Chapter 93
“Your expression seems brighter lately. Did something good happen?”
When asked curiously about why she had been smiling lately instead of her usual serious demeanor during experiments, Kirine answered casually.
“Well, everyone has good days sometimes.”
“What happened?”
“You don’t need to know.”
Just as she was pushing away her colleague’s face, which had drawn close with curiosity, another colleague handed her a letter. Kirine thanked them and checked who it was from.
“…”
It was from Vincent Holly.
Normally, she would have eagerly opened such a letter, but now she felt hesitant.
“Who’s it from that’s making you so serious?”
“It’s nothing.”
Not feeling like reading its contents right away, Kirine covered the sender’s name and returned to focusing on her experiments.
But her concentration was broken, and she finally let out a small sigh.
‘Haah…’
In the end, she hadn’t even seen Vincent off when he left.
Though she had clearly expressed her feelings to Vincent, she couldn’t bring herself to face him again and had ended up avoiding him cowardly.
‘I should have at least said goodbye properly.’
Though she regretted it now, she knew she would have made the same choice even if given another chance.
Just as she was drooping her shoulders with these complicated feelings—
“Kirine.”
Her colleague beside her tapped her arm, gesturing with their chin toward something behind her.
Wondering what it was, she turned around to find Reilly standing right behind her with a bright smile.
“Oh? What brings you here?”
“I wanted to see your face.”
“…?”
Kirine tilted her head at the matter-of-fact answer.
She couldn’t understand why Reilly would say she missed her when they had just seen each other last evening. But she didn’t question it and left the laboratory with Reilly.
“Did you have something to tell me?”
Kirine asked curiously as soon as they entered the greenhouse, which was suitable for private conversation.
“You can speak casually with me.”
“Then why don’t we both speak casually?”
Reilly asked with sparkling eyes, as if she had been waiting for this suggestion. Faced with such an eager look, Kirine couldn’t possibly refuse.
“Alright.”
Despite her halfhearted response, Reilly brightened up and sat down slowly. Kirine also sat opposite her, waiting for what Reilly had to say.
“What do you like about my brother?”
Kirine was struck silent by the unexpected question.
“What?”
“I asked what you like about my brother.”
“…”
Like brother, like sister—their direct way of speaking was exactly the same.
“Ah, was I too direct?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Seeing Reilly belatedly checking her reaction, Kirine smiled silently and shook her head.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t taken aback, but she preferred this direct questioning to beating around the bush.
‘But is it that obvious that I like Ares?’
Just as she was feeling somewhat embarrassed that even Reilly, whom she hadn’t known for long, had noticed, she suddenly remembered the day she started seeing Ares differently.
“Money, money, money. She’s really too obsessed with money.”
A few months ago, she had accidentally overheard people talking about her. They were all whispering about how money-obsessed she was.
At that moment, Kirine, who had been about to step in and say something, had sighed briefly and turned away. She hadn’t wanted to waste her time getting involved.
But an unexpected person had stepped up.
“Who doesn’t like money? Do you hate money?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Don’t say behind someone’s back what you can’t say to their face. It makes you look pathetic.”
Unexpectedly, it had been Ares who stepped in.
Kirine, who had been watching the scene in a daze, had quickly left before being noticed.
‘Why…’
She couldn’t understand why Ares, of all people, had defended her.
After that, Ares had defended her several more times. At first, she had dismissed it as him being nosy, but by the second and third time, it became hard to ignore.
“He’s kinder than I thought… That’s why I started liking him.”
It was her honest feeling, hard to express.
But Reilly looked at Kirine as if she had lost her mind before bursting into laughter.
“In all my life, that’s the first time I’ve heard someone call that guy kind. He must treat you differently.”
Her little brother, who used to follow her around when he was young, had grown up to be prickly and completely lacking in cuteness.
“As you know, Ares isn’t normal.”
Reilly finally began to slowly explain what she wanted to say.
“He hates physical contact with people, hates mixing with them. He just doesn’t like people in general.”
Perhaps because the trauma from that incident had been so severe, he extremely avoided contact with others. Sometimes it was so bad he would faint, making it impossible to even suggest treatment.
All they could do was wait until Ares found his stability.
“But when he’s with you, he looks comfortable.”
Fortunately, as time passed, Ares returned to a level where he could lead a relatively normal life. He gradually adapted to meeting other people.
But he found physical contact with women, except for his mother and sister, utterly horrifying.
It was a relief that you were the only one he didn’t seem uncomfortable with.
“I wanted to ask you to take care of him in the future.”
Worried this might burden Kirine, Reilly carefully gauged her reaction.
“Even though I think you’re too good for him.”
***
Though she hadn’t said it directly, it was clear she was acknowledging Kirine and Ares’s relationship.
True, they hadn’t been close long enough to warrant such talk, but there was nothing wrong with it either.
“What did you talk about with Reilly?”
It wasn’t long after parting with Reilly when she ran into Ares before even reaching the laboratory. He must have already heard about their conversation.
“Nothing much.”
“Tell me even if it was nothing much.”
Though she tried to brush it off casually, Ares clearly wouldn’t let her pass until he heard everything.
Seeing his expression tense with apparent nervousness, Kirine let out a short laugh.
“She said I’m too good for you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s something like that.”
“What is it?”
When Ares persisted, grabbing her arm as she tried to brush it off, Kirine finally had to answer.
“She asked me to take care of you. Happy now?”
Only when she looked up at him as if asking if he was satisfied did Ares nod with his tense expression.
Watching him intently, Kirine carefully asked.
“Are you okay with it?”
“With what?”
“Well…”
She trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it, then swallowed dryly before revealing her thoughts.
“As you know, I’m not from a noble family, I’m ordinary. No, even calling myself ordinary is presumptuous. I don’t even have parents.”
Though she was confident she wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of ability, she couldn’t feel at all proud when comparing her family background.
“Are you really okay with that?”
Even as she asked, Kirine felt tense, her mouth going dry.
Though she wished he would say something, Ares just quietly looked down at her.
Soon, a low voice came through his thin lips.
“Isn’t that even more impressive?”
Before she could ask what he meant, Ares continued.
“It means you achieved everything on your own.”
Kirine stared up at Ares, frozen by his unexpected words. Seeing her expression, Ares let out a small laugh.
“My sister was right.”
“Huh?”
As Kirine tilted her head at the sudden statement—
“That you’re too good for me.”
Ares spoke as if it were completely obvious, then gently cupped Kirine’s cheeks with both hands.
“I think you’re too good for me too.”
nvmix1
Are yall about to kiss?? Im here for it