Magic Academy Mayhem: A Class Full of Maniacs - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Lomita had been seated for less than two minutes before she muttered, “I really don’t know what’s so great about that idiot Abel that made him worth entangling yourself with for so long.”

She looked a little awkward, her peripheral vision drifting toward Cynthia beside her. “Um… did you really break off your engagement with him?”

Cynthia had no idea why she was suddenly asking about this, but it was boring right now anyway. Playing along with her didn’t sound too bad.

“I did. Do you want me to announce it in public again?”

Lomita secretly studied her expression and, seeing that she didn’t look like she was joking, the corners of her lips curved up.

“At least you still have some brains. You didn’t come to your senses too late.”

Her voice was exceptionally sweet, but the words that came out weren’t exactly pleasant. Cynthia stared at her closely for a moment.

Her gaze was so intense that Lomita couldn’t ignore it even if she wanted to. “The match has already started. Why are you staring at me?”

“Oh, this?” Cynthia shifted her posture, crossing one leg over the other. Her gaze remained entirely on Lomita, her smile not quite a smile. “Perhaps you’re simply too beautiful. It’s a little hard to look away.”

“You…” Lomita instantly bristled, a blush spreading across her face at a visible speed. She stammered over “you” for a long while before finally managing, “…You’re insane.”

Cynthia didn’t deny it.

This girl didn’t speak nicely, but she didn’t seem malicious either. There was no need to make an enemy of her.

The gaze from the corner was far too obvious. Cynthia pointed in that direction with one hand. “Aren’t you going to let your friend come over? She seems very worried about you.”

Ladies-in-waiting were different from maids. Whether in the royal family or among the highest noble circles, the position of a lady-in-waiting carried a sense of honor in itself, making them special companions who were more like friends and assistants combined.

“…”

Lomita hadn’t expected her to be so sharp. A little embarrassed, she coughed dryly twice before gesturing for the girl in the corner to come forward.

However, not long after the other girl arrived, right after exchanging greetings, she said, “Miss Cynthia, our young lady truly means no harm. Ever since she watched your match a few days ago, she’s been looking forward to meeting you. She sincerely wants to be friends with you.”

Lomita: “??!”

The people around them looked over, and even Cynthia’s gaze gained a few teasing notes.

“Really? You want to be friends with me?” Her tone was especially alluring.

Lomita’s cheeks, the tips of her ears, and even her neck flushed scarlet in an instant. She had never expected to be exposed so cleanly. She quickly interrupted, “Ahhh, stop talking nonsense!”

“I don’t think she’s amazing at all! And I don’t like her face that much either!”

As if her seat had sprouted thorns, she shot to her feet and fled in panic.

Cynthia: …

Everyone present: …

Lena, the lady-in-waiting, smiled apologetically and hurried after her.
Outside the spectator stands.

Lomita glared gloomily at her lady-in-waiting. “Lena, you actually betrayed me. I’ll never forgive you.”

Lena had heard that line no fewer than a thousand times and remained unmoved. “Didn’t you want to get along well with Miss Cynthia, my lady? But with your attitude just now, she would have misunderstood you.”

Lomita frowned, a little depressed. “I wasn’t wrong. She’s clearly the daughter of a ducal house, yet she was always so timid and cowardly. After being humiliated by that idiot Abel so many times, she finally turned around and dumped him. Was I wrong to praise her for finally growing a brain?”

Ever since she was young, she had never been able to stand Abel’s arrogant, domineering, lawless, contemptuous attitude.

And she understood even less why the daughter of the mighty Valensidra Family would let herself be toyed with like that.

When they were children studying at the Imperial Academy, Lomita had once secretly helped Cynthia out a “little” because she couldn’t bear watching that group bully and target her.

In the end, not only did the teachers ignore it, but the letter she had someone send to the Ducal Mansion received no response whatsoever.

She could have let even that go. What infuriated her most was that the person being bullied never seemed to learn how to fight back. She even acted as if she didn’t care about her own situation at all. Lomita had been so angry that she eventually couldn’t be bothered anymore.

Thinking back now, before today, she and Cynthia had only ever exchanged a single sentence at a banquet.
Who knew when she had changed so much…

It was one thing for her to grow more and more beautiful, but she had actually learned to fight back, and she had become so strong. It was practically as if she were a different person.

Lomita thought back to the scene she had witnessed while watching the matches a few days ago, and a smile she herself did not notice surfaced on her face.

Seeing her young lady alternate between a stern expression, a furious one, and then a smile for no apparent reason, Lena felt utterly helpless. In the end, she said nothing.

Her young lady had favored red ever since she was little, so when she was studying at the Imperial Academy, she had paid special attention to Miss Cynthia because of her red hair.

After learning that the Crown Prince had been making others isolate and even bully Miss Cynthia, she had secretly run herself ragged, doing everything she could to help the other girl for an entire year… yet she had never once approached her.

Later, for some reason, she stopped paying attention to Miss Cynthia. Lena had thought she had simply lost interest. But ever since she heard that Miss Cynthia had taken the initiative to dissolve her engagement with the Crown Prince, her young lady had started bringing her up again.

She had also watched every single one of Miss Cynthia’s matches with great enthusiasm. One moment she would say Miss Cynthia was different from before, and the next she would say she should have dumped the Crown Prince ages ago.

After going on about it for so long, she had arrived at the arena early this morning and started looking for Miss Cynthia, even loudly declaring that she was going to make a friend this time.

And yet… the way she spoke was completely different from what she was thinking.

Anyone who did not know better would have thought she had gone there to pick a fight…

Lena sighed.

As expected, asking her young lady to make a friend on her own was still a bit too difficult. She only hoped Miss Cynthia would not misunderstand.

–

While those two were each lost in their own thoughts, Cynthia, on the other side, was suffering through a disaster.

The moment Lomita and Lena left, Richter, who was sitting beside Cynthia, said in a strange, cutting tone, “So it turns out Captain calls anyone she meets pretty, does she? Even stares like she can’t look away? You’re quite the smooth talker now.”

You Xia transmitted his voice to her. “Why does this kid sound so sour? Come to think of it, he usually clings to you too. Could he like you?”

Cynthia’s mouth twitched.

Like her? Was he insane?

If there were some kind of affection meter system, she could say with absolute certainty that his affection for her was less than ten percent.

What was a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old doing talking about liking someone?

Rather than calling it liking, it was more like this fox had gotten addicted to acting.

Before Richter could continue rambling, Cynthia turned to him with a smile. “I was only joking earlier. In my heart, you’re the prettiest.”

Since he loved acting so much, she would play along to the end.

Of course, that was only if he did not take the initiative to cause trouble.

Richter met those golden eyes, bright as the sun, and gave a cold scoff. “…Sweet talker.”

Cynthia pretended not to understand.

The other three were already used to the way the two of them interacted, so they remained silent.

Ignoring what the others might be thinking, Cynthia glanced in the direction Lomita had left, a hint of probing flashing through her eyes.

Did she simply want to make friends?

…Judging from her attitude and reactions, it did not seem like she was lying.

At present, the four great Duke families were as follows:

The North-Clavien.

The West-Valensidra.

The South-Belagren.

The East-Sedenipal.

In terms of military might, the North was naturally the strongest, while the West was unmatched in wealth and trade.

As for the South and the East, the former was rich in resources and population, with many divine ruins, and was known as the Empire’s second lifeline.

The latter was the strongest in intelligence and diplomacy. Its true strength was unknown, making it the most mysterious of the four great families.

The four kept one another in check, so it was hard to say who was stronger or weaker.

As an only daughter, Lomita would naturally inherit the position of Duke in the end. There was no downside to building a good relationship with her.

Her prickly, awkward little cat personality was not exactly annoying either. If she took the initiative to come over again later… coaxing her a little would not be so bad, would it?

“She’s been gone for ages, and Captain still can’t stop thinking about her. Why don’t you just chase after her?”

Cynthia sighed inwardly.

She had almost forgotten there was an even more temperamental and picky creature sitting beside her.

Afraid he would keep nagging, Cynthia withdrew her gaze and focused all her attention on the match in the arena, watching it with complete concentration.