Are You Watching Because You're Jealous?

Chapter 29

Iveline's brow furrowed deeper.

The source of her self-esteem was her brother, the perfect model of royalty.

Iveline's brother was always cool-headed, perfect, and unwavering.

So she, too, had diligently tried to emulate him.

Thanks to that, Iveline had been able to build a solid royal pride within herself.

But lately, Louis had been acting strange.

'My brother wouldn't act like that. He was always perfect and levelheaded... why?'

Either way, she didn't like it.

Her perfect world was already going insane with that interloper, Cassian del Farne, in the way.

If even her brother started acting strangely, she'd have no way to endure it.

Unable to bear it any longer, Iveline finally spoke.

"Brother."

"..."

No answer.

"Brother?"

"...Huh? Ah, right. Iveline."

Louis turned toward her in surprise.

He looked dazed, like someone just waking from a dream.

"Sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. Did you call for me?"

"...Yes. I called you for ages."

Iveline snapped at him, her voice full of hurt and suspicion.

"What on earth are you thinking about so deeply? Did something happen at the border? Or is there trouble with the imperial finances?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just..."

Louis trailed off and turned his gaze back out the window.

His eyes grew dark.

"I was just troubled by something I couldn't pin down."

"Something you couldn't pin down?"

"Yes. Something that seemed like I could definitely hold it in my hand, only for it to vanish like smoke."

'What on earth is it?'

Iveline was close to losing her mind from frustration.

But Louis only gave a bitter smile and looked back out the window.

*

Iveline was confused.

What on earth was this thing that couldn't be pinned down?

'It seemed like you could hold it in your hand, but then it vanished like smoke... That's such uncharacteristically sentimental talk.'

The Louis de Leopold she knew was a thorough rationalist.

A man who hated uncalculated emotions and turned uncertain futures into fixed plans.

And now he was standing by the window, trying to act like a poet.

Iveline felt an instinctive unease at the fact that her brother's perfect rationality was wearing thin.

She couldn't leave it like this.

She decided to stop hesitating and ask directly.

"Brother."

"I'm listening. Speak."

"Recently, rumors have been circulating that the betrothal between you and Lady Elysia might be annulled. Are you aware of that?"

Clunk.

The carriage rocked as it crossed a shallow bump.

Louis's gaze slowly returned to Iveline.

"I know."

So calm a reply it was almost eerie.

Iveline swallowed dryly.

Murmurs of discord among lesser nobles were common.

But rumors of a broken engagement between the imperial family and the ducal house were a serious sign that a great political alliance had cracked, so they shouldn't be mentioned even in jest.

Even if it wasn't true, a single rumor could still cause chaos.

Which meant that, normally, he should have been furious enough to root out the source of the rumor.

"If such rumors start spreading, they become impossible to contain. Why aren't you taking any action?"

Iveline swallowed the words that the imperial family's authority might end up being reduced to gossip before they could leave her mouth.

"I know very well what you're worried about, Iveline."

Louis placed his clasped hands on his knees and gave his usual gentle smile.

"Soon, I will meet with Lady Elysia and put the rumors to rest. It will be an official setting, so don't worry."

"...Really?"

"When have I ever told a lie?"

Louis's answer was smooth.

So smooth, in fact, that it almost made him seem hollow.

Even so, Iveline felt relieved.

No, more accurately, she had to force herself to feel relieved.

Her brother had to be perfect.

One question had risen to her throat and stuck there like a thorn, refusing to go down.

'...Could it be that the rumors spread even faster because of that scandal about Lady Elysia taking an interest in that barbarian?'

She couldn't bring herself to ask.

In the end, she kept her mouth shut.

'Hold it in. Brother will... handle it himself. There's no way some barbarian could have even the slightest effect on him.'

* * *

It was time for the Introduction to Herbalism practicum.

Sunlight pouring through the glass ceiling was gently warming the greenhouse.

The air was a proper mix of soil, grass, and sweat.

In the middle of it all, I was lost in a trance.

Thud! Paaak!

The sound of the plow cutting into the earth was crisp and pleasant.

The field was already fully plowed. The clods had all been broken up.

In truth, it was a greenhouse, so there wasn't even anything to till, but I was turning over ground I'd already turned over all over again.

"Haa... this is the feel of it. The smell of dirt is the best."

I wiped the sweat beading on my forehead with my forearm and drew in a deep breath.

The earthy energy filling deep into my lungs.

This is the good stuff.

A time free from the attention coming from every direction in the academy—students and professors, men and women, young and old alike—where only my body and the earth could talk to each other.

This work of turning the soil over so it could breathe and spreading its fertility evenly was pure healing.

'This is why you farm.'

There was just one thing.

It would have been perfect if it weren't for Elysia, sitting next to me with her chin propped up, smiling as she watched me.

"...What on earth is so entertaining about watching me work?"

I planted the plow into the ground and straightened my back.

"Do I look like a monkey at the zoo? Are you going to throw me a banana or something?"

"Hmm, thanks to you I get to rest easy, don't I? It's fun just watching."

Elysia answered, tapping the tip of her chin with her fan.

Lies.

Her eyes were saying, 'I want to do it too.'

That's not a look of comfort and enjoyment; that's the look of a kid watching an amusement park parade.

If Lady Elysia were just a little younger, she might have flopped down on the ground and yelled, 'Elysia wants to do it too!!!'

Or maybe not.

"Don't lie."

I took off my gloves and shook them out briskly.

"I can see you want to take the plow and work the field with me. You think I wouldn't notice your fingers fidgeting because they're itching to do it?"

"...Ah."

Elysia looked down at her hands, then smiled bashfully.

"Caught me?"

"It was way too obvious."

"Then... how about letting me do a little? I do want to fulfill my duties as your partner."

She reached out toward the plow, her eyes full of anticipation.

I quickly yanked the handle toward me.

"Nope."

"Huh?"

"I'll do everything myself."

"..."

Elysia's eyes went wide.

Share this hilarious content with someone? Not a chance.

"Why ask if you weren't going to believe me anyway?"

"Because I didn't think you'd lie so shamelessly. Playing in the dirt, for a young lady of your standing? What if that academy uniform gets dirty?"

"So, all I can do is sit here and watch you work."

Elysia muttered with a pouty expression, though she seemed amused.

"Why?"

Would it be so bad to slack off a little, or slack off a little, or slack off a little?

*

Still, it was clear she wasn't just happily watching.

At the very least, she really was looking at me like I was a monkey.

More like she was carefully observing the way a monkey farms.

That woman really does have bright, sharp eyes.

If this were Korea, she'd probably have heard "You're a clever one" a lot since she was little. She had that kind of sparkle in her eyes.

I stopped the plowing and leveling the soil for a moment and turned around.

Elysia was still resting her chin on her hand, moving her gaze along my fingertips.

"...Lady Elysia."

"Yes, Cassian."

"Do you know what I was doing last week and today, exactly?"

It was just a little boredom test.

There was no way a noble young lady would know the principles behind messing around in the dirt.

At most, she'd know "dig it up and cover it back over."

But Elysia tapped the tip of her fan against her chin, thought for a moment, and gave an unexpected answer.

"Hmm... If I had to infer, it looks like you're finely tilling and turning over the soil. I don't know why, but if I base it on what you said in last week's class, I think the answer becomes clear."

"My words?"

"You said it was soil fertility depletion. That the ground dies and turns into rocks."

She pointed to the soft, broken soil beneath my feet.

"When you break up that hard ground and mix the soil from top and bottom, the soil soaked with sunlight, air, and moisture blends together harmoniously and boosts the land's vitality... that's my guess."

"..."

I got goosebumps.

'Fuck. That's spot on.'

To be exact, it's the principle behind adding fresh soil and deep plowing, and she's figuring it out by eye?

A duke's daughter who'd never farmed a day in her life?

"Is that right?"

Elysia asked with sparkling eyes.

If I shouted, "Correct! 100 points!" here, it'd feel like I was losing somehow.

I looked away, pretending to be preoccupied.

"I don't know the answer. I'm not a professor, just a lowly freshman. I'm just going by instinct."

"Pffft!"

Elysia shook her shoulders, covering her mouth with her fan.

This time, she was definitely bursting into real laughter.

"You're really bad at lying. Your face says, 'Huh? How did I figure that out?'"

"...It's not written there."

I grumbled and looked around.

The scenery of the other groups besides ours was utter chaos.

"Ow! My foot!"

"Don't throw dirt around! It's getting in my eyes!"

Crash! Thud!

Losing their balance while shoveling and falling was nothing; they were tripping over plows and bumping into each other because their movements got tangled up.

It was a sight to behold, watching them groan over a greenhouse floor that only needed a light scrape.

Elysia's gaze swept over the other groups, then returned to me.

"Definitely, thanks to you it's comfortable. If I'd been caught up in that mess, I'd have been quite the sight too."

"So just sit there and watch quietly. Don't go getting hurt by jumping in to help for no reason."

"Are you worried about me?"

"No. If you got hurt, the ducal house might bill me for treatment. My family is pretty strict, so they won't cover it for me."

"Liar."

She chuckled softly.

'...But I really am, though?'

'Why would she think it was a lie?'

But if I tried to insist it was true, wouldn't I just end up looking pathetic?

Sigh.

I shifted my gaze back to another group.

More precisely, to the few groups that seemed to be showing a different pattern from last week.

Maybe because they had gone through hell in the first week of practice, a few quick-witted young gentlemen seemed to have quietly learned how to farm.

Maybe they got a crash course from the servants at home.

But even then, they were still hopelessly clumsy.

"Huff, huff... Lady, just a moment... water..."

"Oh my, look at all that sweat! Here, a handkerchief!"

Their lady partners had managed to avoid getting covered in dirt, but they looked busy tending to the sweating men.

They were wiping foreheads with handkerchiefs, bringing water, and cheering them on with, "Hang in there!"

They were practically starring in a full-blown youth drama.

That suddenly pissed me off.

I'm stuck in a group with a woman who's practically married, so I can't even dream of that.

Fuck.

Elysia followed my gaze, turned her head as well, quietly stared at the scene, and then asked me.

"Are you watching because you're jealous?"

"No. Absolutely not. Never."

I recoiled in horror.

"Don't come near me. Don't even think about wiping my sweat. I'll wipe my own sweat myself."

"Pfft. That's a shame. If you were jealous, I was thinking I'd lend a hand too."

Elysia playfully took out a handkerchief and waved it.