Chapter 144: Do you like him?

Tonight’s dinner was a quiet affair for everyone, probably because they were all captivated by the delicious food before them.

Eleanor also didn’t act as close to Colin as she had that morning; she simply ate her dinner in peace.

Colin behaved as usual as well, as if things between the two of them had returned to normal.

Liyami was puzzled by all this, but now she was far more focused on the food in front of her than the reasons why.

It wasn’t until after she’d finished dinner, played a few rounds of games with Lavinia, chatted a bit, and then returned to her bedroom to lie on her bed because it was so late, that she remembered the matter again.

But remembering was one thing; Liyami had no idea what to make of it.

She was starting to regret not continuing to follow them on the street earlier. If she’d kept up, maybe she would have learned what happened between Colin and Eleanor.

As Liyami was regretting this, someone knocked on her bedroom door.

Liyami was a bit confused—who would come to her room at this hour?

She got out of bed and slowly walked over to the door. She didn’t hesitate, simply opened it right away. It wasn’t carelessness on her part; she already sensed who was standing on the other side.

“Is something the matter, Eleanor?”

Seeing Eleanor standing at her door, Liyami asked in confusion. For her to come so late, was there something important she needed to say?

Eleanor didn’t reply right away. She slipped into Liyami’s room first, and then finally spoke: “Close the door. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Hearing that, Liyami’s brows furrowed slightly. She noticed that Eleanor’s tone wasn’t quite the same as usual, and her expression was rather serious as well. It really did seem like there was something important to discuss.

Seeing this, Liyami locked the door, took out a chair for Eleanor to sit on, and prepared to listen to what she had to say.

Eleanor didn’t stand on ceremony, sitting down immediately—she had no intention of talking while standing.

Looking at the utterly unknowing Liyami before her, Eleanor didn’t speak at once, but simply stared at Liyami in silence.

Feeling the weight of that silent gaze, Liyami felt her skin crawl a little. She was about to ask what Eleanor was doing when the other beat her to it.

“I know what you want to ask. I’m just observing you, to see if you’ll lie.”

“Lie?”

Liyami repeated, puzzled. “Why would I lie? What exactly do you want to say?”

Staring straight at Liyami without a hint of change in her expression, Eleanor said, “I want to know… what do you think of Colin?”

“What?”

Liyami was completely stumped by that question, unable to grasp Eleanor’s motive for asking it, and so she didn’t know how to respond.

Perhaps seeing her confusion, Eleanor didn’t stop there, but kept speaking.

“I know you’re confused as to why I’d ask this. Let me put it this way: don’t you want to know why I’ve been hostile toward you? Want to know why I’ve been acting so strangely these past few days? Isn’t that right?”

Hearing Eleanor voice exactly what was on her mind, Liyami grew nervous. But she quickly realized there was no point in hiding.

She looked at Eleanor again. The seriousness on her face wasn’t an act—she really did want to talk about this.

Seeing this, Liyami decided not to conceal anything and admitted what Eleanor had said.

“That’s right, I really do want to know about those things you mentioned. Can you explain them to me?”

At her words, Eleanor smiled faintly. “That depends on what you say. You have to answer my question first.”

Liyami frowned a little, recalling the question.

“What do I think of Colin? Do I have to say?”

Looking at Eleanor’s resolute eyes and serious face, Liyami could tell this answer mattered. She sighed, and reluctantly shared thoughts she never revealed to anyone else.

“If I had to say what I think of him, I’d say he’s truly a good person through and through. That might sound a little like an insult, but he really does deserve that assessment. Just like you, I rely on him a lot—he’s even the first person I could really call a friend. While we haven’t always been inseparable, we’re definitely close, and I really like taking walks and spending time with him. So if anything ever happened to him, I’d definitely help.”

“…That’s it?”

Eleanor raised her brows in surprise and puzzlement.

“…Yeah, that’s all,” Liyami replied calmly. As for whether those were truly her thoughts, she wasn’t so sure herself.

If it was back when she was still male, then those words would be perfectly fine. But now, Liyami couldn’t say for certain anymore.

And she hadn’t told Eleanor about that, because there was no need. Even she didn’t really understand her own feelings; better not to say anything and risk causing a misunderstanding.

Eleanor, sitting across from Liyami, naturally didn’t quite believe her, but Liyami was so calm that it didn’t seem like she was lying, and Eleanor had no way to keep digging.

But that was fine too. Whether or not Liyami was telling the truth didn’t matter, as long as her own goal was achieved.

With that in mind, Eleanor asked her last—and most important—question.

“Then… do you like him?”

As soon as Eleanor asked that, Liyami was so startled she nearly jumped up. If Eleanor hadn’t been watching her so closely, she might have done something really dramatic.

Forcing herself to stay calm, Liyami managed to ask back, “…What does that have to do with your supposed hostility and everything?”

She’d hoped to use that question to steady herself, but Eleanor answered without hesitation, “Of course it’s related.”

Eleanor watched the slight changes in Liyami’s expression and went on, “You want to know why I’ve been hostile toward you and so close to Colin these past few days, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“All right, I’ll tell you the reason.” Eleanor smiled faintly, as if remembering something wonderful, her eyes taking on a hint of longing.

“The reason I’m hostile toward you… is because I like him.”

There was a long silence. Faced with Eleanor’s answer, Liyami didn’t know what to say.

But honestly, she wasn’t surprised at all. After all, she’d been in Colin’s party for two years now; Eleanor’s feelings for Colin were obvious.

In fact, how could anyone not notice? Though Eleanor was quiet and reserved, almost everything she did revolved around Colin. The way she treated him was nothing like a normal friend, and it was easy to see that she liked him.

And it wasn’t just Eleanor in the party who liked Colin. Didn’t Lavinia make her feelings perfectly clear too? It wasn’t anything to hide—Colin was very popular, and there was nothing wrong with liking him.

So it wasn’t that Liyami didn’t know why Eleanor liked Colin. She just didn’t understand why Eleanor was bringing it up now.

Eleanor liking Colin, and her being hostile toward Liyami—how were those two things related? Liyami really couldn’t figure it out.