Chapter 145: I made an agreement with him.

Seeing that she couldn’t figure it out, Liyami directly asked Eleanor, “Um, are these two things related?”

Hearing Liyami’s words, Eleanor looked at her in disbelief.

After observing for a while and finding that Liyami didn’t seem to be lying, Eleanor rubbed her forehead and said slowly, “…I really can’t tell if you’re pretending to be clueless or if you really are clueless. Fine, I’ll just explain it to you directly. I just said that I like Colin. Since I like him, naturally I don’t want other women getting close to him, right?”

“But I’m not ‘other women.’ I’m his friend, aren’t I? Does that mean I can’t get close to Colin either?”

Liyami was still very confused, so Eleanor continued, “Really? I can’t really see it that way. Sometimes you get a bit too close to him—especially the atmosphere! When you’re with Colin, there’s always this feeling that’s just between the two of you. I really can’t accept that.”

“…What about Lavinia, then? Doesn’t she like Colin too? She’s even gone on a date with him. You can accept that?”

Liyami wasn’t quite sure what Eleanor meant by that ‘special atmosphere,’ so she changed the question.

“That was in the past. Back then… I hadn’t made up my mind yet, so even if Lavinia took advantage of the situation, there was nothing I could do. Fortunately, Lavinia didn’t succeed. And it’s not just you I’m wary of—I’m the same with Lavinia and Sifney. Haven’t you noticed those two have also been staying away from Colin lately?”

At these words, Liyami finally remembered the strange atmosphere in the team recently. So this was the reason? Lavinia and Sifney had already been told about Eleanor’s feelings, so they weren’t as lively as usual? Then why wasn’t I told?

Maybe guessing what Liyami was thinking, Eleanor explained directly, “I didn’t tell them. They realized it on their own. As for why I didn’t talk to you, it’s because you still acted like nothing was wrong and had no idea.”

Upon hearing this, Liyami finally had a clearer understanding of the situation, though she still had some doubts. Liyami glanced at Eleanor, and seeing her unusually serious expression, she finally decided it would be better to ask.

“I have one more question. Even though you say you like Colin, that doesn’t mean others can’t like him too, right? You just like him—you’re not his girlfriend, are you? I understand how you feel, but… you don’t exactly have the right to control that, do you?”

Liyami summoned her courage to voice the doubts that had been hovering in her heart, but she waited a long time without hearing an answer from Eleanor.

So, Liyami cautiously raised her head and looked at Eleanor’s face. She had thought she would see Eleanor looking angry, or at least frowning. But to Liyami’s surprise, what she saw was Eleanor’s smile.

Eleanor’s smile didn’t look forced—she was truly smiling from the heart. Even just the sight of that smile made Liyami feel Eleanor’s current happiness, as if she was reminiscing about some blissful memory.

As Liyami looked at Eleanor, debating whether or not to snap her out of it, Eleanor had already come back to her senses.

She showed no sign of displeasure at Liyami’s words. Instead, she spoke very gently, “You don’t have to worry about that. The reason I’m doing this isn’t just because I like Colin—it’s also because Colin likes me too. We both feel the same way about each other, that’s why I do all this.”

Like a bolt of lightning striking her heart, Liyami was stunned. She didn’t listen to the rest of Eleanor’s words; all her thoughts were stuck on that one sentence: “Colin likes me too.”

Liyami didn’t know why she cared so much about that sentence, but she simply couldn’t snap out of it. It was as if she were mired in a swamp, unable to extricate herself.

It wasn’t until Eleanor used a small area “Holy Light” that Liyami snapped out of it from the shock.

Seeing that Liyami had finally come to her senses, Eleanor said with great dissatisfaction, “What were you thinking just now? You were out of it for so long! No matter how I called you, you didn’t react, so I had to use divine magic.”

Liyami muttered an offhand apology, but her mind was still mostly occupied by that sentence from earlier.

Although Eleanor was a bit displeased by Liyami’s insincere apology, she still kept her patience and continued, “Since I’ve already answered all your questions, you should answer mine too.”

At those words, Liyami was taken aback and looked at Eleanor in confusion. “Your question? Did you ask me something?”

“…Are you messing with me? You’d better not be. I asked you just a few minutes ago. Do you, or do you not, like Colin? In the romantic sense!”

“I don’t like him.”

Before Eleanor even finished her sentence, Liyami replied resolutely. She was so quick that even Eleanor couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows in surprise.

“…I see. Well, that’s good. As long as you don’t interfere with me and Colin from now on. If you really want to act together with Colin, it’s not impossible, but I hope you’ll get my consent first.”

Eleanor was still half-convinced, but she’d already been in Liyami’s room for quite a while and it was getting late, so she figured she might as well end things here. After all, she’d already told Liyami the truth, and trusted she would understand.

“Then that’s that. It’s getting late; I should go back now. Goodnight, and sweet dreams.”

Eleanor was just about to leave the room when her hand was suddenly grabbed by something. She turned around and saw it was Liyami, her head lowered in thought.

“…Is there something else?”

Eleanor asked in confusion, but Liyami didn’t look up. Still with her head lowered, she spoke in a faint voice, so quiet Eleanor almost didn’t hear.

“…You, you said Colin likes you. Then, do you have, um… any proof? I’ve never heard Colin say he likes anyone. Did he really say that himself?”

At first, Liyami’s voice was hesitant and weak, but as she went on, she became more steady and her voice grew louder, as if she’d found some confidence.

But unfortunately, with one sentence, Eleanor shattered Liyami’s confidence and composure.

“Ah, I really did forget to tell you. Of course I have grounds for saying Colin likes me—because he told me so himself.”

Eleanor smiled slightly, walked up to Liyami, leaned close to her ear, and whispered softly.

“We have a promise between us.”

With that, Eleanor said no more, but the message was already clear to Liyami.

Eleanor moved away from Liyami and gave her a gentle smile, then left the room.

Although Eleanor’s smile seemed calm and ordinary, Liyami couldn’t help but feel that it was… the smile of a victor mocking the defeated.