Lavinia’s sudden question left Liyami utterly stunned.
She hadn’t expected Lavinia to already know the very thing she’d wanted to keep hidden. When had Lavinia found out?
Liyami began to recall what had just happened, trying to figure out how she’d given herself away to the other side.
But the more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t keep her composure. She hadn’t realized how foolish she’d been just now, not even managing her own expressions well. No wonder Lavinia had noticed.
After all, if Lavinia couldn’t pick up on something like that, she wouldn’t deserve to call herself an archer.
And now, realizing that her thoughts had been exposed to Lavinia, Liyami didn’t react as flustered as she’d imagined she would. In fact, she felt oddly calm.
At first, Liyami wondered why she was so calm about it, but after thinking it over, she understood the reason for her peace of mind.
It was probably because Lavinia had just acknowledged her current body—so she hadn’t panicked.
With that thought, Liyami decided not to hide anything from Lavinia anymore and spoke her true thoughts directly.
“…That’s right, that’s exactly what I’m thinking right now.…What do you think about it?”
Although Liyami sounded rather confident at first, she quickly grew hesitant as she uttered the second sentence, as if seeking Lavinia’s opinion one more time.
“Me? What opinion could I have? It’s your choice—I’m damn well going to respect it.”
Fortunately, Lavinia’s stance hadn’t changed at all. She still supported Liyami, and this made Liyami let out a silent sigh of relief.
But right after, Lavinia’s next sentence made her tense up again.
“Did you tell Colin and the others about this?”
Faced with this question, Liyami instinctively wanted to gloss it over. But remembering Lavinia’s supportive attitude, she chose to tell the truth.
“…No, only you and Sifney know. Colin and Elinor still don’t know about it.”
Lavinia believed Liyami’s words without the slightest doubt.
She lowered her head and murmured, “Sifney already knows… So that’s why she was acting like that earlier? That’s the reason? Colin and Elinor don’t know yet…”
After mumbling for a bit, Lavinia looked up and met Liyami’s gaze again.
“Why didn’t you tell Colin and Elinor about this?”
“…I haven’t had the chance yet.”
Liyami spoke honestly, but this time Lavinia seemed a bit skeptical.
“Is it really just that you haven’t had the chance? Or… is it that you’re not ready to say it yet?”
“…What you said might be true, but so what? Am I not allowed to be afraid of what could happen after I say it? Isn’t that a perfectly normal feeling? I think it’s normal.”
Liyami didn’t deny Lavinia’s guess, but she still emphasized that her feelings were normal and shouldn’t be blamed. She went on, “Besides, it’s not like I’ll never say it—I’m just saying it a little later. That can’t really have much of an effect, right?”
Lavinia didn’t want to linger on this topic for too long. She changed the subject.
“All right, it seems you really do want to continue this way. Then… you must already know about that special relationship between Colin and Elinor, right? Even so, you still want to keep going?”
“Of course! What does whether I change back or not have to do with Colin and Elinor’s special relationship? It’s not like I’ll get in their way!”
At Liyami’s answer, Lavinia seemed completely prepared, countering immediately: “Of course it matters. You know it as well as I do—you’re not just planning to simply keep things as they are, are you? You’ve got other thoughts, right?”
“I…”
Liyami wanted to argue, but found she couldn’t say a word. Lavinia’s words struck right at the true feelings buried deep in her heart.
She really didn’t want to just keep things as they were—she wanted to be with Colin… But reality simply didn’t allow it. The kind of relationship Colin and Elinor had was something a mere friend like her could never interfere in.
Lavinia didn’t let her get the words out and continued, “Don’t tell me you don’t have those thoughts. Surely you know why Elinor has been so aggressive lately? She used to be such a quiet, reserved person, but now she’s so proactive, always dragging Colin around everywhere. Don’t tell me you don’t know why she’s acting that way?”
Without waiting for Liyami’s response, Lavinia laid out the reason herself.
“That’s obviously because she feels threatened! Don’t forget, even back when I was dating Colin, she never got this worked up. Why? Because Colin never actually had feelings for me, so Elinor could stay at ease. But this time? Your relationship with Colin has already surpassed what happened when I went out with him—that’s why Elinor can’t sit still, trying everything to stop it.”
Lavinia paused, looking at Liyami’s increasingly dazed face. She condensed what she wanted to say into a few sentences.
“So, not only do you have feelings for Colin, but there’s a real possibility that Colin also has feelings for you—that’s why Elinor’s so anxious. She’s not even bothering to hide it, just showing you outright hostility.”
Hearing all of this, Liyami felt dizzy. It wasn’t just from learning the true reason Elinor was now so opposed to her, but from realizing that Colin might also have feelings for her.
To put it simply, Colin might actually like her.
But how was that possible?! Colin and Elinor had made a promise long ago—if he really had those feelings, wouldn’t that mean—chea, chea… No, that can’t be true. There’s no way Colin would feel that way! Lavinia must have gotten it wrong. Yes, that must be it!
Just imagining for a moment that Colin might like her, Liyami found it unbelievable. She quickly forced those fantasies away, trying to deny the possibility. Unfortunately, Lavinia didn’t give her the chance.
“Don’t deny it! The facts won’t change just because of what you think! Whether Colin likes you or not, you definitely have feelings for him, right? In this situation, by choosing to continue living with a female body, you’re bound to face these feelings. You can’t run from them.”
Seeing Liyami still struggling with her emotions, Lavinia spoke her final words—her last question.
“No matter what kind of relationship Colin and Elinor have, once you choose not to change back, you can’t keep interacting with them the way you used to. When that time comes, what kind of feelings will you have when talking and spending time with them?”
“…Even so, do you still insist on continuing like this? Even if there’s a high chance things won’t turn out the way you want?”
Lavinia’s words left Liyami utterly silent.
She said nothing more, didn’t move at all, simply stood there motionless, as if time itself had come to a halt.