Chapter 77. < 31. A Handsome Man's Suffering (6) >
Recently, Tania hadn't seemed to be in a good mood.
It probably started around the time he and Layton Wino grew closer.
Of course, he understood. Someone who had been walking around with a sullen face as if they'd die from worry was now going around grinning foolishly—she'd find it absurd and get angry.
'I did receive counseling from her, after all. That makes it even more so.'
But even so, it was a bit excessive.
Because of that, Lumian had been deliberately avoiding Tania for about a week.
Lumian couldn't even conceive the thought, 'Maybe she's interested in me too?'
He was so absorbed in Layton Wino that he had no mental space for that, and also because of something he'd heard from Theoro before.
'Tania keeps trying to maintain good relationships with everyone who has a promising future. It feels like she's putting tremendous effort into networking for the future.'
Probably, that was the reason she wanted to get close to him as well.
Of course, even if such a purpose existed, Lumian didn't care.
Separately from that, Tania was a decent person. He could tell after talking with her.
'But running into her now is.......'
A bit burdensome.
Even though neither he nor she had such feelings, he thought Layton Wino might misunderstand if she saw this.
So Lumian tried to pass by quickly while ignoring Tania. It wasn't polite, but he had no choice.
"Lumian!"
"......."
But with her calling his name like that, he couldn't just ignore her.
Lumian, who stopped abruptly, forced an awkward smile.
"Haha, Tania. Hello."
"Why are you just passing by even after seeing me?"
"No, I was thinking about something else and didn't see you. Sorry. Hahaha……."
Making excuses incoherently, Lumian stole glances at Tania's mood.
Fortunately, she didn't seem to be in that bad a mood.
Unlike recently, she wasn't raising her eyes, nor was she biting her lower lip. Her tone was somewhat gentle too.
Also, he didn't know why, but.
'She looks…… prettier than usual?'
It was really true.
Of course, Tania was originally pretty. Her body wasn't his type, but if considering just her face, she could be called as great a beauty as Layton Wino.
But right now, she was even more remarkable than that.
How remarkable? Remarkable enough that her flat chest didn't catch his eye.
At this, Lumian felt flustered.
'No, get a hold of yourself.'
He was on his way to meet Layton Wino.
There was still plenty of time. But to not be late for the appointment, he needed to go quickly.
After finishing his thoughts, Lumian managed his expression that had been loosening.
Then he asked about the matter.
"By the way, why did you call……."
"See this?"
"Hm?"
Two pieces of paper fluttering in Tania's hand.
Lumian examined them closely.
"Tickets?"
"Yeah. Tickets for the traveling theater troupe Absinthe."
"Ah, really?"
"Yes. I didn't know either, but they happen to be performing inside the Academy tomorrow."
"Wow, so Absinthe is coming to Tarazan too……."
Lumian made a surprised expression.
In his previous life, he had quite liked plays.
Unlike books, watching was less tiring, and unlike paintings, it conveyed a more vivid feeling.
When focusing on the emotions flowing between the characters playing on stage, all distracting thoughts in his head completely disappeared.
Because of that, whenever the reality of being a eunuch weighed heavily on him, he would wash away his sorrow by watching plays.
'I don't need to do that in this life, but…… still, plays are fun.'
Plus, Absinthe was quite a famous traveling theater troupe.
He hadn't thought at all that he'd be able to see them at Tarazan Academy.
Since she got tickets for such a troupe, his interest was naturally drawn.
Moreover.
"Did you remember that I said I liked plays last time……."
"Hehe. Of course. Did you think I got tickets by coincidence?"
Tania smiled brightly. Seeing that, Lumian made a slightly moved expression.
And seeing this, she was smiling even more brightly inside than she appeared on the outside.
'As expected, I knew it would work.'
For the past two weeks, she had been extremely angry.
She didn't know why. She was just angry and annoyed. Whenever she saw Layton Wino and Lumian Calad stuck together like glue, it felt like lava would pour out from inside her.
If she were her usual self, she would have thought seriously about the reason.
But right now was not usual.
Tania, so irritated that her body trembled, could no longer think rationally. She surrendered her body to emotions she couldn't even explain herself.
Because of that, she couldn't help but make sulky expressions every time she faced Lumian.
She realized that was a mistake three days ago.
'Calm down, Tania!'
Lying on the bed in her room, she calmly reviewed the situation.
Then she thought this couldn't go on.
To save Lumian from that woman wearing those skimpy clothes, she too had to do her best.
Actually, using the expression 'save' was far from calm, but Tania didn't care.
Instead, she focused all her nerves on making a plan to steal Lumian's time.
'When we met after the first semester ended, he said he liked plays. The traveling theater troupe happens to visit the Academy on Saturday…….'
'Show that I remembered what he said before. Be careful not to be too obvious since that would look desperate…….'
'Don't ruin the atmosphere by getting angry like usual, and with a smiling face…….'
'Should I wear a necklace for once? And lipstick…… would that be too much?'
Various thoughts came up and were discarded.
She even neglected her classes. The past three days were time solely for Lumian.
"You said that so casually, but remembering it…… it's really touching. Haha."
And now, that fruit was about to bear fruit.
It wasn't just a reaction obtained from tickets alone.
Carefully chosen clothes, hair she'd put effort into styling,
Tania shouted inside.
'Yes!'
If it were up to her feelings, she wanted to shout out loud.
See that! Layton Wino!
When I come out sincerely, I'm not inferior either! Until now, I wasn't at full power!
Of course, she couldn't do that.
If she did that, the current atmosphere would be completely ruined.
Instead, Tania approached Lumian with the expression she'd practiced yesterday, the one she thought looked most charming.
"Tomorrow, you don't have plans, right?"
"Uh……."
"What, you do?"
"No, it's not that……."
Lumian hesitated.
He didn't have plans.
But since he'd been meeting Layton Wino every single day recently, that weighed on his mind.
'But she remembered something I said months ago and got tickets for me…….'
Rejecting Tania's proposal because of a schedule that wasn't even set yet would be too rude, wouldn't it?
Thinking that way, he couldn't easily refuse.
If he were officially dating Layton Wino, or if it felt like Tania was butting in with ulterior motives, that would be different, but neither was the case.
At least, that's what Lumian thought.
It was a pure yet frustrating thought that only an oblivious and inexperienced virgin could have.
'Theoro, Morgan! Help me!'
For a moment, he thought of Theoro and Morgan. That's how complicated his head was.
But they wouldn't appear here.
Lumian scolded himself inside.
'Am I a child!'
He couldn't ask others and depend on them for every little thing to make decisions.
He had to do it himself. He was a man who was no longer a eunuch.
After finishing his thoughts, he looked at Tania.
It was the moment his lips were about to slowly open.
"Lumian?"
"Layton!"
"......."
Layton Wino, who had approached near them at some point.
The moment she saw her, Tania's composure shattered.
She was unbearably annoyed that they had dropped honorifics with each other without her knowing.
What was even more annoying was that the moment Layton Wino arrived, the atmosphere of this place completely changed.
"Sorry. Did you wait so long you came looking?"
"I wanted to see you quickly."
"Hahaha……."
A scene that looked sickeningly sweet.
Anyone could see they looked like lovers. There didn't seem to be any gap for Tania to squeeze between them.
Her perfectly maintained expression gradually crumbled.
Her energy also leaked out little by little. It was a tremendous momentum that would be hard for an ordinary person to withstand.
However, neither of them was affected at all.
As for Lumian, he was distracted by Layton Wino, and his cultivation level was high, so it was natural.
However, for Layton Wino to not be affected either was strange. Without even glancing at Tania, she was whispering her words into Lumian's ear.
"Lumian. Tomorrow…… want to come to my house?"
"House?"
"Yeah. Not the dormitory, I have a separate house outside the Academy. I want to cook for you myself like I mentioned before."
"Cook, cook……."
Lumian repeated cooking with slightly unfocused eyes.
But what he was thinking about right now wasn't cooking.
It was the house.
'Not a dormitory, but a house outside the Academy…… could it be…….'
Gulp.
A woman invites the opposite sex to her house.
It could literally be just to serve a meal, but Lumian thought of something else. His imagination didn't stop at just cooking.
Moreover, Layton Wino's words weren't finished yet.
She opened her mouth.
Sweet words leaked from moist, glossy lips.
"And…… tomorrow, no one's there."
"......!"
"Except me."
It was the final blow.
Hearing those words, Lumian froze stiff.
His head became strange too.
He reached a state where he couldn't do anything except think about Layton Wino, and 'that thing' that might happen tomorrow.
Naturally, what Tania had said had to be forgotten too.
"Then, shall we go eat dinner?"
"Y-yeah!"
Layton Wino walking away while swaying her hips, and Lumian Calad belatedly sticking to her side.
And Tania, left behind desolately holding two tickets.
It was about 10 minutes later that she, who had been standing blankly for a while, finally moved.
Stride, stride
Her strides were very large.
Despite wearing heeled shoes unbecoming of a knight cadet, her walking speed was extraordinary. It felt like a race walker moving.
Click
Bang!
And so Tania Eloyce finally returned to her quarters.
Only then did she express her emotions.
A tremendous momentum like the wind sweeping through the northern region burst from her body.
Riiiip-
The first victims were the tickets for the traveling theater troupe Absinthe.
They instantly became unrecognizable. It was a tragic sight.
Poooof!
The second victim was the down pillow that had been responsible for Tania's sleep every night.
It split open, spewing hundreds and thousands of feathers and died a heroic death. It was a miserable sight.
Rustle, rustle
Nevertheless, her anger didn't subside. The misery didn't disappear either.
She looked around to find another victim, then discovered Lumian's portrait on the desk.
It was a drawing she had made when the subculture research club incident occurred.
Her hand moved quickly toward it.
Hesitate
But right before disposing of Lumian in the portrait, Tania stopped her movement.
She had no choice.
No matter how annoyed she was, the portrait was innocent.
Of course, if she thought that way, the tickets and the pillow were innocent too, but anyway. Tania took a deep breath and looked at Lumian's portrait.
'Now that I look, there are many different parts.'
She didn't know if Lumian had changed or if she had drawn it wrong back then.
What was certain was that the current Lumian was much more handsome than this portrait.
Thinking that, she couldn't stay still.
Tania took out paper and tools from the drawer and began drawing a portrait again.
Swish, swish-
Scrape- scrape-
This was Tania Eloyce who had been trembling with anger just moments ago.
Her suddenly drawing calmly was a very strange sight.
"Ugh, so annoying!"
"Grrrr, Lumian!"
Of course, she had episodes of outbursts while drawing, but nothing more happened than that.
She drew diligently with a gradually peaceful mind, and finally completed a new portrait.
"Hmm."
Tania compared the old portrait and the newly drawn one side by side.
Definitely, the current one was better. She felt a bit proud.
"Whatever. Let's just sleep. I'll think after sleeping."
She wasn't completely over her anger yet. But there was nothing she could do.
At times like that, sleeping was the best.
Tania gathered the scattered feathers back into the pillow, then fell asleep without even changing clothes.
Lumian appeared in her dream. Layton Wino didn't. Fortunately.
She smiled a pleasant smile. And she overslept for the first time in a while.
And that morning.
"Is this…… okay?"
Lumian Calad, fully armed.
He stood before the mirror with a determined expression like a new recruit stepping onto the battlefield for the first time.
"Just in case, should I wash one more time?"