“President, you’re really, really going to leave!”
“Senior, if you keep hugging me like this, I can’t pack.”
“I don’t want you to leave QAQ!”
Since the moment Elena entered the Student Council Office, Lize had been clinging to her for ten minutes.
She was like a child clinging to their mother because they didn’t want to go to school…
However, in a sense, Elena could understand why.
Many of the Student Council’s affairs, large and small, were handled by Elena personally. She occasionally heard from other members that the current Student Council led by President Elena was the most relaxed one in history.
‘In history’ was likely an exaggeration, but Elena certainly did do a great deal of extra work.
As for the reason, it was simple — as long as she finished all the work herself, she wouldn’t be tied down by Student Council duties when Ai’er woke up and would be able to spend time with her.
But what Elena hadn’t expected was that the thing currently tying her down wasn’t the Student Council’s affairs, but her own Vice President.
“Senior, if you keep this up, I’m going to get angry.”
“I know! I know everything! President, you’ve clearly had your soul snatched away by that super cute silver-haired Fairy, so you’re willing to do anything just to be with her! President! Please reconsider, President! As the saying goes, a beautiful woman is but a herald of disaster!! So you must be happy, President QAQ!!”
Lize’s incoherent rambling left Elena unsure of how to respond.
If nothing else, her Vice President was actually quite similar to Ai’er in certain ways. For instance, in her bluntness, and in her way of playing little tricks…
Elena gave a bitter smile and sighed, putting down the documents in her hand.
“Senior, don’t force me to use magic.”
In the next instant, Lize immediately flashed to a spot several meters away.
Lize knew that Elena didn’t joke around. Although she was certain the President wouldn’t use offensive magic, no matter what spell Elena used, it would definitely leave her unable to move for a short while.
“By the way, Senior, I have a… question I want to ask.”
Quite suddenly, Elena spoke with her back turned toward Lize.
After sorting the folders in her hand, Elena looked at Lize and then gently twirled the ends of her black hair with her finger.
Lize had never seen Elena like this.
Even though she still wore an expressionless face, Elena’s fingers — constantly twisting and curling the ends of her hair — seemed to be the girl’s true self.
“It’s just… Senior, you are a noble from the Imperial Capital and the eldest daughter of the House of the Count. Your understanding of the ways of the world should be quite extensive, right? So, Senior… have you ever liked someone?”
Liked someone?
After just a moment of daze, Lize quickly understood the essence of the question — this was the favorite romantic topic of girls in noble circles.
It made sense when she thought about it. The President before her was two levels higher than her in terms of noble rank, yet in their one year at the Academy, Lize had never heard her talk about such things.
Commonly, high-ranking noble girls were the most interested in these topics. After all, the more magnificent the bird in the cage, the more it yearned for the beautiful sky of its ideals.
“Oh my, does the President want to talk about romance? It seems the President has someone she likes~”
“I… I’m not very clear on these things… What does it actually feel like to like someone?”
As Elena spoke, a hint of crimson quietly climbed onto her ears, like the red glow of a rising sun — shallow, yet incredibly prominent against her fair skin.
“I thought that Senior would be quite experienced in these matters.”
As her voice trailed off, her midnight-blue eyes drifted slightly to the side as if to hide her embarrassment.
Seeing Elena like this, Lize narrowed her eyes slightly.
*Tsk, tsk, tsk.* The sour smell of love~
Isn’t it just wanting to know what it feels like to like someone? That’s easy.
The feeling of liking someone is that kind of…
That kind of…
…QAQ
“President, you’re a bully!!!”
Lize, who had zero experience in love, fled the Student Council Office.
“Se… Senior?”
Elena’s hand remained suspended in the air. Watching Lize’s disappearing figure, she could only stand there in a daze.
‘Did I say something wrong? Or is this question actually so private that it shouldn’t be asked casually?’
But she just wanted to know… Oh well.
Rather than figuring out her own feelings, as long as Ai’er was by her side, it was enough.
Sighing softly, Elena refocused her gaze on the documents in front of her.
She should finish organizing the materials and then draw up a list of follow-up tasks to make it easier for the other members of the Student Council to continue their work —
*Bang.*
The office door was pushed open.
“Senior? If the question I just asked was inconvenient to answer, just pretend I never said it. Could you help me get that portion of the materials from the cabinet behind you? The part regarding the recent opinion survey.”
“Um… I-I’m not very sure which file is the opinion survey part?”
Elena was stunned once again.
Because she knew that wasn’t Lize’s voice.
“Ai’er?!”
Turning around blankly, the silver-haired girl was standing behind her with a silly grin, gently scratching her own cheek.
***
“Have you thought it through?”
Seeing the silver-haired girl enter the office, Lize, who was standing around the corner, turned her head and let her gaze drift behind her.
“Do you know how the nobles of the Imperial Capital circle view President Elena?”
“I am well aware, Lady Lize.”
The man spoke, glancing at his pocket watch while standing in the shadows.
The red armband of the Imperial Doctor on his person looked as uncomfortable as a bloodstain in the dim light.
“The Duchy of White calls her a Witch, but for the Empire, as long as that power can be used by the Empire, she is a genius — a Saintess.”
“And yet you still want to lay hands on Lady Ai’er? Well, I don’t exactly think you’re standing on the Empire’s side anyway… my dear… brother. But as your sister, there is one thing I must remind you — Father will certainly not be soft-hearted regarding anything that involves the family. If you insist on this, Brother, then from this day forth, the eldest son of the House of the Count will no longer exist.”
After Lize finished speaking, she furrowed her brows and looked away, preparing to leave.
But after taking only a few steps, Lize stopped.
“…Can we really, truly not go back to the way things were? Father, he —”
“Lady Lize, the House of the Count no longer has an eldest son.”
“But Brother, you! —”
A finger was pressed against Lize’s lips, cutting her words off completely.
“The Empire is just like this. You know that better than anyone, don’t you? If one cannot produce results and cannot inherit the family bloodline, a child has no meaning for existing. Moreover — we are siblings; that is the most important point, Lady Lize. If one wishes to cross the barriers, one must possess the capital to cross them, the capital to make everyone shut their mouths. I will produce results. As long as I can obtain Lady Ai’er’s blood, the current research can take the final step, and I can rewrite the history of Magic Armor development — at that time…”
The Doctor said no more. He simply walked behind Lize and gently embraced her.
“My dear sister… wait for me until that time comes, all right?”
Lize did not respond.
Even after the hands embracing her were gone, she still did not respond.
She simply stood there, biting her lip until it turned white.