101st Confession - Side Story Episode 20 - Henry’s Love (1)

Side Story Episode 20: Henry’s Love (1)

“What can I do? Sister, please help me.”

“Well, even if you tell me that………….”

Knock knock?

Lucia, who was showing signs of distress, turned her head at the sound of knocking. The door opened, and a knight cautiously entered.

“Excuse me. Master, could you take a look at this for a moment?”

“Oh, just a moment, Sister, I’ll be right back after a quick chat.”

It seemed to be a knight’s duty. Lucia alternated her gaze between the knight with a stern expression and Henry.

While the knight thoroughly discussed matters, Henry glanced at her playfully, nudging her. Of course, the knight completely ignored his actions and continued speaking.

“Herwin.”

“Yeah?”

“Has that knight been here before? Why does it feel like I’m seeing her for the first time?”

At Lucia’s words, Herwin examined the knight’s face. Indeed, it was the first time Herwin had seen that face.

“Now that Henry is in charge of administrative matters, maybe he reorganized the knights entirely. Could this knight have been newly recruited during that process?”

“Hmm… She’s quite good-looking.”

And there’s something strangely different about the atmosphere, isn’t there? It was a vibe that Henry never displayed when he was with women.

“Thank you. I’ll inform the Master as it is.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Then, I’ll take my leave………….”

“Ah, wait a moment!”

As Lucia held onto her, the knight looked back with slightly widened eyes. Then, she turned back to her original expressionless state.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Excuse me, but could I have a brief conversation with you?”

When the knight’s gaze shifted towards Henry, he gestured for her to sit quickly. After a moment of hesitation, the knight approached Lucia with stiff steps.

“I’m sorry for summoning you suddenly. Um, what’s your name?”

“I’m Rachel.”

“Rachel. It’s a beautiful name, suits you well.”

Rachel’s cheeks reddened. Seeing her slightly shy smile, Henry was surprised and asked.

“Can you make such an expression?”

“What did I do to make you say that?”

However, she returned to her expressionless state as if to say, ‘When did I do that?’

“As expected. Are you two acquainted?”

“We were classmates at the academy. She was a commoner but had excellent skills, so she was admitted to the academy. After graduation, I scouted her.”

“Yet she still treats you so formally?”

“I told her to act like she did when we were at the academy, but she insists on using honorifics between superiors and subordinates. It’s not like we’ve only seen each other once or twice…………….”

Seeing Henry grumble, Herwin looked at him meaningfully with raised eyebrows.

“If you’re classmates, you and Henry must be the same age, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Do you have a significant other?”

“……………Uh, no.”

“What about someone you like?”

Rachel hesitated for a moment but soon shook her head. Lucia keenly caught onto that.

“No, I don’t. Why are you asking?”

“Do you know that strange women have been hanging around Henry lately?”

“Yes, I’ve witnessed it frequently.”

“What do you think Rachel sees? Do you think those women like Henry?”

“Hmm, rather than that, it seems to be because of the rumors.”

“Rumors? What rumors?”

As Henry approached, Rachel slightly frowned and stepped back.

“The men of the Phoenaeus family all prefer monogamy.”

Huh?

Henry and Herwin blinked in surprise.

“I apologize for being blunt, but isn’t it true that the Duke hasn’t been involved with any women until he met his current wife and immediately got married?”

“Is that so?”

“There’s a rumor going around that the Master, like the Duke, only likes one woman. Perhaps that’s why those women are chasing after him.”

“What does that have to do with me being followed?”

“What do you mean? They want to catch the Master’s eye and take a place by his side.”

Henry then realized that the women were looking at him as if he were prey.

“Oh, my goodness. Is it because of that…………….”

“Even if it’s not, Master, you’re a very desirable match. There are hardly any men our age who have everything like you do.”

“Oh, that’s good news.”

“Sister! Good news? It’s more tormenting!”

“Well, there may not be excessive points, but isn’t it a good thing if many women are interested in you? It means that many women are showing interest in you. Do you happen to have someone you’re interested in?”

“Ugh, not really, but…………….”

Rachel glanced at Henry, who couldn’t continue his sentence. Lucia, who had been observing the two for a while, smiled knowingly.

“Well then, shall we do it like this?”

“Lucia, what on earth are you thinking?”

“Hmm? What?”

Seeing Lucia’s calm demeanor, Herwin sighed deeply.

* * *

“Making a fake lover for Henry. Besides, Henry heard the rumors for the first time today. How embarrassed he would be if he heard something like that for the first time.”

What Herwin was talking about was Lucia’s proposal to Henry and Rachel.

Since Henry wants to avoid women right now, she suggests a solution called a fake lover.

And the person who would become that fake lover was none other than Rachel.

Both Henry and Rachel couldn’t hide their surprise when Lucia brought this up. Especially, Rachel, her usual expression crumbled.

“Listen. If Henry doesn’t do this, he won’t meet any women.”

“Huh?”

“You know how much he likes me.”

Herwin’s heart sank for a moment. However, Lucia, who brought up the topic, seemed nonchalant.

“He was the one who kept shouting that he would marry me until we entered the academy together. Perhaps because of the age difference, he sometimes treats me like an idol?”

It feels more like looking up to a person rather than liking them.

“It’s not because I’m special or anything. We’ve known each other since we were young, and because of the age difference, I think the standards for an ideal type are high.”

Sometimes when asked if there’s someone Henry likes, he would respond that he doesn’t particularly feel attracted to any girls his age. He might have said they seem naive to him.

“Come to think of it, that seems to be the case………….”

Henry also seemed to understand what Lucia was saying.

“But what does that have to do with the knight?”

“Well, first of all, Henry seems comfortable around Rachel, and above all, she’s quite rational and calm. Seeing her like that, I can’t help but wonder if Henry might like her later on.”

Although it wasn’t certain, judging by how Henry would playfully tease her, there was no doubt he was fond of her.

“We should consider the knight’s perspective too. She seems like the type who would find it bothersome.”

“Well, I wonder?”

Herwin was perplexed by Lucia’s meaningful smile. Lucia smiled again, squinting her eyes.

“Shall we make a bet?” 

“What kind of bet?”

“Let’s bet on whether they’re dating or not.”

“What?”

“Quickly. I’ll bet they are.”

“………Well, then, I’ll bet they’re not dating. What exactly are you so sure about?”

“Women’s intuition, I guess? And, although it’s just my guess, Rachel likes Henry.”

Herwin’s eyes widened. When he asked for more explanation, Lucia replied with knitting instead. 

“For someone so indifferent, she draws a clear line. It’s a deliberate action because she’s conscious of it.”

Not only that, when asked if she had someone she liked, her gaze almost shifted towards Henry for a moment. It was certain she had feelings.

* * *

At that moment, Rachel stood in Henry’s office with an awkward expression.

“Master… no, Henry.”

Rachel thought it wouldn’t be appropriate to address him with an honorific in this situation, so she called him by his name.

Henry, who was deeply pondering something, suddenly looked up. When their eyes met, Rachel tightly clenched her sweaty hand.

“You’re not actually thinking of following the mistress’ words, are you? It’s too absurd.”

“Well, that’s true, but… Do you dislike it?”

“Then would you like it?”

Henry’s hand trembled slightly.

“I’ve already been getting a lot of requests asking you to help me out. There are so many young ladies who are subtly harassing me.”

It had been the case since their time at the academy. Being a commoner, a woman, and a case admitted to the Swordsmanship Department as a special exception, no one had approached her closely.

She hadn’t been openly tormented, but she had received almost ghost-like treatment. Well, it didn’t matter to her since she didn’t go to the academy to build friendships or create brilliant memories with friends.

The only person who came close to her, floating like water and oil, was Henry.

He was famous from the moment he enrolled.

Initially, he was famous for being from a prestigious family, but Henry himself was such a remarkable person that people flocked to him regardless.

Regardless of gender, everyone liked him. Naturally, she found herself liking him as well.

However, she knew her place well. She didn’t have any desire to express these feelings. She simply waited for this love to naturally fade away.

During that time, she had seen Henry’s true self.

‘Hey, so who was that person you saw in front of the store earlier?’

‘She was incredibly beautiful, wasn’t she?’

When he returned from a brief outing with friends, there was a commotion about who he had met.

‘You wouldn’t know her.’

‘Well, it’s not like you don’t know, because one minute you’re looking at her with these honey-dripping eyes, and the next minute she’s gone, you’re all scary.’

‘Yeah, that’s right. Tell us what happened in detail.’

‘Hah… What would I say to you guys.’

Henry didn’t say anything at that moment, but later on, they asked about it discreetly.

At that time, Henry responded like this:

‘The people I like are just going around in circles without knowing each other’s hearts. So if they keep acting like that, I said I would break the relationship between them.’

Of course, it was meant to create a sense of crisis, but still.

That’s what Henry added afterward, but Rachel could see his sincerity in his expression that briefly passed by.

It was not the external smile shown to others, but a shy smile that came from genuinely loving someone.