After dropping the cold words, Hisnai stood up, ready to leave.
“Already want to go?”
Luo Ye put down his teacup and, in the exact same tone as someone else, lifted his jet-black eyes and crooned, voice slightly hoarse.
“If it weren’t for Alicia, I wouldn’t be able to live… you know that…”
“Alicia, please, I beg you…”
“If it weren’t for Alicia, watashi…”
Hisnai’s eyes suddenly widened, her flawless face flushing red as she slammed her hands on the table.
“You actually heard the conversation between Alicia and me that day, didn’t you?! Forget about it!”
The thought of being seen kneeling before Alicia, clutching her sleeve, desperately begging her not to leave…
Hisnai felt an overwhelming shame.
She would rather have been a bystander, watching the entire scene unfold from the side—the one with the pale green hair, Lilith—than have it witnessed by a man like this, especially one with the status of Alicia’s fiancé!
“Forget it? Fine, then exchange it for information.”
Luo Ye shrugged, utterly unfazed by the silver-haired girl’s desperate, ‘if I go down, you go down with me’ expression.
“You— you—”
The white fabric before Hisnai’s chest rose and fell violently, and even through the school uniform, Luo Ye could feel the wave of pressure rushing toward him.
Clearly, Hisnai was utterly shattered; otherwise, the usually proud and elegant daughter of a duke would never display such emotional upheaval.
Luo Ye said nothing, silently watching her.
After a moment, Hisnai finally calmed down, ceasing her restless movements, though her icy blue eyes remained fixed tightly on Luo Ye.
“Fine, since you’re so persistent, I might as well tell you.”
“But first, understand this: after I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else, or else…”
Luo Ye extended his hand, gesturing downward to indicate she should suppress her emotions, silently expressing that he knew full well the consequences of leaking secrets.
Hisnai glanced at his hand, then sighed softly before slowly parting her cherry lips.
“A year ago, Alicia, Lilith, I, and two other second daughters from marquess families formed a court orchestra, which suddenly disbanded.”
“Although I had long anticipated that day, Alicia is after all a princess. As a princess, she couldn’t stay in the orchestra forever.”
“I knew the orchestra wouldn’t last from the very beginning.”
“But… but…”
Hisnai suddenly choked up, her expression shifting between sorrow, ferocity, and struggle.
“Why did Alicia, after dissolving the orchestra, only bring Lilith to form the student council?”
“What about me?”
“Why didn’t she bring me?!!”
Luo Ye silently listened to Hisnai’s emotional outpouring, and from her words, he had already deduced what her true feelings for Alicia really were.
The unwillingness and lingering attachment after being abandoned.
And a bit of… hatred born from ‘love.’
Luo Ye instinctively started singing: “I should be under the car, not…”
“What are you singing?!” Hisnai interrupted, glaring at Luo Ye with a pout.
Although she didn’t understand or hear the full lyrics, just from his irritating expression, she could guess the meaning behind the words.
The dignified Miss Hisnai looking like a loser?
“That… you… um…” Luo Ye stammered, holding back his laughter, relying on his well-trained composure, “You know… pfft…”
Hisnai glared: “Are you laughing?”
“I’m not, no matter how funny it is, I won’t laugh,” Luo Ye denied, propping his cheek with his hand.
Hisnai slammed the table: “Liar! You’ve been laughing nonstop!”
“Enough, let’s get to the point.”
Luo Ye returned to his usual serious and composed demeanor. Just as he was about to speak, he seemed to think it would be too dull.
So he pondered for a moment and decided to reuse the approach he’d used when persuading Anna last time.
“Hisnai, as you can see, you don’t look good right now.”
“But I know you don’t care about that, and I won’t treat you the way I used to.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong; the one at fault is Alicia. So I won’t ignore you without reason like she did.”
Luo Ye still mimicked Alicia’s tone, noticing how her manner and speech worked like a special charm on young ladies, making them drop their guard.
Sure enough, Hisnai was stunned for a moment before biting her silver teeth and, whether from genuine feeling or instinct, retorted:
“How could Alicia be the one at fault? It’s clearly me who was wrong back then. If we had done better, if I had done better, Alicia-chan wouldn’t have said she wanted to quit the orchestra that day…”
Luo Ye watched every subtle shift in her expression, then, as if seeing through it all, nodded.
“Is that truly what you think in your heart?”
Hisnai’s breath caught, and she lifted her head, eyes slightly widened.
“What did you say?”
Luo Ye whispered, “I mean, you saying everything was your fault in the past isn’t really what you feel inside, right?”
“What do you know? You weren’t even there. Don’t act like you’re some expert telling me what to do…” Hisnai gritted her teeth.
“Hmph.”
Seeing Hisnai’s reflexive snort of disdain, Luo Ye finally fully understood her true state of mind.
He stood and took a step forward. Under Hisnai’s stubborn, tear-brimmed gaze, he reached out and, at her surprised ‘eh’ sound, pulled her into his embrace.
“You, you, you…”
Hisnai couldn’t believe what was happening, feeling Luo Ye’s warmth on her cheek. Her delicate nose inhaled his scent, and she finally understood what was going on. She tried to push him away, but Luo Ye held her tighter.
“It’s painful, isn’t it? Seeing the one you like leave, watching her walk away with a stranger, living better than when she was with you. That feeling must be so hard to bear.”
Hisnai protested, “It’s not, not like you said!”
“But…” Luo Ye didn’t listen to her denial, his voice deepening, “You secretly doubt whether your actions were wrong back then. You instinctively took all the blame on yourself to try and win Alicia back… but that gave someone already guilty and insecure a foothold. They used ‘she’s not wrong, it’s you who doesn’t understand her’ as an excuse to avoid talking to you.”
“No, that’s not true…” Hisnai shook her head.
“Alicia used your kindness, without even realizing it herself, and you didn’t realize you were being used either, which led to this situation… It’s okay now. As the Sage’s Son, Alicia’s fiancé, and assistant tutor at the academy, I declare that you, Hisnai, are not at fault in this matter.”
“So…”
Luo Ye took a deep breath and pulled her closer into his embrace.
“Don’t blame or grieve yourself, don’t always care about others. It’s time to look after yourself and those who’ve always cared for you.”
“There are many who watch over you, including me. So don’t give up, even if they all abandon you in the end, even if the whole world turns its back, there will still be one gaze on you—mine.”
“I will always watch over you.”
“So you have to live up to the expectations of those who care about you, okay? Don’t drown in that obsessive self-pity.”
Luo Ye’s tone was firm and comforting.
Hisdai’s slight shudder nestled deeper into him, her delicate fingers clutching Luo Ye’s academy uniform tightly, unwilling to let go.
If she didn’t, Luo Ye would definitely see the flush covering her pale face, so shy and embarrassed.
What the heck, why would Luo Ye comfort her like this?
What did he mean by saying there shouldn’t be only Alicia watching over her, but others too, including him?
What did he mean by saying that even if the whole world abandoned her, he would still be behind her watching?
Th-this… wasn’t this a confession?
Luo Ye wasn’t Alicia’s fiancé?
He had even argued fiercely with her, who wanted to steal Alicia away.
Yet now, he was confessing his feelings to her.
Why?
Could it be that…
Hisnai carefully leaned back, letting the sunlight stream through the gap between her cheek and Luo Ye’s clothes, allowing her to look up and gaze at the boy’s delicate profile.
A bold thought rose in her heart.
Actually… Luo Ye liked her.
That was why he agreed to the arranged marriage with Alicia—to get close to her indirectly. And fearing his status as an illegitimate son might affect her as the duke’s daughter, he refused to annul the engagement with Alicia, just to stay as close to her as possible, not crossing the line but always protecting her from a distance?
This…
This couldn’t be possible!
Hisnai covered her face with both hands and shook her head wildly.
Luo Ye: ???
The question marks were not because he was confused, but because he thought the girl was the one with issues.
Girl, what are you doing?
“Ahem, so, after all I said just now, are you feeling better?” Luo Ye asked.
Better, my foot!
A sudden explosive confession like this wouldn’t make anyone feel better, not even surprised—more like shocked!
But…
Hisdai lowered her head and, surprisingly, didn’t feel annoyed.
“Hmph~ So-so.” Hisnai pouted and turned away awkwardly. “Luo Ye, I get what you mean, but I’m a bit tired today. You’ve seen me at my worst. I need some time to sort out my feelings. Can we talk again next time?”
“No problem.”
Luo Ye released Hisnai from his embrace.
Hisnai felt a sudden emptiness where his warmth had been, a feeling of uncertainty.
But when she noticed Luo Ye returning to his seat, she forced herself to compose her emotions and tidied her slightly messy bangs.
Flustered, she picked up her teacup to hide her feelings.
“Mr. Luo Ye, please go ahead. I’ll have another cup of tea.”
“Alright.”
Luo Ye didn’t know what was going through Hisnai’s mind, only that her words to see him off were unmistakable.
But today’s strategic objective had been achieved. In fact, Hisnai’s way of sending him off was a relief for him.
Still, there was one more thing he needed to say to her.
Luo Ye stretched out his hand.
“Since Miss Hisnai understands what I said earlier, about investigating Alicia’s personality changes, let’s temporarily put aside our differences and cooperate, shall we?”
Hisnai looked at Luo Ye’s outstretched hand, her cheeks flushing slightly, and her earlobes a delicate pink, thankfully mostly hidden by her hair.
She reached out and clasped his hand, putting on a composed expression.
“Mm, cooperation it is.”