Chapter 126 – She Already Knew…

“Lillin, did you cause trouble for someone again?” After stepping into the room and giving it a glance, Astrid—who had appeared rather reserved earlier—asked with a hint of exasperation.

“Ah? Huh? Nooo? Your Highness, why would you say that?”

Astrid said nothing. She merely stared at the Elf longsword stuck into the wall.

“Uhhhhh...” Lillin immediately lowered her head, looking like a child awaiting punishment for mischief. Her flowing twin tails drooped as if mirroring her owner’s mood.

“...I was in a hurry and forgot to take the sword down...”

Lillin poked her index fingers together and mumbled softly.

“Sorry, this child Lillin caused you trouble. I’ll have someone come fix this wall later.”

After Lillin took the sword down, Astrid offered an apologetic bow.

“It’s nothing. Just a wall—it’s not a big deal.”

Dylin waved it off. “So, Astrid, did you come looking for me for something?”

“Is Miss Teresa not here?”

Hearing Dylin attach the suffix “classmate” to her name for some reason made Astrid inexplicably disheartened.

“Yeah, I already told you she’s not here. Did you need her for something?”

“I...” Astrid paused as if struggling to say what came next. “Are you currently the captain of this team?”

“Of course.” In every team, the Divine Child was automatically the captain—unless they personally handed over the position. Of course, that was just in name. Whether or not they had real authority or if the members listened to them was a different matter altogether.

Any major or minor team matters, like approving new members, required the Divine Child’s personal appearance at the academy’s registration counter.

“Then... Can you approve a new member?” Even as she said it, Astrid looked awkward.

“...Huh?” Dylin hadn’t yet grasped Astrid’s implication, but Lillin had.

“Your Highness! You... you’re not thinking—?!” Lillin’s expression morphed into utter shock, as if the sky had just collapsed.

“After the Crown Tournament, teams disbanded. Everyone has to form new ones.”

As she said this, Astrid couldn’t help but glance at Dylin. She didn’t say it out loud, but the implication was obvious to anyone.

“Well, yeah... but don’t you already have your own team?” Dylin understood perfectly well what Astrid meant; he just pretended not to.

“A full-Elf team suits you well, doesn’t it? It avoids differences in values between races—seems ideal.” Dylin wasn’t just being diplomatic—he meant what he said.

After spending some time interacting from the perspective of an Elf, his impression of Elves had significantly improved. He had come to understand that there were many differences in values between Elves and humans.

These differences couldn’t be hand-waved away with a simple “just be understanding.” Whether it was a cultural or racial divide—or simply out of concern for Astrid—Dylin genuinely believed her current team suited her best. There was no need to switch.

Beyond that, there was also a more serious concern.

If Astrid really moved in and joined his team... What was he supposed to do??

She wasn’t dumb—eventually she’d notice there was something between him and Teresa, right??

Even if he trusted Astrid’s character, she was still the Elf King’s eldest daughter, the Crown Princess of the Elf Tribe, and their greatly anticipated Saintess. From any perspective, her joining his team would be a massive headache.

“I see...” Seeing Dylin’s reaction, a faint, bitter smile appeared on Astrid’s stunning face. “So... I’m not welcome?”

“You and Miss Teresa really... It seems I’m the unnecessary one here.”

“Hmm?” Lillin finally caught on and squinted at Dylin suspiciously.

The meaning behind her gaze was clear: “Human, if you dare lay a hand on Her Highness Teresa, I’ll take care of you myself—without asking for permission.”

“No, no, what are you even saying?! Teresa and I are just teammates—completely normal and pure teammates!”

Not wanting to be misunderstood by Lillin, by the Elf Tribe, or—truth be told—by Astrid, Dylin waved his hands in panic.

For some reason, furiously explaining himself in front of Astrid made him feel like some kind of playboy caught cheating red-handed by his actual wife.

“Teresa...? Dylin, you’re on a first-name basis now?”

Despite her usual scatterbrained nature, Lillin was surprisingly sharp at this moment. She latched onto Dylin’s word choice like a snapping turtle.

“Don’t dig into such irrelevant details!”

“Dylin, can you tell me why you don’t want me on your team? Is it because of the past... or because of Miss Teresa...?” Astrid straightened her posture, serious now. “If the two of you have already... then I’ll leave—right away.”

“I told you, there’s absolutely nothing going on between us!”

Dylin felt like his head was about to split open. He couldn’t let Lillin hear anything that might imply something between him and Teresa, or else the Elf Tribe wouldn’t let it go.

“Alright, alright! Just like Lillin said—Teresa usually treats me with contempt. There’s no way she’d see me that way!”

“Really?” Astrid was briefly taken aback.

“Of course. You know what I’m like—unkempt, a bit sloppy, completely lost track of time when I read, even forget to eat sometimes. You’ve even had to cook for me or bring food, not to mention handling my hygiene... Honestly, who else but you could tolerate me?”

“Mmm...” Astrid covered her face. “Do you... really think that?”

“Then why would Miss Teresa choose you as her Divine Child and follow you so unwaveringly?”

Lillin still seemed a bit skeptical.

“Ah...” Dylin repeated the same story he’d told to John and the others before—this time with more embellishment and flair.

Astrid was smart, but Elves were deeply emotional creatures. As long as he made the story sound sincere, she would surely believe it.

Watching Astrid listen with such trust, nearly in tears, Dylin felt a pang of guilt.

She trusted him this much... Was it really okay to lie to her so elaborately?

But he had no choice. For his own safety, this secret had to remain hidden.

“So Miss Teresa is following you out of gratitude?”

Lillin also seemed convinced by the heartfelt tale. Given the current facts, this explanation made the most sense—because frankly, she couldn’t fathom why someone like Dylin could possibly keep Teresa around otherwise.

“I thought so. With Miss Teresa’s standards, how could she possibly settle for... Ahem, I mean, be content with the current situation.”

Lillin had a habit: no matter what she said, she always had to take a jab at Dylin—overtly or subtly. Dylin had more or less learned to ignore it.

“Also, it’s not because of anything that happened before.” Seeing the look in Astrid’s eyes, Dylin clarified.

“Astrid, can you tell me why, despite already having a perfectly suitable team, you still want to join mine?” He voiced the question in his heart.

“That day... Miss Teresa told me a lot of things.” Astrid was silent for a moment, then spoke with slight embarrassment. “It felt like... being reprimanded. A moment of sudden clarity.”

“I owe you. When you were most helpless, I didn’t reach out to help—but Miss Teresa did, without hesitation... I really have no face to bother you again.”

“But... even if there’s just a sliver of a chance, I want to understand my feelings.”

Astrid looked deep into Dylin’s eyes, her gaze sincere. “Miss Teresa was right—Elves like me are cowardly when it comes to emotions.”

“But this time, I want to give it my all.” With that, she gracefully performed the Elven courtesy.

“May I ask you to guide me once more?”

“Your Highness! Please calm down!” Lillin panicked.

The two most important Elf princesses being stolen away by one human? Absolutely outrageous!

“I am calm, Lillin. I’ve never been calmer than I am today.”

“No—it’s not that—Ah! Right!” Flustered, Lillin suddenly remembered something and retrieved the golden butterfly hairpin from a box.

“This is...? Teresa’s?”

“Yes! Your Highness, just as you see—this is what I found in Dylin’s room earlier!”

“Dylin explained it away, saying Teresa came over last night and accidentally left it behind. Huh, but isn’t it strange? Someone as meticulous as Teresa, forgetting a hairpin in a man’s room? Isn’t that so strange, Dylin?”

Lillin felt she had to do something.

One wasn’t enough—this human was about to eat the second one too?! Greedy beyond belief!

No matter what, Lillin felt she had to quash Astrid’s desire to join Dylin’s team!

“Lillin, why is Miss Teresa’s hairpin in your hand?” Astrid frowned.

“Well, obviously! Who knows what this human—uh, I mean, Dylin might have done. Sorry, Dylin, nothing personal.” After explaining to Astrid, Lillin even made a show of formally apologizing to Dylin, leaving him speechless.

So it was because of what Teresa said, huh…?

Dylin looked like he’d swallowed a fly. He really had brought this upon himself.

If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have said so much back then.

No—he didn’t really have a choice. Teresa had looked like she’d triggered some sort of passive skill. She’d been so upset seeing Astrid hesitate that he hadn’t felt in control of his body—it was like his physical memory had taken over.

Ahhh... why hadn’t he said less back then?

“Lillin, stop it. Dylin wouldn’t do anything like that.” Astrid knew full well that this busty loli was starting to act up again.

“Your Highness... sob sob.” Lillin looked pitiful. “You’d rather trust an outsider than believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. But you’re clearly being unreasonable here.”

“Put the hairpin back. It belongs to Miss Teresa.”

“Also, Lillin—you said you found it in Dylin’s room?”

“Y-yeah?” As soon as Astrid spoke, Lillin—who’d been acting all bold earlier—immediately turned into a trembling plush doll.

“Did you get his permission before entering his room?”

“Uh... sob sob...”

“Sigh...” Astrid rubbed her temples. “Breaking into someone’s room first thing in the morning and lecturing them—you don’t think that’s a bit much?”

“I-I was worried about Miss Tere—uh, Teresa’s safety...” Lillin lowered her head, poking her fingers together, a classic I know I messed up and I’ll cry if you scold me more.

“Did Miss Teresa ask you to do that? To barge into her house and investigate her Divine Child? If she knew, how do you think she’d feel?”

“Miss Teresa rarely gets angry—but she takes etiquette and principles very seriously. If she finds out you broke into her home and treated her benefactor this way...”

“I-I know!” The thought of Teresa rejecting her outright gave Lillin chills. She turned and bowed deeply to Dylin.

“I’m sorry! Dylin! Please forgive me—I was too impulsive! I deeply apologize! I’m so sorry! Please don’t tell Miss Teresa—pretend I was never here!”

She raised her teary gemstone-like eyes and looked up like a sobbing kitten begging forgiveness.

“Please—I’ll do anything! Should I kneel and apologize? I beg you, forgive me...”

“Okay, okay, I get it. It’s fine, Lillin, don’t cry—I won’t tell Teresa.” Seeing how desperate Lillin was not to let Teresa find out, Dylin couldn’t bring himself to punish her.

But still... even if he didn’t tell Teresa...

She already knew.

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