A Third-Rate Villain Tries Her Best Today 36

Chapter 36: My Wish

“Y-yes?”

Sue quickly lifted her head. Leo’s face was right in front of her.

His signature tanned skin. Small, navy blue pupils and drooping eyes. And his dark blue hair, parted neatly.

For some reason, she realized for the first time, under the bright sunlight, that each of his features seemed strangely mismatched.

Leo, who had been staring at her, smiled wryly. Had he been caught thinking about something else? But he didn’t reprimand her. He simply spoke.

“Has the theme for this year’s September Festival been decided yet?”

“The September Festival?”

Sue asked back, and Leo nodded.

“Yes. I heard it’s a festival held at Full Bloom Academy. They decide on a theme every year. I’m curious.”

“I see.”

“Last year’s theme was darkness, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Last year was darkness, but…”

Sue trailed off as she affirmed his words. He seemed to be quite interested in the September Festival, knowing even this information. But there was nothing she could tell him right now.

“I don’t know what the theme is this year. They announce it to the students after school starts.”

“Ah, right.”

“Yes. So I’ll let you know when it’s decided.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Leo murmured. Sue chuckled wryly, watching him look back at the canal.

Birds chirped in the surrounding trees. It was hot and humid, but not unbearable.

“Ah, there’s a carriage shop over there.”

As they walked, Leo pointed to a carriage shop inside the street.

Carriage shops were mobile shops that were set up inside carriages. In other words, they were like food trucks.

“Would you like to take a look?”

Sue nodded without hesitation at his suggestion. She had never bought anything from a carriage shop before, so she was curious.

They entered the street and looked at the items displayed in the carriage shop, one by one. Various types of accessories were neatly arranged on the walls of the carriage, which were used as tables. There were earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more, the designs more diverse than she had expected.

The accessories were intricately crafted, but they didn’t look expensive. They were probably made of imitation gemstones instead of real ones. It wasn’t strange, considering the main customers of carriage shops were commoners rather than nobles.

‘This is…’

As she was looking at the items on display, a bracelet caught her eye. It was a bracelet with blue gemstones arranged in a wave-like pattern.

‘It’s… too cheap to give to Noel as a gift.’

But she ended up buying it anyway. Not as a gift, but as a souvenir to decorate her room.

Leo didn’t seem interested in accessories, so he waited patiently beside her.

“Thank you, miss!”

After buying a few accessories, including the bracelet, they left the shop.

“You must be tired from walking for so long. Shall we take a break?”

Leo suggested as soon as they reached the canal. Sue, who was starting to feel exhausted, obediently followed him to a bench and sat down. There was a comfortable silence between them. Leo didn’t chatter aimlessly like he usually did.

Sue closed her eyes for a moment and listened to the sounds around her.

The clatter of carriages. The cheerful voices of children playing. The rustling of leaves. The chirping of birds beneath her feet. The cool, flowing water of the canal.

She opened her eyes again. The scenery was the same.

‘Ah, right. This is Löhn.’

She wasn’t sure if she had forgotten, or if she had never known in the first place. It was a strange feeling, as if a cool wave had washed over her heart. Everything felt warm and comforting. And languid.

“Lady Byron.”

Leo called out to her. He was staring at the white clouds floating in the sky.

“What do you think of Raines?”

“Huh?”

Sue turned her head abruptly at the unexpected question, her brow furrowed without her realizing it. Leo, who saw her expression, quickly explained, his face a strange mix of emotions, neither smiling nor crying.

“No, I apologize. I didn’t mean it in a strange way… You two are close, right? So I was just curious about what you thought of him as a person.”

Ah, so that’s what he meant.

“Sir Raines…?”

She didn’t know what Leo was trying to do by asking her opinion of Noel, but it wasn’t a question she couldn’t answer.

Sue thought about Raines Noel. And about what she thought of him.

After a long pause, her hand covering her mouth, Sue finally spoke. Her voice was uncertain.

“…First of all, Sir Raines and I aren’t as close as you might think. I just want us to be.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

Leo tilted his head.

“…Ah, never mind. I do consider him a friend.”

Leo looked even more confused. Sue, avoiding his gaze, tried to explain, struggling to find the right words.

“I don’t have many friends. And then Noel came up to me and said he wanted to be friends… It was the first time that happened. So I’m grateful. Noel is always sociable, cheerful, and positive.”

Honestly, she hadn’t really felt a sense of closeness with Noel, the kind she would feel with a ‘friend’. If anything, she felt that with Leo. But she was grateful to Noel for reaching out to her, and she wanted to be friends with him. Even if he had impulsively approached her to get closer to Enzhe, Noel was still someone she was grateful for.

“So Noel… Ah, Sir Raines. I think he’s a good person.”

I hope Noel thinks so too.

Sue smiled brightly.

“I see.”

Leo smiled back, seemingly satisfied with her answer. His usual wry smile felt strangely different today.

“I would like it if you could be friends with Raines.”

“…May I ask why?”

“Of course.”

Leo nodded and spoke softly.

“I was hoping Raines would have a close friend he could rely on.”

“Sir Raines has many other close friends, though?”

“Haha, that’s true. But I thought you would be someone Raines could rely on, Lady Byron. Our relationship has become strained lately, and I have my own goals to pursue, so I can’t exactly stalk him every day, even though I’m incompetent.”

Indeed.

Sue understood. It was a statement he could only make as someone who was essentially Raines Noel’s servant. And judging from the circumstances, it seemed like Sue was the only noble he knew, so he could only ask her to look after Noel.

But the problem was that the person he had asked was none other than Sue Byron.

“I would be relieved if you could be friends with Raines, Lady Byron.”

“Haha… Is that so?”

Sue felt her face flush at Leo’s firm statement. How many people had ever trusted her this much? She couldn’t bring herself to refute his words, despite the protests bubbling up inside her. She just smiled vaguely.

“You are definitely someone Raines can rely on, Lady.”

Rely on?

I’m not someone anyone can rely on.

I’m the one who wants to rely on someone. Really.

“…Ah, but what is your goal, Sir?”

She didn’t want to say things like “Leave Noel to me” or “I’m completely useless” in this situation, so Sue deliberately changed the subject, picking up on another part of Leo’s words.

“My goal?”

Leo asked back, and Sue nodded vigorously.

“Yes! Come to think of it, you’ve never told me what you’re doing in the capital. So you have a goal.”

Leo had said that he had trained as a knight when he was living outside the capital. But he had also said that he had come to the capital without even receiving the rank of squire, and he didn’t seem to be training as a knight now. And he wasn’t socializing with other nobles, aside from Sue.

She had occasionally wondered what he was doing in the capital, and now she had a chance to ask.

“My goal, you say… My goal…”

Leo trailed off. He was hesitating.

How should I say it?

How can I make her understand?

After a brief pause, Leo spoke again. His wry smile pierced through Sue’s red eyes.

“…It’s not grand enough to talk about, but it might have already been achieved.”

“….”

Sue frowned, confused by his vague answer.

What is he talking about…?