Chapter 61 – Love (3)

March 23rd, 2023

It has been about two weeks since Marie and I started our sweet romance.
A lot has changed in these two weeks, and one of the most notable changes is the way students look at us when we’re together.

Before, people seemed unsure about our relationship, but now they look at us with confident eyes, sure that Marie and I are together.
It’s no longer a secret, but officially recognized.

Many people envy us, but there are also some who look at us uncomfortably, especially those who focus their gaze on Marie rather than me.
Perhaps it’s because Marie is the daughter of a wealthy Duke, while I am just the son of a Baron.

However, I don’t really care about what they think.
Marie and I love each other, and there’s nothing they can do about it.
In fact, Marie is proud that I’m the author of Xenon’s Biography.

But there are some side effects.
Sometimes, female students approach Marie and ask about me, and it can be frustrating.
One time, Mary was complaining while eating.

“I’m so annoyed! Why do people keep asking me what’s so great about you? They think we’re just dating because you’re handsome and cute!”

“Wait, what? Marie?”

I looked at her with a puzzled expression, putting down my utensils.
Her words didn’t make sense to me.

Marie, who had been complaining, suddenly realized what she had said and burst out laughing.
Her smile wasn’t like that of an innocent girl, but rather that of a mischievous one.

“Oops, sorry.
I didn’t mean to say that out loud.
Hehe.”

“… …”

“Gulp.
Why are you making that face? It’s not a lie, you know?”

Marie said, swallowing the food in her mouth, as I looked at her in confusion.
I couldn’t think of a suitable response to her sincere expression, and a forced laugh escaped me.

If there were other people around, it would have been a remark that could embarrass oneself and others, but fortunately, it was comforting to know that only the two of us were peacefully dining together.
By the way, it was the same restaurant where I confided my secret to Marie last time.

As it turned out, the space we were assigned by the staff was a course for couples.
I don’t know how embarrassed I was to hear that.
In other words, it meant that they had also mistaken us for lovers last time and classified us into this room.

At that time, I knew nothing, so it was okay, but if it had been otherwise, it would have been awkward from the beginning.
Of course, now that we officially became lovers, we could confidently walk in.

“Isaac, did nothing frustrating happen to you like it did to me? I am a daughter of a duke, so it’s fine for me, but you might have it worse than me.
Especially with that guy, Jackson or something, who seems to dislike you?”

“Um…”

I thought of the recent events as I listened to Marie’s question.
There wasn’t much to do after becoming Marie’s lover.

Only our closest friends, Rina and Cecily, haven’t asked directly about our relationship, and they seem to be convinced of our status.
That’s probably why Marie is guarding me closely, and they can’t make a bold approach.

Especially Cecily, who used to be with us quite often, has reduced her presence significantly.
Whenever an opportunity arises, Marie suddenly appears and takes me away.

Yesterday was the same.
The last lecture of the day wasn’t one that Marie was supposed to attend, but as soon as the class was over, I met Marie waiting for me outside the door.
She grabbed my arm and dragged me to have a meal together, instead of letting me go.

Cecily called out to us, seeing what was happening, but we couldn’t stop.
And the look in her eyes as she watched Marie… Yes, it was definitely the gaze of a woman engulfed in jealousy.

Other than that…

“Nothing much going on?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.
Jackson, whom you mentioned, didn’t say anything either.
Instead, he seemed to be quite indifferent.”

“What? Indifferent?”

As Marie widened her eyes and asked back, I nodded to confirm that it was true.
I don’t know what kind of delusion he’s having, but Jackson’s gaze towards me has been different since the group project.

“Yep.
However, his gaze has definitely changed since the group project.
What exactly happened during the project?”

“Well… it was a little… pitiful, wasn’t it? Rina made him do this and that.”

“What about you?”

“I helped him out because I felt sorry for him… You know, until I told her to stop, he kept pestering me.
I helped him, but only to a certain extent.”

My girlfriend, who is from a noble family, refers to the son of a prestigious count as “that guy.”

I suddenly realized that she came from a duke family with the highest authority next to the emperor.

“Oh, pretend you didn’t hear what I just said.
I suddenly remembered something that made me annoyed.”

Then Marie pleaded with me in a humble tone, holding out her hand.
Her behavior was completely different from her lighthearted demeanor just a moment ago.

I couldn’t help but smirk, knowing she was putting on an act.

“Are you being coy?”

“Don’t you think it suits me?”

“It’s cute, but it doesn’t suit you.”

“You jerk.
But since you said it’s cute, I’ll let it slide.”

Marie burst out laughing.
I smiled back at her. 

When it was just the two of us, even the most mundane conversations felt enjoyable.
In fact, it wasn’t the story that mattered to us, but the time we spent together.

“Oh, speaking of which, how far did you get with your writing? Didn’t you say you almost finished last time?”

“I just need to submit the manuscript.
I was able to write it much faster than I expected, probably because the exams are over.”

“You said it’s about the Xenons master and the queen of the elves, right?”

I had told Marie a little bit about the story of Xenon series, but I didn’t reveal the tragic story of the master and the elf queen. 

For the record, that story won’t appear until the 11th book at the earliest, or as late as the 13th book.

I want to depict the relationship between the master and the Elf Queen indirectly, up until a decisive moment when the teacher suddenly drops a dead flag. 

For example, he might say something like ‘If I come back…’ or ‘Once I return, there’s something I want to say to you,’ etc.
Through these words, I want to evoke a sense of unease in the readers’ minds, which will later prove to be effective.

It just so happens that the Elf Queen, who has agonized for a long time, has also finally gathered her courage, so her emotions of fondness and despair will be doubled.

Of course, not only sad things will happen.
Xenon, who witnesses the queen’s sadness, will grow even more and his relationship with Mary will progress.

As predicted by Edie in the previous meeting, Mary is an Elf and has feelings for Xenon, who is human.
However, due to being an Elf, she is unable to express her feelings.

‘Looks like it’s going to become a romance part.
Well, it doesn’t matter.’

If it’s a romance part, female readers will probably like it quite a bit.
Plus, since it’s a love story between an Elf and a human that people haven’t seen before, it’ll be even more provocative.

It’s okay if the Elf side talks about it too.
Even though we added the setting that one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the devils executive in charge of pride, is an Elf, they didn’t say anything about it.
Cindy said they might be having internal meetings, but I didn’t really care.

“A love story between an Elf and a human.
Frankly, I don’t think it makes sense, but it’s Xenon’s Biography, so it should be fine.
Will there be any reaction from the Elf side this time?”

“Well, I don’t know.
And people don’t really know this, but you can look at Jin and Lily’s example.
It’s a case where they overcame the difference in lifespan.”

“Oh? Now that you mention it, that’s true.
I didn’t realize Jin was a demon until now.”

In reality, people are not focused on the fact that the Jin is a species that lives longer than humans, but rather on the fact that he is a demon.
Although Jin occasionally mentions his lifespan, readers unconsciously skip over it.

On the other hand, people firmly believe that Elves are a long-living species, and in contrast, humans are believed to have short lifespans, along with beastmen.

“Moreover, Elves are known to be noble and arrogant, and they live longer than demons.
According to Cindy, there is a custom among the Elves to look down on other species.”

“Cindy? Who is she?”

“What?”

“Is she a woman?”

I smiled bitterly when Marie glared at me.
It seemed like it bothered her that another woman’s name came out of my mouth.

“Professor Elena asked me to come to her lab and introduced me to an Elf.
That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s it?”

“Don’t you think your opinion of her would change if you saw Cindy? You may not know, but despite her natural beauty, she has dark circles under her eyes and never seems to take care of herself.
She even seems younger than me, even though she is older.”

Although I received a great deal of knowledge from her, there is no emotional attraction to her, just a professional relationship.
She is just a colleague.

However, Marie still had an incredulous look on her face.
It seemed that she was a little uneasy because Cindy was an elf, but at least in my eyes, Marie was much prettier than Cindy.

“And you’re much prettier too.”

“Eugh…”

So I blurted out that thought completely.
And then Marie’s face turned red like a sunset in an instant.

But it wouldn’t be fun to stop here.
As soon as I seized the opportunity to counterattack, I said teasingly.

“Come to think of it, I’m curious about your parents’ faces too.
How can they pass down faces even prettier than elves…”

“St-stop! Don’t say it! Don’t say anymore! I’m so embarrassed, really!”

As I acted smugly, Marie let out a squeak and screamed.
I automatically chuckled at her strong reaction.

“Why do you hate it so much? Isn’t saying that you’re prettier than an elf a compliment?”

“B-but… it’s still embarrassing…”

“But being pretty is a good thing, right?”

“Ughhh… just stop it…”

Marie couldn’t bear the consecutive attacks and melted away.
I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“So what should I call you then? Princess?”

“… …”

“My princess, what are you doing sitting there? Are you not going to eat?”

I might have been teasing her too much.

“Ah!”

“Ah! Sorry! Sorry! I won’t do it again! Sorry!”

Marie suddenly stood up and bit my neck tightly, despite my apologies.
She didn’t let go for a while, maybe holding a grudge even though I was saying sorry.

“Isaac.”

“Yes?”

“What’s that on your neck? Did a wild animal bite you?”

“… …”

The next day, Cecily, who was sitting next to me, asked me the same question.
Unfortunately, the area was not covered by my school uniform shirt, so it was exposed.

I smiled awkwardly and rubbed my neck, relieved that Marie wasn’t there.
If she were, she might have bitten Cecily.

“It wasn’t a wild animal, just a dog.”

“For a dog bite, the teeth marks are clear.
Did Marie do it?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… come to think of it, I’ve heard of this before.
Humans eating their lover’s flesh.
Do humans sometimes eat each other’s flesh?”

“No, absolutely not.”

If that were the case, I would have already torn off and eaten Marie’s face.
Cecily looked at me with a strange look in response to my violent denial before letting it go with leniency.

“Alright.
I was worried that Isaac might get eaten.”

“Hahaha… Marie does bite often.”

“Are you happy?”

Cecily asked me suddenly, as if there was a chill in the air.
I glanced at her profile discreetly, but her usual mischievous smile made it difficult to guess her true intentions.

“…Yes.
I’m happy.”

“I see.
Well, it’s a bit silly to ask such a question, but I envy Marie a little.”

Then Cecily muttered softly as if she wasn’t sure if I could hear her.

“I have more to give you…”

“…What?”

“Oh, right.
Isaac.
I have something to give you today.”

Cecily handed me an envelope that was stuck between the pages of her notebook.
Judging from its narrow width and long length, it seemed to be a letter.

As I took the envelope, Cecily smiled brightly.
Her red eyes emitted a seductive aura.

“Be sure to read it alone in your room.
Got it?”

“What is this?”

“It’s nothing.
Just…”

Cecily’s words trailed off as she gave me a sincere smile and leaned in close to my face.
As I was taken aback, she whispered in my ear and gently brushed her lips against it.

“It’s my true feelings towards you, I suppose?”

“… …”

My body trembled as my ear tickled intensely.

Translators note:

Reminder that the heroine inside xenons biography is named Mary.
So he doesn’t mean Marie there.

Brought to you by Thatoneguy.
Thank you for your support.