Chapter 19 – At Last, Gently Returning to Their Place

Butterfly, ribbon. Things that always remind Leticia of Valerio Lester.

“Senior.”

Chasing a white butterfly without thinking, Leticia saw two boys standing face to face at the lounge entrance.

The boy who resembled an angel, Valerio, stood expressionless at the Warwick Chamber Hall lounge.

For a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Though his gaze wasn’t directed at her, it was so emotionless it felt stifling.

Valerio slowly looked the boy standing opposite him up and down.

The one called ‘Senior’ didn’t seem to notice the gaze, but brightened upon seeing Valerio.

Valerio’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly, then he returned a faint smile as if nothing had happened.

No, his smile grew deeper. His eyes curved so much that wrinkles formed, and he smiled gently.

Even boys were charmed by his smile, and the senior’s face brightened even more, but Leticia, watching, felt a strange chill.

“Senior, you said we’d go to the library together.”

Valerio seemed unaware that Leticia had entered the lounge. Or perhaps he knew, but didn’t care.

The one called ‘Senior’ didn’t pay attention to who came into the lounge either. At the gentle request, he nodded enthusiastically and strode over.

“That’s right! Haha!”

The senior laughed heartily and clapped Valerio on the shoulder. Grabbing him as if for a side hug, Valerio’s body wobbled.

The senior didn’t notice that Valerio nearly fell because of him and just dragged him out of the lounge.

Leticia, watching, sighed quietly. Valerio hated being touched, but the other didn’t hear her silent advice.

She found herself worrying about a senior she wasn’t close to, only because she realized Valerio’s gentle smile hid a very cold gaze.

Leticia decided to follow the two.

Sure enough, the two boys who left the lounge first were heading toward the woods with umbrellas.

The academy grounds were flat, but bordered by mountains, so there were many winding forest paths.

The library closest to Warwick Chamber Hall was also reached by a forest trail; these trails could be shortcuts but were easy to get lost in, so younger students rarely used them.

Leticia had learned them by following Andrea, her mentor, but she doubted the two ahead knew them well.

She quietly followed them from a fair distance.

Her footsteps on the rain-soaked ground were absorbed by the earth, so the boys wouldn’t notice her presence.

The slightly taller boy with curly brown hair put his hand on Valerio’s shoulder again.

He seemed to have a habit of patting shoulders or messing up hair; Valerio wobbled each time he was hit.

Even when his shiny blond hair got messed up, Valerio would shift aside, but the brown-haired senior didn’t notice and just laughed boisterously.

Valerio, smiling, subtly slipped out of the side hug, but the oblivious senior tried again.

Leticia, sensing Valerio’s rising irritation, grew anxious.

Suddenly, the gentle breeze turned fierce. Inside the academy, protected by magic even from stormy winds, a gust blew strong enough to lift a person.

The one swept up was the curly brown-haired boy; Valerio was unaffected.

A short scream, and the senior, pulled skyward, fell with a splat as soon as the wind stopped.

The brown-haired senior screamed, clutching his arm, rolling on the ground.

It seemed his arm broke in the fall, but Valerio didn’t even glance at him and just walked on.

He acted as if nothing had happened, as if the noisy companion had never existed. The brown-haired senior shouted, face red.

“Hey, Valerio Lester!”

Valerio, about to ignore him and walk away, stopped and looked down at the other boy.

He didn’t try to help him up, just tilted his head as if puzzled, making the angry one pause.

“Senior?”

After a moment of silence, Valerio spoke first. The senior stayed on the ground.

Leticia couldn’t see Valerio’s expression, but the senior’s stiff face looked serious.

“I’ve asked you repeatedly, haven’t I? Not to pat my shoulder, mess up my hair, or touch me. How many times have I repeated myself? You’re smart, so you must remember. Right?”

His voice, calm and emotionless, didn’t sound angry.

“Uh, um… Well…”

Under subtle pressure, the senior tried to answer, dazed.

He’d heard Valerio’s warning but thought it was a joke, so he hadn’t paid attention. He hadn’t counted the times, and usually, the person giving the warning wouldn’t either…

“Fourteen times, Senior.”

Valerio remembered exactly.

He didn’t mock the senior’s pitiful state, but he clearly had no intention of helping. He just sighed and brushed up his bangs.

Though he didn’t offer help, the senior, startled, tried to escape but fell forward, unable to use his injured arm.

“Is it your ears that can’t understand people, or your arms that ignore self-control?”

“Ah, it hurts!”

“Senior, when you stammer like that, you really look foolish.”

Valerio’s smile, briefly visible, was sweet. It took a moment to process the meaning of his words.

Leticia’s eyes widened. It felt as if Valerio had heard the insults she’d once received from that senior.

He hadn’t been there, nor close enough to hear, yet…

“Senior.”

“Uh, uh.”

The younger boy did nothing but stand and look down, and the senior tried to squirm away.

The atmosphere around Valerio, though his face was unseen, was ominous.

“And, hmm. I’ve thought about it. I think it’d be fine if you lost one or two body parts that bother people.”

‘Fine’? By whose authority?

The senior turned pale. Valerio remained calm, but Leticia couldn’t just watch anymore.

When the senior reached out to beg for mercy, Valerio moved his leg away so he couldn’t reach—there didn’t seem to be any imminent bloodshed, but she felt uneasy.

Most of all…

“Rio!”

Leticia called out urgently. Her slightly trembling voice echoed quietly but clearly on the forest path.

The senior, not knowing anyone was watching, looked relieved.

A moment ago, he’d ignored the underclassman, but now he seemed to hope she’d save him.

“Hello, Shia.”

A beat later, Valerio turned his head toward the sound.

Whether he’d known she was following or was just good at hiding surprise was unclear.

He smiled gently and greeted her—a greeting he hadn’t given in the lounge.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

He remained calm, even with the senior collapsed at his feet.

His confident question, head tilted, made Leticia wonder if he didn’t care about being seen for who he was, or if he just didn’t care to put on a mask for her.

Her heart ached, but it didn’t matter which. There was a more pressing issue.

“The, the dormitory supervisor is looking for you.”

“Why?”

“There’s a message… from home.”

Leticia didn’t know how to get out of this situation, so she lied. Valerio surely knew it was a lie.

He frowned slightly for an instant—a subtle change she caught only because she was watching closely.

Perhaps her attempt to save the senior annoyed him.

But this wasn’t like him, especially since there would be consequences.

At the time, Leticia’s thoughts were a bit odd.

Rather than worrying Valerio was being too harsh on the senior, she worried about his reputation.

She knew all too well that his angelic looks hid a twisted personality.

“Okay. Could you tell them I’ll come in a bit?”

“Now! They said to come now!”

“……”

Her only reason for wanting to end things peacefully was not because the senior was hurt, but because she worried Valerio might get hurt.

Valerio clenched his fist and stared at Leticia, who was urging him. She didn’t look away, gripping her sweaty fists, and endured what felt like an eternity.

She didn’t know if Valerio understood her motives, but with a witness present, he stepped back.

He sighed deeply, left the senior sitting there, and walked away.

“Oh, right.”

But Valerio, whom she’d expected to ignore the senior, suddenly stopped as if recalling something, and turned back.

As Valerio moved away, the senior, who was struggling to get up, froze in surprise.

“Senior, I’ll take this. Since it’s raining.”

Valerio didn’t care whether he got an answer. He picked up the butterfly-patterned umbrella lying nearby.

Even though taking it meant the senior would be left in the rain, Valerio took it as if it was only natural.

He even had his own umbrella.

“Well. Just be glad this umbrella saved you.”

Saved at least one body part that was almost lost today.

With a bright smile, he added, and the boy started hiccuping, his face red.

He wanted to be angry, but was scared, and was ashamed to be scared, and was too afraid to fight back.

Trapped in this dilemma, the senior gave up the umbrella and staggered away.

“Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

Valerio didn’t care at all. Whether the boy ran away or not, he seemed to have forgotten he existed. He led Leticia away with a casual air.

“Rio… Are you okay?”

“Me? Why wouldn’t I be?”

Leticia, startled, accepted the butterfly umbrella and fiddled with her fingers.

Walking side by side with Valerio down the path, Leticia glanced at his profile. After several failed attempts to start a conversation, she finally blurted out,

“If he tries to spread rumors about revenge…”

“Him? Too bad, but it’ll be hard. I didn’t touch him. You saw, Shia.”

“Th-that’s true…”

He hadn’t touched him. Valerio kept his distance; the senior was the one who ignored his repeated requests.

Valerio’s harsh words could be a problem, but…

Thinking back, Leticia realized the harshest words had come from the senior to her.

She had much to say, but nothing she could actually say. Leticia stayed silent, her cheeks a little hot.