I’m Not Doing This With A Friend

✿

"So what?"

"…Huh?"

"Do you really want me to believe the rumors and hate you?"

"No. You know it couldn't be. How could I…"

Carson's eyes as he stared at me shook like a candle in front of the wind.

"Caon. Whatever you've done so far, I'll judge whether you're a good or a bad person."

Moreover, I had never wanted his personality to be nice in the first place.

Didn't I join the club after seeing his ‘good‘ face?

Therefore,

"Don't make that face. Your pretty face gets wrinkled."

Because I am selfish like you. I couldn't allow you to make such expressions because of rumors like that.

✿

It was when a woman with pink curly hair braided finely was writing something while holding a quill.

A magic circle was created in the middle of the room, and someone suddenly appeared.

"Mother."

"Hmm?"

Sylvia took her gaze off the paper and looked at the place where the voice came from.

As she saw Carson, her face brightened up.

"Oh, it's Caon. You didn't come because you missed me, right? What brought you here?"

This is the president's office of the Arena Academy.

It was very rare for Carson to visit Sylvia, the president of the Arena Academy.

It was the first time he had come to the president's office other than when he asked to expel a group of students.

"No… Oh my, I'll try to guess. It's because of the kid you like, right?"

Because that was the only thing my son could have come to see me.

"I don't know how you came here knowing I was at the academy."

In fact, Sylvia stayed at the academy only a few days during the semester.

Even that, my husband… No, the Duke, who loves me so much, did not want me to work alone.

So every time Sylvia came to work the Duke used magic to pick her up when it was time to leave work.

He uses space-transport magic that requires a lot of mana.

Using such an ignorant method, not a carriage, he tried to take her home quickly, but there was one more reason.

It was because it was a secret from the outside that she was the president of the academy.

There wasn't much reason for her to hide that she was the chairman, and it was a tradition handed down from generation to generation at the Arena Academy, where mention of any status was banned.

Sylvia's smile-filled eyes scanned Carson. Then, Carson made eye contact with a determined expression.

On that expression, Sylvia felt anxiety rising up her spine.

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion in an instant.

"You didn't destroy an entire academy, did you?"

He didn't have any strange accidents this year. Did you just burst something after you kept quiet?

My son wasn't the kind of person who would come to ask for an apology for destroying a classroom, so this kind of premise had to be laid.

"No."

It was a relief…

Sylvia lifted her gaze sharply and looked at Carson.

"Then?"

"I fell from a poison sting and collapsed."

"What!?"

Even assuming that Carson broke the entire academy, Sylvia, who was sitting still, spurred from her seat.

She checked every nook and cranny of Carson's body, making sure he was safe.

"Where? Who! No, do you feel better now?"

He only crashes every time, and I'm sometimes startled by how he seems to have left empathy in my stomach every time.

But he's my precious son…

When Sylvia looked genuinely embarrassed, Carson calmly comforted her. He responded that knowing this would happen.

"I'm fine, so calm down."

This was the reason why Carson had to come to Sylvia.

Because I was surprised to hear that he had collapsed and I knew he would come to me.

Because Arena Academy unconditionally sent records to the students house whenever they went to the infirmary.

She must have heard the news and came to find him with her eyes turned upside down.

Yes, the reason why Carson came to Sylvia was just to avoid doing troublesome work.

Sylvia, who swept over her chest after hearing that he was fine, soon put her hand on her waist and admonished him.

"You shouldn't have done that, Caon."

Sylvia did not ask because she thought Carson would have taken care of the perpetrator on his own.

"It's not a grudge…"

Carson just nodded at the thought of whether it was necessary to tell the truth.

"Yes. From now on, I'll take care of it before I get revenge."

"…I didn’t mean to say that with that kind of intention."

Sylvia stared at him still. How much time has passed? She suddenly chuckled.

"You look so much like your dad."

"There's no need to go around saying that you have a bad personality."

"I'm saying this because I think you resemble not only by personality but also other things."

"…?"

When questions arose over Carson's face, Sylvia asked with a subtle expression.

"Rumor has it that you like a child named Leen. Really? That you'd die in front of her?"

Carson answered, slumping down on the sofa in the president's office.

"I know you're asking, knowing everything."

Sylvia changed her posture with her hand on her chin. It was her own mode of listening position.

"What kind of kid is she?"

Carson looked at Sylvia for a moment, then exhaled a turbid breath.

"Okay. I'll tell you everything, so don't do a background check on Leen."

"Oh my, son. You shouldn't have done it first to ask for that."

"It was my mother who taught me not to solve anything by force like my father, and to divulge information first."

It was an absurd sophistry. Excited, Sylvia burst into laughter.

"That was when there was mutual understanding. It's not a relationship. You'll regret it one day if you do it like that."

"…"

Cason, who had been staring at her smiling face, opened his red lips.

"Leen is…"

✿

"Especially when she just woke up, the half-asleep, dreamy eyes are so lovely that someone couldn't forget them once they see them. Wait a minute, Mother. Are you listening right now?"

"Ugh… I'm listening."

Sylvia replied with a voice that sounded quite exhausted.

Carson's words, which began with ‘Leen is…', showed no sign of ending even after a few dozen minutes.

Starting with the color of her hair, he explained not only the length, the presence or absence of bangs, but also how shiny and how glossy it was.

At this rate, it's like he would soon tell me about the number of hair she had.

If he only complimented her hair, I wouldn't say anything. Now he had just finished complimenting her hair part and was about to change part with her eyes and so on.

Even if he explained everything about her face, I felt like I had to hold on tight for a day.

Sylvia, who had only been able to say a few words at best, was stunned as to what part of Leen he fell in love with.

‘I didn't know my son could talk so much.'

In addition, the way he explained about a child named Leen, he looked so happy. Sylvia saw the sincerity in Carson's expression.

This seemed to have arrived at the situation I was worried about.

It was fortunate that there was someone to put a leash on Carson's neck.

In the meantime, I was the only one who could stop Carson.

Sylvia didn't even have complete control over him.

However, judging from my experience, a child named Leen would be able to control Carson well enough.

The problem was…

‘It means that the girl has no will at all.’

Sylvia's head throbbed at the thought of her husband.

My husband, Leonian Lisianthus.

It was when we're in our academy days.

The first time I saw his face, it was so my taste that I seduced him without any measurement.

But later, it turned out that his personality was completely different from his looks.

The idiot, who excitedly broke the academy I would take over, was the one who seduced me to like him.

When it was passed on to me, I happened to notice it…!

By the time I tried to push him away, he had already fallen in love with me.

‘He looked like an abandoned puppy and chased me to death.'

Then, as I thought about it, my mind was filled with complicated thoughts.

Of course, I love my husband now, but I don't know how long it took to embrace that kind of personality.

I thought he had a cold personality, but he wasn't cold-hearted.

When Sylvia's expression became subtle, Carson added, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, for your information, Leen said she didn't believe my rumors."

"What…?"

Contrary to Carson who's grinning, Sylvia's face became pale.

Even after hearing those rumors? She didn't even suspect a word?

I had a feeling that something was definitely wrong with this.

It was clear that the child had already used filters in her eyes by looking at Carson's face, status, and money.

Who in the world says it's okay to have a chain on her wrist?

Ten fingers were not enough to count the wrists of others that Carson cut off.

It's better than my husband who said he'd blow off someone's neck. Either way, it's not a common sense thing to do either.

I really didn't want to be involved in my son's love story.

However, even for a girl who had been on the wrong path, it seemed that she would one day have to step forward.

‘Ah, the student named Leen. Please make the right choice before I step up.'

✿

The rest of the weekend would have been spent in the dormitory, but I had to rest today because I was out yesterday.

Leen was just getting ready to visit Carson.

All of the poison in Carson's body was detoxified. However, Leen suggested that he should wait another day in the hospital bed.

I knew it was a useless worry, but I was still nervous.

Carson nodded without a word, and as a result, he was stuck on the bed until today.

Therefore, I had an obligation to make sure that Carson, who lost his precious weekend, was not bored.

"I'll go to the library and borrow some magic books that Caon might like."

I open the door thinking about what kind of fruit to buy. There was something covered with cloth in front of the dormitory door.

I wondered what it was, so I bent down and gently lifted the cloth.

When I lifted the cloth, all kinds of herbs were in sight. It was quite a lot. With a blank face, I picked a herb and checked it.

It wasn't just a herb.

These were the herbs I passed through with tears in my eyes yesterday within the second border.

"When was this…"

I couldn't leave my seat for a long time.

For a very long time…