Chapter 16
“Going alone again today?”
When Belver reached the area near the training grounds, he reluctantly let go of the hand he was holding.
Ever since the midterm evaluations began, Bellatrix had stopped letting him watch her train.
It was a shame, since he liked seeing her work so hard.
He also got bored, having to take walks alone every time.
He pouted and put on his best sulky act, pouring all those feelings into it.
Bellatrix enjoyed spending time with Belver, too, but after winning that duel, she’d realized she could get stronger—and that she needed to.
Even after putting in about half the effort she’d put into magic, all she’d managed was to beat an extra.
If she’d wanted to become a knight from the start, she could have taken her time preparing. But she’d originally specialized in magic, so her martial arts skills were a blank slate. She didn’t have time to take it easy.
“Yeah. I want to focus for a while.”
“But… didn’t you say you hated sweating…?”
“Turns out it’s fun. The more I do it, the more I can feel myself improving. And who told you to make such a cute sound?”
Belver quickly dodged Bellatrix’s hand as she reached for his lips.
Normally, he would’ve let her catch him and tease him, but he was pretending to be sulky right now, of all times.
He darted aside with a quick swish, then narrowed his eyes like a prickly cat, doing his best to look displeased.
To Bellatrix, watching him, he was simply adorable.
“I’m heading off now. See you later.”
“Okay. Don’t get hurt!”
“Of course.”
Belver’s sulking didn’t last long.
He couldn’t exactly part with Bellatrix while wearing what he considered a fearsome expression, not when she was about to go train.
His pout immediately melted away, and he beamed like a flower opening to greet spring.
He’d been pretending to sulk a lot lately, but he always sent her off cheerfully.
“What should I do now?”
After seeing Bellatrix off, Belver had no idea what to do next.
He was like a baby kangaroo separated from its mother.
He looked utterly dejected, as if whining in confusion.
For now, Belver decided to take a walk through the gardens to kill the day.
Yesterday he’d gone to the Winter Garden, the First Park, so today he planned to visit the Spring Garden, the Fourth Park.
Aside from the Winter Garden, the Spring Garden was the closest.
As Belver strolled along at his leisure, he came across students bustling about.
They hurried along carrying teaching materials and their own equipment.
Some students were on their own, while others walked in groups, laughing and chatting.
Strolling alone to pass the time among all those students made him feel a little left out.
Since Bellatrix taught him herself, there was no need for him to rush around attending lectures.
Besides, unless it was history or something similar, it was all material he already knew from his own common sense and the setting guide.
“Maybe I should go to a lecture. Maybe she’ll let me now.”
As Belver wandered through the Spring Garden, breathing in the fragrant scent of the flowers, he started wishing he could attend a lecture or something.
He hadn’t realized it when he was with Bellatrix, but without her, things were so boring.
It would be nice if there were something fun to do.
With so little to do, he even considered researching magic instead.
After all, this was a world where he could actually use the magic he’d only ever imagined.
He also had to develop a spell to restore their bodies.
“I’ve always been prone to loneliness.”
Only when he felt lonely again did he remember.
He’d always been the sort of person who got lonely easily.
Even if he wasn’t talking or playing with anyone, he was the type to wither away if there wasn’t someone nearby he cared about.
He’d forgotten for a while because Bellatrix had always been there.
Haa. Belver let out a sigh and leaned back against a bench.
His expression was gradually losing its vitality, like a sunflower that had lost the sun it used to look toward.
He was so bored he felt like he might simply cease to exist.
Right now, he could calmly endure Bellatrix teasing him up to three times.
A red assassin was creeping closer, ready to solve Belver’s problem for him.
“Peekaboo?”
“Eek?!”
Belver was startled when a woman’s voice suddenly came from behind him, where there should have been nothing but flower beds.
He was so startled that his heart pounded, and he let out another chick-like squeak.
As he tried to calm down, he thought this sort of thing had happened to him not long ago.
In the meantime, the red assassin, Roho, swiftly took a seat beside Belver.
Her face was full of curiosity, as if she were looking at some strange creature.
Bellatrix was usually with him like a guardian angel, so Roho had thought this was a good opportunity now that he was alone.
“What is it?”
“You’re still so cute when you get startled. Have you been well?”
“Where did you come from?”
Only after seeing Roho did Belver remember when he’d felt this before.
Roho had startled him from behind just like this at the tea party, too.
It annoyed him a little that he’d been caught off guard the exact same way by the exact same person—and reacted the exact same way.
Besides, he was embarrassed to have made a cute, chick-like sound that even he thought was adorable.
Thanks to that, he couldn’t look her straight in the eye.
He had no idea where she’d come from.
Roho chuckled as she watched Belver’s wavering gaze.
Just four months ago, she could only have imagined meeting a Bellatrix like this.
Having Bellatrix right in front of her was so fascinating and adorable she could hardly stand it.
That petite frame, that embarrassed face, those demure gestures…
There wasn’t a single thing about her she couldn’t adore.
“I just happened to spot you, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve been busy preparing for exams. What about you, Bella?”
“I’ve been well.”
“That’s all? Don’t you have anything else to tell me? Maybe a baby on the way…? Or are you looking at wedding venues…? Any happy news like that?”
“Of course not?!”
Belver stared at her in shock and vehemently denied it.
Just looking at his expression, it was obvious how startled he was.
How on earth could there already be a baby?
They weren’t even lovers to begin with.
Belver stared at Roho with a look of contempt, as if asking what on earth she was talking about.
Roho was only glad to see that familiar look.
She was used to receiving looks of contempt and disgust.
Things were a little different from how they used to be, though.
Back then, it had been one-sided, baseless hatred. This time, Roho had given him a reason for it.
Of course, she didn’t regret it.
His reaction was just too delicious.
“Why are you alone? Did you fight with your lover, Belver?”
“No. Bel…ver is focusing on his practical exams.”
Belver found it awkward to talk about himself as if he were someone else.
Since it was his first time, his expression shifted from blank to uncomfortable, and he stumbled over the name a little, but Roho didn’t point it out.
She just assumed Bellatrix was so in love with him that she was embarrassed even to say his name.
The Bellatrix she knew was a girl who’d fallen head over heels for a commoner and completely changed herself.
Now that she’d heard the explanation, Roho understood why Bellatrix was alone.
Anyone would have come to the same conclusion, except Belver and Bellatrix herself, who knew her own reasons.
“Ah. You’re in the Knight Department, right? With a minor in the Magic Department.”
“Yeah.”
“That makes sense. Your lover is none other than Bella.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Belver hadn’t expected that at all.
He knew he’d pass without having to work too hard anyway, since he was in the protagonist’s body.
Without thinking, he tilted his head and propped his cheek up with his left hand.
He was wondering what the reason could be.
It was because he didn’t know enough about how the world worked.
To Roho, who knew how the world worked, it looked like Bellatrix was trying to catch up because she thought they weren’t on the same level.
She’d put some distance between them for a while because having him nearby made it hard to concentrate.
And so the genius was left lonely.
But, being mischievous, Roho didn’t explain things in a way that would help him understand.
Roho thought this was something he had to figure out for himself.
That was how it always went in romance novels.
“Bella’s so cute. Can I bite her cheek?”
“Get lost.”
“My, so cold. That’s the Bella I know.”
Belver thought he could understand why Bellatrix disliked Roho.
It wasn’t just because Roho was better than her. Bellatrix also disliked how Roho always stayed on equal footing with her as a friend.
She was very arrogant, after all.
Since Roho was more talented, Bellatrix probably wanted either to crush Roho beneath her—or to be dominated by Roho herself.
They were simply polar opposites.
“I’ve always been me.”
Of course, to Belver, that was an extra point in Roho’s favor.
He was the type to get lonely easily.
He sensed the same mischievous streak in Roho that Bellatrix had, but she hadn’t teased him in any truly indecent way yet.
‘Or had she…?’
Come to think of it, she might’ve just teased him.
What else could asking if he had a baby on the way have been?
But it was too late to lecture her about it, and she wasn’t Bellatrix, so he held back and let it go.
He had to keep up the act, at least a little.
Even that awkwardly delivered insult he’d just muttered was part of it.
“Ah, I should get going. Sorry I can’t stay long. I have a lecture to attend.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
“Gasp! Did you just see me off? I’m touched!”
“Hurry up and get lost!”
“Okay~ See you here tomorrow, too. Make sure you come!”
Roho made plans all by herself and left.
Belver had somehow ended up making plans to meet Roho again tomorrow.
Already exhausted by their brief encounter, he let every bit of strength drain from him and slumped over the bench.
In a different way from Bellatrix, Roho kept drawing him into her rhythm.
If Bellatrix drew him in with direct attacks, Roho seemed to set a whole lot of traps and lure him into them.
Keeping up the act while resisting her at the same time left him completely drained.
“Maybe I’ll come by tomorrow, too.”
A small, bashful smile like a spring flower bloomed on Belver’s face.