Chapter 25: Nobody but Me

"According to the verdict, the House of Fielyn is demanding that House Valendorf pay compensation money for the emotional distress Emily Fielyn suffered after the incident."

"They sure have guts for a mere baron’s house." Lydia sighed. "If I’d known that cat would cause this much trouble, I should’ve kicked her back into her litter box!"

The audacity was unbelievable. Emily had humiliated Lydia in front of other students, thrown her belongings out of her dormitory, and even harmed her with her Resonance.

Yet somehow, the girl had managed to turn herself into the victim.

"If it weren’t for Emily, I might still be in the Elite Class instead of getting kicked down to the Regular Class and Dorm."

"Mind the fact that they transferred you because you failed your Guide Placement Test three times. And by that time, you still hadn’t awakened your Spirit Animal."

Lydia slowly turned to him.

"Wow. Thank you, Your Highness. I came here looking for emotional support, not a historical documentary about my failures."

Ephraim raised an eyebrow.

"Are you even on my side? I won’t pay a single penny to her!"

Ephraim folded the document neatly and looked at her.

"So be it."

That was it?

Had Ephraim hit his head on the way here? Why else would he agree with her so easily?

Lydia thought she had misheard him. She’d expected him to lecture her about consquence of refusing the demand and tell her to stop causing trouble.

Instead, Ephraim had agreed without a single complaint.

Did he have a fever?

The Crown Prince was usually strict about rules and appearances, especially when his reputation as Lydia’s fiancé was at stake.

Dismissing an official demand so casually was completely out of character for him.

Whatever the reason, Lydia wasn’t about to complain about having someone agree with her for once.

"Okay, so what do I do now? Any ideas, Ephraim?" Lydia asked after a moment.

"Want me to handle it for you?"

THUD!

The pillow in Lydia’s hands slipped and landed on the carpet.

"Wait a minute. Who are you, and what have you done with my fiancé? The real Ephraim would give me an hour-long lecture about personal responsibility before telling me to deal with it myself!"

"I’ll take that as a yes, then."

"Seriously? What do you want right now? Will the sun rise from the west tomorrow?"

Even after waving her hand back and forth in front of Ephraim’s eyes, Lydia still couldn’t tell if this was really him.

Ephraim gave Lydia a deadpan look before glancing at the document again and turning his attention back to her. "I’ll ask the university to provide the classroom and dormitory surveillance footage. If we can prove that Emily threw your belongings out of your room, we may have grounds to challenge her claim."

Classroom and dormitory surveillance footage?

Of course. Belfort University had security systems throughout its buildings, including the classrooms.

If the incident had been recorded, the footage could provide evidence to support her side of the story.

"Back to your formal self, are you? Now that you mention it, Emily did attack me, didn’t she? A Sentinel should know better than to use her power against a Guide. That’s the most basic rule of Sentinel conduct. Can we use that against her, too?"

"Indeed. Lady Emily’s use of Resonance on university grounds is a direct violation of Article 29 of the Sentinel and Guide Act."

The only problem was that Lydia had already been transferred from the Elite Class to the Regular Class. Getting the footage herself would be much harder now that she was no longer an Elite student.

"I don’t think Professor Phoebe will let me access records from Elite Class."

"Leave it to me."

Ah, the privilege of having a Crown Prince for a fiancé. Who knew getting engaged came with free access to the university’s security footage?

How convenient.

Still, the offer itself was strange enough to make Lydia suspicious. Ephraim had never been particularly eager to involve himself in her problems.

This Ephraim sure was different from the one from her previous life. The one that had often reminded her that she needed to learn to stand on her own.

So why was he offering to help her now?

"What’s wrong?" Ephraim asked when she continued watching him. "Do you have something to say?"

Lydia studied his composed expression, trying to figure out what was behind his sudden kindness.

After knowing Ephraim for so many years, she should have been able to read him by now. Yet she still couldn’t tell what he was really thinking.

Or perhaps she had simply grown too accustomed to expecting the worst from him.

"What’s gotten into you?" she asked bluntly. "This is the first time you’ve ever offered to help me like this. What do you want?"

Ephraim’s eyebrows rose slightly, though his smile remained in place.

"The Ephraim I know would say something like, ’This is your own problem, so you have to solve it by yourself,’" Lydia continued. "Trying to act like a caring fiancé now?"

"Do I need a reason to help my fiancée?" "You always do," she replied after a moment.

If he wanted to behave like a considerate fiancé all of a sudden, Lydia might as well enjoy the show.

Even in her previous life, Ephraim always kept his distance. Lydia had been so afraid of losing him that she never questioned why she was always the one trying to make their relationship work.

But she wasn’t that girl anymore.

Now that she had stopped chasing his affection, Lydia could see their relationship more clearly.

Whether Ephraim loved me or not is no longer my problem. If he did, great! I’d consider it a bonus. If he didn’t, well, it was his loss.

She had better things to do than chase a man who couldn’t see what he had.

And yet, the Ephraim standing before her seemed different from the man she remembered.

After a long silence, Ephraim approached and sat beside her on the bed with the folded document in hand. His usual polished smile had faded into a more serious expression.

"I was happy when you reached out to guide me," he said softly. "Even with your lower Guide Rank and weaker body, you still helped me when everyone else ran away. I was so close to becoming a Mindless, yet you didn’t give up on me."

"Ephraim..."

Hearing Ephraim acknowledge that effort now left her strangely at a loss for words.

"Thank you." He gave her a small bow. "I should say it more often to you."

Lydia had spent years wishing he would acknowledge her efforts. Hearing him thank her so sincerely now left her unexpectedly touched.

Perhaps that was why she couldn’t look away. Ephraim noticed her expression and smiled.

"What is it? Have you never seen me thank someone genuinely before?"

"I’m just surprised you know how!"

Unfortunately, Ephraim wasn’t about to let her off that easily.

"On second thought..." He paused and put his hands on her cheeks. "Keep staring at me. Who would’ve thought you could make this kind of expression, Lydia?"

"What expression?!"

Whatever expression Lydia had made seemed to amuse him, and for once, she found herself too flustered to come up with a clever reply.

"Never mind. Just... never show such face to anyone but me, my fiancée."

Her cheeks grew even hotter.

"W-What kind of ridiculous demand is that?!"

Ephraim only smiled.