy, you even want to participate in the cricket tournament.”

Why does Leto have so many enemies? I came to avoid Kazen, but now a guy name Reze appeared.

“I heard that Padwinder’s third son is a real jerk, but it’s just you.”

“At least I’m treated better than you.”

The atmosphere of the two was frightening. Their self-esteem was similar, so they both did not hesitate to push their opponents buttons to win. Leto was right. I shouldn’t have bothered it before it became a big deal. Things were starting to get bigger than I expected. I’m stuck in the middle, trying to stop them…

“You guys are noisy.”

Raising my head, I saw a familiar guy. The guy who stopped the fight with a look that he was too tired of everything was none other than Senior Jimbo. He lightly hit Leto and Reze on the head with a book.

‘It’s fine if it’s Leto, but that Reze guy must feel pissed.’

I was also worried that he might pick a fight with Senior Jimbo, but Reze was staring at Senior Jimbo with longing eyes, unlike how when he was looking at me and Leto.

“Senior Jimbo!”

He even called him senior. No, this was clearly different from how he treated us earlier.

“What’s going on, Bree?”

Senior Jimbo ignored Reze’s words and asked me. Then, Reze drooped his shoulder like an upset puppy that was lowering his tail.

“Oh, he cut in the line…”

“Cutting in like? Really?”

“Th-That’s not true, senior.”

“Go back.”

Strangely, he couldn’t fight against Senior Jimbo’s words. He groaned at senior’s words and eventually dragged the whole gang with him and headed back.

‘Wow!’

I can’t believe it!

However, the Reze guy did not erase his glare at Leto and me. Senior Jimbo, who noticed this, hit Reze on the head once again.

“Senior Jimbo…”

“Noisy.”

Reze stayed silent like a mute who had eaten honey[1] and pouted. I can’t believe he managed to deal with that trouble instantly. Before I knew it, I was looking at Senior Jimbo with eyes full of wonder. Senior scratched his head and patted my head when he noticed my eyes.

[1] An idiom similar to ‘cat got your tongue’ – someone who does not say anything.

“Right. Are you and Leah going to participate in the cricket tournament?”

“Yes, but what are you doing here?”

“I was taking the applications there. I’ll be going now.”

After saying that, senior looked at his watch and hurriedly left. It was the festival season, so I haven’t studied for days. It was nice to see senior’s face after a long time, but it doesn’t seem like I was the only one who was happy. When I looked around, everyone was following Senior Jimbo’s back.

What’s this?

Does everyone know Senior Jimbo? I was wondering that, but their gaze towards Senior Jimbo was the same as that of Reze earlier. Some were even envious of me when Senior Jimbo patted my head.