NOVEL NEXT Chapter 77
Unknown Boy.
The boy, who had better growth than his peers, was someone who exuded a mature charm despite still being a child.
His figure, shining under the moonlight, possessed a magical allure that even Seron, who had yet to know love, found captivating.
“Y-yes, it’s pretty.”
Being a debutante in high society, Seron was experiencing something unfamiliar to her – the boy was a peer she had never encountered before.
Thus, her usual personality slipped away, leaving only the shy Seron behind.
Watching Seron struggle with conversation, the boy smiled gently.
“Why aren’t you going to the party? Why are you here?”
The boy naturally led the conversation with a shared topic.
Suddenly, Seron’s face twisted as tears began to brim in her eyes.
The boy was a bit taken aback, but he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket.
He then wiped the tears of young Seron.
He had a younger brother, two years his junior, who often cried, so he was accustomed to wiping away tears.
Perhaps due to this kindness, Seron felt even more overwhelmed and cried harder.
The boy patiently waited for her tears to subside.
After a while of crying, Seron calmed down a bit.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Y-yes, thank you.”
Seron felt embarrassed for having cried in front of someone.
Unintentionally, she had leaned on the boy’s kindness, acting a bit spoiled.
“So, why were you crying like that? Did someone bother you?”
Seron shook her head.
Instead, she whispered softly about what had happened today.
Sharing her thoughts with someone made her heart feel a little lighter.
However, she couldn’t help but feel wronged about her situation.
“I think the heavens might have it out for me. This kind of thing just keeps happening.”
If looked at individually, none of the misfortunes were truly significant.
Yet, as small misfortunes piled up, they became a burden.
Particularly, this could lead her to feel a sense of inadequacy where nothing ever works out.
“And with me looking like this, everyone will laugh if I go to the party.”
Although the maid had cleaned her up, faint mud stains still clung to her.
It was unavoidable unless she wore a new dress.
“Really? I think that dress looks pretty good.”
With that, the boy gazed at the inside of the party.
“Everyone’s in shiny clothes, but none of them show their true selves.”
The boy, a bit uncomfortable with the tightness of his tie, tugged at it slightly.
“It’s funnier that no one knows what’s hiding beneath those smiles, don’t you think?”
Seeing the boy seek agreement, Seron blinked in surprise.
The boy then burst into a carefree laugh.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something heavy.”
The slightly more mature boy stared at Seron’s dress stained with mud.
“You’re just being more honest than everyone else. That’s what makes you look much prettier than those girls over there.”
Though it was a remark laden with meaning, young Seron was simple-minded.
To her, looking prettier than the lovely ladies in the corner made her heart race.
“Well, I still can’t dance looking like this. I’ve practiced so hard.”
Seron fidgeted, clutching the hem of her dress.
The boy, watching her, reached out his hand.
“Then how about we dance, just the two of us?”
Seron’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Even though there’s no music?”
Instead of a beautiful melody, the rough sounds of nature filled the air.
“And there are no shining lights.”
In place of fancy lights, soft moonlight illuminated the night’s curtain.
“But you can dance anywhere, right?”
Most importantly, the boy was there.
The boy glowing in the moonlight was like a painting.
The sounds of crickets felt more beautiful than any music she’d ever heard.
Seron found herself extending her hand to the boy without thinking.
He took her hand and smiled warmly.
“Lady, would you like to dance with me?”
“Uh, I-I’m sorry!”
Seron almost bit her tongue as she tried to reply like she had learned.
But as the boy waited for her, she took a deep breath and opened her lips again.
“Gladly.”
Thus, the dance of the boy and girl began.
Under the moonlit night, with the curtain of darkness draped around them.
Seron spent the most beautiful moment of her life.
Seron Parmia, age 12.
The day she realized her first love.
And now, in the present.
Seron faced that first love once more.
With a restless heart, she tightly shut her eyes.
“Back then, I forgot to even ask for your name.”
She had been so young that she only leaned on the kindness of the boy, failing to even inquire about his name that day.
It was a day Seron would regret for a long time.
“I went to many social events after that, but I never saw him again.”
Seron had truly been unlucky.
No matter how hard she tried to seek the boy, they missed each other every time.
It was incredibly unfortunate.
But now, Seron found herself face to face with her first love again.
In a place she never expected.
Yet still, I say again.
Seron was unfortunate.
With a stiff expression, I watched Seron.
Seron met her first love again.
But her first love was not here.
The Bickamon who had introduced her to love was no longer in this world.
What remained was just me, who had taken Bickamon’s place.
I am not Seron’s first love.
I am merely the scoundrel who stole her first love.
I realize once more.
I am just a foreigner who accidentally stumbled onto the side of the fire butterfly.
The reality I had continuously delayed and turned away from began to loom overhead.
Seron slowly opened her eyes.
Her love-struck gaze was directed at me.
No, it shouldn’t be.
That gaze shouldn’t be aimed at me.
But Bickamon is not here.
I had no clue how he would treat Seron.
I had not been present on that fateful night.
“Could you please tell me your name?”
Seron threw a question I had not been able to ask that day.
My name.
Hearing her question, my lips quivered.
“Am I Hanon Irey?”
Or Bickamon Niflheim?
Or perhaps…
My feet involuntarily took a step back.
Was it a hasty retreat? My clothes fluttered around me.
At that moment, a sword-shaped pendant slipped from my garments.
Seeing it, Seron’s eyes widened slightly.
“That…”
Oh no.
It was a slip-up born from my fluster.
As I hurriedly tried to hide the pendant, Seron gazed at it, then broke into an incredulous laugh.
“…It was the silly nickname he gave you, wasn’t it?”
Seron seemed to grasp the situation on her own.
It appeared she thought that Bickamon had come here because I had requested him by giving the pendant.
Fortunately, there was no need to clarify any misunderstandings about it anymore.
In the meantime, I gathered my scattered thoughts.
“…I’m sorry. The boy you knew is no longer here.”
And then I caught a glimpse of Seron’s face.
Her expression was deeply hurt.
What I said moments ago felt no different than a rejection to her.
As I attempted to rectify my words, Seron bit her lip lightly and, despite her wet eyes, smiled.
“It’s okay. That girl from that day is right here.”
Her words stirred feelings in me that were beyond description.
“…I’m sorry.”
I could no longer converse with Seron, so I ran away.
As I hurried through the corridor, I quickly tightened the bandages around my neck.
My appearance began to transform into that of Hanon.
In turn, my reflection in the window bore no remnants of me.
I barely managed to halt my hand which was reaching out towards the window.
‘Calm down.’
I never thought I would feel shaken in such a moment.
I was unknowingly losing my grip on my sanity.
The pressure and tension of needing to avert a bad ending.
And the realization that I was, after all, an outsider.
Both were subconsciously pressing down on my heart.
“You!”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached my ears.
Honey-blonde hair caught my eye.
She rushed toward me, a shocked look on her face as she gauged my well-being.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
My pale face was already drenched in cold sweat.
Looking at me, Isabel tried to wipe the sweat from my face.
*Smack!*
I instinctively swatted her hand away.
Isabel was also someone from the firefly side.
Moreover, she saw me as Lucas.
I did not want her gentle touch to reach me.
Pausing, I belatedly realized how harshly I had acted.
But what was done was done.
Isabel lowered her rejected hand and quietly stood beside me.
She said nothing more.
“…I’m just feeling a bit unwell. Leave me alone.”
“Okay, I’ll wait until you feel better.”
“No need to—”
“You did that too.”
Isabel interrupted me.
“You chased after me that day without asking.”
The day Isabel went to the walls of Jerion Academy.
I had recklessly followed her.
“And before that…”
Isabel murmured words she still had not found the answer to.
Then, shaking her head, she spoke to me.
“So, I also have the right to do as I please.”
No more words came to mind.
But I learned one thing.
Isabel, whose eyes met mine beyond the window, was definitely looking at me.
A sunflower was gazing not at the sun, but at the moon.
Somehow, it felt as if that fact had slightly helped restore the warmth I had lost.
* * *
Thanks to my time with Isabel, I regained a bit of my composure.
Today, I realized just how dangerous it was to be alone when I was in a bad mental state.
Now that I felt okay, Isabel beamed and walked alongside me.
Her smile appeared to be genuinely happy.
Before I knew it, summer had started to wane, and autumn was beginning to take its place.
Watching the colorful leaves changing hues, I could not help but think how similar they were to me.
I too was becoming immersed in this world.
“Isabel.”
“Yes?”
Upon hearing my call, Isabel turned back to me.
“Thank you.”
Even though I had treated her coldly, she stayed by my side and helped me feel better.
When I sincerely expressed my gratitude, Isabel’s face lit up with a bashful smile.
Then she suddenly leaned in closer to me.
“So, no more boycotting, huh?”
“No, that’s a different matter entirely.”
I gave her a stern look.
Where does this main heroine get the audacity to take liberties with the script?
“But I thanked you!”
“Gratitude is one thing, but I still have my responsibilities.”
“Wow, that’s so unfair!”
Isabel pouted and hurled playful jeers my way, but I merely scoffed.
She really thought that could break me?
Considering all the insults I had endured from other girls, this seemed pretty cute.
My gaze drifted back to the window.
Finally, the season of boycotting was drawing near.
‘Now all that’s left is…’
To make Iris take action against the boycott.
Alright, the table is set; all that’s left is to place the spoon.
I’ll entirely turn the student council upside down.