101st Confession

between them that no one else could cross.

Lucia sensed it.
That he was disappointed in her now, and that he was building an invisible wall, guarding himself against crossing it.

She had been pushed completely outside of his boundaries.

All of her hard work, all of her endeavors, had been undone by a single choice.

Now she might not even be worthy to stand by his side.

The realization burned through her skin and into her bones.

Despair was the only word to describe the sensation.

A single tear fell silently from Lucia’s eye.

Herwin strode past her, unmoved this time.

“Think about what you did wrong.”

He walked away from Lucia without soothing her.

Lucia could only stare at Herwin, unable to hold on to him.

* * *

“Shit……!”

Herwin cursed through clenched teeth as he headed for the classroom, his face set.

He felt a tightness in his stomach as if he had a sieve.

When Lucia had asked him earlier if he liked Arista, he’d realized that he’d been thinking of her as something special.

Up until that point, she had been just another one of his best friends, like Christine, but his feelings for her had changed after their encounter with the ogre in the mountains.

When he was injured by the ogre’s attack, he thought he was dead.

It was nearly impossible to avoid the ogre’s attacks when he was immobilized with a badly sprained ankle.

If he had known how to use an auror, he would have been able to fight it off, but Herwin had not yet been able to create an auror.

It was in that moment of crisis that Arista appeared.

‘Herwin!’

She shouted so loudly that the forest echoed, and a cascade of violet auror shot from her sword, slicing the rain in half and the ogre’s body in half as well.

After that, he was half-dazed and didn’t even remember how he got out of the forest.

All he could remember was the sight of Arista slicing the ogre’s body in half.

Ever since then, Herwin had felt a deep attraction to Arista.

Not only because she saved his life, but because he admired her ability to create such a powerful Auror.

So when he spoke to Arista again in the infirmary, he thanked her and promised to duel her later, when he felt better.

He was flattered and excited for the first time in a long time.

He had been pleasantly surprised by her skill level before, but now it was a much more pleasant and pleasing feeling.

Perhaps this is the feeling of liking? He’s not sure, but it’s a special feeling he’d never felt before.

‘Arista is not as good a person as you think….…’

He remembers Lucia’s words from earlier.

The words that followed were one of confusion and disbelief.

Lucia hates to speak ill of others more than anyone else, and she was doing it just because he had a crush on Arista.

What’s more, none of what Lucia said was true, and it’s amazing how she could see Arista in such a way.

The image of Lucia’s face when he pointed out her mistake flashed before his eyes.

Her once-white face had turned pale with embarrassment, and the way her eyes darted about, it was clear that she knew what she had done wrong.

When Lucia called Arista names, he was angry, but he also felt sorry for her, because he knew she wasn’t the kind of person who would say such things to someone else.

So when Lucia burst into tears, he felt weak.

“Hah…….”

He just didn’t know what to make of Lucia right now.

Herwin walked into the classroom, running a hand through his messy hair.

“Herwin, why are you alone?”

“Where’s Lucia?”

When Herwin went to look for Lucia and came back alone, his friends were puzzled.

“Have you seen Lucia?”

Bianca stood up and approached.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Herwin spotted her and frowned even more.

‘…… You’ve been hanging out with Bianca a lot lately.’

Lucia hadn’t been the same since she’d gotten to know Bianca, and he wondered if her influence had changed her.

Bianca’s ears perked up a little as Herwin glared at her.

“Why, why?”

“……No.”

He’s annoyed but only annoyed.
Still, unlike Christine, Bianca was subtly sulky, and he knew he had to take a closer look.

“Herwin, did you have a good talk with Lucia? Did she tell you anything about me?”

Arista stepped forward.
Her violet eyes met his and he paused.

“I don’t know.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Arista was flustered and urged him to speak up, but Herwin remained silent.

Drool-

The back door opened and Lucia walked in.
Her friends greeted her happily.

“Lucia, are you okay…….”

Ethan asked cheerfully to break the awkwardness, but he couldn’t continue as soon as he saw her face.

Lucia’s eyes were so red that anyone could tell at a glance that she had been crying.

The people panicked.
Herwin was also agitated, but he tried not to show it.

“……Lucia.”

Arista called softly, but Lucia ignored her and sat back in her seat.

To their horror, Lucia was seated right next to Herwin.

Herwin nudged his head toward her.
Lucia remained silent, covering her face with her long hair.
She leaned her arms on the desk.

The mood sank even further.

The friends realized at once.

Herwin and Lucia were fighting.

When the other kids fought, they tried to defuse the situation around them, but this time, no one could.

Lucia was the one who usually mediated, and it was especially bad because she was the one who always made everything okay, no matter what, and now she was fighting with Herwin and no one else.