Chapter 76: 76

A Secret Promise

Leidyrune leaned forward.

The bed creaked when he put his arm on it.

Her shoulder was already against the wall, but Sheila still backed away with even more force. Leidyrune raised his eyebrows at the sight of her trying to get away from him.

“――That’s enough, how long are you going to keep avoiding me?”

“No matter how long it is…. I will stil….”

Sheila averted her eyes at his gaze.

As his gaze followed her, Sheila immediately let her gaze escape to the other side. This time, he quickly got ahead of her.

She hurriedly tried to turn her entire face away, but a large hand caught her by the chin.

Leidyrune’s face kept approaching.

“If you avoid me any longer, I will tell your secret. I’m not as nice as you think I am.”

Surprised by the low, lustrous voice, Sheila blinked her eyes.

Leidyrune moved his hand from her chin to her cheeks, perhaps impatient with the lack of further response. Sheila’s face soon looked like an octopus because of the force he put into his hand.

His lips twitched. It was totally disrespectful because he was the one who was making her do this. Leidyrune soon put his hand over his mouth and turned his face away.

Sheila could imagine that if she started talking in this state, she would be laughed at more and more, so she gently removed Leidyrune’s hand. Rubbing her slightly sore cheek, Sheila regained her composure and answered his earlier words.

“Well… It’s strange for me to say this, but I think anyone would get angry if they were so blatantly avoided. If anything, when you think you’re not a good person to that extent, aren’t you a good person?”

The reason Sheila said comforting words to him even though he was threatening her was because his eyes were slightly distorted, and he looked slightly horrified. As if he was ashamed of his own actions.

Sheila’s words didn’t alleviate his gloom.

“A good person? Me? Even though I’m threatening you with your secret?”

Leidyrune laughed sarcastically.

When it came to his reputation, Sheila had only heard words of praise for his fairness, his outstanding character, and his humanity. She wasn’t very fond of him in the beginning, but now she had changed her opinion of him as a strong and honorable man.

Perhaps he was the one who was unsatisfied by it. Was he distressed by the fact that it diverged from who he actually was?

Sheila found it somewhat endearing and laughed out loud.

At the unexpected reaction, Leidyrune was dumbfounded and his eyes widened. It was strange because it softened the impression of arrogance and even made him feel a little childish. Sheila laughed more and more.

“Please don’t avoid me….”

The fact that he said he didn’t want to be avoided meant that he felt a certain degree of familiarity with her. Sheila had long ago recognized that they were friends, so she was more than happy to know that it wasn’t one-sided.

After a brief laugh, her shoulders relaxed completely. With the remnants of a smile still in place, Sheila turned to Leidyrune.

“I’m sorry, Leidyrune-senpai. I have been so rude to you. But I won’t run away from you anymore.”

Sheila met his puzzled gaze straight on. It felt like it had been a long time since she had gazed directly at Leidyrune.

Now Leidyrune was the one who began to let his gaze wander as if searching for words.

What should he say to her now that he knew her gender by the feel of her chest? Sheila tilted her head, unaware that the young man in front of her was troubled.

After some pondering, Leidyrune avoided clarifying the matter.

“――I’m not going to tell your secret to anyone.”

The meaning of what was said slowly permeated through, and Sheila’s eyes gradually widened. Naturally, she had only expected to be condemned.

“…. Aren’t you angry? I lied about my gender and deceived everyone. Even at this very moment. I know that this is a betrayal of trust.”

Sheila clutched the pants of her training clothes tightly. She didn’t want to expect anything from him.

“I don’t care about that.”

“….. Eh?”

She looked up at his indifferent tone.

Leidyrune stared at Sheila intently.

With determination, perhaps? She was pressured by the warmth in the pale, purple-colored eyes.

“I want you to talk to me the same way you’ve always talked to me. When you avoided me――it’s painful.”

Leidyrune’s hand gently approached her. It stopped just short of touching her cheek and slid down in a tracing motion. Sheila felt his body heat which brought her relief.

‘…. He’s not lying.’

The reassurance turned to certainty and begged the question.

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“…. If you weren’t mad at me for lying about my gender, then why were you staring at me like that?”

He stared at her every chance he got, and to be honest, Sheila was a little bit scared. It was also quite a problem because people around her were afraid of his murderous attitude and kept away from her.

Leidyrune grimly crossed his arms and snorted.

“I wasn’t staring at you. I just didn’t like the way those guys were touching you and sticking to you all the time.”

“Touching me? But earlier, you were also touching me.”

“I still didn’t like it.”

“….. All right.”

It seemed that no objection was allowed in this case.

Sheila nodded obediently.

“Is Sheila Danau your real name?”

“Yes. I couldn’t come up with a pseudonym at that moment. But later, I was glad I didn’t lie. When my brother applied for my mid-year enrollment, I was apparently accepted under my real name.”

Felix apparently arranged for her to live under her real name in anticipation of any trouble that would come out if she used a fake name. Although Sheila was caught off guard, he had been very helpful to her.

Leidyrune raised his eyebrow.

“Who is this brother of yours? If he can apply for a mid-year admission to this academy, is he someone who has connections with the nobility?”

“I still don’t know anything about it. But since we’re not related by blood, I can imagine that he’s an aristocrat.”

“You’re not related by blood?”

“Yes. But he’s an amazingly kind older brother.”

When Sheila thought of Felix, she naturally smiled.

The other day, after the training was over, she visited his mansion for the first time in a while.

Both Lulu and Richard welcomed her with more pastries than usual and thanked her for her hard work. Sheila also talked endlessly about the hard work of the Patrol Corps and the bonds she had formed with her roommates.

She was troubled when Felix, who was a worrier, knew about the kidnapping fiasco and was more overly touchy than usual, but even that led to the relief that she had returned back to her normal routine.

“Even when I said something reckless about wanting to become a knight, he supported me. To me, my brother is my biggest ally.”

With a wide smile on her face, Leidyrune fell into silence as she talked more about her brother. But he soon changed the subject without further mention.

“…. Why don’t you talk normally when we’re alone?”[1]

Sheila blinked when Leidyrune pointed it out, but immediately laughed and waved her hand.

“If I’m not careful, I feel like I’m going to expose myself in front of everyone. Even though people think I’m a guy anyway, I need to be careful just in case.”

Ever since that time when she misspoke once to Jornwerner, Sheila had tried to avoid using it in front of anyone. The only time she got careless was when she was with Clauschezade.

The hand that had been flapping around was grabbed by Leidyrune.

“――If you want to pursue your dream, I will support you as much as I can. I promise to keep your secret.”

Leidyrune declared with a sincere look in his eyes. His pale purple eyes were so clear that she seemed to be sucked in, Sheila couldn’t take her eyes off him as if she was bewitched.

“… Leidyrune-senpai, are you really okay with that? Because of me, you will have to keep secrets from others.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Sheila understood the pain of lying to those around her. The more important they became, the more the weight of the secret increased.

But Leidyrune answered without hesitation. How respectable was that?

Sheila felt saved by him and smiled softly.

Leidyrune, in turn, also broke into a rare smile.

“…. I guess that means it’s a secret between you and me.”

“Urm….”

Actually, Claushezade knew from the beginning, and Jornwerner knew as well. However, if Sheila told him about it and it became a problem at the academy, it might cause trouble for everyone. The less information shared, the better.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing.”

But why was he suddenly in a good mood?

She didn’t understand, but she was happy to see Leidyrune’s calm expression again, so Sheila abandoned her thoughts early.

Translator Notes:

1. He’s talking about how she still used “Boku” instead of “Watashi” which is actually gender neutral, but usually perceived as feminine in informal or casual contexts. ↵

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