I Became the Villain’s Childhood Friend Chapter 30

 

“If you really want to get married, how about getting engaged after you enroll?”

 

I’m sure he knows that when I brought up the topic of marriage, it wasn’t because I really wanted to get married.

 

I looked at him with resentful eyes.

 

“…You really can’t hear a word I’m saying?”

 

After that, Edin gave me a lot of direction, yet the prerequisite was ‘Academy admission’.

 

I couldn’t say anything to his words, and Edin, who had been soothing me, seemed to have finally given up and quietly left the room.

 

There was a, clank, sound outside. It was the sound of chains being fastened to both doorknobs. Then, the sound of Edin’s footsteps gradually became distant.

 

Perhaps, did he even lock the door?

 

I wanted to cry a little. No, actually, it might be more accurate to say I was exhausted.

 

If it were me, I would have tried to open that huge door or figured out a way to get out to the balcony.

 

But I realized that no matter how hard I struggled, nothing would change.

 

The world only told me nonsense about how I shouldn’t go against fate, and people seemed crazy and only suggested one path to me.

 

Am I really sane living in a world like this?

 

That’s how my visit didn’t take place until after the entrance ceremony.

 

It seemed like locking my room door was something he had discussed with my Dad.

 

If Rian had been there, he might have helped me out, but he had already entered the dormitory for sword training.

 

Sylvester also had similar thoughts to Edin.

 

He also thought that there was no reason not to go to the Academy where I was accepted at best.

 

The fact that knights were stationed around the balcony of my room was so… it made me think that it couldn’t have been done unless it was intentional.

 

Finally, the morning of the entrance ceremony, which seemed like it would never come, dawned.

 

***

 

“You look very good in your school uniform, Danae.”

 

Madam Collin opened her arms towards me.

 

I hesitated for a moment and then fell into Madam Collin’s arms.

 

Madam Collin slowly stroked my hair with her hands, filled with affection.

 

Just as I was wondering if I was buried in her chest and suffocating to death like this, Rian pulled me in. Just in case I got lost at the Academy, he was the one who came to pick me up.

 

“Hey, let’s go quickly.”

 

Madam Collin, who had been holding me tightly, only let me go after Rian pressed me.

 

I gave a nod to Madam Collin and set off on my way with Rian.

 

The other family members didn’t even attend the entrance ceremony, as if they knew that locking me up was wrong.

 

Thankfully, the only person by my side was Rian, who had already entered the dormitory.

 

“That’s the auditorium.”

 

Rian pointed to a building with his finger.

 

I felt it when I came to take the entrance exam, but this school was bigger than I thought.

 

As I was frantically looking around the inside of the Academy, Rian next to me asked cautiously.

 

“…But are you okay?”

 

“Suddenly?”

 

At my question, Rian scratched his cheek with his hand as if he was flustered.

 

“I heard a bit of the story from Mother.”

 

I responded by slightly shrugging my shoulders.

 

Still, perhaps because he was worried that he couldn’t help me, he quietly added.

 

“…But our school is actually better than you think. The scone store in front is also famous.”

 

“I’ve already been there.”

 

“When?”

 

“After the entrance exam… Paul recommended it, so I went there with Reynold.”

 

Come to think of it, Reynold….

 

I glanced at Rian because something was bothering me.

 

“Um, perhaps, you know, Brother.”

 

Rian, who made eye contact with me, looked as if wondering if something was wrong.

 

“Reynold, did he know that I was locked in the room?”

 

“…”

 

Rian looked a little surprised at my question. But even for a moment, he smiled mischievously and said as if it was no big deal.

 

“You don’t have that much trust between friends? Of course he didn’t know, that’s why he stayed still.”

 

“…That’s right, isn’t that?”

 

“I’m sure. He wouldn’t have known. If he had known the truth with his damn personality, he wouldn’t have stayed calm. He would have attacked right away.”

 

Rian answered confidently as if he believed in his own words.

 

At that time, a bell rang in the distance.

 

It was a sound coming from the bell tower standing tall in the center of the Academy. That meant it was time for the entrance ceremony to begin.

 

At the sound of the bell, Rian pushed my back toward the auditorium.

 

“Hey, go quickly.”

 

“Ah,”

 

Seeing Rian acting like he was about to leave at any moment, I urgently grabbed the hem of his clothes.

 

I said to Rian, who looked at me with puzzled eyes.

 

“Thank you, Brother.”

 

Rian opened his eyes wide at my greeting.

 

I was quite taken aback by his reaction, so I added a word.

 

“…I’m kidding.”

 

“Hey! You talked on and off…”

 

I waved my hand slightly at Rian to tell him to hurry up and go. Then Rian smiled as if he couldn’t help it and waved at me.

 

The auditorium was crowded with freshmen.

 

Looking at the crowd of people gathered around, I was already dizzy.

 

‘I want to go into the dormitory right away, though…’

 

I dug into the crowd of people with an exhausted look on my face.

 

‘Danae Lerdonia’

 

Luckily, I was able to quickly find my name among the numerous chairs placed at regular intervals.

 

I took a breath and looked around. I saw Reynold sitting in the front row closest to the podium.

 

As soon as the entrance exam was over, Reynold confidently said that he would be the top student in the Swordsmanship Department, and it seemed that it wasn’t a lie. The students sitting in the front row will be the top students this school year.

 

When the noise in the auditorium subsided a little, an elderly woman who was smiling kindly grabbed the loudspeaker artifact and opened her mouth.

 

“[Nice to meet you. My name is Charlotte. You may call me President.]”

 

After that, the congratulatory speech at the extremely boring entrance ceremony followed.

 

Meanwhile, I looked around to see if I knew anyone.

 

In the meantime, I always attended parties I was invited to, but how in the world could I not know this much about people?

 

If this happens, I’ll have to travel alone the whole time.

 

Ah, of course, it’s not that I don’t like traveling alone…

 

Still, I get bored when I go alone…

 

I blinked, listening to the president’s next words with one ear and letting them out with the other.

 

“[I will then call the top student in each department.]”

 

As expected, the top student in the Swordsmanship Department was Reynold.

 

Reynold walked as if it was no big deal and looked very confident.

 

And that confidence made Reynold shine even more.

 

I was embarrassed and didn’t want to admit it, but he looked pretty cool right now.

 

That much was certain.

 

…Anyway, now that I have entered the Academy, is it really better to keep my distance from Reynold?

 

I remember that there was a description in the original story that he was always with me, but honestly, it was so different from the story that it wasn’t easy to get along with him.

 

It was when I was lost in other thoughts. I suddenly came to my senses at the sound of someone’s name ringing in my ear.

 

“[Magic Department, Gloria Zenaten.]”

 

…Gloria?

 

A name I used to think about constantly, yet is now almost buried in my memory.

 

As soon as I thought that this was a name I had heard many times before, my eyes turned to a female student.

 

Probably everyone else was looking at her too.

 

My eyes caught the sight of a girl walking up to the podium, her pink hair flowing lovingly.

 

There was a time when I foolishly thought that if I were to enter the Academy, would I really be able to recognize Gloria?

 

But it was clear that it was a complacent idea.

 

The moment Gloria went up to the stage, it was as if time had stopped.

 

…And as Reynold looked at her, his eyes wavered.

 

I don’t know about other people, but I, who had seen him for a long time, knew right away.

 

The moment Reynold saw Gloria, he was clearly shaken.

 

I’ve never seen him in love, so I’m not sure what he’s thinking right now.

 

But one thing was certain; I would soon see Reynold’s face in love.

 

‘Because so far everything has flowed in line with the original story.’

 

At that moment, the eyes of an agitated Reynold and Gloria met. I quietly looked at the two of them. Without realizing it, I clenched the hand I had placed on my school uniform skirt.

 

Strangely, my heart continued to pound.

 

She was really pretty

 

…Really, she was pretty.

 

No other modifiers were needed. The reason she is the female lead of this world… All of this was explained by her face.

 

Plus, she has a nice personality.

 

The status of Tellen Academy was high, so all departments were generally famous.

 

However, if there were any departments that were particularly famous among them, they were the Magic Department and Swordsmanship Department.

 

As the two senior freshmen of the most famous department, and the most beautiful freshmen in the world, were standing there, a murmur could be heard around them.

 

But I couldn’t say anything.

 

It felt like something huge was blocking me and Reynold.

 

I already knew it would turn out like this, though.

 

No matter how close Reynold and I were, there was a line we couldn’t cross.

 

Because he had Gloria, and deep inside me, the primal fear that he would one day kill me.

 

It felt like all the things I had bottled up in the past were coming out little by little at the entrance ceremony.

 

President Charlotte calmed down the noisy students a little and fixed the loudspeaker artifact.

 

“[Lastly… I hope that our students will never hesitate about learning. Tellen Academy will do our best to support your learning. Youth is your unique strength that will never come back. I hope you all use that power wisely.]”

 

She smiled brightly at the students.

 

“[I welcome your admission!]”

 

As soon as she finished speaking, fireworks exploded from the ceiling of the auditorium. The fireworks that rose above the students’ heads fell and turned into flower petals.

 

Reynold, standing in the magic illusion, was pretty.

 

Reynold looked up at the flower petals falling beautifully on his head, then turned his gaze to me, who was staring at him blankly.