Chapter 141: Noble woman

Klein was sitting back slightly in his chair with one arm resting lazily against the table as he finally started eating.

Beside him, Lyra was sitting with a small spoon in her hand, slowly scooping into the dessert she ordered.

"You spent entire day with your date... just to end up eating dinner with me instead of her/"

Klein cut into his food and took a bite before answering. "I already spent time with her. This is just finishing what I missed."

Lyra glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "So I’m the backup plan,"

"If that’s how you want to see it."

For a few moments, the two of them simply ate in silence.

Lyra dipped her spoon into the dessert again, then paused slightly before speaking, "...How was it?"

"What?"

"Your date,"

Chewing his food, he spoke "It went great. I had a good time... she was cute."

Humming under her breath, she muttered "She must be interesting if you’re saying that."

With a nod, he replied "She definitely is."

At that moment, his phone vibrated, and Klein reached for his phone as the screen lit up in his hand.

"...Speak of the devil," he muttered under his breath.

Lyra’s eyes followed the movement out of instinct.

And the moment she saw the name on the screen, her pupils shrank.

’E-Evelyne...? Is it that Evelyne?’

Her grip on the spoon tightened unconsciously as her gaze flickered between the phone and Klein.

’Klein got popular in the academy and among the nobles and guilds after his duel with that Spear Saint...’

’Naturally... the Langford family should also have their eyes on him.’

’So... they sent Evelyne to woo him or what?’

Klein accepted the call and lifted the phone to his ear "Evelyne..."

On the other side, Evelyne’s voice came through "Did you have dinner?"

"I’m having it right now."

"I see... that’s good."

Klein smiled gently "Oh by the way, send me the photos you took earlier."

"Oh, sure, sure."

A few more words passed between them, then, after a short while, Klein ended the call.

The screen dimmed as he lowered the phone and placed it back on the table.

Klein picked up his fork again and continued eating.

Lyra, on the other hand, stared at her dessert for a second before finally taking another bite.

"...Evelyne..." she murmured, almost to herself at first, before her gaze shifted back to him.

"Is that Evelyne Langford from the Duke household?"

Klein turned his head slightly toward her, "Yeah. That’s her."

Her fingers tapped lightly against the handle of the spoon "I’m a little surprised you actually went on a date with the daughter of a Duke House."

Klein gave a small shrug, "It just happened."

There was a flicker of hesitation in her eyes before she spoke again, "...Are you interested in noble girls?"

With a shake of his head, Klein replied "Not particularly. If anything, I hate noble houses."

"They are idiots who wrap everything in status and politics."

"Most of what they do isn’t about people. It’s all about control, reputation, leverage... alliances."

"You can’t trust anything at face value with them. Every decision has something behind it, and every relationship has conditions."

Giggling, she muttered "..And yet you still went on a date with one. What if Evelyne is trying to date you for some ulterior motives."

Klein let out a faint chuckle at that, glancing back at her. "Yeah. but..."

His gaze softened in affection "Evelyne is quite different... Well, she first came to me with a political marriage, which I didn’t like."

"Then as you can see, we went on a date today... she is genuinely a great woman. I enjoyed my time with her."

He took another bite of his food before continuing, "She’s straightforward in a way unlike many other nobles."

"Even when the proposal was political, she didn’t try to hide it. And during the date... she was just comfortable to be around. No arrogance or forced elegance for the sake of appearance."

Lyra noticed the affection in his gaze and asked "...You sound like you actually like her."

"I do."

She took another spoonful of the dessert, chewing slowly as she processed his words.

"So the daughter of a Duke House proposes a political marriage, you reject the political part... and then she still goes on a proper date with you."

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye "Some of those cocky noble brats would’ve dropped you the moment you refused the alliance benefits."

Klein gave a small shrug "That’s why I said she’s different."

---

Lyra stood quietly in front of the mirror and looked at her face in fascination.

A face meant to be overlooked.

"...Beautiful..." she murmured under her breath.

She brushed her fingers along her cheek as if testing whether the illusion was still there.

Lyra frowned slightly at her own reflection.

"Like this?" she muttered, tilting her head faintly as she looked at every detail again.

"This face...?"

There was nothing remarkable about it.

Her gaze lingered on her own eyes for a moment longer before dropping slightly, "...He’s either blind or just saying whatever comes to mind."

But even as she said it, a faint flush colored her cheeks.

"...Idiot,"

*creak* At that moment, the door opened and Klein walked in casually.

Before she could even process what he was doing in her room, he dropped onto the bed and closed his eyes with a soft exhale.

Lyra blinked in confusion "...What are you doing?"

"Resting," he replied lazily.

"...In my room?" she asked in a sharp tone as she stepped closer to the bed.

"Why are you here?"

Klein shifted slightly, making himself more comfortable against the mattress "Because I’m tired."

Lyra’s eye twitched faintly "You have your own room. Go sleep there."

Klein let out a quiet breath, "Too far."

"...Too far? It’s the same floor."

"Still far,"

"...Get up," she said flatly.

"No."

"I said get up."

"And I said no."

Lyra took a step closer to the bed and looked down at him. "You’re really planning to sleep here?"

Klein shifted just enough to turn his head slightly, "Yeah."

Her lips parted slightly, as if she was about to say something else, then pressed together again.

After a moment, she let out a quiet sigh, "...If you start snoring, I’m throwing you out,"

Klein hummed faintly in response, already half-asleep.

Seeing this, she gripped her palm in irritation "This bastard."