Chapter 123 Citations [ 3 ]

-Asher Frostblade Point of View.

"Mmm."

Elizabeth looked at Asher, her deep, indifferent eyes fixed on him.

However, Asher paid no attention to her as he sipped his coffee.

He had been very distracted lately, and when his friends arrived, he paid them no attention at all.

Of course, eventually, when they left, he did pay attention to them, but his thoughts were still focused on Gloriana.

"What will she want to tell me?"

She murmured as Elizabeth approached.

"I'm not sure, but... maybe it's a confession."

"..."

"What do you mean, will she confess something important to me or what is it?"

"..."

Elizabeth put her hand to her head.

She looked at Asher with a frown, but didn't continue speaking. She sighed as her dark eyes continued to watch him.

Despite the words, she kept her cool.

"Hey."

Asher looked at Elizabeth, curious.

"What's up?"

"Kid, are you innocent, an idiot, or just don't know anything about a 'confession' from a woman to a man?"

"No."

A clear and quick answer, just as Elizabeth finished speaking.

Irritated by Asher's words, she looked at him seriously, frowning even harder as she gritted her teeth at the sight of the jerk in front of her.

Sighing, Asher averted his gaze.

Truth be told, he didn't know anything about what Elizabeth was hinting at, but it didn't seem like something really important.... did it?

Asher sighed heavily again and then looked at Elizabeth again.

But...

"What the hell...?"

His mana radiated anger.

Her gaze was stern as her sharp eyes were on him.

He swallowed saliva at the sight of Elizabeth's attitude as his eyes widened in surprise.

What's wrong with her?

Is what she said earlier important or is she just angry about something else?

He had no idea.

He looked at Elizabeth's intense stare.

It was frightening.

In fact, it wasn't the first time Asher had seen such a piercing stare.

This used to happen when girls got mad at him, but.... Why?

Why was it always like this?

Did the girls hold a grudge against him or was it because he used to respond in a way that they interpreted differently?

Maybe it was the latter, but it was undeniable that Asher didn't understand certain questions the girls used to ask him.

Still, he looked at Elizabeth and then asked:

"Ahem... So, can you explain to me what a 'confession' is?"

"..."

Her gaze intensified even more, as Asher swallowed saliva again and his shoulders slumped.

His heart began to pound. He felt that Elizabeth, somehow, might do something to him for his sudden question.

Still, he tried to look her in the eye, trying to disguise it.

Her eyes were moving restlessly. It was hard to hold her gaze, those eyes were scary just looking at them.

She really was mad at him.

"Haa..."

Her gaze relaxed.

Asher, then, calmed down.

But...

"W-What are you doing... O-Hey, wait..."

Her soft fingers touched both of Asher's cheeks, as Elizabeth's face moved dangerously close to his, hinting at something truly alarming to him.

This situation again... Asher had seen this behavior a few times in Oriana and knew exactly what would happen.

However, they were in a cafeteria, with several cadets passing by every second.

If she did what Asher was thinking, it would be a scandal.

She couldn't do it.

If she did, it would be trouble.

If she did, Asher might end up passing out or worse.

If Elizabeth applied any more pressure with those fingers, with a force he couldn't resist, it would be the end of him.

Her gaze was still fixed on Asher. Minutes passed, but she....

"Uh..."

She just kept staring at him, with the same intense look as always.

"What's...?"

Plank.

A soft knock knocked Asher back a step, however....

"Hey... That hurts."

The blow was soft, but still painful.

Elizabeth stood up on the glass table and sat on the edge, her gaze still fixed on him.

"Why do women act like that?"

It was a single thought, however, Elizabeth seemed to notice him and then his voice came.

"You are equal to all men."

"..."

What do you mean?

"Uh..."

However, Asher didn't understand anything.

Despite that, Elizabeth's voice came back.

"Mmm... Being honest, you're very handsome, cute and adorable at times, but..."

Her voice stopped and Asher watched Elizabeth as her words confused him.

"Me, adorable...? I never expected anything like that."

In fact, he had never considered himself adorable, or anything like it, to be seen that way.

However, it was unexpected.

That those words came from Elizabeth, someone practically emotionless, surprised him.

Asher looked at her, quizzical.

"You're usually such a jerk."

"..."

At that moment, Asher's head exploded into several thoughts as his face paled.

"That... Isn't true."

"Yes it is. You should see yourself... Idiot."

"..."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

He really was an idiot.

Maybe sometimes you could say he did something idiotic, however, he wasn't really like that, was he?

Asher, completely shocked, asked:

"That's impossible."

It was impossible. The real idiot had always been Encrid, not him. That's how Asher had always thought of it, but this changes a lot of things.

Or was he really being looked at as an idiot?

If so, then...

"No, no, that can't be.... I'm not an idiot, am I?"

"I said you are and you will be."

"..."

"Haa..."

Asher sighed heavily.

Those words... they had hurt his pride.

He considered himself a genius at everything, yet this was his flaw.

An idiot.

But what was it that made him look like an idiot?

"Why am I?"

"Because you don't know anything about feelings."

"Feelings...? What do you mean?"

"See?"

"..."

He turned his gaze to the passing cadets, and then his voice came.

"Feelings, like..."

"Hmm? For example, try to fall in love with a girl."

"..."

Maybe Elizabeth thought him an idiot, but Asher knew what she meant by "falling in love" with a girl. He wasn't an idiot at that, he definitely wasn't.

"Impossible... I don't know anything about that sort of thing, I've never even tried, let alone experienced it. I barely have any emotions."

"It's like this."

"How useless, you can't do something that easy."

"..."

However, she didn't respond to that and then Asher tried to avoid her.

"Hehe, what an idiot. Then let's make a bet."

"Bet?"

"Yes, that's right."

Asher looked at Elizabeth's words with interest.

If it was about betting, then he was ready without hesitation.

Betting was his best friend, he was confident in winning any bet, whatever it was, he won them all.

No matter what bet he had ever made, they all turned out right. They even went so far as to call him "The Betting King," a title earned for the highest rate of winning bets.

Asher was confident this time.

"I hear you."

"How interesting... So you like gambling. We're on the same side, kid."

A smile appeared on Elizabeth's lips, as her curiosity peaked at the sight of Asher.

Truly, these two liked gambling.

Then, Elizabeth's words came out, and a wide, mischievous smile, with a plan in mind, came across her face.

"If you're not an idiot in feelings and don't know anything, then..."

"..."

Asher knew where this conversation was going.

However, there was no turning back.

He was the king of gambling, the one who had never lost.

So why the fear?

Asher looked at Elizabeth with great self-confidence.

No matter what it was about, he would win this bet.

"The bet is simple and fairly easy at this point."

"What is it?"

"Try falling in love with your friend, Gloriana."

"..."

"What... was that?"

His only thought and the only words he least expected to hear were what Elizabeth actually suggested.

In fact, it was a big deal.

Falling in love with someone.

A topic Asher had never touched on before, never even heard of it.

It was a space where he simply had no idea how to act.

This bet...

He was lost, without a second's hesitation.

***

-Scene change.

Eight o'clock at night. It was time for the "important date" Gloriana had mentioned to Asher earlier.

At this hour, Asher was wearing his usual clothes: modern, but simple.

Although it was simple, with a black jacket and black pants, it was comfortable.

Currently, he was in the same coffee shop where he had spent most of the day.

Of course, she had spent some time in her room and in the library, a few hours, but most of the time she was in the cafeteria.

Before he knew it, the hours had passed, and eventually he returned to the cafeteria.

It was open all night.

There was no problem with being here late at night, however, it was not recommended.

If you were out it meant you were a slacker and didn't train.

Asher then looked at the time.

It was 8:16. He had returned to the coffee shop less than ten minutes ago and had ordered the same coffee as usual.

"Why don't you change the bet?"

"I won't."

"What if I lose?"

"Then you'll do whatever I say."

"That's a joke, right?"

Who knows what Elizabeth would do?

If it was the kind of situation where she made him her slave, Asher couldn't stand it.

However, Elizabeth being Elizabeth, who knows what she would do with him?

Just the thought of it sent shivers down his spine.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Ah, no...it's nothing."

As if reading his thoughts, she spoke.

"If you do everything I tell you, you don't have to be afraid...I'm not doing anything wrong, you know."

So why did she have a smile on her face as she spoke those words?

Asher felt fear instinctively at her words.

That woman...she was terrifying.

She was not to be trifled with; otherwise, she would do something bad to you. Honestly, it was the same with Oriana.

However, Elizabeth was showing something even more sinister towards Asher, surpassing even Oriana.

After a few minutes, the door to the cafeteria opened, revealing a beautiful girl with silver hair and red eyes. As her skirt swished gently, you could tell it was the academy uniform.

The girls wore a skirt and shirt similar to the boys. Both uniforms shared the same color and style, but instead of the men's pants, the girls wore skirts.

Gloriana walked over and sat down across from Asher.

Asher, however, was still immersed in thought.

"This bet is very difficult, but it wouldn't be so bad to do this too."

Actually, Asher was hesitant to follow through with the bet.

First of all, if he really wanted to make Gloriana fall in love, he would do it when he was ready, but that wasn't his true intention.

It was a bet Elizabeth had proposed.

But why was the bet to make Gloriana fall in love?

Asher then asked himself a single question:

"Would it have something to do with Gloriana?"

Perhaps Elizabeth had noticed something about Gloriana that he hadn't seen.

So why had Elizabeth initiated the bet about falling in love with Gloriana?

What was the point?

Asher decided to cut to the chase and asked:

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Uh, well..."

Was she nervous or was it just her imagination?

Asher noticed that she really wanted to tell him something important, though....

"I was wondering if..."

Her voice cut off again.

But at that moment...

"This is really annoying."

Asher looked at Eliza, who was over Gloriana's shoulder.

"Hey, brat, she's thinking about..."

"I was thinking if you wanted to go to a dungeon with the others... hehe."

"..."

A dungeon? Was that really what it was for?

Although, looking at Gloriana's reaction, it was obvious that she was actually going to say something else.

And that something else was what Eliza had been about to mention, but Gloriana had interrupted her.

"All right."

Elizabeth and Eliza simply looked at the two with some anger on their faces, thinking only one thing:

"It's impossible to bring these two closer together."

Honestly, that was the thought of both fairy sisters....