ushernet Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Another peaceful day at the Academy.
It was home to numerous flowers. Many individuals possessed well-cultivated beauty from a young age, and even among them were more beautiful flowers.
The flower that countless bees were drawn to, Sylvia and Helena–they were those very flowers. And now, the two of them had secretly gathered without Felix’s knowledge to talk.
“...Is that true?”
“I’m telling you, it is?!”
At Sylvia’s words, Helena asked back with wide eyes.
“Did Her Highness the Crown Princess really make a wish bet with Felix?”
“Helena, you were there too...”
Sylvia held her head at Helena’s reaction as if hearing it for the first time. Seeing her like that, Helena stuck out her tongue and smiled awkwardly.
“At... At that time, things were so hectic.”
“...Right, that can happen.”
Sylvia immediately agreed with her words, recalling Helena’s state at that time. She calmly explained the situation to her.
Helena listened attentively to Sylvia’s words, then took a deep breath and widened her eyes.
“So in the end, Felix lost?”
“That’s what I heard.”
Sylvia and Helena let out deep sighs simultaneously without prompting. Helena felt a sense of crisis. Lately, she had felt uneasy about the way Ashillya looked at Felix.
“Wh-What kind of wish will she make?”
“Who knows...”
“She wouldn’t tell him to become her husband, right?!”
Although the chances of that were extremely low given Ashillya’s personality, Sylvia and Helena, who didn’t properly know her character, thoughtlessly considered the possibility.
“...Should we ask?”
“Her Highness the Crown Princess?!”
Helena couldn’t help but be startled by Sylvia’s bold suggestion. Even if this was the Academy, Ashillya was still the Crown Princess.
She wasn’t someone commoners like Sylvia and lower-ranking nobles like Helena could treat casually.
“Yes.”
But Sylvia’s eyes were determined. As Helena looked at her with puzzlement, she hurriedly made an excuse.
“Well, just in case she might unfairly use the wish to pressure Felix...?”
“Th-That shouldn’t happen.”
Helena hesitantly agreed with Sylvia’s somewhat unconvincing answer. Something about her attitude seemed off, but she didn’t think in that direction.
After all, it was Sylvia, wasn’t it?
It was hard to believe that Sylvia, who had turned down even exceptionally handsome men and those from outstanding families, liked Felix. Moreover, she had already rejected his confession once before.
“Let’s go.”
“...Ah, okay.”
At Sylvia’s persistent urging, Helena began following her.
***
The two walked through the Academy in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. And that brief silence was broken by Sylvia’s question.
“Helena.”
“...Yes?”
“What is love?”
“Huh...?”
“...”
“Helena... was it? You may not know, but Sylvia... you should be careful about your attitude.”
“...Pardon?”
Sylvia was surprised and asked at Ashillya’s leisurely words. She couldn’t understand what Ashillya meant.
After looking at Helena momentarily, Ashillya took a step closer to Sylvia with her long legs and quietly lowered her voice.
“Whether you’ll remain friends or fight to claim him.”
“F-Fight?”
Sylvia was surprised again and glanced at Helena. But she couldn’t hear Ashillya’s words clearly because she had lowered her voice so much.
Seeing that, Sylvia let out a sigh of relief, then blinked slowly.
“You should work hard too. If you stay still, I might take him from you.”
Ashillya said, looking at Helena with a relaxed smile.
Helena’s eyes turned cold as she realized what Ashillya’s words meant. It was an instinctive reaction that came out without her realizing it.
Ashillya nodded as if pleased to see the challenging gaze and answered Sylvia’s question.
“I know well what you two are worried about. You think I might use the wish to make Felix my husband... don’t you?”
“...”
Sylvia and Helena fell silent simultaneously.
Sylvia didn’t know how to view her, but Helena clearly recognized Ashillya as a ‘rival.’
Of course, not a rival but a love rival, to be precise.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of making such a wish.”
“...Phew.”
“Why would I lack anything to make that kind of wish? As I am, I lack nothing in appearance, wealth, or ability.”
Ashillya, who had stepped back a couple more steps, spoke in a consistently relaxed voice. Her gaze was not directed at either Sylvia or Helena.
“Besides, if I were to gain him through such a wish or forceful order, wouldn’t that be a relationship lacking love?”
“...”
“Did you think I had quite a tyrannical mindset?”
When Ashillya spoke while looking at Helena with a faint smile, Helena was startled and shook her head.
But the slight hostility still remained.
Brushing it off as if it were nothing, Ashillya continued.
“When it comes to love, am I not just another woman? I simply want to win him with my own hands. Because that would be the true way to obtain him.”
Saying that, Ashillya glanced to the side and nodded slightly.
The break time given to Ashillya was not much. As Felix had predicted, she was always busy and swamped with work.
Today was especially hectic. Ashillya had anticipated that Prince Jeffrey’s side would make some kind of move.
“If your curiosity has been satisfied, I’ll be on my way. I’m rather busy, you see.”
Ashillya showed a relaxed smile again and passed by Sylvia and Helena, whispering in a low voice.
“Think carefully about what I said. Whether you’ll fight or not.”
“Wait a moment...”
“I don’t think I’ll lose even if you compete, so struggle all you can.”
Ashillya cut off Sylvia’s urgent words decisively. At the same time, she met Sylvia’s gaze and quietly shook her head.
As if saying that you, who haven’t made your stance clear, have no right to say anything.
Ashillya moved forward without hesitation.
Leaving behind a single question for the two girls.