Chapter 378: Deal [2]

"So... what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

I asked Diana, as we moved across the market, taking in the view of its immense diversity.

From weapons to potions coupled with the delicacies of food and the sight of colourful clothes... the market had everything that one might need.

"Talk? I just wanted to visit this place, but doing so alone would have been boring."

Lightly shrugging her shoulders, Diana walked beside me, her face not having the slightest hint of deceit.

This girl...

"Why didn’t you ask Alicia to accompany you?"

Just as I asked the question, a strong scent of roasted meat hit my nose, but I didn’t let it distract me.

"She... was busy with some matters."

Diana replied in a subdued voice, her head tilted to the side, not willing to look into my eyes, as I watched her closely.

Were the matters related to Noah—

"Is she with Noah?"

Despite not wanting to ask, the question left my mouth before I could process the words.

This time, Diana shifted her attention back to me, as she slightly pressed her lips together in a sort of... embarrassment?

"She should be... I mean Noah had visited her room, when I was there, so maybe..."

Diana didn’t complete her sentence, but she had no need to, as my mind processed all sorts of possibilities regarding what Noah might have currently been engaged in—

"Isn’t it creepy for him to visit a girl... all alone?"

Noah was trying to speed things up with Alicia, something that I didn’t wish for.

Maybe I would have to intervene, or else the protagonist might manage to seduce Kael’s sister and control her with full authority... something that I had no interest in seeing.

"Uh... they are friends, so isn’t it just a natural thing?"

Diana’s soft voice brought me out of my thoughts, as I gave the girl a long glance.

Nothing about Noah’s visit was natural—

"Are you worried for your little sister?"

With a teasing smile plastered across her face, Diana moved closer to me, slowly wrapping her right arm around my left, and locked it near to her own body.

"You don’t have to be jealous of Noah, and well... If you want— I could help relieve your jealousy."

At the moment, Diana’s entire body was hugging my arm, as it was tightly pressed against her side, and I could even feel a certain softness enveloping my arm with... passion.

Diana knew what she was doing, and as I shifted my entire focus to her face... those grey eyes of hers stared back at me, as the Veltran princess softly bit her lower lip in the most seducing way out there.

This... had the parasite been in such a line of work during her era?

I couldn’t tell, but everything so far was hinting at the same.

"There is no need for me to be jealous of someone like Noah, and I am not worried about Alicia either. It’s just that... I think the girl shouldn’t get close to people like Noah."

I gave my honest opinion, or at least I pretended for Diana to believe so.

"You... may be right."

Diana nodded her head as if some profound truth had been bestowed upon her.

"Still, Noah should have been punished until now, so why is there no news of it?"

The question had puzzled me as well, but knowing the headmaster, he should have given Noah some sort of punishment—

"Why don’t you inquire about Noah’s punishment?"

Diana asked the question in a voice that was closer to a whisper, making me raise my brow in return.

"To whom should I even ask—"

"The headmaster."

"..."

There was a brief silence between the two of us, as Diana tried her best to keep a straight face while looking straight ahead.

Her acting was good, and I could have even been trapped in it, had it not been for the fact that I knew what Diana’s intentions were.

"Why would he even go out of his way to talk with me?"

Deciding to play along, I began to enact my own role in the theatrics the parasite was trying to perform.

"I mean... you are close to the headmaster, aren’t you?"

Diana asked the question in the most innocent voice out there, prompting me to give an equally innocent reaction.

"Close...? I don’t understand what you mean."

My acting might not have been that good compared to Diana’s, but it was good enough... at least from my point of view.

Seeing me feign ignorance, I could notice Diana’s eyes being slightly narrowed, though she didn’t correct me immediately.

"Well... after your fight with the disciplinary committee and the vice president... the punishment that you had received was quite mild compared to what you had actually done to your seniors."

Completing her sentence, Diana tightened her grip over my arm, pressing it firmly against her body.

The softness that I had felt earlier had now intensified as my arm sank deeper into Diana’s soft flesh.

The sensation was a little overwhelming for my teenage body, but my will was strong enough to not be distracted by it.

I could feel several gazes being directed at us from all around, while we walked through the market in the most casual way... as if we were on some date.

I didn’t want any rumours regarding the same spreading around, but it wasn’t like I had much of a choice.

Pushing Diana away would attract more attention than what was focused on me at the moment.

"Being suspended from the academy for a month... I wouldn’t call it a light punishment."

Turning my head slightly, I gave Diana a brief glance, before shifting my focus ahead.

"Though you may be right in some regards, as the punishment wasn’t as severe as I had originally expected it to be. Maybe... being a Frost protected me from the headmaster’s wrath."

I lied with a straight face even if my argument had been the most illogical one.

It was a known fact that the headmaster didn’t favour any student, irrespective of their race or status in the world.

"Is that so? Still... are you trying to hide something from me?"

"..."