Chapter 36
Celine and Seria's silence continued for some time.
Both women's hands were holding on to me. It looked as though the two women were engaged in a battle of nerves with me between them. No, unless I was mistaken, it wasn't merely a metaphor; that was exactly what was happening.
Celine and Seria were both lovely girls who could inspire admiration wherever they went. It should have been gratifying to have two such girls like me so much, but my stomach twisted for no reason whenever their cold gazes met.
Celine, who had grown up with me since childhood, and Seria, who had only just begun learning about human relationships, were both friends I could not help but care about. To each of them, I was probably a close friend, so I could understand not wanting to lose me.
Possessiveness existed even outside romantic relationships. That feeling tended to fade with age, but Celine and Seria were still at an age when they could feel it.
To be honest, it was troublesome.
That was my first thought amid the tension stretched taut like a tightly drawn thread. For now, it was difficult to take either one's side.
Strictly speaking, Celine was the one who had unilaterally inserted herself between Seria and me, but hadn't we always been in the habit of eating breakfast together? Even so, I couldn't abruptly suggest that the three of us eat together in such a frigid atmosphere.
If I did, the atmosphere would be like thin ice, and I wouldn't even be able to digest my food properly. No matter how oblivious I was, I wasn't that hopelessly insensitive.
Just as I was breaking out in a cold sweat, Celine was the one who broke the silence.
She smiled sweetly. It was a smile that perfectly reflected her sociable nature. However, there was something different about the smile she wore now.
Her eyes weren't smiling; only her lips curved upward.
A cold light still lingered in her ocher eyes. The first words Celine directed at Seria, whom she had been deliberately ignoring until now, were these.
“Hmm, Miss Yurdina? Do you have some business with ‘our’ Ian oppa?”
As she said that, Celine pressed close to me as though embracing my arm. I looked at her in surprise, but she merely glared at Seria with a cold expression.
She even gave a smug snort, as if to show me off. The soft feel of her feminine body pressed against my arm. Celine was no longer a child.
Just as I was about to push Celine away as usual, Seria's grip on my clothes tightened.
Her aquamarine eyes sank deeply. It was a dramatic reaction, like a clear sky being covered by clouds. Her eyes, which had always been clear and pure blue, gradually came to resemble the gloomy darkness of the deep sea.
She said to Celine in a cold, firm voice.
“……Move away.”
“Why should I?”
Celine's response to Seria was unabashedly casual. She gave a scoff and shrugged her shoulders.
“Ian oppa and I have always been like this. How many days has it been since you started clinging to Ian oppa? Ahaha… Come to think of it, it really pisses me off.”
Celine suddenly burst into a peal of laughter, then slowly wiped the smile from her face.
Her once-smiling eyes turned cold, and the lips that had formed a gentle curve twisted with hostility. She whispered in a low voice.
“Who do you think you are, interfering in things between Ian oppa and me? Ah, is it because you think you've gotten close to Ian oppa now?”
“Celine.”
I called Celine's name as the atmosphere grew increasingly serious, but she must have been thoroughly angry, because she acted as though she hadn't heard me.
Instead, she yanked me toward her so abruptly that I awkwardly stepped closer. Since Seria was still holding on to my clothes, the distance between her and Celine narrowed further.
Physically, they were now close. Emotionally, however, they seemed worlds apart.
Celine intoned in a chilly voice.
“You looked so pathetic, with no friends, that Ian oppa only hung out with you because he felt sorry for you. You didn't even realize that?”
“I told you to stop, Celine.”
“You clung to Ian oppa all excitedly without even realizing that, pfft……”
As though she could no longer contain herself, Celine covered her mouth and let out a derisive laugh. She paid no attention to my repeated attempts to stop her.
Seria's expression did not change at all. Her face was cold, as always. Her eyes sank even deeper, making it impossible to read even the slightest trace of emotion.
I looked at Seria with concern. Celine's verbal abuse had gone too far. Even if it meant earning the resentment of one of them later, I thought it was time to rein her in.
But Celine moved before I could make up my mind.
“Hey.”
With that threatening tone, Celine brushed my arm away and approached Seria. Seria still had not released my clothes.
Celine approached Seria with a menacing look and folded her arms. Seria was taller, so Celine had to look up at her, but she did not shrink back in the slightest.
Mockingly, Celine twisted up the corners of her mouth and spoke to Seria, pouring out all the feelings that had been festering inside her.
“You think being a Yurdina makes you something special? Get a clue… Huh? You have neither the right nor the caliber to say anything about the relationship between Ian oppa and me. I kept letting this loser bitch get away with it, but seriously……!”
“Celine!”
A shout finally burst from my throat. Celine flinched as though she had only just realized she had gotten too worked up, but she showed no sign of remorse.
Instead, she gave a dismissive snort and avoided my gaze. Her face was sullen.
I let out a sigh. My next words inevitably came out heavy with it.
“I told you to stop! And Seria, don't take Celine's words too seriously. I wasn't playing with you because I pitied you or anything……”
“So it was you.”
I had assumed Seria was hurt and was about to comfort her, but I was startled when unhesitating words flowed from Seria's mouth.
My eyes widened, plainly revealing my astonishment. Seria had spoken to someone she had never met before without tripping over her words?
Come to think of it, Seria had always been like that. Wasn't that why her nickname was ‘Yurdina's Rude Girl’? She had a cold, haughty, and strong-willed image.
And the fact that she had returned to that old self meant that Seria was about to make a ‘rude’ remark.
“I didn't know at first, but I realized it after hearing your voice. That sharp voice… I wondered where I had heard it, and now I realize you're the person who hid in the crowd and insulted me.”
“……There was more than one person who cursed you out for being rude, you know?”
Celine initially flinched at Seria's remark, but soon she scowled irritably and responded.
Hostility burned fiercely in her ocher eyes. Perhaps she had ignored Seria all this time because she had never imagined things between them would come to this.
Celine hated Seria that much. I simply did not know why.
“How could you be sure my voice was among them…….”
“Are you afraid of House Yurdina?”
Celine's words came to an abrupt stop.
It was a clean break, like silk being sliced apart by a blade. Celine stammered for a moment as though flustered, then furrowed her brow and asked again.
“……What?”
“I asked whether you are afraid of House Yurdina. Isn't that why you whispered behind my back?”
Seria tugged on my clothes and took another step. My body tilted slightly toward Seria. The distance between Seria and Celine was now close enough to touch.
Seria, a woman a head taller than Celine, strode toward her, and Celine nearly took an involuntary step backward. Perhaps because of her pride, she managed not to.
Celine gritted her teeth and glared at Seria. Seria's gaze as she looked down at Celine remained unchanged. It was as cold as frost itself.
“Then why don't you continue whispering behind my back to your heart's content? Instead of displaying your ugly inferiority in front of Senior Ian for no reason.”
Perhaps startled by the abuse that went beyond anything she had imagined, Celine drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes widened, then a ferocious air began to rise from her.
I could hear Celine grinding her teeth.
There was indeed a gap between high-ranking and lower-ranking nobles at the Academy, but no one ever mentioned it so blatantly. After all, at least on the surface, the Academy aspired to be an equal space free from social class.
A remark of this severity was more than enough to warrant disciplinary action. Celine shouted in a voice boiling with emotion.
“Hey, you……!”
“And did you say Senior Ian played with me because he pitied me?”
Anger showed on Celine's face, but Seria's eyes remained cold. It was like looking at fire and ice—two things that could never grow close or mingle.
Even if they stood together, they were the sort of pair who would only end up rushing toward destruction.
I was dumbfounded by the verbal abuse being traded between the two women and stood there in a daze. It was foolish of me.
Seria took another step, then bent forward and brought her mouth close to Celine's ear. I heard her chilly whisper.
“……Then I'll continue being pitiful. So that I can stay with Senior Ian forever.”
Celine finally exploded. Her hand moved toward the sword hanging at her waist. It was an instinctive motion, like the very nature of a swordswoman.
“Was this loser bitch never taught any manners at home, seriously……!”
The situation was on the verge of exploding. That was when I stepped in.
Until then, it had been nothing more than a verbal quarrel, but if it turned into violence, things would be different. Especially with their emotions having driven them so far apart.
Someone could get hurt. It was one thing if we fought with our swords still in their scabbards, as Tean and I had, but if either of them drew a blade, it would become a catastrophe.
I immediately let out a furious roar.
“I told you both to stop!”
Strictly speaking, I had never told Seria to stop, but stronger wording was necessary to halt them both now. Perhaps thanks to that, Seria and Celine both flinched and stiffened, then turned startled gazes toward me.
Seria's reaction was especially dramatic. The moment she recognized my anger, her eyes began to quiver violently.
She wore a look of sudden realization.
Deep fear settled in her dark-blue eyes. Even so, my irritation did not subside, and all I could do was sigh and say,
“……Calm down, both of you, and go back to your dormitories. I need to rest too, so don't come looking for me for a while.”
My head throbbed painfully. I had been through far too much lately. And now that Celine and Seria had even started fighting, the first thing I felt was exhaustion.
I wanted to rest somewhere. I intended to clear my head for a few hours, if only that long. It was nothing more than that—a simple matter.
But at those words, Seria looked devastated, as though she had lost the entire world.