CH 75

Rival (4)

I hurriedly removed Bernie’s hands. However, the hasty action seemed to have set the two men on fire. An inexplicable sense of anxiety rose from their stunned faces. Why did they have to appear during this moment?! Leto, who came to his senses first, walked towards me. His expression was so serious that my smile was erased. I was frightened at the words that would come out of Leto’s mouth after this.

“You……Why.”

Leto looked at Bernie with a look of heartache.

“Flirting with one woman after another.”

Leto said something heavy. Then, Senior Jimbo, who had been standing in daze at the entrance, trudged along and scanned Bernie from head to toe with very suspicious eyes.

“It doesn’t seem that she used magic……”

“Leah Arsene! And Jimbo Sergani! That’s you guys, right?”

Bernie was the only one who knew nothing about this situation. Her face brightened at the appearance of the two men. When Bernie called their name in a friendly tone, the two men became even more wary. Ignoring that, Bernie went close to them and held their hands together.

“Right, can you guys help me too?”

Leto and Senior Jimbo’s expressions were stained with bewilderment. Whether she noticed or not, Bernie continued her words.

“If you help me, I’ll give you roses, too!”

Bernie told the two men exactly what she said to me. Only then did the two men who have been cleared of the misunderstanding, glanced at me, asking what was going on. Could I tell them about Bona? Even though I was hesitating, I remembered that they were also close to Bona. It would be better for Leto and Senior Jimbo to assist me than for me to persuade Bona alone.

“Why don’t we sit down and listen to the situation? She will tell you everything.”

When I sat down, Leto, who noticed the vacant spot, tried to sit next to me. But Senior Jimbo was faster. He pushed Leto away with force and sat next to me. Leto tried to push Senior Jimbo back, but it was already no use.

“I sat down first, so can you move aside? Senior.”

“There’s a seat over there, so why don’t you sit there? Junior.”

Can this situation end well? I was a little worried.

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“When we were young, we were good sisters just like any other family. We never really had a fight.”

“That’s strange. Other families don’t usually get along with their siblings.”

Leto interrupted Bernie’s words and said firmly. His expression didn’t look very great, perhaps thinking of his older brother, Rainier. It was also described in <How To Recognise A Murderer> that the two were not on good terms. Considering the conversation between Leto and Rainier at the train station the other day, I could understand the reason why.

Rainier looked down on Leto. He always looked at him in contempt and ridicule. Of course, there was no way Leto would appreciate the look of his brother like that. 

“I thought other families were just like us?”

“Have you ever poisoned your sibling’s food?”

Leto asked, as if he had experienced it. When Bernie turned shocked, saying she could never, he laughed bitterly. 

“Of course, my brother, I mean, my own older brother poisoned my food. I ate it and was bedridden for three days.”

In my opinion, Leto and Rainier were also unusual, just like Bona and Bernie. Although, they were unusual in different aspects.

“……Anyway, we got along pretty well, but things changed as we grew up. I was gifted in studying, but Bona wasn’t.”

All three of us, who were listening to her, nodded in agreement.

“So my father tried to hand over the family to me. Since then, I’ve been receiving the entire family’s expectations.”

“Is that why you and Bona went wrong?”

“No? Bona loved it.”

That was unexpected.

“Since our father was so focused on me, he was laid back with Bona. He didn’t care what Bona did.”

“Then, why?”

“The problem was that I didn’t do it. I wanted to run a flower shop. So I secretly left the mansion, and as a result, all the expectations were pushed towards Bona. Because of me, she was forced to hold a quill. She probably didn’t even want to come to the Lexley Academy at her own will. There must have been pressure from my father.”

Now I fully understood the situation.

“It’s going to be difficult to get closer.”

Listening to this carefully, Senior Jimbo spoke up.

“You’re the one who put the huge burden on Bona in an instant. Bona deserves to be angry.”

He had been making an expression as if he wasn’t interested in the story, but what he said made sense. At his sharp point, Bernie controlled her emotions again, even with a tearful look on her face. She even nodded to indicate that she somewhat agreed with Senior Jimbo. In fact, I also agreed with Senior Jimbo’s opinion.

“But I understand your position, too.”

I said softly. It wasn’t her intention to push all the high expectations towards her sister in the first place. It was also a burden she was forced to bear, even though she had a different ambition.

“The source of the problem starts with the house.”

As I was thinking about it, Leto spoke bluntly. At his frank remark, I unknowingly looked at Bernie’s eyes.

“I have nothing to say since it’s very true.”

Fortunately, she didn’t get angry, only upset.

“Don’t be so upset. It’s no different from our house.”

Leto said in consolation. And luckily, her expression loosened as though it did sound comforting.

“Even with the Arsene?”

“If you hear my story, you would turn speechless from frustration.”

I was a little surprised by Leto’s nonchalant words.

He might have brought it up to comfort Bernie, but it was his own family affairs. It was a little surprising for him to casually talk about what had been a big trauma to Leto. From my side, I knew it was absolutely not an exaggeration when he say we would turn speechless. Because I, who indirectly experienced his family affairs from the paragraphs, used to be so frustrated.

“It’s not something I want to brag about, so I won’t go into details. All I’m saying is that the Bellion family isn’t the only one. Determining the successor of the family and placing all the burden on them is something common, even if it’s not the Arsene or Bellion.”

“You guys are all correct. If you think about it, it’s a problem that anyone can understand. My father wanted an heir to the family line, and I wanted to live my own dream. But the problem is that the damage all went to Bona, a third party, and not me and my father.”

“So you want to get close to Bona again?”

“To be honest, I want to ask for her forgiveness. Even if we can’t go back to the past, I want her to look at me again…No. Actually, if I’m being greedy, I want to get close to Bona again. Because I love her.”

“…….”

“But in order to do that, I will have no choice but to pick up the pen again. I fully know that the best method is to return to the original position.”

“You don’t want to go back.”

“As I said before…… The reason I came to Lexley Academy was to watch Bona. If Bona had a hard time and cried, I was going to go back. To the Bellion.”

But since she was still here, did it mean that Bona wasn’t having a hard time? Anytime Bona was beside me, she never showed signs of struggling. Although she was in last place, she was confident, even when her studies weren’t going well. Has she ever once talked about her burden? To be honest, not until I heard about Bona’s situation from Bernie, I thought Bona’s parents were really tolerant of her grades.

“She has never shown any signs of hardship.”

I’ve never seen it either.

“But, seeing her running away as soon as she saw my face today, she must have been hiding it. It must have been hard. I know…”

Bernie lowered her head and cried. The more she talked about her, the more she seemed to blame herself for all of this. There was not a single person who was not upset, neither Bernie nor Bonnie.

“Can you pretend that the request I made today didn’t happen, Bree?”

In the end, Bernie withdrew her request. I ended up leaving the garden without giving any advice, only receiving a withdrawn request. Before we knew it, the sun was setting. The birds chirping along with the elongated shadows gave off a sense of tranquillity.

“Does Bona really hate her sister?”

“I think she would hate her.”

Hearing my murmur, Senior Jimbo answered. For some reason, he thought more about Bona’s feelings rather than the sister’s.

“When we hung out, Bona talked about her sister sometimes. So I thought she was very proud of her sister.”

“It’s just pride. If you’re curious, why don’t you ask Bona?”

“But will Bona talk about her?”

Senior Jimbo shrugged at my question. It meant he didn’t know either.

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“You talked to Bernie, didn’t you?”

It was when I headed to pick up my books in the library. In front of the library, Bona, who hadn’t left yet, stood in a crooked posture. Vivian, who must have been with her all this time, was smiling awkwardly next to her.

Bona, who I thought wouldn’t bring up Bernie first, unexpectedly spoke first.

“Yes.”

“My sister said something about me, didn’t she? She said she didn’t like me, right? Right? Didn’t she say she hated me?”

What was more surprising, however, was that she, who we thought would be angry, was worried. At her unexpected behaviour, Leto, Senior Jimbo and I looked at each other.