Chapter 37
“Hey, did you hear the monsters crying this morning?”
“No. I just kept sleeping, why? Did something happen?”
“Nothing really happened, but apparently a lot of people woke up because of it.”
After the morning classes ended, it was lunchtime.
The students of Lysquare Academy gathered at the cafeteria as usual to eat.
They moved around in small groups of friends, chatting about various things.
Among them was a group that included someone of the highest status in the Empire.
“Lisa, you’re not with Gideon today?”
“Yes. Gideon said he’ll be late because something came up.”
Lisa had planned to have lunch with Gideon as always.
But since he wasn’t in the cafeteria, she decided to wait alone until he arrived, just like before.
While she was doing so, Layla, Jason, and Sara approached and sat beside her.
“Unni, how have you been lately? We haven’t had a chance to see each other at all recently.”
“I’ve been fine, don’t worry.”
“Yeah, Lisa noona’s been doing really well these days.”
Jason smirked and spoke up.
“Ever since Gideon joined the Disciplinary Committee, you’ve looked a lot brighter. I work out with this noona every morning, and wow—she talks about Gideon all the time.”
“Quiet, Jason. And I don’t talk about him every day.”
“Oh, come on. You almost do. You even talked about taking care of that group of third-year delinquents with Gideon just yesterday morning.”
“Mm…”
Lisa turned her gaze away, but Jason kept talking with a teasing grin.
“You really seem a lot more relaxed since Gideon joined the Committee. You always looked exhausted before, but now you seem much more at ease.”
“Well… that’s true. I used to go on night patrols every single day, but now I only have to do it every other day.”
“And I heard Gideon’s really good at his job?”
“That’s true as well. He’s so good that things have gotten a lot easier for me.”
Lisa smiled faintly.
Seeing that smile, Jason grinned mischievously.
“You’re totally into him. That’s the face of someone completely in love.”
“Huh?”
Lisa’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You think I look like someone in love?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen plenty of girls in love, and your face just now totally had that vibe.”
“Really?”
“Oooh.”
Layla leaned forward, curiosity written all over her face.
“What’s this? Lisa, don’t tell me you actually like Gideon? Is that rumor really true?”
“What rumor do you mean?”
“Huh? You haven’t heard? There’s this rumor going around the Academy that you and Gideon are dating.”
“There’s such a rumor?”
Lisa tilted her head slightly.
“This is my first time hearing of it.”
“Yeah, well, you usually don’t care about rumors like that. But is it true? That Gideon’s your lover?”
“No. He’s just… an excellent junior.”
“Ah, I see.”
Layla nodded with a knowing smile.
“Then, Lisa—what if Gideon said he wanted to be your lover?”
“…What?”
Lisa blinked in slight confusion at the unexpected question.
Even Sara, who had been quiet until now, reacted to it.
“Your Highness—no, Lady Layla. What do you mean by that? Why would that man, Gideon, want to be Lisa unni’s lover—”
“I said if. Just if. I’m asking out of curiosity, nothing more.”
Layla spoke with the same gentle smile.
“If Gideon said he wanted a deeper relationship with you, how do you think you’d respond?”
“I don’t think Gideon would ever have feelings for me, but if we’re speaking hypothetically…”
Lisa paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
“I think being lovers would be fine. Of course, if it went beyond that, I’d have to think about it more carefully.”
“Oooh, seriously?”
“Yes. It’s only been about a month since I met him, but Gideon is quite a good person. He’s upright, diligent, capable… and I like that he speaks honestly without hiding anything from me.”
“Didn’t expect that kind of answer from you, noona.”
Layla and Jason both looked highly entertained.
But Sara’s expression was full of discomfort.
“Unni, what are you talking about? You like that guy? You’d actually consider making him your lover?”
“This is only a hypothetical situation. If Gideon truly had feelings for me, that’s all.”
Lisa replied calmly, her face expressionless.
“Of course, the chance of Gideon having feelings for me is nearly zero, so it’s unlikely.”
“You don’t know that, unni. You never know what a man might be thinking. Especially that Kyrgram guy—he came from some place no one’s ever heard of, uses a weird sword, fights with strange swordsmanship… he’s suspicious no matter how you look at it.”
“Sara, don’t think so poorly of Gideon. He’s someone I’m very fond of.”
Lisa’s tone was composed, though her eyes showed slight discomfort.
Noticing that, Sara sighed and nodded reluctantly.
“Fine. I can accept the idea of being lovers. But don’t even think about marriage.”
“Why not?”
“What do you mean, why not? Obviously… you can’t marry some noble with an unknown background.”
“Why not?”
“You’re one of the strongest candidates to become the next head of the House Balmuth. The man who becomes your husband has to be chosen carefully…”
“After careful consideration, Gideon doesn’t seem like a bad choice.”
“No, I mean realistically—and politically. You can’t just look at the person, you have to think about their family background too…”
Lisa looked at Sara as if she couldn’t understand her, and Sara looked back the same way.
Layla glanced between the two nervously, and Jason sighed, opening his mouth to speak.
But just then, Lisa turned her head as if she had noticed something.
“Oh, Gideon.”
As a white-haired boy entered the cafeteria, Lisa unconsciously smiled and stood up.
“Lady Layla, I’ll be taking my leave now. Please enjoy your meal.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. See you later.”
“Hehehe, Lisa noona.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t make it so obvious how happy you are to see Gideon. You’re practically glowing right now.”
“I’m smiling?”
“Yeah, smiling real happily.”
“…Ah.”
At Jason’s words, Lisa looked quite surprised at herself.
But soon she returned to her usual expressionless face, picked up her tray, and walked toward Gideon.
Jason, watching her, chuckled softly and turned to speak to Layla.
“Lady Layla, want to make a bet with me?”
“A bet? On what?”
“On when Gideon and Lisa noona will start dating.”
“Hmm… Then I’ll say they’ll start dating during summer break. I get the feeling Lisa’s going to visit Gideon’s territory.”
“That’s a reasonable prediction. I’ll bet… May. They’ll fall for each other during the school trip. Three gold coins on it.”
“Three? That’s too small. Make it ten.”
“Ten’s a bit too much for me.”
Jason scratched his head, then turned to Sara.
“Sara, you in? When do you think those two will start dating—”
“Dating? What are you even talking about? And why do you think Lisa unni would ever date a guy like that?”
“Come on, has Lisa noona ever openly shown interest in a man before?”
“Well, no, she hasn’t. But just because that Kyrgram guy’s good at his job and honest doesn’t mean Lisa unni—”
“Noona knows what she’s doing. Honestly, she’s got way better judgment than either of us.”
And then Jason gestured toward Lisa.
“Look. Have you ever seen her look that bright while talking to anyone before?”
As soon as lunchtime began, I went straight to Daigon Village to buy fresh animal blood.
I planned to quickly purchase it from the butcher I’d checked out earlier, then return to the Academy to eat lunch.
But maybe because I was in a bit of a rush, I had forgotten about someone.
“Why did you come so late?”
“I had to buy something from Daigon Village, so I went as soon as lunch started.”
The moment I entered the cafeteria, Lisa approached me immediately.
From the looks of it, she’d been with Layla’s group earlier, but the instant she saw me, she came straight over.
‘Why does she like me this much?’
Was Lisa always this easy to raise her affection points?
Sure, I’d been spending a lot of time with her lately, doing Disciplinary Committee work together and trying my best to look competent...
‘So that’s why she’s started to like me?’
Well, if I were in her shoes, I might like a diligent junior who worked hard and stuck around too.
The problem was that Lisa was someone way out of my league… but that could wait.
It’s not like we’re actually going to date or anything, so there’s nothing to worry about.
“Really? Can I ask what you bought?”
“Ah, well… it’s something personal…”
“Alright. I won’t pry.”
Lisa spoke calmly in her usual expressionless tone.
“But I told you—if you’re going to be late to the cafeteria, you should let me know in advance.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to contact you beforehand next time.”
“Good. Please do. I don’t really have anyone else to eat with besides you.”
“Is that so? But there’s also Lady Layla, the Princess, and Sir Jason and Lady Sara…”
“They’re there, sure. But I want to eat with you. I enjoy being with you.”
“…Understood.”
I honestly had no idea why she enjoyed being with me.
All we ever did was exchange a few short conversations. I couldn’t understand why she found that enjoyable.
I really couldn’t figure out this Lady’s taste.
But her preferences aside, there was something else I had to focus on.
“Lady Lisa, come to think of it, isn’t it your turn for night patrol today?”
“Yes, that’s right. Why?”
“How about you let me take care of tonight’s patrol and just rest instead?”
“You want me to rest today?”
“Yes. I’ll handle tonight’s night patrol as well.”
“That’d make it two nights in a row for you, yesterday and today. Are you sure you’ll be fine? And why the sudden offer?”
“I just have a bad feeling about tonight. Like it’s something I should handle alone.”
The truth was, I hoped Lisa wouldn’t show up at all at tonight’s accident site.
That would make things much easier for me.
But since I couldn’t exactly tell her, ‘There’s going to be an accident tonight,’ this was the best excuse I could come up with.
“Then all the more reason I should go, don’t you think?”
As expected, Lisa didn’t back down easily.
“When you say you have a bad feeling—does it have to do with the monster cries we heard from the livestock pens this morning?”
“It’s not entirely unrelated. Anyway, my point is, rather than risk you getting hurt—”
“No. If something dangerous might happen, it’s only right that I, as your senior, step up before you.”
Lisa’s expression remained stoic, but her tone was firm.
It didn’t seem like I could convince her to stay in the dormitory tonight. Time to go with plan B.
“Then, if you don’t mind… how about we patrol together?”
“Together? You mean together?”
Lisa’s voice rose slightly—almost like she was excited.
“You mean, go on the night patrol together, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct, but if you don’t want to…”
“No, I’d like that. Let’s do it together. Night patrol.”
I caught a glimpse of Lisa’s lips curling upward slightly.
Though she quickly returned to her usual expression, she definitely looked more cheerful than before.
And from that, I realized one thing.
‘She must really like me.’
In the game, getting Lisa to react like this took months of effort.
Yet here she was, acting like this in under a month…
‘It’s one of two things—either my hard work and honesty paid off, or the body I transmigrated into just happens to be her exact type: stupidly handsome.’
Honestly, I was leaning toward the latter.