-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Millia is Acting Strange
***
Millia's attitude was off.
Luna had been feeling that strongly for the past few days.
It was as if she wasn't the Millia Luna knew.
But she couldn't pinpoint why.
It was just a gut feeling that Millia had changed slightly.
Surely… her attitude towards me is the same.
Millia and I are supposed to be inseparable friends….
Millia smiled faintly, pulling Luna from her thoughts.
"Speaking of which, Luna, I thought the academy's written exam would be easier. Don't you think it's more difficult than we expected?"
"…You're right. Now that you mention it, Millia, I think so too. Our answers were quite different when we just compared them."
She nodded slightly as she responded.
Honestly, she'd thought it was easy while solving it, but when they actually compared answers, her opinions diverged from Millia's to an odd degree.
…And usually, the result was that Millia was right. Millia was such a wise girl that Luna often admired her.
'The answers to the problems I solved seemed clear. So that wasn't the case.'
While trying to understand, her gaze flickered to her side.
"I might have to study even harder from now on."
Beneath her black bob, Millia seemed to be deep in thought about the exam.
That, too, was the 'diligent Millia' she knew.
So diligent that it reminded Luna why she thought so highly of Millia, even as a friend…
But. She felt strange.
She was clearly with Millia even now.
Yet, something felt off, as if something was snagging at a corner of her mind.
Nothing was particularly different from usual, but Millia felt subtly changed.
Even when Luna spoke to her, Millia seemed to reply as usual, but there was a sense of detachment in her responses.
'Something's… off with Millia.'
They had clearly cherished each other and spent eight years as inseparable friends.
Despite that, spending time with Millia was always enjoyable and comfortable.
That's why, to spend more time with Millia, hadn't she even deliberately lowered her assigned class for the entrance exam?
However, Millia, in turn, seemed to have no desire to grow closer to her.
"Millia."
"…Hm?"
"No, it's nothing."
Even now, when Luna called her name, Millia's gaze took 0.5 seconds longer to meet hers than before they entered the academy.
As if she was thinking of something else. Luna couldn't understand it.
She cherished Millia so much, yet she kept feeling that something had changed.
She wished Millia would respond to her warmly as before… but that wasn't the feeling she got.
The more she thought about it, the more resentment built up in her heart.
And there was a reason she suspected.
When she felt Millia's gaze occasionally drifting elsewhere, she naturally recalled it, and unconsciously clenched her hand.
It was usually directed at a certain man.
A man with dark black hair and black eyes, a slightly different vibe from Millia… That truly insufferable man.
'His name… was Han Cheon-seong, right?'
The man's voice, when he looked at her yesterday and left, saying he was avoiding something dirty, was still vivid in her mind.
A commoner with no family name. How could she ever forget that man who didn't know his place and tried to sit beside her?
And frankly, she didn't believe the widely spread rumors about the duel.
Leonhardt, who had even given the congratulatory speech as the top student in the entrance exam. That commoner supposedly drew with him in a duel. Thinking about it again, it was preposterous.
'What kind of nonsense is that?'
Even if the duel truly ended in a draw, she believed that Leonhardt, the student, must have gone easy on him, or been careless. In any case, he must have just done it half-heartedly.
Thinking about it, she really disliked that Leonhardt man too.
To draw with a commoner? Did he take duels lightly? Then she slowly shook her head.
She didn't want to think about that man anymore.
For now, she just needed to enjoy her time with Millia. Even if she felt a bit hurt, if she treated Millia better, Millia would surely accept her.
Footsteps.
Then, suddenly, footsteps echoed nearby, and her gaze blankly drifted.
And she frowned.
'What…?'
Why.
Why is that man here?
Suddenly, the man, Han Cheon-seong, appeared.
"Excuse me. Do you have a moment?"
Then he spoke to them in an uncomfortably gentle voice, and his appearance was so different from what she'd encountered at the entrance ceremony… for a moment, even Luna couldn't adjust.
It felt as if goosebumps erupted all over her arms.
'What kind of trick…!'
Just as she was about to open her mouth.
Grab!
Suddenly, Millia urgently grabbed her arm. Because of that, Luna couldn't utter the words she was about to say.
It was just like Millia's characteristic gesture when she always stopped her.
"Yes! It's fine. Your name is Han Cheon-seong, right?"
Then… she looked at the man, a radiantly bright smile on her face. Instantly, the boiling anger in Luna's heart froze and subsided.
'Why.'
…Why is Millia smiling so brightly?
And at the man she disliked the most.
Why was she flashing such a radiant smile, one she rarely even showed Luna… Luna couldn't understand.
No, she didn't want to… understand.
***
"Yes! It's fine. Your name is Han Cheon-seong, right?"
At Millia's remarkably bright reply, Cheon-seong was momentarily surprised.
"…Yes, that's right. You're Student Millia, correct?"
Her name was on her nametag, so it was obviously correct, but Millia still nodded with a radiant smile.
"Yes, that's me. You can speak comfortably. Seeing you leave the classroom so early, you must have finished the Ethics exam well."
As she looked at him with a gentle yet peculiar gaze, he unconsciously blinked.
'What is this…?'
Why is this first impression so good?
He had assumed that even if it wasn't as difficult as with Luna, a sudden approach like this would make it hard to even carry on a proper conversation.
But the feeling he was getting now was different.
Rather, it felt easy, perhaps?
Since she told him to speak comfortably, he too relaxed his speech.
"Then I'll speak comfortably. Millia, you can call me by my first name too. Actually, I don't have any major business, it's just… we're assigned to the same class. I was hoping we could get to know each other. If you have time, would you mind talking for a bit?"
As he continued speaking calmly, his gaze flickered to Luna.
Luna, whose arm was still held by Millia, wore a dumbfounded expression that was both comical and perplexing.
'Why is she so quiet now?'
He found it strange and awaited an answer, and Millia immediately nodded.
"Ah, getting to know each other… I think that's a great idea too."
At Millia's positive response, he met her gaze.
…
Meeting those light blue eyes, so different from his own, felt quite strange. For her to accept his words so easily, he became curious about her intentions.
Her gaze flickered.
However, shortly after their gazes met, she avoided his eyes. He involuntarily paused.
'Did I make some kind of mistake?'
As he wondered why she avoided his gaze, Millia's appearance caught his eye anew.
In the original story, she was a supporting character who received little attention, overshadowed by the heroine Luna, but seeing her this close, her beauty was exceptional.
From afar, her black bob and cute impression had made her seem appealing. But seeing her up close now, the beauty mark under her right eye was truly captivating.
It was as if cuteness and a strange allure coexisted. There was a peculiar charm that instantly transformed her impression.
'What am I thinking right now…'
He immediately dismissed the thought and spoke.
"Shall we go together then? I heard there's a nice cafe inside the academy. It might be a good place to talk."
As he spoke, he made sure not to look at Luna.
For some reason, the flow wasn't bad.
Therefore, he had to maintain this flow to the end.
And all answers to his questions should come from Millia.
"A cafe? I think that sounds good too. Oh, right, Luna. You're fine with it, aren't you? Huh? You're fine with it, right!?"
And then Millia immediately looked at Luna, repeating her words, and at that moment, he felt like he had completely messed up.
He should have led them straight to the cafe, maintaining this flow. But to ask Luna for her opinion at the very end… wasn't the answer already decided?
'She'll refuse.'
He swallowed a sigh internally, feeling a deep sense of regret.
He didn't know how many more opportunities like this would come. It felt like he had missed a golden chance.
The reason was that even though the two were best friends, Luna had more practical decision-making power than Millia.
Luna's background as a member of the Vermont Earldom was one thing, and there were various reasons why Millia usually accommodated her.
As he gave her a forlorn look.
But why?
…
Luna, whom he expected to refuse immediately, remained silent.
Instead, she looked blank, as if her soul had left her body.
"H-hey, Luna? Not just me, but the other student is waiting too."
At her appearance, Millia, seemingly flustered, called out to her again, urging a reply. Only then did the light seem to return to Luna's eyes.
Snap!
As Luna immediately looked at him, his heart seemed to drop.
Seriously… how could someone's eyes be so chilling?
"…Alright. Let's go."
Immediately after, Luna replied in an extremely subdued voice.
And he was about to turn away, thinking, 'Just as I expected.'
"…Huh?"
Now, it was his turn to be dumbfounded.
For a moment, he doubted his ears.
'Not… a refusal?'
No, did he hear correctly?
"Then, Student Han Cheon-seong? I think we can go to the cafe together now."
At Millia's gentle voice, smiling as if pleased, he opened his mouth in a daze.
"…Just call me Han Cheon-seong."
Millia, who nodded as if pleased by his words, naturally looked at Luna.
He blankly followed her gaze.
No way.
"Lu… na."
She uttered her name, syllable by syllable, then immediately turned her head. The moment he saw Luna like that, he doubted this reality.
Pinch.
He gently pinched his thigh. The pain was undeniably clear.
'No, how can this be real?'
Click.
As he walked beside Millia, who was already moving, she smiled brightly and looked at him as if curious.
Receiving Millia's friendly gaze—his eyes strangely drifted to Luna, who was silently walking beside her.
What in the world…
'What is this situation?'
More than one or two things were beyond his comprehension.