Felyn saw a flash of complicated emotions in Adeline’s eyes.
Confusion, anger, sorrow, hope, pleading—
It was as if all human emotions had gathered in her pale gray eyes, blending and shifting rapidly.
"Felyn, Miss Viloti… I didn’t expect the two of you to be so close." Adeline’s voice was sharp.
She’d seen Felyn and Viloti together.
What should he do?
This wasn’t just a matter of the contract. If it had been any other client, Felyn could’ve just said, “Please don’t interfere with my personal life.”
But this was Adeline.
Adeline, who had held a grudge for over a decade just because Viloti stole her position as kindergarten class rep when they were kids.
If she found out that he was taking her money while spending time with Viloti, she’d go completely mad.
If he handled this poorly, she might just torture him to death.
Two possible solutions quickly flashed through Felyn’s mind:
Neither of those sounded good.
And no matter which he chose, Viloti would still have to leave—because he couldn’t bring up anything about the contract in front of her.
If she found out about the contract, she’d instantly suspect he only approached her because of it.
She’d break down too, and then the House of Silafiel would probably show up with a sword to hunt him down.
Both sides were now bombs waiting to go off.
Oh, right—there was a third option.
Yeah, that was probably the most impossible option.
"I didn’t expect the two of you to be so close."
Adeline’s expression kept shifting rapidly with emotion as she looked down at Felyn and Viloti from above.
Not even sunlight could pierce the gloom on her face.
Only then did Felyn realize how close Viloti was sitting beside him.
He had almost fallen asleep and hadn’t even noticed they were sitting this close in such an ambiguous posture.
Now things were even worse.
Stay calm, Felyn. It’s nothing.
Worst case? Say the wrong thing and you’ll be hunted down by the Claude family. Or the Silafiel family.
Maybe both.
The ultimate worst outcome: offend both, and they team up to chase you to death.
"Adeline, what are you doing here? Didn’t you have class today?"
A seasoned Felyn didn’t take the bait and reply to Adeline’s earlier jab.
In situations like this, indirect strategy was always the better choice.
Best-case scenario: distract her with some urgent matter.
"Something more important came up, so I skipped class. But thank you for your concern, Felyn."
Adeline stared at Felyn intently, saying thank you, but her face betrayed the exact opposite of gratitude.
"Felyn, I didn’t expect you two to be so close."
She repeated her earlier line again, clearly not falling for Felyn’s distraction attempt.
Having known Adeline for this long, Felyn naturally understood what that expression meant.
"Viloti is my partner for the Magic Seal competition. We’re just practicing together on the training grounds. That’s all."
Felyn answered calmly.
Whether it was true or not didn’t matter—what mattered was giving Adeline an out.
But her expression darkened further. She took two steps forward, locking eyes with Felyn as he slowly stood up.
"Linda told me about some rumors… That you and Miss Viloti seem to be more than just teammates."
"Adeline, there are tons of rumors about us at school. None of them are true."
"I saw it with my own eyes. From noon till now, Miss Viloti’s been glued to your side."
Adeline insisted, showing no sign of backing down.
Felyn realized that this time, Adeline wasn’t going to let it go.
If he didn’t give her a reasonable explanation, she would never drop this.
Was there any other way?
He glanced around.
Viloti was still kneeling beside him, head lowered deeply, as if lost in thought.
Adeline was standing right in front of him, staring intensely.
Two choices. Or a total blow-up.
No matter what he said, he was going to hurt someone.
And asking Viloti to leave now would hurt her too.
Felyn took a deep breath.
If only he had a coin—he could just flip it and leave it to fate.
Felyn imagined the coin flipping in his mind.
Like most people who toss a coin, he already had his answer before it hit the air.
"Adeline…"
Felyn didn’t finish his sentence.
"Adeline," came Viloti’s voice from beside him.
"Felyn and I aren’t what you think we are. So please… don’t be angry at him."
Adeline opened her mouth to speak, But the words wouldn’t come out.
She suddenly remembered why she disliked Viloti so much.
She recalled how, back in kindergarten, when Viloti stole her position as class rep, she said something similar, "I’m not trying to compete with you, Adeline. Please don’t be mad."
Back then, little Viloti had said those very words to little Adeline.
And now, over a decade later, the same line echoed in her ears.
The same shadow from her past twisted her thoughts.
Are you going to steal Felyn from me now, just like you stole the class rep spot back then?
"Miss Viloti… then what exactly is your relationship with Felyn?"
Adeline turned her head toward Viloti and saw her brushing the dust off her knees as she stood up slowly.
"We’re acquaintances."
Viloti was shorter than Adeline, but her cold demeanor gave her a presence that didn’t lose out in the slightest.
Their gazes collided with a force that sent the surrounding air scattering.
"Really? Because I heard… the whole school’s talking. Saying you and Felyn are practically lovers."
"Felyn and I are not lovers."
Adeline clearly didn’t buy Viloti’s vague and weak explanation—she was ready to keep pressing Felyn.
But at that moment, Felyn noticed something off about Viloti’s expression.
Her pinky finger twitched nervously, and her lips looked a little stiff.
Her emotions, usually hidden, had quickly surfaced on her face—turning her cheeks a soft red.
Felyn saw her glance his way, clutch her chest tightly, and then face Adeline’s gaze head-on.
She didn’t step back even half a step.
Then, her red lips parted.
The Magic Seal training ground fell completely silent.
The clouds stopped drifting, and even the fluttering leaves froze in midair.
It was as if the whole world had paused, waiting to hear what Viloti was about to say.
"I like Felyn. Felyn doesn’t like me yet. We’re not lovers.”
I like Felyn.
That sentence seemed to carry a kind of magic, circling high above the three of them.
(End of Chapter)