If They Get Obsessed, I’m Doomed - Chapter 36
RP: Haebaragi_syk
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Chapter 19.1
As the number of hearts increased in real time, Ariel blinked her eyes and stared at the system window.
‘…Suddenly? Why?’
Without any apparent reason or even meeting him face to face, his favorability has increased out of nowhere. She even thought she might have seen it wrong. Still, no matter how many times she looked, Skylar’s hearts were not just one and a half, but two.
There was nothing she had done immediately… if there was anything, it was just picking up the bracelet, and that was a while ago as well.
“Is he deeply moved all of a sudden?”
Although it was a bit out of the blue, in any case, it was a good outcome. The goal was three hearts. Now that Skylar’s favorability rating was two, she was only one heart away from the goal.
Still, Ariel wasn’t entirely pleased.
While it was good that she had filled two hearts, she still didn’t really understand Skylar’s preferences or anything like that. In fact, it was only natural since she hadn’t known them for that long. It had been just over a week at best since they got to know each other.
So, Skylar’s affection could drop again at any time.
‘As long as nothing unusual happens from now on… as long as we continue like this, it’s okay.’
Even if she thought so, Ariel didn’t have a good feeling about it. In the first place, the outlook had never been good… and even after experiencing the targets, the future still seemed dark. Just looking at the Crown Prince’s personality, the future ahead looked bleak.
Taking a deep breath, she stiffened her expression.
“Let’s be positive. Think positively.”
Just as she muttered so, her phone vibrated again.
Bzzzzzzz—
Ariel flinched and shuddered as the notifications continued to come in.
‘…What happened again?’
Her eyes, filled with fatigue rather than curiosity, met the newly opened system window.
‘Who…?’
The location of Skylar, who was nearby, hasn’t changed, and Devoncia wasn’t in this building. It was a new approach notification.
The subsequent window resolved her question.
『 Racine di Solem
▷ Favorability towards you: — (He’s not interested in you.)
▷ Current Location: Imperial Palace’s Central Building — 1st Floor West Corridor. 』
Just as Ariel hurriedly tried to hide her phone, a figure, which cast a long shadow, brushed past her.
She noticed his presence belatedly and turned her head. Her gaze caught the long, braided blonde hair. The back of an unfamiliar man disappeared down the corridor in the blink of an eye. It was a speed that one would believe even if he were a ghost.
‘He’s not even running fast, but how can he move at that speed?’
While marveling at his incredible movement, she belatedly realized that she hadn’t yet been able to hide the cell phone in her hand.
‘…He probably didn’t see it, right?’
A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.
The sounds emitted by the phone and the screen displayed on it were only audible and visible to Ariel herself. However, the phone’s exterior could be seen by others… and if he had seen it, he could certainly be curious.
In a world where there were at least fifty thousand types of magic tools, there wasn’t much reason to be overly suspicious. In addition, even if it fell into someone else’s hands, the contents wouldn’t be discovered since she was the only one who could see it.
So, if it were stolen or lost, she would only have to find it again.
“It’s… it’s okay. It’s not bad. It’ll be fine.”
Ariel thought positively, relying on the description in his profile window, 『 * Be cautious of his disregard of others. 』
Killing the anxiety and worry that had crept in, she concealed her phone in her pocket.
Now, she really wanted to return to the Count’s residence. Even though a brief curiosity crossed her mind about why Racine had come to the palace, her body was too tired to pay more attention. Living indoors all the time had already left her physically drained, and it had been exhausting to jump into the river.
After turning off the screen, she left behind his fading portrait.
As Ariel hastened her steps to leave the palace, Racine headed in the opposite direction. His legs, which had been moving at ghostly speed, gradually slowed down.
Reaching his destination, he recalled Ariel passing by as he opened the door. He didn’t expect to run into her again at a time when access to the imperial palace was strictly controlled due to the visit of the Grand Duke, a southern hero who had returned in secret. It was unexpected. However, that was all he felt about her. He had no other interest.
Racine’s attention was drawn to something other than the girl herself.
‘She was carrying something strange.’
He recalled the white, rectangular object that had been in the Princess’s hand earlier. It was larger and thicker than a playing card, but it was thin for an object with more complex functions.
It was unusual, if anything, but it didn’t seem threatening.
‘What could it be?’
He was curious about the object but not eager enough to investigate it.
As he entered the reception room, even his brief curiosity about the object disappeared. After he closed the door behind him and walked over to the figure sprawled on the sofa, the man who had been lying down turned his head. A few disheveled strands of hair clung to his forehead.
It was Lexius, his close friend. He spoke just as he was sprawled out.
“Ray.”
“When did you arrive?”
“Everyone says the same thing when they see me.”
“I guess it’s because you’ve been away for a long time.”
“If you turn it around, it means you didn’t care enough to know when I arrived.”
Lexius muttered under his breath with a disgruntled tone.
It was probably not because he was genuinely curious but rather because he was annoyed by the obligatory questions about his well-being without any interest. Meaningless conversations tend to get tiresome with repetition, and since Racine’s question also fell into that category, his response was not only lukewarm but also filled with discontent.
In the end, Racine waved off the greeting. It was out of character for him anyway.
“What about the South? How was it?”
“It wasn’t great. There are so many corpses that I smell rotten.”
“Besides that, what’s new?”
Lexius’s gaze wandered through the air as Racine corrected himself. He was probably recalling his time in the South. His fingers, stretched out beneath the sofa, flicked something a few times.
“Not as good as I thought. I think I’ll have to go there one more time.”
“Then, the Academy?”
“Oh, I have to go. I have to.”
It was an answer that didn’t seem to have much enthusiasm. It wasn’t as if Lexius had any particular interest in the situation in the South, either. He was merely doing something that would benefit his reputation. Once his accumulated reputation reached a stable point, he would lead a carefree life with the wealth he had accumulated over the years.
‘Seeing that he’s been riding the Crown Prince’s line lately, maybe he won’t completely leave politics after all.’
The man in front of him, who had returned from the war, was close to the Emperor’s faction. It seemed that he could know his age and youth from seeing him reach out to the changing powers.
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