CH 25

“Uh.”

Lucas came running after spotting Riett.

“It’s Riett, who tears bears apart.”

“No, it’s not!”

Despite Riett’s glare, Lucas sat down with a twinkle in his eyes.

“It’s always interesting when I’m around Riett.”

Riett stared at Lucas, who seemed to be enjoying himself. With a soft impression and a smile, Lucas looked incredibly kind.

“Why?”

After staring at him intently for a while, Lucas asked as if something was wrong. However, Riett didn’t answer and simply kept looking at Lucas.

As they made their way out of the forest after taking down the bear, Samuel called out to Riett.

“Riett.”

“What?”

“Are you close with Lucas?”

Suddenly mentioning Lucas, Riett stopped and turned around.

Riett had never seriously thought about her relationship with Lucas, but among the kids at school, they spent the most time talking.

But she’s not sure if she can say they’re close. Riett hesitated for a moment and murmured.

“…Are we close?”

“What?”

It didn’t seem like she was asking because she genuinely didn’t know. Samuel was surprised by Riett’s unexpected response.

“Aren’t you close?”

“Lucas is friendly with everyone, no matter who they are.”

“But…you’re different. I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that way.”

Is that so? Riett, who was lost in thought for a moment, soon opened her eyes wide and glared at Samuel.

“But why is that?”

“Well…I’m worried about you.”

Samuel blurred his words while rolling his eyes.

“When did you start worrying about me?”

“From today! Riett, you saved my life!”

She…?

Come to think of it, she did catch its attention with an empty arrow as if she were bait to be devoured.

But she didn’t have the slightest desire to become his benefactor. Thinking about the trouble caused by that guy, a single punch to the face didn’t relieve her anger.

Riett stared at Samuel and said, 

‘So, what are you trying to say?’

‘Uh, well, you know… Be careful around Lucas.’

Samuel hesitated and finally spoke the words he wanted to say. Riett burst into laughter.

‘Be careful? Of Lucas?’

‘Yeah… It might sound strange that I’m suddenly saying this, but I saw Lucas in the back alley of Hemsworth.’

When Samuel mentioned the notorious location, Riett’s brow furrowed.

The back alley of Hemsworth was a place where all sorts of illegal activities took place. It was a place where secret weapon deals were made or unauthorized magic potions were brewed. Not only that, but it was also a place where everything from minor disputes to heinous crimes frequently occurred.

It made sense for Samuel to be in Hamsworth’s back alley. His family had accumulated wealth by illegally selling weapons, and in the back alley, they were a fairly well-known noble family that even the school kids openly knew about.

But Lucas wasn’t like that. He didn’t fit into that shady environment.

“Why would Lucas go to a place like that?”

“Well…that’s because… At first, I didn’t even recognize it was Lucas. His demeanor was completely different from how he is at school.”

Samuel’s voice, which had been calm, suddenly grew louder. Riett could read sincerity from his expression. However, it was a story that was hard to believe, so Riett needed to confirm it once again.

“Are you sure you didn’t mistake it?”

“No! Platinum-colored hair that shines like that is not common. And his eye-catching face…”

Well, Riett hadn’t seen anyone else with such shining platinum hair in her life.

She became a little curious. Not only his appearance but also his personality was bright like sunshine, so why would he be in such a place?

As Riett reminisced about that moment, she looked at Lucas again. She didn’t think of him as someone she was close to, but if false rumors were spreading, she needed to address them before being further misunderstood.

“Did you go to Hamsworth’s back alley?”

Lucas, who was plucking leaves while Riett asked her question, paused.

“…Who said that?”

In Lucas’ subtly sunny voice, Riett hesitated and answered.

“Just…heard it.”

“Do you think what you heard is true?”

Inquiring as if testing her, Lucas shrugged his shoulders.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“That’s too much. You’re supposed to be closest to me, and you believe such rumors?”

Lucas’ playful complaint made Riett slightly confused. It wasn’t because she doubted whether Lucas had gone there. There was a part of what she had just heard that bothered her.

“Are you and I close…?”

In response to Riett’s question, Lucas blinked his eyes slowly. Then, with a sigh, he spoke.

“Wow, I’m disappointed.”

Soon, Lucas leaned in close to Riett’s face. In the translucent golden aura, Riett’s crimson eyes were reflected.

“Riett.”

Lucas whispered.

“If we’re not close…”

Although Lucas had a smile on his lips as usual, his eyes, which didn’t smile, made the atmosphere completely different. His soft voice brushed against her ear.

“How can I get this close to you?”

“…”

“If it’s not me, who else could do it? Isn’t that right?”

At that moment, a chilling voice came from behind.

“Me.”

Huh…?

Riett turned around to look behind her at the familiar voice. Evan was glaring at Lucas with piercing red eyes.

“Someone who can get closer than you.”

Evan pushed Lucas’ shoulder.

“It’s me.”

There was a heavy silence for a moment. Lucas, who had become cold upon discovering Evan, had an unexpected reaction as he soon tried to lighten the mood and smiled softly.

“Wow, look at your expression.”

“…”

“I’m not taking your childhood friend away.”

Riett looked at the two alternately. Evan’s expression was still stiff, and although Lucas was smiling, it didn’t have the usual gentle feeling. Riett was certain that their relationship was not good from this opportunity.

Nevertheless, Riett disliked this uncomfortable atmosphere. If they were going to fight, they should do it when they’re alone. Why is it like this, making people uncomfortable?

Riett stood up from her seat. If she didn’t like the atmosphere, she should leave. She couldn’t bear to watch their subtle tension anymore.

“Where are you going!”

Lucas grabbed Riett.

Riett looked at them with an irritated expression.

“I’m leaving because I don’t want to see you two growling at each other.”

“Just a moment! I have something to ask.”

Riett stopped at Lucas’ words.

“What is it?”

“Riett, do you know there’s a dance party coming up?”

Dance party…?

It was a completely new story. Riett didn’t even know if there was such a thing because everyone she met kept talking about bears.

Riett became deeply worried at the sudden realization of the existence of a school event.

‘Dance…’

She was terrible at social dancing. When she was young, she stumbled so many times and greeted the floor with her face. Even her dance teacher, who stepped on Riett’s feet countless times, eventually gave up, saying it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to walk anymore.

Since then, Riett not only avoided dance parties but also rarely attended regular parties.

For this reason, the dance party felt terrifying to Riett.

However, luckily there was an easy solution.

“I’m not going.”

If she didn’t go at all. Riett shook her head and said. Then Lucas held out his palm and said,

“50 extra points.”

Riett’s eyes sparkled.

“What…?”

“If you’re chosen as the person of the year at the dance party, you’ll get 50 extra points.”

Riett’s mind raced at the mention of extra points.

Evan had a perfect score of 400 out of 400, and her score was 380, so…

If she only received these extra points, she could surpass Evan.

Riett’s eyes turned fiery in an instant. Person of the Year? What’s that, and how does she do it…?

“Tell me in detail right now!” 

Lucas restrained his laughter, responding to Riett’s forceful manner, as he explained.

“Literally. The most attention-grabbing person at the dance party will be selected as the person of the year. I think the odds are in Riett’s favor since she’s the only girl among us.”

“Oh, it’s not difficult at all.”

Riett looked at Evan with a confident expression.

“Did you hear that, Evan? If I get selected as the person of the year, I’ll be the first.”

“My dear Riett knows one thing, but not two.”

However, Evan’s teasing tone made Riett’s smile disappear.

She didn’t expect to be caught off guard, but she didn’t expect to smile so calmly. It was a completely different attitude from when she was dealing with Lucas earlier.

“To participate in the dance party, having a partner is essential, you know?”

“A partner…?”

“I guess you didn’t think of that.”

Even with Evan’s provocative tone, Riett became serious with her thoughts.

‘Well, I can’t attend the social dance alone.’

She was stabbed in an unexpected place she hadn’t even considered.

“So, think carefully, Riett. Who is the perfect partner to cover up your messy dancing skills?”

Riett was speechless for a moment.

It was really unfortunate, but there was only one person who met that condition.

That person was Evan.

If they danced together, she would have to openly showcase her dancing skills to him, but Evan already knew, so there was no pressure.

But choosing Evan as her partner also had fatal drawbacks.

The first was that if something went wrong, Evan could steal the spotlight and become the person of the year. In that case, he would get the bonus points.

The second reason was that Riett didn’t feel like dancing with Evan. Dancing was an act of getting close to each other, exchanging breaths while embracing each other… the thought alone made her body shudder.

“I hate it.”

He grew up with her like a brother, so he probably didn’t like dancing either. Why would he almost propose something that was practically the same as being partners?

Riett furrowed her brows and asked.

“What do you gain by being my partner?”

“Well…”

Evan, who was deep in thought with his arms crossed, smirked slightly.

“The privilege of seeing Riett’s disastrous dancing up close?”

Riett glanced at Evan. Although he spoke like that, she didn’t know if he was trying to prevent her from getting bonus points. If it wasn’t for the bonus points, there wouldn’t be a chance for his score to be surpassed.

Her mind became complicated. Riett turned her head towards Lucas, who was in third place, to think about her strategy.

“Lucas.”

“Yeah?”

Lucas, who was resting his head on the desk, raised his face.

“Who do you plan on being partners with?”

“Of course, it’s you, Riett.”

Lucas’s tone was so confident that for a moment she wondered if she’d agreed to do so.

But Riett quickly regained her senses and became indignant.

“…Who said you could decide!”

Like Evan, Lucas was also out of the question. The reason was that he was in third place. There was a 40-point difference between them, and if he were to be chosen as the person of the year, it would threaten her second place.

Therefore, neither of them was an option.

After concluding her thoughts, Riett looked at Evan and Lucas alternately and firmly said,

“I will never dance with either of you.”