Chapter 31 - 30: New Goal

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: New Goal

Caius looked up at her. The girl wore a loose nightgown, her hair a messy tangle as if she had just gotten out of bed. Stepping lightly in soft slippers, she carried a tray holding a few desserts and a steaming pitcher of milk. Lilia placed the items on the table, glanced around the room, and sat on Caius’s bed. Her movements were so natural that she seemed to be the true owner of the room.

Caius averted his gaze from her and looked at the desserts by his hand. Having not had a drop of water all day, his body was already protesting. But he wasn’t in a hurry to eat. "Father said no one is allowed in. If he finds out you brought me food, you’ll be implicated too."

"It wasn’t my idea," Lilia said, swinging her legs. "The Countess asked me to bring this." If possible, Lilia didn’t want to wade into these muddy waters. But what could she do? She was just a little maid.

Hearing her answer, Caius’s lips, which had just begun to curve upward, tightened into a straight line again. Seeing him fall silent, Lilia tilted her head. "Aren’t you hungry?"

"I’m alright," Caius replied in a flat tone.

"Don’t you like cake?"

"I don’t dislike it."

Lilia completely ignored his answer. "It doesn’t matter if you don’t like it." It was already late at night, and the kitchen had long run out of main courses. Lilia had lied, saying she was hungry and wanted a midnight snack, so the pastry chef, who was usually very fond of her, had made these. They were all her favorites. If Caius hadn’t gone without food the entire day, she wouldn’t have shared them with him.

Just as she was thinking this, as if seeing through her thoughts, Caius turned and offered the tray to her.

Lilia didn’t stand on ceremony, picking up the piece of chocolate cake she had been craving for a long time. Caius took a piece of chestnut cake. Lilia watched him as she ate. The young man kept his head down. He had prominent brow bones, a straight nose, and thin lips pressed into a cold line. Even after starving for a day, his movements remained calm and elegant—a noble temperament that seeped from his very bones.

Noticing her gaze, the young man looked up. Beneath his long, curly eyelashes were dark eyes as quiet as the night. And those dark eyes were now staring intently at her, filled with a heart-palpitating focus. Lilia was about to lower her head and look away when Caius asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

"I suppose," Lilia said nonchalantly. She naturally knew what he was referring to. "But don’t you think you acted a bit too high-profile?"

"You didn’t like it?"

It wasn’t that she didn’t like it. Lilia just wanted to see Griffin pay the price, considering he had ruined her plans. As for how he paid and what kind of price it was, she didn’t care.

"I just wanted to use this method to prove to you that I didn’t break my promise," Caius said, lowering his eyes. "If you didn’t like it..."

Suddenly, a slender, pale hand stretched out in front of him, holding a frosted blueberry. Caius froze. This was the first time Lilia had ever fed him. Suppressing his breath and trying his best to maintain a calm facade, he opened his mouth and bit into the tiny fruit. A touch of sweetness melted on the tip of his tongue. Caius’s eyelashes fluttered as he carefully checked Lilia’s expression.

The girl had gotten off the bed at some point and leaned in close to him. Seeing him eat the blueberry, Lilia rubbed the leftover frosting off her fingers and smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescents. "Is it good?"

Caius’s heart skipped a beat. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the sweetness on his tongue. "...It’s good."

"Then eat all of this. You’re not allowed to leave any behind." The girl stood up straight and walked toward the door. "I’ll bring you fresh ones tomorrow."

She opened the door just a crack and slipped out as silently as she had arrived. Before closing it, she waved at Caius inside the room, like a kitten bidding farewell to its owner.

CLICK. The door shut tight. Caius set down the cake in his hand. The corners of his lips quirked up, only to fall back down. He lowered his gaze, listening to the silence of the room.

There was no notification of an increase in Favorability. As expected, raising Caius’s Favorability was still too difficult, Lilia thought to herself. Everything he had done so far, whether it was helping her out of a jam or standing up for her, was only because she bore the "Beaumont" surname, not for her as an individual. Essentially, he was no different from those students who wanted to use her to climb the social ladder. Her previous judgment had been correct; continuing to try to capture Caius’s heart would only be a waste of time.

Returning to her room, Lilia didn’t turn on the lights. She fumbled in the dark and lay down on her bed. For the past few days, she had been thinking about Victor. According to her deductions, Victor’s Favorability toward her had actually met the requirement. She was just one step away from entering his personal main storyline. The previous "assassination" incident was likely the watershed moment dividing the "common route" from his "personal route." If Lilia had been able to participate and help Victor through the crisis, she could have officially entered his main storyline, and his fate wouldn’t be as uncertain as it was now. But she lacked experience and completely missed this crucial plot point. Therefore, she had to learn her lesson moving forward.

Lien Academy truly deserved its reputation as one of the story’s main stages. Aside from Victor, Lilia had actually encountered another capture target. Lilia disliked giving up halfway. As long as a situation wasn’t completely hopeless, she would usually lock onto a goal and see it through until she succeeded or hit a brick wall. So, even though she had discovered a third capture target, she only remembered his name and didn’t put contacting him on her schedule. Now that Victor was missing, given her strength and status, it was hard to say whether she could even find him. And even if she did, it remained unknown whether she could still enter his personal storyline after missing a major plot node. Perhaps it was time to try... shifting her target.

At Lien Academy.

"Have you guys heard? It seems a genius with A+ aptitude has appeared in the next class."

"You mean that kid from the Beaumont family? That guy is incredibly arrogant."

"Are you talking about the incident with the Freg family? Whether the Beaumonts actually did it is still up for debate. Even if the two families are at odds, would they really make it so obvious? Aren’t they afraid their political enemies will seize the opportunity to grab some leverage?"

"You don’t get it, do you? Maybe that’s exactly where their brilliance lies."

Neither side could convince the other.

"Hey! Lucian! What do you think? What exactly are the Beaumont family’s intentions?"

The young men, who had been in the midst of a heated discussion, all turned their heads to look at their companion surrounded in the center. He looked about eighteen or nineteen, wearing only a white shirt. Having just finished exercising, the top two buttons were undone, revealing sharply defined collarbones. Hearing the question, the young man smiled, his short blonde hair dazzling in the sunlight. His voice was pleasant, crisp like jade stones chiming in a spring. "I heard he’s coming to Zone S for classes tomorrow?"

"That’s right. It’s their first practical Magic class," someone replied, unable to hold back a laugh. "Speaking of which, Nick gathered a bunch of guys to block those brats at the door. He’s planning to firmly put them in their place."

"Seriously? Isn’t he afraid of being targeted by the Beaumont family?"

"If they lose in a head-on battle, even the Beaumonts won’t have a reason to make trouble," Lucian said. "That sounds interesting... Do you all want to go watch the show tomorrow? I’m quite interested in this Caius."