Chapter 19: Clumsy relationship, why is it you who apologized!

Ultimately, it was Melina who broke the silence.

“Truthfully,” she began, “I can sense a definite shift in my own mindset. My inner state feels different from before.

A new confidence seems to have taken root within me, making me feel far more composed.

In the past, whenever I faced Sephylia, I always felt I couldn’t hold my head high, but now…”

Her gaze landed on Sephylia’s haughty, self-important face.

The humble words she had been about to utter suddenly took a drastic turn, transforming into, “What the hell is this jerk even good for!”

“…”

Everyone else, including Merlo, stared at Melina in utter disbelief.

No one had expected such words to escape the young lady’s lips.

Even Melina herself found it hard to believe.

After all, her family, the Esberes, were nobility.

Basic etiquette was the very foundation of their upbringing.

Consequently, she always maintained at least a facade of politeness in her daily life.

Yet, after those crude words had tumbled out… what a rush!

A small act of rebellion sparked a flutter of delight within Melina’s heart.

Across from her, Sephylia merely let out a cold scoff at her words.

“Me? I just genuinely look down on a pushover, that’s all.

If others can bully her, why can’t I? And if I’m bullying this pushover, why should anyone else get to?”

“Actually, it’s because Sephylia likes Melina, isn’t it?”

Little Huiyao ruthlessly exposed her.

“Wh-What nonsense are you spouting!”

Sephylia’s face instantly flushed crimson, a panicked expression spreading across her features.

“How could I possibly like her!

Don’t you dare talk such rubbish, I’m warning you!

Otherwise, when we get back, I’ll beat your little bottom till it blossoms!”

Alas, her threat rang hollow.

Her reaction, moreover, was plain for everyone to see.

At this moment, Sophia also wore a look of sudden realization.

She had, in fact, harbored a faint suspicion before, but had been unable to confirm it.

However, with the Companion Spirit Weapon, intrinsically linked to its Spirit Master, speaking so plainly, her conjecture was now confirmed.

Thus, a playful smile gracing her lips, she teased, “I understand now.”

“No!

What do you understand!

Don’t just blindly understand things!”

Sephylia raged in helpless fury.

Sophia explained, “In truth, this is a way children express affection for one another.

Some children are too shy to voice their feelings directly, so they resort to teasing to capture the other’s attention.

Of course, such behavior typically isn’t excessive, usually confined to playful banter.

Yet, what Sephylia did previously certainly transcended the realm of mere jest.”

“Th-That’s why I said it wasn’t true!”

Sephylia huffed, turning her head away.

Sophia, however, shook her head.

“But it’s also a fact that you essentially saved Melina.

Since the bullies targeting Melina transitioned from ‘everyone else’ to just you, her situation has markedly improved.”

Bringing up the matter, she felt a slight ache in her head.

She had previously worried that Melina might fall into depression and commit suicide.

Yet, Aida, that obstinate fanatic, had forbidden her from intervening.

This had led to a huge quarrel between her and Aida.

Fortunately, Melina was a resilient child.

Furthermore, after Sephylia enrolled, the bullying Melina endured transformed significantly.

It shifted from being doused with dirty water, having her belongings stolen, being tripped on the path, her clothes defaced with graffiti, glue smeared on her chair, dead frogs and mice left in her desk, being pelted with objects, and subjected to various rumors and direct insults, to merely…

…occasional sarcastic remarks from Sephylia alone, and the implicit threat that anyone who dared bully Melina again would be bullied back in the exact same manner by Sephylia herself.

Sophia even felt that, compared to Melina’s experiences during her first year, Sephylia’s brand of sarcasm seemed almost endearing, like a child’s tantrum, perhaps even tinged with the frustration of wanting someone to improve.

However, because Sephylia had always maintained such a hostile demeanor towards everyone, no one had ever suspected that this child actually harbored feelings for Melina.

Others had simply assumed a new tyrant had arrived at the academy, and Melina was merely unfortunate.

But then again, who could blame them?

She was so easy to pick on, wasn’t she?

Truly, she deserved it.

What they utterly failed to realize was that it was, in fact, a girl who simply didn’t know how to express herself, clumsily attempting to protect the one she adored.

Sophia recounted the full story, both what she knew for certain and what she had inferred.

Sephylia, who had initially been loudly defending herself and insisting she was a villain, had by now fallen completely silent.

She hung her head low, her face as red as an apple, with even a faint wisp of steam seemingly rising from the top of her head.

Melina, too, stared blankly at the girl before her.

She had never imagined the truth could be this way.

Yet, as she carefully recalled the events of the past year, guided by Aunt Tang’s analysis, and compared them to her very first year at the academy…

…it truly seemed to align with what Aunt Tang had said.

Throughout the past year, while she had frequently been subjected to Sephylia’s sarcastic remarks, it had indeed been limited to just that.

Moreover, most of it had been mockery, questioning why she was so pathetic, challenging her to resist if she dared, calling her a good-for-nothing, and so on…

Crucially, Sephylia had always seemed to enjoy emphasizing that Melina was the ‘daughter of the Esbere family.’

If viewed through the lens of Aunt Tang’s analysis, it was as if Sephylia had constantly been reminding her of her noble status.

How could a noble be so spineless?

How could a noble be bullied and yet not dare to fight back?

Where was her noble pride?

And more importantly… as the daughter of an Esbere Knight, wouldn’t such behavior disgrace your father’s honor!

Finally understanding everything, Melina offered a bitter smile.

With a change in one’s state of mind, the perception and outcome of the same event inevitably transform.

She now understood why her past self had failed to grasp Sephylia’s true intentions.

It was because, at that time, she had been consumed by self-doubt.

But now, she had Merlo!

Had Merlo never appeared, had nothing transpired on the day the contract failed, she would likely have continued to be a perpetual pushover.

She would have suffered insults without retort, blows without resistance, and when bullied, she would merely hang her head, quietly retreat, and hide away to lick her wounds in solitude.

She looked at Merlo, her lips parting slightly to silently mouth, ‘Thank you.’

Merlo, likewise, remained silent, offering a gentle, encouraging smile in return.

Rising, she moved to Sephylia’s side.

Melina clearly saw Sephylia’s body tremble slightly as she sat down beside her.

“I’m sorry.

Back then, I failed to understand your feelings and misunderstood you.”

No sooner had she uttered those words than the girl beside her began to tremble uncontrollably.

Lifting her head, Sephylia’s face was utterly devoid of shyness.

She was weeping profusely, her face streaked with tears as if a pear blossom after a spring rain.

“Why… why are *you* apologizing!”

“It was clearly me who bullied you, so why are *you* the one apologizing!”

“You were the one being bullied, the one being mocked.

You were the one who got hurt, so why… why are *you* also apologizing!”

As she spoke, the tears in her eyes gushed forth even more violently.

Seeing her cry, Melina seemed to catch the contagion of emotion, or perhaps… the feelings that had long been suppressed deep within her heart finally erupted completely at this moment.

Melina, too, felt a sharp sting in her nose, and her own tears began to flow uncontrollably.

“Yes… why *should* I apologize, you jerk!

Why didn’t I dare to fight back!

Why didn’t I punch that bastard’s face in when my mom’s new dress, which she’d just bought for me, got splashed with dirty water!”

She flung her arms around Sephylia, sobbing loudly.

“I f*cking thank you!

I thank you, you damned scoundrel!”

“You’re f*cking welcome!

And your f*cking snot’s getting all over me!”

The two noble young ladies embraced, crying with snot and tears streaming down their faces, utterly abandoning all decorum, as they hurled crude words at each other.

Eventually, their tears turned to laughter.

For the first time, Sephylia revealed a radiant, bright smile, gazing at Melina’s tear-streaked face.

“I’m sorry.”