After Veren left, I sat, lost in thought.

I had somewhat expected Leonhardt to cause trouble. Of course,  if things had gone according to my expectations, Leonhardt should have targeted me instead of Sylvia.

‘…Because he cared for Sylvia too much.’

In the original novel, Leonhardt valued Sylvia more than his own life. I didn’t expect him to target her because that aspect of Leonhardt’s personality was etched in my mind.

Even  if I had expected it, there was nothing I could have done.

Rotten to the core, Leonhardt is still a member of the imperial family. I couldn’t easily mess with him and get rid of him just for being rude and disrespectful.

The current situation is the same. Even  if I proved that Leonhardt had harassed Sylvia, I would have no justification for going after him.

In the end, Sylvia is a commoner, and Leonhardt is a prince.

‘Should I ask for help?’

From whom?

The only ones who could leash Leonhardt were Ashillya and Cain. At best, Cain could only help  if Leonhardt had done something wrong. But it would take him too long to return. 

And I didn’t think Ashillya would readily help Sylvia either. She had no connection with Sylvia at all.

‘What should I do?’

Various methods came to mind, but none of them appealed to me. After sitting and pondering for a while, I roughly ran my hand through my hair and let out a deep sigh.

Using my brain isn’t my forte.

In the end, I had no choice but to confront him.

***

Sylvia tightly gripped her trembling hand and let out a steady breath.

Her head was spinning.

She was so confused about whether what she had just seen and heard was real or not that she even wondered  if it might be a cruel prank played by the students in her class.

Leonhardt had ordered the other students to harass her.

Felix had noticed and stopped them.

And that he had made some kind of decision at the same time.

Everything Sylvia had seen and heard left her mind in a mess.

‘Why? Why on earth…?’

Even  if they were friends, was there any reason for him to go this far for her? She wanted to ask someone, but she didn’t have the presence of mind to do so.

She gazed at Felix, lost in thought a short distance away.

Come to think of it, he had always been different from others. He never imposed his feelings on others. That’s what made her feel comfortable around him.

Even after she rejected his confession, he didn’t resent her but comforted her. That’s why she enjoyed being with him.

Knowing she might be misunderstood, she still prepared lunch boxes for him, smiled at him, and spent time with him.

Normally, she wouldn’t have acted that way out of fear of being misunderstood and the subsequent stares, but when it came to Felix, she didn’t care much about such things.

Sylvia herself didn’t know why she had acted that way.

She couldn’t understand why Felix was acting this way either.

But one thing was clear,

He had made some kind of decision. And that it was for her sake.

And she had no intention of just watching him.

***

Sylvia walked aimlessly through the academy grounds.

She walked and walked, and kept walking. Even when the bell rang for classes to start, Sylvia didn’t stop. Of course, she didn’t just walk without any thought.

‘… He’ll show up.’

Leonhardt had said he wanted her to be isolated. That meant he thought she would seek him out  if she were isolated from those around her.

In other words, he had done all this to get her.

Sylvia could roughly guess why Leonhardt had targeted her instead of Felix.

‘Because Felix is strong.’

No matter how much others tried to oppress Felix, he was not someone who would easily break.

Unlike his peers, he was mentally strong. 

No matter how hard Leonhardt thought about it, there was no way to break Felix, so he must have thought it would be better to target Sylvia instead.

Leonhardt’s thinking was somewhat correct.

She was sensitive to the opinions of those around her, tenderhearted, and prone to breaking easily. However, his thinking was only half right.

She was not so soft that she would sit idly by while someone precious to her, a “friend,” was targeted.

Step, step.

Her steps naturally grew firmer. Without realizing it, she was growing angry.

How long had she been walking aimlessly like this?

“…Sylvia.”

A low, hoarse voice rang in her ear. It had changed a lot, but it was a voice she recognized.

Sylvia bit her lower lip and turned her head toward the direction the voice had come from.

“Leonhardt!!”

She could no longer think of him as a friend. A real friend wouldn’t try to do something like this to her.

That’s why Sylvia’s voice wasn’t as affectionate or gentle as it used to be.

But Leonhardt gave a vacant smile as  if even that voice pleased him. Seeing his eyes, she unconsciously took a step back.

There was none of the overflowing blue irises she was used to. All that was there were dull, faded… unfocused, glassy eyes.

“It’s been a while…”

“……”

Sylvia had rehearsed in her mind what to say when she met Leonhardt, but the moment she heard his voice, she couldn’t recall any of those thoughts.

A grating, unpleasant, rasping sound echoed. It was a part of his body that showed how badly he had let himself fall apart.

“Too… long.”

Step.

As he took a feeble, staggering step towards Sylvia, she couldn’t help but tremble.

A chill ran down her spine, making her break out in goosebumps all over her body. Those were not the eyes of an ordinary human being.

“Why…? Why did you do it?”

But Sylvia had to ask.

Even  if her voice trembled and was weak, she had to ask Leonhardt.

“…For you.”

That was Leonhardt’s reply to her question. Hearing his voice, she could only let out a low breath.

“You’re mine. Not someone who belongs by that scoundrel’s side.”

“……”

“You’re going to be the imperial princess consort, Sylvia.”

“You’re…”

With every vacant-eyed, mechanical step Leonhardt took towards Sylvia, she took one step back.

“…insane.”

Insane.

The Leonhardt before her eyes was not in his right mind.

Why? How?

Was it simply because he couldn’t become the Crown Prince?

‘…No.’

Sylvia Bersche.

It was because of her.

He had lost his mind because he couldn’t have her. That’s why Sylvia couldn’t understand it.

What was so special about her? What about her could drive him insane just because he couldn’t have her?

It was incomprehensible.

Come to think of it, it had been like that from the beginning.

It was strange for the imperial prince to be so fixated on her, someone who never doubted that he would become the Crown Prince.

It was strange for the arrogant nobles at the academy to cling to her like this.

And above all, it was strange to receive so many confessions based solely on her appearance.

They ascribed meaning to her smiles, her gestures, and her greetings.

To every single action, as  if trying to possess her. She couldn’t understand it.

Sylvia looked at Leonhardt. She thought and thought, but she still couldn’t understand him.

Even when met with her icy gaze, he merely smiled slightly, as  if he was happy, and slowly approached her.

‘…I don’t know.’

Sylvia stopped thinking any further.

It was all too much for her. She just wanted to run away. But the more she wanted to, the more clearly one person’s face came to mind.

At first, he was just like everyone else…

‘…Felix.’

It was around that time she whispered his name to herself.

“…You.”

A beautiful, feminine voice rang out.

It wasn’t the voice of the person Sylvia had been hoping for. That voice was cold and chilling.

“…You seem to have gone astray… Leon.”

Leonhardt’s head snapped sharply as he turned to look at Sylvia’s side.

Shining silvery hair. At the same time, cold and haughty crimson eyes.

The girl who had seized everything for herself with her hands was looking at her foolish younger brother, who made no effort and gained nothing.

“…Ashillya!!”

Ashillya let out a deep sigh as she saw Leonhardt calling out her name in a shout.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me by my name.”

At that voice that sounded like she was looking at something pitiful, he ground his teeth audibly.

Undeterred by the anger emanating from him, Ashillya slowly continued speaking.

“It seems…”

“……”

“This is as far as you go.”

As a noble.

As someone of their bloodline.