I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 98

 

After soothing Luca, I entered the dormitory.

 

A series of emotions were constantly running through my head. Yesterday and today were emotionally draining.

 

I tossed my bag aside and was about to head straight to bed.

 

Jane, who had realized my state of mind, cautiously approached me.

 

“Leen, did something happen with Luca?”

 

“Um, it’s nothing…”

 

I didn’t want her to know. When I saw her face, I felt a rush of sadness. It was hard to control my expression.

 

Seeing me tearing up, she took my hand, a warm gesture.

 

“What did Luca say to you, do you want me to take care of it?”

 

I smiled weakly, even though I didn’t have the strength to laugh.

 

“Haha, what’s that.”

 

“I’m not kidding. Even if they’re your family, if they’re screwing with your head, I’m not going to let them.”

 

Jane’s eyes held deep concern.

 

I felt terrible that I was deceiving her. She cares so much about me, and I’ve been thinking about cutting off contact with her.

 

Maybe that’s why…

 

My mouth moved on its own, “Jane. There’s something I haven’t told you.”

 

I couldn’t tell her the whole story, but at least I didn’t want to cut off contact suddenly after graduation.

 

After graduation, I confessed to her my plans to move to a town far from the capital.

 

And that I was going to lose contact with all my friends, including the Count.

 

After listening to the entire story, Jane asked me.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

What do you mean, okay?

 

I expected her to ask me why I’d tried to cut off contact, or worse, to express her disappointment in me.

 

Why didn’t I speak up sooner? Why didn’t I tell her? Why was I willing to lose touch with her forever?

 

That’s all there was between us, I thought she was going to yell at me.

 

But Jane was more concerned about me.

 

“You like him. Are you sure you’ll never see him again?”

 

No. I wasn’t sure. Jane looked me in the eye and spoke as if she wanted me to hear her clearly.

 

“I’ll be honest with you, Leen. I would truly pity Carson if someone told me he was getting married.”

 

Jane shuddered whenever I said anything nice about Carson, so I knew she wasn’t joking.

 

“But not if that’s you. I’m sure Carson can make you happy.”

 

It was in her nature to not speak unless she was sure.

 

What she said usually came true.

 

“If you’re making this decision because of your status, I want to stop you.”

 

Maybe it was because of what I’d said to the girls last night. Jane seemed to think I was pushing Carson away simply because of his status.

 

She squeezed my hand and said, “Why don’t you trust him?” 

 

But I could only look at her and shook my head.

 

“It’s not about status, otherwise I wouldn’t have to move so far away.”

 

If it were only about status, it would have been enough to push him away. No, I could have dreamed of a future with him.

 

I frowned bitterly, but a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

 

“This is you, Jane, so I can tell you, I’m trying to entice Caon.”

 

“…Entice?”

 

Seducing Caon sounded odd, especially considering how we’d severed contact. But I wasn’t joking.

 

“Yep. I’m going to seduce Caon at the prom.”

 

Hoping to carve a deeper memory with Carson. Wanted to have everything he had, if only for once.

 

I knew it was selfish greed. I couldn’t accept his heart. But I felt like if I missed this chance, I would regret it for the rest of my life.

 

Jane’s eyes widened for a moment as she recognized the meaning of my words of enticement, but then she laughed with me.

 

“Good timing. That dress I made for my senior project was made thinking of you as the model.”

 

“You made it with me in mind?”

 

I hadn’t heard that before.

 

“I’m going to make you the star of the party. All eyes will be on you.”

 

“Uh. Hmm. I only have to seduce Carson…”

 

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible, because I’m going to dress you up as best I can.”

 

At Jane’s adamant, I rolled my eyes for a moment, then chose to keep my mouth shut.

 

“Well, Carson, I suppose I would be forgiven if I were to tempt him with the idea of having him fall in the deep…”

 

She shrugs and says, “It’s a big day for you, I’m sure you’d want to look pretty.”

 

“…Thanks, Jane.”

 

But Jane thanks me in return.

 

“I’m the one who should be thanking you. For confiding in me first. It must have been hard for you to tell me.”

 

“You’re not going to ask me why I tried to cut off contact?”

 

She met my eyes and said it was no big deal.

 

“I mean, you have your reasons, right?”

 

Those were the same words I had thought one day, understanding her. It was poignant. I guess it’s true what they say about friends being alike.

 

“…Even though we might never see each other again?”

 

“That hurts a lot.”

 

Jane was smiling weakly, like she was about to cry.

 

Slowly, I got up from my seat. I walked over to my desk and pulled out the papers I had hidden in the bottom drawer.

 

“I have a gift for you, too, and I was actually going to give it to you as a parting gift…”

 

I held out the papers to Jane, who looked at me curiously.

 

“But now that you know, I thought it would be better to give it to you in advance than as a parting gift.”

 

Jane took the papers with disbelief. She read the words on the paper.

 

“A deed to a property?”

 

Jane stared at me, mouth agape.

 

“Leen, what the…!”

 

“It’s a collection of boutiques in the capital. It’s hard to find a place for sale?”

 

Hans, of course, had a hard time finding a place, not me.

 

“Live your dream there, Jane.”

 

“Not this one. It’s too big to just take…”

 

I trailed off, pretending I hadn’t heard her.

 

“By the way, I left the decorating to Hans, I’m not very good at it.”

 

“Leen!”

 

Even as she said it, I knew she would eventually accept my gift.

 

Jane was an ambitious girl. Rather than refuse what I was offering her now, she would multiply it many times over.

 

Besides, she knew that I had developed several medicines, including painkillers.

 

She would quickly realize that this was a reasonable amount for me to offer.

 

With that, I forced a wry smile.

 

“So if you don’t like it, you should blame your boyfriend, not me?”

 

🍃

 

Time passed and the big day arrived.

 

Graduation parties are for graduates only. Dancing, drinking, and finally letting off steam.

 

The party was held at the beginning of the year after the change of year, so kids whose birthdays fell on December 31 had no problem enjoying alcohol as adults.

 

Just be careful not to get too drunk.

 

After all, the party wasn’t the point.

 

“Jane, don’t you think we should get going?”

 

Jane and I were both ready to go. Even though the prom was in the late evening, I’d been getting ready since the wee hours of the morning by Jane.

 

By the time I realized I’d asked her for a favor, I was barely finished.

 

She said she didn’t have time to prepare herself because of me…

 

I was so frustrated that she showed up with a complete makeover in 30 minutes. She could have done it faster, but she didn’t…!

 

Jane looked at me with the scrutiny of a masterpiece and asked,  “Yes. We should probably get going. Are you ready, Leen?”

 

“Perfect.”

 

But Jane didn’t stop there, her eyes sharpening.

 

“What about the lodging?”

 

“I’ve booked the finest.”

 

“And the call of nature?”

 

“Perfect timing, and I’ve taken some pills, just in case.”

 

“Mental preparation?”

 

“Perfect.”

 

With a final glance in the mirror, I smiled broadly. The beautiful woman in the mirror smiles back at me.

 

I checked the mirror a few more times, but it still felt awkward. 

 

That beauty was me.

 

It was a painstaking process, but she was good at making complaints disappear.

 

And what about the dress she made herself?

 

I gazed with renewed admiration at the pure white, bell-bottomed dress with its bare shoulders.

 

The embroidery, in the form of countless leaves and vines, seemed to envelop me.

 

“From the first time I saw it, I thought, this looks like a wedding dress.”

 

Jane tilted her head as if noticing.

 

“It is a wedding dress.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“It’s the dress I was originally going to give you when you marry Carson. I made a few alterations so you could wear it to the party.”

 

…It was really a wedding dress?

 

And even intended to serve as a gift when Carson and I get married?

 

“Phew.”

 

I chuckled unnecessarily at her overexcitement.

 

“I’ve never even been romantically involved with Caon, aren’t you going too far?”

 

“I don’t know. Humans are humans, you never know. I thought it might happen.”

 

Jane gave him a sour look that said she wasn’t joking.

 

“Oh, well, in that case, don’t worry about what you’ll wear to the real wedding. I’ll have something more perfect for you then.”

 

“Haha, you’re sweet, but that’s not going to happen.”

 

She shrugged, making a knowing expression at my laughter.

 

“Well, shall we go see your groom now?”

 

“Okay.”

 

We arrived by carriage, and the party was already crowded with people.

 

Standing in the doorway, Jane glanced at me. I nodded to indicate that we should go inside.

 

Once we stepped inside, I felt the stares. I heard gasps and intakes of breath.

 

I quickly took a seat in the corner with Jane, ignoring the stares.

 

Everyone was dressed up for the occasion. Nobody was without a dress or ball gown, thankfully.

 

For those who couldn’t afford it, the academy and the costume design department worked together to provide support.

 

I had a newfound respect for the chairman, whom I had never met before.

 

It must be difficult to consider the students so carefully. I was thinking about something else for a moment, taking in my surroundings.

 

I noticed Carson entering the party with Fjord as if they had just arrived.

 

He was wearing an outfit that Jane had designed herself. He looked even more radiant tonight.

 

Not only that, but he wore his hair unusually neatly slicked back and half down.

 

My eyes were drawn to him for a moment, and then I remembered that this wasn’t the time to be seduced.

 

Gesturing to Jane’s back to indicate that I was going after him, I headed straight for Carson.

 

Thump, thump, thump—

 

I had prepared myself well, now it was time to see his reaction.