The Woman Found the Will I Wrote

12 – Jealousy

We just walked in silence around the park.

Looking at the back of the student council president who was deep in thought, I was guessing the relationship between Daren and the student council president.

She gradually slowed her steps and sighed heavily.

“… I’ve never met someone as pretty as you before.”

Although an unexpected comment, her facial expression was excessively serious that it was difficult to even question her.

While looking at her, I was wondering what to say.

The student council president pushed down the sword attached to her waist as if hiding it and continued to speak.

“Unlike a coarse and rough person like me, you were slender and beautiful.”

She hid her wounded hand behind her back as if she didn’t want to show it, and looked at me.

Then, she walked away with an emotionless face.

“… Therefore, I was jealous. To the point that I might have been a fool.”

Although her expressions and actions give off a vibe of disinterest in me, her words contradict that, creating a strange feeling.

In spite of that feeling of unfamiliarity, I nodded timidly, thinking I couldn’t get a handle on the situation.

She again wore a serious face and offered an apology.

“I’m sorry. Living as a knight for a long time, I’m not familiar with expressing emotions… If you’re uncomfortable, I apologize.”

Upon her words, I briefly replied, recalling Dern’s tone of speech.

“It’s fine.”

The answer came out entirely indifferent, as if I did not care about others.

However, whether there was a discrepancy with what Dern usually said

She looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.

“…Yes?”

Something was apparently wrong.

I suddenly realized that my tone might have been too kind compared to the usual tone Dern uses.

I continued the conversation in as crude a manner as possible.

“Why are you staring? Take your face away.”

Although I regretted the harshness of my words,

Just at the moment when I was contemplating how to fix the situation,

“Looks like you’re in a very good mood today. I’m relieved.”

An unexpected reaction returned.

Without knowing how Dern usually acts, or what kind of words he uses, I nodded, thinking I couldn’t understand her reaction.

“By the way, Dern. Did you see the news this morning?”

“News?”

“Yes. A massive archaeological site appeared near the academy.”

Upon hearing this, I looked at her with surprise.

The massive archaeological site is supposed to appear a month after Lumi gets hurt in the original novel.

I couldn’t comprehend why it had already appeared.

‘I don’t know if it appeared earlier than scheduled or if Lumi got the information late, resulting in a difference in the timing I heard in the novel.’

The important thing, however, is that ‘ancient magic’ is believed to be dormant in that site.

In the original, since only the disciples had taken this, I wasn’t sure what exactly happens inside the site.

However, knowing that the disciples gained immense power from the ancient magic they acquired from there, I wanted to steal it no matter what.

‘So, the priority must be to explore the archaeological site.’

While thinking about this.

A good round of thought flitted through my mind.

‘Wait, why bother doing anything? I can just ask the family head to give this to me?’

Her gift. Asking for the ownership of the archaeological site seems the best.

Firstly, I’ve said to myself, whether it works out or not.

If it fails or doesn’t work out, I’ve resolved to creep in and steal, reinforcing my resolve.

* * * * *

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[Exam Scoreboard]

1st – Lerche Dern [100 points]

2nd – Lumi [93 points]

3rd – Herdi Delia [84 points]

4th – Philnak Tullis [83 points]

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Lumi blinked her eyes as she looked at the scoreboard installed in each section of the hallway.

She already knew that she might lose the first place to Dern, but it was strange to actually see it.

‘I don’t mind.’

On the other hand, seeing Dern’s name in the first place seemed to bring a smile on her face.

She almost let a rush of excitement surface on her face, but she held it back and continued to act nonchalant.

Suddenly, she remembered the woman she had seen earlier.

‘Anyway … who was that?’

She was a woman of refined beauty, completely out of her own league.

She naively daydreamed about whether that was how she’d feel if she could turn her usual dream into reality.

Just then, an earlier remark swept past her ears.

[If you dislike my fiancé so much, could I take over for a while.]

… Fiancé.

She had heard that nobles’ engagements were a kind of contract tied up politically.

She knew that engagements were just contractual relationships, far from romantic affections.

But oddly enough, her behavior and voice seemed to be more than a simple contract.

‘… Could she like Dern?’

Being aware of others’ feelings for a long time, even when their emotions were not easily expressed.

She concluded that she couldn’t express such emotions unless she liked him.

‘Surely … they really suit each other. She has to like him.’

Compared to herself, who is a nuisance merely by existing and is useless, that woman… Ah.

While considering what was obvious,

Suddenly, a strange pain, like someone poking a needle around her heart, struck her.

Unable to speak because of the pain, holding her chest, a voice came from the side.

“Anyway, that Dern guy is from a very good family, a genius too… even has money and looks… Ah, life.”

“Won’t you be jealous honestly since the gap is so big? It’s like I’m watching a being who is from another dimension.”

“I know what you mean.”

Words mixed with envy and praise for Dern.

As she agreed with such words, she felt increasingly distanced from Darren.

Stories about her came from the side.

“Besides… she also looks after the plebeian girl.”

“Ah, you mean Lumi? Isn’t it just because she’s pretty and pitiable that he’s looking after her?”

“Probably?”

Reality that, being so unremarkable and just a commoner, she could not even be placed on the same plane.

Though she didn’t usually care about this and had ignored it.

Strangely, now, these issues kept getting caught on her heart.

“……”

She knew that these thoughts didn’t suit the occasion.

She knew that having these thoughts itself could bother Darren.

But even so, she kept thinking about it and buried her face in her hands.

‘I’m really… trash.’

Just as her adoptive parents said, maybe it’s right that she shouldn’t be happy.

While she was hating her selfish and willful self, she vented her self-loathing inside.

The murmuring sound around her, much louder than before, came to her ears.

Wondering what it was, she sneaked a glance and saw the girl who had taken Darren from her earlier was bringing him back.

“Darren with the student council president? Didn’t they say they were engaged?”

“They must be, right? But, they do look good together.”

“Envious.”

The murmuring sound gradually grew over her ears.

Normally, she would have run away to the classroom, covering her ears.

However, strangely, annoyance rose rather than wanting to flee because she felt irritated.

‘Ah.’

Why is it?

It shouldn’t be a big deal, but why is she so irritated?

Unable to figure out her own feelings, she just scowled at Darren and the student council president from a corner.

* * * * *

I sighed looking at my fiancé who had insisted on escorting me to the front of the class.

Since I couldn’t know his name until the last moment, the danger during our conversation was immense.

‘But somehow managed to get through…’

It was a great relief to finish without any problems.

I decided to try to find out the name of the student council president as soon as I get home.

‘It seems the grades are out.’

Looking at my name written in first place on the scorecard, I felt satisfaction.

Nearby, someone looked at me with doubtful eyes and raised a question.

“Hey Darren. Did you really solve the theory problem on your own?”

When I checked who it was, I saw Herdi Delia, who had achieved third place in this exam.

She questioned me while confronting me.

“Even if I accepted the first four problems, the last one is not something you can solve after a few minutes of contemplation. Don’t you think it’s strange to solve a problem that takes at least a few days, or a few months to a few years, in just a few minutes?”

To be fair, she wasn’t completely wrong.

If you see one solving a problem – deliberately made almost impossible – all by oneself within ten minutes, you would naturally be suspicious of cheating.

That’s why her doubt was not unreasonable.

The problem was that she voiced this in a hallway filled with people.

I sighed at the rush of attention and said to Delia,

“You really know how to advertise how stupid you are… airhead.”

Taken aback, Delia lunged at me.