Flower of Steel

“Well, I guess he just wanted to become friends,” I said as I brushed it off.

“Gosh! Stop denying it!”

Perhaps I was rejecting her words, but they did bewilder me too. ‘Does he really?’ I wondered. But that thought soon dissipated. There’s no way Rian would have feelings for me. He said he wanted to be friends. Besides, I’m lacking not only in my family but with my appearance and everything else. I’m definitely out of his league, so there’s no way that he, who lacks nothing, would like me.

“Stop that nonsense and go to sleep,” I replied as I brushed her words away again.

Lumi sighed and hugged me as she said, “Sister, you’re a great person. You can be confident in yourself. Don’t talk down on yourself so much. It’s not like you.”

That touched my heart. But was I ever confident about how I looked? I may have when I was really young. Or not. Mother always told me that I was “lacking as a daughter,” so that was always in my mind.

Kyles sometimes told me that I was pretty, but he also added all the time, “There are countless girls who are as pretty as you. You’re lucky that you have me.”

Was it because my closest acquaintance told me such words? Compliments about my looks never felt relatable. Whenever I heard such compliments, I always felt like I was wearing the wrong clothes and made me look like a clown. I just thought it was only a compliment made out of courtesy.

“Good night, Marin.”

Yeah, I should get some sleep. Today was a very tiring day.

***

My precious weekend passed by in an instant. As always, Monday, the beginning of the workweek, came back. As I entered the now familiar door of the Operations department, every officer looked at me like zombies. It is a known fact that the God from the sky had driven the demon god from this land, and all the undead went extinct after the Age of Light, which came after the Holy Kingdom defeated the darkness. But it almost seemed like the undead had come back to life.

“Good morning!” I shouted.

“Good… mor… ning…”

I started the day with an energetic greeting, but what came back was a dying voice. Yeah, it is the start of a week, which is harsh for everyone. I totally understand.

“Good morning, Marina!”

However, there was one person who was still as energetic as ever. It was Rave. Who would think that a childish man like him was the successor of that Minister of Defense strong but silent Duke of Harsen? Even when his brother was attacked, he was the same as ever.

“You’re as pretty as always,” said Rave.

His unchanging flirting made me sigh. Ugh, there he goes again! I replied, “That’s enough. So, how’s your brother?”

“Yeah, he got better after getting treated at the temple. But we couldn’t find the attacker,” said Rave as his eyes turned cold. I still can’t get used to him getting all serious like that.

“What will you do if you find the attacker?”

In response to my question, Rave answered coldly, “I’ll pay them back with interest.”

I swallowed with an empty throat at his unusual expression. I knew who the attacker was, but I wasn’t ever going to tell him because I hate his brother Hillain! Every time I came across that man, I was angry. How could I like a man who is hostile even when there was no reason to be?

Besides, I now consider Adrian a friend. How could I not like a handsome man, a great person to talk to, and who gave me expensive and precious tea without any hesitation? Even if I didn’t consider that, it’s obvious that I would side with Rian if the choice were between a man who had been hostile towards me from the beginning to a man who has always been friendly from the start.