Chapter 276

On a sunny spring day, the trees, grass, and flowers had already been dyed in green, and the thick scent of flowers wafted through the gentle breeze.

It was a perfectly lovely day, a typical spring scene that seemed to have been crafted in the very midst of spring.

Yes, indeed, everything was delightful. In weather that felt blessed by the gods and a pleasant temperature, nothing should have been troubling.

Surely, it shouldn’t have been.

If there was something, just something very minor that was bothering her, it was the beautiful golden hair fluttering in front of her eyes.

“Head Priest, shall we go for the medical check-up this Saturday?”

“Yes. It’s the regular check-up day.”

“Let’s go together! I also have some free time… By the way, when will the check-up be over?”

Professor Antorelli was being hugged by her arm to the point that it was almost akin to a full embrace.

Leaning slightly and using their considerable height difference, she stood with her arms gently wrapped around him.

Sure, at least she could permit this behavior. After all, she had comfortably linked arms with Professor Antorelli when they went out together.

“Since it’s been switched to early morning check-ups from two months ago, it should probably be finished around early lunch.”

“In that case, let’s stop by the market after! I’ve heard that the new pastry shop’s fresh strawberry cream bun is extraordinarily delicious.”

“Um… That sounds good.”

But then there were those little actions.

The lacing words, the bright smile coupled with the reddish cheeks, the slightly alluring glances with a hint of mischief in her eyes, and the white nape of her neck peeking out from her bobbed hair.

Wasn’t this behavior clearly tempting? For someone with almost no male experience and notably shy, it was a shocking act.

‘…Is she really a cleric?’

It felt kind of wrong to call her out on it. After all, since attending yesterday’s Sunday worship, she had realized that the relationship between Sub-priest Sofia and Professor Antorelli had gone beyond the bounds of a mere “ordinary relationship.”

“Ha….”

She, Professor Esther Garrett, let out a sigh.

There was nowhere to vent, but her insides felt annoyingly tight. It felt like a stone was crammed in her chest.

At the same time, it was prickly. It felt like being slightly cut by a very thin paper. Even if it was just empty words, it wasn’t a good feeling.

It wasn’t because she had a spoiled personality. Perhaps in her childish days, but she was already a mature adult. At most, she was just one or two years younger than Professor Antorelli.

It was simply that she felt like she had something precious taken away from her. Professor Esther was inwardly self-mocking.

‘Funny. Professor Lucio doesn’t belong to anyone….’

It was a dangerous thought. To even think of Professor Antorelli as if he were an item belonging to someone.

Just the fact she had such thoughts brought a slight sense of guilt.

“Professor Esther, are you feeling unwell?”

Maybe because of that, when Professor Antorelli turned his face towards her, she nearly gasped.

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

“…It seems you haven’t been eating well since earlier.”

At that, Professor Esther blankly lowered her gaze. As he said, somehow she had come to the dining hall and was eating lunch like usual.

A bustling dining hall filled with students, Professor Antorelli sitting across from her, her chicken salad and a side of tuna sandwich on the table, and orange juice. She had mindlessly picked the same menu she always did.

‘When did I even come to the dining hall?’

She was so lost in thought that her body moved as it remembered. Professor Esther shook her head with a slightly dazed expression.

“Really, it’s nothing. I just… have some things on my mind.”

“Um… I don’t know what your worries might be, but if you ever need help, please let me know. I will assist you in any way I can.”

“……”

“If this was an unnecessary intrusion, I apologize.”

“Ah, no. That… I appreciate it.”

To put it bluntly, there was hardly any change in Professor Antorelli’s expression from usual. However, Professor Esther could read the hidden concern and care beneath his seemingly indifferent face.

‘Honestly, again….’

How could he be so kind to another person when he was already linked with Sub-priest Sofia? Let alone to another “woman” who was not Sofia.

Professor Esther found herself disliking Professor Antorelli a little. Although, that feeling melted away like snow in no time.

Amidst her thoughts, Professor Esther stole a glance at Sub-priest Sofia sitting right next to Professor Antorelli.

“Ohh, hmm, huh, ah….”

“Sub-priest Sofia, finish what’s in your mouth before you speak.”

“Um… Today’s pulled pork sandwich is delicious.”

“Is that so.”

Sub-priest Sofia’s expression didn’t particularly change. She seemed engrossed in devouring the sandwich in front of her.

‘…Am I the only one taking this seriously?’

Professor Esther knew that Sub-priest Sofia had a good understanding of how she felt about Professor Antorelli. It was understandable, given that after yesterday’s Sunday service, she had practically asked directly about it.

She still remembered the way Sub-priest Sofia smiled brightly as usual but with a hint of superiority when she asked what had happened between her and Professor Antorelli, noticing the strange atmosphere.

“Professor Esther?”

“…Yes?”

At the call from Sub-priest Sofia, Professor Esther snapped out of her thoughts. Sub-priest Sofia’s gaze, filled with genuine concern, met her eyes.

“Are you really okay? You’ve been like this since earlier….”

“I-I’m fine. Haha….”

She did feel slightly awkward at Sub-priest Sofia’s pointed observation, but it wasn’t really her place to question, ‘What right do you have to be dating?’. What right did she have to say such things?

Professor Esther turned her gaze back to her meal. Regardless of the situation, it was likely that the two hadn’t completely crossed a line yet.

Not because they were clerics, but one was extremely stoic, while the other had her utterly whimsical and sometimes flighty nature, making it a somewhat plausible guess.

“……Huh?”

And just as Professor Esther was about to take a bite of her tuna sandwich, she caught sight of something.

“Um… I think tomorrow’s class should be conducted in a participatory manner.”

“Just like you mentioned last time, right?”

The two of them were discussing class matters, Professor Antorelli and Sub-priest Sofia…. well, more accurately, Professor Antorelli.

The slight reddish mark on the side of his throat, slyly hidden beneath the collar of his clerical robe.

Mosquitoes had yet to appear. It didn’t seem like Professor Antorelli would let the environment allow insects to wander about.

Although she knew that completely blocking out bugs was nearly impossible, Professor Esther was well aware that Professor Antorelli was sensitive to even those small hints.

And then there was yesterday.

The significant attitude Sub-priest Sofia had shown right after the Sunday service.

All of these moments came together to form an unbelievable hypothesis.

‘Ah, no way, right? They can’t have gone that far….’

Professor Esther looked at Sub-priest Sofia with a somewhat desperate gaze. This time, their eyes met, and Sub-priest Sofia smiled back at her with a somewhat different expression than before.

Still smiling brightly, full of liveliness and a pure demeanor, and just a touch… a little smug.

Her deep green eyes rolled. The direction they were heading was the bright red mark Professor Esther had noticed.

– That mark.

And then back to their position.

– I left that.

Sub-priest Sofia’s eyes, filled with deep green, subtly curved.

“……”

Professor Esther could not utter a word.

Her hand, visible beneath the table, was somehow clenched into a fist, unbeknownst to her.

Something that was hard to identify was gradually gnawing at Professor Esther’s heart.

Its name was jealousy.

*

“Oh, is that so?”

“Hmm. I think Professor Fiona would think the same.”

“Professor Fiona? I don’t think so.”

It was lunchtime, as relaxed as always.

Laura, Chloe, and Elin arrived at the dining hall, talking about their classes as usual.

Of course, if things were truly as usual, Laura wouldn’t have been accompanying them.

But after last year’s grade-by-grade duel, Laura and Chloe had often found themselves seriously discussing classes as the top student and second place students.

Laura had unpleasant thoughts as her father’s words about keeping an eye on Chloe came to mind, and Chloe didn’t feel inclined since she could see Laura subtly trying to approach Professor Antorelli, but at least when they met as individuals, they weren’t bad company.

“By the way, how’s your younger sister? Wasn’t her name Riina?”

Elin, casually dishing food onto her plate, asked, prompting Laura to smile bitterly and lift her tongs.

“Riina needs to make friends too. If she keeps having lunch with me, she probably won’t make a single friend.”

“True. You should help her out a bit.”

“And… it seems she’s already made a friend. Wasn’t it Baron Valdeck’s third daughter?”

“That girl is a friend who joined our club! It seems they got close during club activities!”

“…Is that so?”

Baron Valdeck was a noble family not so poorly regarded. While it didn’t compare to the Adelhaid Ducal House, it wouldn’t be labeled as a low-tier family if compared.

Laura thought it was funny to even distinguish noble houses like that. After all, when her beloved sister wanted to make friends, what did it matter to bring up their family ranks? If one thought that way, Laura was also friends with Chloe and Elin, who were not noble.

“Oh, there are no tuna sandwiches today…?!”

“Yeah, they’ve been popular lately.”

“Is it because Professor Esther often eats them? Initially, it was food that no one touched.”

“Is that so? They say the food chosen by Professor Esther is always delicious.”

Although Professor Esther herself didn’t realize, she had become known among the academy’s second-year students as the so-called “food connoisseur professor.”

If one ordered the menu exactly as she paired it, it would be impossible to fail at lunch that day.

With Professor Esther starting to frequently eat tuna sandwiches, which had once been an offbeat menu, they quickly ran out.

“My life… My light… My tuna sandwich…”

“Chloe, just eat this instead.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Paprika salad. You love it to death.”

“…I feel like I’m really going to die.”

“Eat it if I say so. Haven’t you gained weight lately?”

“No, I haven’t!”

“Right, sure.”

Listening to the banter between Chloe and Elin, Laura looked around the dining hall, seeking a seat while piling food onto her plate.

‘Hmm… I guess I can sit here…? Huh?’

As Laura settled down after traversing through the bustling dining hall, she suddenly turned her gaze towards where she was drawn.

Professor Esther, Sub-priest Sofia, and… Professor Antorelli.

The trio she always saw was enjoying their lunch.

There didn’t seem to be any major issues. Yes, but still….

“Ugh…”

“Finish your food, Chloe.”

“This paprika salad is seriously awful!”

“Stop complaining.”

Professor Antorelli raised his hand during the meal. His hand scratched the area around his neck.

And then it dropped.

At the spot where his hand had fallen, a red, round mark remained.

A mosquito bite mark?

Professor Esther and Sub-priest Sofia’s eyes met. They exchanged glances momentarily, and soon Sub-priest Sofia broke into a significant smile.

Sub-priest Sofia’s eyes rolled. From the red mark on Professor Antorelli’s neck to Professor Esther, and then to….

‘…What is it?’

To where Laura was sitting.

“…Chloe.”

“Hmm?”

Chloe, who had been chewing her food, turned her head. Laura mumbled with a noticeably lowered gaze.

“After lunch, let’s talk for a bit.”

“…Okay.”

As Chloe resumed eating, and Laura continued her meal, she swallowed her fluttering anxiety.

For some reason, she couldn’t quite taste the food.