I Will Return My New Brother - Chapter 160
“Marianne!”
Someone called me while I was half absent-mindedly walking the hallway.
“Orion.”
When I called his name calmly, he approached me and smiled.
“His Imperial Majesty sent me a message about the incident that happened in the academy. He praised you for calmly stopping the complicated incident that almost got out of han—”
“Orion.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry, but I will skip dinner. I don’t have much appetite.”
The smiling face slightly turned stiff.
“Why do you have no appetite again? Don’t tell me you have a fight with your friend?”
Looking at his worrying face, I shook my head.
“If it’s because of the problem with Rocke Merchant Guild . . .”
“Rany can take care of her problems herself. She can prove her innocence because the opponent won’t be able to do what she wants now.”
If it had not been for those who were after the Miller Duchy, she would have escaped this trap far earlier.
“Then why. . .”
“Just . . .”
I left Orion, who looked like he wanted to say more, to my room and closed the door.
Surprisingly, someone was waiting for me in my room, where no one was supposed to be.
I had no power to nitpick at him, so I just walked past him and sat on my bed.
“Are you coming and going as you please now? Is it okay to come into someone’s house like this?”
I didn’t know what he did, but the alarm magic, which was working normally, didn’t ring at all.
Zen reached out his hand to grab my chin and turned my face from side to side.
“Won’t you let go of this?”
Maybe I should have shouted at him.
“Why is your expression like this?”
“I don’t have any strength to argue with you. This is because I’m dizzy due to Rany’s problem.”
His green eyes shone brightly even in the dark.
The moment I met his eyes, I averted my own eyes without knowing.
“There’s no way this is because of Raynia’s problem. You were fine even after you had a talk with the Crown Prince.”
“. . .”
I kept my mouth shut in spite of the inquisitive gaze.
Even though there were many frustrating things, there was still something I had to confirm from Mom first.
Reaching out to Zen was something to do much, much later.
I opened my mouth as I was about to kick him out.
“Marianne!”
The voice of Orion, who was still wandering in the hallway, called me from outside the door.
Surprised, I instinctively reached out to block Zen’s mouth.
“Erm, you can delay your meal if you’re not feeling good. Even so, call for someone if you get hungry. I’ll tell the kitchen in advance.”
“Thank you for your consideration. I’ll do that.”
I felt Zen’s breath on my palms.
Based on his usual personality, he would have slapped my hands away from the start, but for some reason, he was only looking at me.
Orion’s voice continued faintly outside.
“Because you don’t feel good, I brought you news that you might like.”
“. . .”
“His Imperial Highness . . .”
I flinched at the unexpected title.
Meanwhile, Zen slowly grabbed my hands and put them down.
“. . . said you’re doing a great job, and thanks to you, the academy could immediately get into investigation without any confusion, and he also said he will give you a proper reward.”
“He doesn’t have to.”
“Therefore, I told him to give you the chance to sit on the golden chair and be paraded . . .”
My breathing stopped in an instant.
Zen placed his hand on my head as if telling me to calm down.
I felt like the blood in my whole body turned cold.
“. . . that was supposed to be given to the remarkable students at any cost! Since you couldn’t be the Lady of the Day at the hunting competition! This time for sure!”
“. . .”
I wanted to quickly get out.
I wanted to get out and grab Orion by collar, then bring him along to meet the Crown Prince and say it was a mistake.
There was only one reason why my feet didn’t move.
Because Zen was in front of me.
The moment I opened the door, everyone would certainly know about the mage that secretly entered the mansion.
Maybe this whole house would be turned upside down.
There was a faint smile on Zen’s face that I saw with my shaking eyes.
Is this fun to you?
Orion’s footsteps walking away were lively as if he was happy that he had done something for me.
I listened to the sound outside while holding my breath, and when I was convinced the presence had disappeared, I slowly moved away from Zen.
“Leave now. You might be slapped for real if you stay any longer.”
For the first time, my heart was now trying to coax me to hurt an old friend by using violence.
“You still haven’t told me.”
“What?”
When I asked annoyedly, he repeated it like a parrot.
“Why is your expression like that?”
Then I quietly exploded.
“Because of you, you! I’m not in a good mood because you securely hid the fact that the Crown Prince was the backing for you to enter the academy.”
It was best to mix up lies between truths to hide them.
And it was true that I was annoyed.
He talked about winning him over or whatever so openly.
Saying he will be his or whatever it was.
In the end, it was Zenin Arcadia who left the room for the Crown Prince to speak confidently like that.
“The Crown Prince said he would have you! You must be happy because you’re so popular!”
Even though I punched his back hard, he didn’t move even an inch.
Eventually, it was me who got tired from hitting his back until I was out of breath.
