Sure enough, she had brought up the question after all.
Flipping the slices of meat on the stone slab, Greg paused almost imperceptibly.
With his back to Lilith, even as his mind raced frantically to come up with an excuse, his tone remained steady:
"Actually, to say it's 'like' isn't entirely accurate."
He weighed his words carefully without stopping his hands:
"My feelings toward Princess Vivian are more of... admiration and respect. I admire her ability, self-discipline, and sense of responsibility."
He paused, using wooden tongs to transfer the seared meat slices onto a clean, broad leaf, and continued:
"As for what I said that morning... my true intention was actually hoping that both Your Highnesses could face your true feelings for each other more candidly, without being separated by outside opinions or bound by unnecessary pride."
"Hoping both of us... could face our true feelings for each other more candidly?"
Lilith repeated unconsciously, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, a hint of subtle hurt in her voice:
"But back then, you clearly only said... said that my—that the Princess Lilith I respect so much admired Princess Vivian!"
Man, she almost slipped up right there. As expected, young lady, you're still too naive and way too easy to fool.
Greg grumbled internally while keeping his hands moving, picking out the grilled mushrooms and shrugging with a hint of helplessness:
"Because before I even got the chance to finish speaking, one of the people involved ran off on her own."
"Then what were you originally planning to say?" Lilith pressed immediately, her crimson eyes fixed intently on Greg's back.
Turning around, Greg placed a Dungeon Set featuring seared meat, grilled mushrooms, and sunny-side-up eggs onto a clean, broad leaf, handing it to Lilith. He then looked at her and calmly stated a possibility she had never considered—or rather, never dared to imagine:
"I was originally planning to say that Princess Vivian, in fact, also... admires Princess Lilith."
"That's impossible!"
The words burst from Lilith almost instantly, her voice rising slightly in shock. Even her hands trembled as she took the leaf:
"Princess Vivian... how could she possibly admire... admire Princess Lilith?!"
She could not imagine at all that her cool, powerful, seemingly flawless older sister could admire her.
"Why wouldn't it be possible?"
Greg countered, picking up a portion of food for himself and sitting on the rock beside her. He began listing examples in a matter-of-fact tone:
"Haven't you noticed? Recently, whenever Princess Lilith participated in the magic competitions organized by the academy, Princess Vivian would be present as long as she didn't have urgent duties. And she always sat in a spot where she could see Princess Lilith clearly without drawing too much attention."
"Also, on her desk in the Student Council room, there's a thick copy of the Academy Yearbook. But the page it's open to happens to be the report about Princess Lilith entering Class A with the top score among freshmen, complete with quill annotations in the margins detailing Princess Lilith's spellcasting techniques."
Greg took a bite of seared meat and chewed, watching Lilith's eyes widen and her cheeks grow increasingly flushed before concluding:
"Perhaps she didn't deliberately notice these details herself, nor would she want to admit them, but at its core, isn't that remarkably similar to Princess Lilith's own behavior? The only difference lies in how it manifests."
"I-Is that really true...?"
Lilith was completely stunned, forgetting to eat the food in her hand.
The scattered details Greg listed were like loose pearls strung together by an invisible thread, pointing toward an answer she had never dared to hope for.
A surge of overwhelming joy—mixed with disbelief and the realization that she was seen and acknowledged by the person she cared about most—swept through her heart like a warm current. It made her cheeks burn intensely, and her heart skipped a beat.
Dear Sister... she's actually been paying attention to me all this time?
She even... thinks I'm amazing?
Lowering her head, she stared at the fragrant food in her hands, her head feeling light and dizzy. A corner of her heart that had always been tightly wound—even tinged with a slight sense of inferiority—seemed to be gently smoothed away.
Watching Lilith like this—
Her head slightly bowed, her eyes—usually brimming with pride or lively spirit—now lowered as her long eyelashes cast dense shadows under the firelight, her fingers holding the food unconsciously rubbing the leaf's edge, looking as though she were enveloped in a soft, bright halo.
Greg tasted one of his cooked mushrooms while thinking:
These two sisters really are as stubborn as each other. They clearly care about and admire each other so much, yet they refuse to speak their true feelings until things reach a point of no return...
Looking at it this way, I guess I've done a good deed, haven't I?
Only after a long moment did Lilith barely manage to calm herself from the massive emotional shock.
She raised her head and looked at Greg, who was quietly eating beside her, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
By now, she no longer wanted to question why Greg had noticed details that even she hadn't clearly perceived.
Instead, she voiced another, more fundamental doubt:
"Why... did you do something like this for them?"
Her voice was soft, laced with genuine confusion:
"Even if their sisterly relationship improves, it... doesn't seem to bring you any benefit at all, does it?"
Greg happened to finish his last bite of food. He folded the clean leaf, set it aside, clapped his hands, and stood up. Walking over to the campfire, he poked at the embers with a wooden stick to make the flames burn brighter.
Then, turning sideways, he looked at the red-haired girl sitting at the boundary between light and shadow.
The firelight flickered across his handsome profile, reflecting deep and serene in his amber eyes.
"I just..."
He paused, his tone calm, yet carrying an indescribable earnestness:
"I just wanted to watch over two girls I acknowledge. That's all."
Having said that, he spoke no further, turning around to clean up the stove.
"..."
Lilith lowered her head silently, staring at the dish in her hands, which had cooled slightly but remained temptingly fragrant.
She picked up a piece of seared meat and carefully placed it in her mouth.
The meat was tender, cooked to perfection, with the charred aroma of spices and fat melting in her mouth, enticing her to indulge... Or so it should have been.
However, at this moment, her tongue could not taste any distinct flavor.
Because her mind was completely consumed by another lingering thought.
Her heart thudded wildly once again, pounding against her chest even faster and stronger than when she learned of her sister's true feelings, echoing with a roar only she could hear.
The heat that had only slightly ebbed came rushing back with even greater intensity, instantly flooding her cheeks, ears, and neck, until the tips of her ears burned hot.
Her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Greg's profile illuminated by the firelight.
He... has grown even more dazzling than he was in my memories, and...
Even more handsome.
Rate on N.U.
