A few days later, I received an acceptance letter from the academy. One of the students who passed the entrance exam was caught cheating, so his admission was revoked, and I replaced his slot.
I went to Lariensa’s house immediately with the acceptance letter on my hand. As I pressed it before her eyes with a triumphant look, she screamed on the spot.
“Kyaaaa!”
No, It wasn’t your typical scream, it was closer to a shriek.
“Oh my gosh, Marilyn! What a surprise! As expected, I guess we're really destined to be together.”
I knew she would have liked it, but she loved it so much that her shoulders were trembling with excitement!
“Look. I told you everything was going to be fine, didn't I?”
“Do you know the address of the student who cheated?”
“What about him?”
“I’m so grateful to him that I'd like to send him a gift.”
“Um… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He might think that she’s making fun of him.
“Brother! Brother!”
Lariensa didn't even listen to me and jumped downstairs. I also hurriedly followed her downstairs. Lycan, who was Lariensa's brother, stared at her with a surprised look on his face while eating snacks, then looked at me.
He had this look that was thinking, ‘What’s wrong with them?’ So I shook the paper in front of him, and that seemed to be enough for him to understand what’s going on.
“Lariensa, you must be very happy to be admitted with your friend.”
“You also don’t have to separate from Marin.”
The real Marilyn and Lycan managed to get along well (until Marilyn turned black), but now, the relationship between Lycan and I was not very good. He knew that I was constantly teasing and bothering Lariensa.
Lycan was often called an idiot by his sister. However, in contrast to this, he was absolutely the ideal brother that many younger sisters wanted.
“Wait! I'll go out and buy you something to eat.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“No, brother, you’re already having a snack.”
Ugh… I don't want to be left here alone with your brother!
“Then, I’ll go with you, Lara.”
“No, Marin. You must have had a hard time, so just sit in here. I'll be right back.”
“What kind of trouble did I went through?”
“You must have been heartbroken, too! You almost broke up with me.”
Lariensa replied with teary eyes.
Then just plainly say no, I'm going to cry with your words.
I nodded gently at Lariensa. She brutally broke open the stomach of her piggy bank, took out some pocket money, and went out to buy some food.
Thanks to Lariensa, who was so considerate of us, Lycan and I were left inside the house. Of course, this consideration was unwanted.
Lycan did not hide his dissatisfaction as he was now alone with me.
“I'm also going to the academy, so why are you still accompanying Lariensa?”
“Would you rather have your third-year brother accompany you, or your best friend who’s in the same grade as you?”
“I thought Lariensa would have a chance to make new friends, but now it's ruined.”
“If you're dissatisfied, complain to the academy then.”
I got a spoon and shamelessly took a bite of Lycan's pudding. I couldn't ignore it because it was my favorite strawberry pudding!
I'm sure he won't be stingy with food. He was three years older.
“Was it because you hurt your head too hard that you became so different, or did you just start showing your true colors?”
As expected, Lycan’s tongue was deadly, but at least he didn't say anything about me eating his pudding.
“Why does my sister really like you? I don't understand.”
“It’s because I'm nice to Lara.”
“I know you lied about the cockroach at home the other day and scared the wits out of her.”
“Ahem, that's...”
Eh, this is a little prickly. It’s true that I lied to make fun of her...
But still, that's not fair.
Even though what I said was a lie, Lara was so scared that she cleaned the house all day long to make sure that there were no cockroaches left! I was so guilty that I took some of my pocket money to buy some bread and gave it to her!
“When you play with your friends, you get to cry, scream, and experience a lot of things with them.”
“Why does it seem like only one of you experiences those things?”
Even though Lycan was the brother of my pretty Lara, there was a good reason why I hated him.
This idiot brother was Marilyn's first love. However, one day when she overheard what her first love said about her, she got hurt.
‘Lariensa, when you enter the academy, stay away from Marilyn. She's not a good friend for you to hang out with all the whole time.’
Naturally, Lariensa was furious, but Marilyn left without hearing her get angry. Well, the results wouldn’t be much different even if she heard it.
“Excuse me, Brother Lycan. It's true that I'm teasing Lariensa too much, but if you're really looking for someone to take care of her, then just hire a nanny.”
I felt a sharp gaze from Lycan, but I didn't care.
‘What then, huh? What are you going to do with me?’
“Lariensa is not a child. If I was really going too far, she wouldn’t then keep me close to her. So, why don't you get rid of those nasty eyes?”
“.......”
“I don't think it's right to glare at your sister’s friend like that.”
Lycan reluctantly recovered the look that he gave me.
“Don't pretend that you know me when you run into me at the academy.”
“Huh? Even if we’re together with Lariensa?”
“.......”
“If I ignore you, Lariensa would ask what happened, then I would have to tell her the truth. Lycan, asking me to do this…”
“Then, only pretend to know me when Lariensa is there!”
This was how it's supposed to happen.
I replied with a satisfied smile.
“If you really want to, then I’ll do it.”
Lycan furrowed his brows. Either way, I ate more of his strawberry pudding.
“Brother! Marin! I brought back something to eat!”
Just in time, Lariensa came in with a heavy load, full of snacks. Lycan and I helped her carry the luggage that was in her hands. She took out the snacks from the bag and set it on the table. Woah, she bought a lot of my favorites. How admirable.
As I stroked Lariensa's head, she stuck out the top of her head as if to ask for more pats from me. I gave Lycan a snort and continued to pat Lariensa's head like that.
I think I could almost see veins popping out of his forehead...
‘Don’t tell me you’re going to hit me in front of Lara?’
“What did you two talk about while I was gone? You didn’t talk about me behind my back, did you?”
“Well, Lycan…”
Lycan looked at me for a moment. He seemed worried that I would really tattle him on to Lariensa. Am I really that cheap?
“He said that if ever I run into him at the Academy, I should pretend that I “know” him.”
He was seen as an idiot by his sister, but his attitude towards me, who is his sister’s best friend, was like that of a servant. He may seem nice on the surface, but the truth is, he regarded me as Lariensa's maid of honor.
Because of this, I hated Lycan so much. However, I don’t want to ruin his relationship with Lariensa.
This is not for Lycan’s sake, but for Lara, who is kind and innocent, unlike her brother.
“Did you say that?”
“Did I? Anyways, you can approach me anytime at the academy.”
“You know, he may not look like it, but he actually cares about you.”
At that moment, Lycan's face hardened.
“Oh, really?”
“It seemed like he was paying extra attention to you right after you fell down and woke up.”
Lycan hurriedly opened his mouth.
“La-Lariensa! This fruit isn’t fresh.”
“I picked them out myself. Are there bruises on it?”
“Why don’t you pick a fresh one from the bag?”
But I didn’t give him this chance to change the topic and kept on biting.
“So, how did you care about me?”
Lycan tried to cut in on our conversation with a cold sweat, but I managed to block his interruptions completely.
“He said that you became more daring, totally different from before, and now he sees you in a different light. Right, brother?”
“When did I ever say that…”
Despite his efforts to patch things up somehow, Lariensa finally hit a wedge.
“I even heard you say that you can’t take your eyes off of her and that you wanted to take care of her.”
“.......”
Lycan became mute.
“...I'll be back after sword training.”
“Are you not going to eat?”
Lycan went out without answering Lariensa.
I could see his ears turn red as he went outside.
What’s with that reaction…
I was just trying to make fun of him, but his reaction is so weird, isn’t it? Lariensa's words were strange too!
“What's wrong with my brother?”
Lariensa, who just blatantly exposed him, couldn’t also understand his reaction.
“.......”
I was bothered by the words Lariensa gave and Lycan's reaction, but I pretended to be oblivious about it.
“Let's just eat first.”
＊ ＊ ＊
The news that I was also accepted to the academy was known by the whole village.
“You've been together since you were young, and now you're also going to the same academy together.”
“I wasn’t worried about Lariensa because she’s smart, but Marilyn also got accepted. How fortunate.”
“It may be an extra pass, unlike Lariensa, but still congratulations.”
Can't you just plainly say “Congratulations” to me on getting accepted? You don’t have to stress that I only got an extra pass...
This is one of the reasons why Marilyn became crooked. It was because she was constantly compared to Lariensa.
“Marin.”
It felt weird that Lariensa was mentioned in every one of my congratulatory messages. However, I was still able to put up a smile because she was constantly taking care of me.
“Look. When you wear your uniform, tie the ribbon like this. Alright?”
Of course, dealing with Lara was not always uncomfortable. She didn't leave me alone in many ways.
Following the pink pajamas, then matching hairpins. This time, she wants me to tie my ribbon the same way as hers.
“Do we really have to tie it like this? We both wear the same uniform anyways.”
“That is why we have to do it. If everyone else wears the same uniform, then we can't display our friendship.”
“...Really?”
Lariensa nodded firmly.
“Oh, and we can also ride together on my brother’s carriage. The academy is going to send a carriage specifically for the honor students, and my brother was selected as an honor student because he has good skills in swordsmanship.”
“You can take advantage of it because you’re his sister. But did Lycan say that I can ride too?”
“I already asked my brother about it, and he said that it would be hard to get a carriage since it’s expensive, so you can ride with us.”
“.......”
“...Oh no! My brother told me not to tell you, what should I do?”
...You’ve already blown his cover?
“I won't tell Lycan that I heard about it from you.”
Lariensa didn't notice what I said.
“But these days, brother has become really weird.”
“How so?”
“He seemed to be paying a lot of attention to you these days.”
“You already mentioned it before.”
“Yes, but after I said that, I just thought that it was really weird.”
Somehow I felt like covering my ears. I don’t think Lycan is... but it’s just a hunch. I hope that’s not the case.
“Do you always have pocket money whenever we go out? You know, Lycan used to give you a lot of money.”
“Before, he would just give the money to me whenever I say I’m going out with you. But nowadays, he would ask where we are going before he gives it out.”
“...I guess he’s really very worried about your head injury.”
“Is that so?”
Next to Lariensa, who is looking at her school uniform she bought not long ago, I recalled the first time I saw Lycan after possessing this body.
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