“Then, Miss Liyakade, what do you think about love between girls?”
As soon as those words were spoken, Liyakade could feel the entire hall quiet down significantly.
Alice and Field also stiffened, holding their breath as they waited for Liyakade’s answer.
They realized as well—Liyakade had never talked about her own orientation before.
What if Liyakade didn’t actually like girls and just saw them both as close friends?
Wouldn’t their previous actions have troubled Liyakade?
That’s why the two of them cared so much about Liyakade’s upcoming answer.
Liyakade felt her whole body tense up, a little stiff all over.
She hadn’t expected Sistem to ask such a sharp question, and Liyakade didn’t know how to respond.
Yesterday’s play could be explained as just part of the plot, but today was different.
Today, the question was posed to Liyakade directly on stage, live and undeniable.
Fortunately, at least Sistem only asked for Liyakade’s opinion, not her actual orientation.
This much, Liyakade could answer.
“Hu—”
Liyakade took a deep breath and slowly spoke.
“I think love has nothing to do with gender.
It’s about whether two people are truly connected and sincere.
If two people truly love each other, that love can transcend gender, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with love between girls.”
“Mm, next question.”
Sistem just nodded, not expressing any opinion.
But before Liyakade could even catch her breath, an even sharper question came.
“Miss Liyakade, do you like girls or boys?”
“Ah?”
Liyakade couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
The previous question was manageable, but this one was clearly going too far.
Wasn’t this obviously invading her privacy?
“Eh? Isn’t it kind of rude to ask someone that?”
“What is Her Highness Sistem trying to do? She even specially nominated Miss Liyakade at the start, but now she’s picking on her?”
“Yesterday’s play too… Do you think Her Highness Sistem has some kind of… special fetish?”
At this moment, the Audience below the stage was also utterly confused, starting to murmur among themselves.
The earlier question about personal opinion was one thing, but now asking about actual orientation—how was someone supposed to answer that?
If Liyakade’s orientation was ‘normal,’ fine, but what if it was actually girls?
A forbidden love, hidden in the shadows, was now being exposed on stage.
How could Liyakade possibly answer?
“What is that girl trying to do!”
Field couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to rush up to stop everything.
She’d known nothing good would come from Sistem suddenly letting Liyakade participate.
Even if Field really wanted to know the answer, now wasn’t the time.
She couldn’t let Sistem keep humiliating Liyakade.
“Wait, Princess Field!”
Just as Field tried to get on stage to stop things, Alice grabbed her wrist tightly.
“Calm down! Her Highness Sistem doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”
Guokang Chapter
“Then what kind of person is she? I grew up with her. How could I not know what she’s like?”
Field tried to shake off Alice’s hand, but Alice’s grip was firm.
“Even though Princess Field and Her Highness Sistem grew up together, after your falling out, haven’t you both stopped understanding each other?
Maybe Princess Field is just prejudiced against her.”
Alice boldly questioned Field.
“I don’t know what Her Highness Sistem is really thinking, but I don’t think it’s about humiliating Miss Liyakade.
Otherwise, yesterday’s play wouldn’t have been so beautiful.”
“…You have a point. Maybe I really am biased against her.”
Field fell silent for a moment, recalling everything that had happened in recent days.
Perhaps Sistem truly didn’t have any malicious intent.
“Um, can I skip this question?”
Liyakade asked awkwardly.
“No, this is a necessary question for the Festival Flower selection. Please answer.”
Sistem shook her head, insisting on a reply.
Seeing Liyakade’s embarrassed look, the students below started to guess what her answer might be.
In this kind of situation, not answering was already an answer.
Sistem, sitting at the Judge’s table, smirked secretly.
How could she not see through her own Sister’s feelings toward Liyakade?
Although it shocked Sistem that Field liked girls, it was obvious that Field had feelings for Liyakade.
That gaze was not how you looked at an ordinary friend—especially that day when she assigned Field a role and mentioned there would be a kiss scene.
Even though they later changed it to just a kiss on the cheek, the original plan was a real kiss.
The fact that Field didn’t protest, and even got excited about it, said everything.
However, Sistem couldn’t figure out Liyakade’s true feelings.
That’s why she deliberately made Liyakade the Protagonist, then asked her opinion on love between girls, just to see her attitude.
Now it was time for the final question.
If Liyakade really liked girls—and if Field truly wanted to be with her—then she wouldn’t just face the students of the academy.
She’d have to face Field’s father—the King of the country.
If Liyakade didn’t even have the courage to admit her orientation in front of everyone at the academy, then it proved she was a coward.
How could Sistem trust a Liyakade like that to convince the King to let Field be with her?
Besides, Sistem had already paved the way for Liyakade.
Yesterday’s play had raised everyone’s threshold, showing the beauty of love between girls and preparing them mentally.
Now, even if Liyakade said she liked girls, the others could probably accept it.
Finally, there was the sudden change to a Final Four Free-for-All.
With Field’s strength, she couldn’t possibly defeat Liyakade alone.
That’s why Sistem planned to participate in the battle as well—to help Field defeat the others, then surrender, allowing Field to win the reward and pair up with Liyakade naturally.
With all the groundwork laid, the other students wouldn’t be too shocked by such a development.
That was Sistem’s plan.
Liyakade honestly felt like giving up the election, but if she quit, the Festival Flower would definitely be Alice or Field.
Either way, she’d be forced to love someone.
If she answered, she definitely couldn’t say she liked boys—because she really didn’t.
But if she admitted she liked girls, it would be a public coming out, essentially telling the whole academy that she was gay.
With both of them knowing this for sure, they’d start attacking her relentlessly.
If she was going to be pinned down anyway, why not let the storm hit harder?
“I… like girls.”
Liyakade’s expression was calm and her voice was soft.
The words carried weight, but her tone was as casual as if she were talking about something ordinary.
The entire hall fell silent in an instant.
It was as if someone had pressed mute on the world—only Liyakade’s voice could be heard.
“I, Liyakade, just like cute, soft girls! So what!!!”
This time, she didn’t speak quietly.
She used all her strength, as if she wanted to announce it to the entire world.
The Audience finally snapped out of it.
Their reaction to Liyakade wasn’t just surprise or shock, but applause and cheers as well.
“Miss Liyakade is so brave! To say her true feelings in front of so many people—amazing!”
“Actually… I used to have thoughts like that too, but everyone around me said it was taboo.
Hearing Miss Liyakade’s words, I understand now. I want to find someone I truly like, too!”
“Miss Liyakade! I like you!!”
Some even confessed directly from the audience.
Of course, the person confessing was also a girl.
“Eh?”
Liyakade looked at the scene below the stage, a little dazed.
This was different from what she’d imagined.
She thought the entire hall would fall silent because of her declaration, but instead, so many people were cheering for her.
“Wha-what’s happening?”
Sistem was also stunned.
She’d expected the same result as Liyakade—that the hall would fall silent after her declaration, then she’d step in to support Liyakade, give a speech, and hand out high scores to save the situation.
But now, none of that was necessary.
Was the impact of yesterday’s setup really that strong? That shouldn’t be possible.
In fact, this phenomenon was largely due to the setting of the Original.
After all, in the Original, the ending was Alice and Field happily together.
Therefore, in the world setting, even though everyone believed love between girls was forbidden, it was only on the surface.
Deep down, many girls secretly wanted to try the forbidden fruit as well.
It was just that in the Original, only Alice and Field went through with it.
Sistem rubbed her temples.
Even though the students’ reaction was unexpected, at least her objective had been achieved.
The plan could continue as usual.
“Miss Liyakade, your courage is admirable.
Actually, I also think love between girls is pure and beautiful.
As long as you can find your true love, gender doesn’t matter.
I hope Miss Liyakade finds the girl she loves soon!”
Sistem clapped as well, awarding her the highest score.
With those points, plus the other Judges’ and students’ votes, she was definitely in the top ten.
“That’s great, Princess Field! Miss Liyakade really does like girls!”
Alice let out a sigh of relief at Liyakade’s answer, knowing she could continue her full-on assault.
“These people…”
Although Field was happy at Liyakade’s confirmation, she couldn’t help frowning as confessions popped up one after another from the audience.
She herself hadn’t even confessed that bluntly!
How could everyone else be so bold?
And what the hell was up with Liyakade anyway?
When did she seduce so many girls?
Did she really love flirting with every flower she saw!?
Field’s determination to win the Festival Flower became even stronger.
She had to properly discipline Liyakade.
That’s right—not only did she have to pin Liyakade down, but she was going to put a collar on her and let her know who the true master was!