Chapter 3
Tirisia didn’t resist the man who was roughly exploring her lips at all.
In fact, she wrapped her arms around his thick neck as if the forcefulness was something she desired too.
Meanwhile, the guy was groping Tirisia’s body with both hands as if she was his property during their rough kisses.
“…”
I quietly hid behind a tree, having witnessed their morning rendezvous.
Calm down.
It was still hard to adjust, but there was no need to be shocked anew.
After all, just four days ago, I hadn’t seen an infinitely worse sight right before my eyes?
Such physical contact was merely a basic trial I would have to endure countless times moving forward.
The action I needed to take immediately was to quietly hide in the shadows and raise no objections.
It was so Tirisia could do whatever she wanted without worrying about my gaze.
By granting her complete freedom, I could eventually get the answer I wanted.
“…This is quite annoying.”
Hiding behind a tree with a thermal bag filled with two servings of lunch while waiting for my ex-girlfriend’s secret meeting to end felt pretty ridiculous.
Fortunately, their display of affection didn’t escalate and ended reasonably.
“Phew… Senpai… That’s enough… We have to go to the Academy… And Erto will be coming…”
Tirisia said, breathless, as she pushed the man away and broke free from the kiss.
Her once porcelain-like face was flushed, as if it might melt at any moment, and her lips, never uttering a curse, glistened with saliva, lingering on the sticky thread connecting her to his lips.
“Tsk, I wanted to have a bit more fun like this.”
Her current boyfriend clicked his tongue in deep frustration.
“Senpai…”
“I got it. But afterwards, you better run to my place. I’ll make sure you get double for holding back now.”
“Utp… Ah, I understand.”
“I’m off.”
Smack!
“Hah!”
The guy slapped Tirisia’s behind and hummed a tune as he walked away in the opposite direction of the Academy.
“…”
It was a scene that raised several questions, but I decided to put them aside for now.
Tirisia quietly watched the back of the departing man, then pulled out a pocket mirror to tidy herself up.
She wiped her saliva-slicked lips with a handkerchief and smoothed her disheveled hair with a comb.
As she dusted off her crumpled clothes, it was as if she’d never looked disheveled in the first place, returning to her usual pristine appearance.
Hmm, maybe I should go out now.
“Tirisia—”
As I stepped out from behind the tree calling her name, she greeted me with a bright smile.
“Erto! Good morning!”
“Yeah, good morning.”
Ah, really.
That smile of hers always seems to warm the hearts of those around her.
When I see that smile, it feels as if we have no issues at all.
Which is impossible, of course.
*
On the way to the Academy, Tirisia, who was walking beside me, glanced at the thermal bag slung over my shoulder and asked, tilting her head,
“Erto, did you… prepare lunch again today?”
“Of course, I’ve been doing it for years.”
“Oh… right.”
For a moment, sadness from her sense of guilt flickered in Tirisia’s jewel-like eyes, but she quickly gathered herself and smiled sweetly at me.
“Thank you, I’m really looking forward to what side dishes you’ve made today.”
“Haha, we’ll find out soon.”
“Yeah!”
Since we decided to stay friends, it felt like Tirisia was trying her best not to change her attitude towards me.
It seemed a bit unfortunate to rain on that effort, but I had to have a serious discussion with her.
“By the way, Tirisia,”
“What is it, Erto?”
“Before we get to the Academy, I think we need to discuss a certain issue while we’re still alone.”
“What is it?”
“As you know, it’s no secret that we are dating, even at the Academy, right?”
“That’s… true.”
“But now that we’ve broken up, and we’re not entirely apart either, we should think together about how to convey this situation to others.”
“Uh, okay…”
Tirisia looked down at the ground, lost in thought at my words.
“How… should we do that…”
“Hmm.”
It was probably a tough problem for her to decide on her own.
If I were to expose our current situation as it is, it would be a big incident.
The daughter of the prestigious Bruerd family called her boyfriend to the middle of a classroom and publicly cheated?
Whoa.
It was clear that within half a day, rumors would spread throughout the entire Academy, and as much as it would tarnish the family’s honor, Tirisia would likely face severe consequences.
At the very least, she might receive a reprimand or be transferred to another distant Academy.
In the worst-case scenario, she could be confined at home for years receiving personal tutoring.
If I were a revenge-driven person consumed by sorrow and anger, that would be the ultimate best-case scenario.
If the family sought revenge against the cheating guy, they wouldn’t guarantee safety for themselves either,
and the lives of both of them would be trampled in whatever way.
But right now, I shouldn’t step onto that path of destruction.
What I wanted was for Tirisia to grasp true happiness, and I wanted to accept the result and bless her future as well.
Unless that future was completely twisted, I had to keep this bomb buried in my chest.
“Erto… what do you want?”
After thinking for a long while, Tirisia couldn’t come up with an answer and instead asked for my opinion first.
I cleared my throat and shared my thoughts with her.
“I think this is a matter that already has an answer. If we’re going to remain friends going forward… the fact that you cheated shouldn’t get out.”
“……Yeah.”
Tirisia replied quietly, nodding her head, but her voice sounded particularly heavy.
Since it was something that would benefit her, I wished she could be a bit happier about it.
Looking at her with her head bowed, I continued speaking calmly.
“I will keep my mouth shut about what I saw that day. If that incident got out, it would throw our whole Academy life into chaos… both you and I would suffer greatly, physically and mentally.”
Just looking at the external gains and losses, Tirisia would lose her image as a noble of a prestigious family and a top model student at the Academy,
and while I may be an insignificant commoner, having the fortune to date the daughter of a noble family, I would become a fool who lost it all to some other guy.
I honestly didn’t care how much my image might suffer, but it was better to show that I was taking care of my own interests in front of Tirisia.
Otherwise, she might really think I’d give anything for her sake.
“So now the remaining issue is how we inform others that we’ve broken up.”
“Right…”
“For that part, I think we should just tell the truth. We decided to break up amicably, and we’re returning to being friends instead of mere acquaintances. There might be some annoying questions that come along, but… let’s just say it as it is.”
“Okay, I got it… thank you, Erto.”
Tirisia smiled brightly as if the difficult and troubling part was resolved, but I shook my head as I stroked my chin.
“Hmm, but there is one problem…”
“Problem?”
“After all, I passed out and took a few days off from the Academy.”
“Uh, yeah…”
“When I came back after that, how do you think others would react if I suddenly said we broke up?”
At that, Tirisia’s jewellike eyes widened.
“Ah! That’s…!”
“No matter how I think about it, it definitely raises psychological suspicions… I won’t say it outright, but there will surely be people who think of it. The noble Tirisia dumped the commoner Erto and was so upset that she lay sick for three days.”
“Ah, indeed… then what should we do? Erto.”
“It’s simple.”
I smiled brightly as I gazed at Tirisia’s face.
“Yeah…?”
When she received my gaze, puzzled, I said to the smile that was spreading on her face,
“We’re still dating.”
“Huh?”
“Outwardly, that is.”
“Oh, I understand.”
It was a simple story.
If the public announcement of our breakup right after being laid up was problematic,
then we can simply break up later on.
“Besides, nothing changes about how we usually get along, and there’s really no need to act, right? Unless we bring it up first, others will think we’re still dating.”
“Yeah, that does seem likely.”
“All we need to do is say later that we broke up amicably.”
“So, to sum it up… we carry on as usual and eventually reveal our relationship status at an appropriate time.”
“Exactly.”
“Got it, I’ll do that, Erto.”
“Okay—conclusion reached. Now let’s hurry up and go.”
“…Okay.”
As we continued walking for a moment, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Oh, by the way, you don’t have to make a forced effort to act like we’re dating. Please don’t do that.”
“…”
As I jokingly threw it out while continuing to walk,
This sudden tug on my sleeve made me turn around.
“…?”
When I looked back, Tirisia was gazing at me with an unusually serious expression.
“…What is it?”
I asked calmly, and after a pause, she finally opened her mouth.
“Erto… I really… I’m sorry and… also thank you…”
Her voice trembled as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
“…Right, I see.”
With the thought that this was the last time, I slowly placed my hand on top of her head.
It’s your turn to prove I wasn’t wrong, Tirisia.
So—
“Make sure to find a beautiful love. I’ll support you.”
I was always sincere.