To Be the Perfect Childhood Friend - Chapter 99

It seemed that Finian had misunderstood her earlier comment about not being able to abandon something that was never possessed in the first place. His expression brightened as he responded.

“Really?”

Anita found herself wishing she could slap her own face for being relieved that she didn’t have to be alone with Rutger. Finian was incredibly loud. Well, if he were just noisy, it might have been a relief.

He incessantly bothered her as he walked beside her. It seemed that Finian’s behavior was a result of Rutger’s silence. The problem started when Finian began speaking to her, noticing that Rutger stood silently to her right.

“So, do you know what a fox is?”

Finian asked with a clear intent to tease her. Annoyed, Anita snapped back.

“Of course I do. It belongs to the class Carnivora in the phylum Chordata!”

“Chordata… what?”

Finian looked at Anita with a puzzled expression.

“Chordata.”

“What’s that?”

“I guess they didn’t teach biology at Fenon Hall?”

Anita’s somewhat curt reply was interrupted by a soft laugh from beside her. She turned to see Rutger with a smirk, watching them both. She wasn’t sure when he had started paying attention.

“No one has ever seen Finian studying, after all.”

When Rutger spoke, Finian gave him a glare.

“Besides, there really wasn’t a biology teacher at Fenon Hall.”

“Why?”

It was Finian who answered Anita’s question. He gestured for her to come closer, and she leaned in without much thought.

“It was because he was caught with something very secretive and dangerous. Curious?”

Anita nodded.

“What was it? Drugs. How naïve.”

Finian burst into laughter at his own joke, while Anita’s face fell into disappointment. Though she had guessed it wouldn’t be anything like that, she had hoped for something more intriguing, like alchemy. She shot him a disapproving look.

“What was I supposed to think?”

“……”

Anita shook her head and continued walking. As she walked, a small creature suddenly burst out from a bush in front of her.

“Ah.”

Startled, Anita jumped back with a gasp.

“What, what is that?”

She pointed at the object that had emerged from the bush with trembling fingers. Unlike her, the two men appeared calm and collected.

“It’s a fox.”

“…What?”

Only then did Anita take a closer look at the creature that had emerged from the bush. It had a black-tipped nose, glossy red fur, and a fluffy white chest.

Feeling embarrassed for being so startled by just a fox, her cheeks flushed. Of course, Finian, being who he was, seized the opportunity to tease her.

“So you said you knew all about foxes?”

“…I said I knew about them. I didn’t say I could recognize them easily.”

Her own excuse sounded weak and pitiful, even to her.

“How can you be scared of a fox but still sit through anatomy lectures?”

Rutger, seeming to enjoy the teasing, joined in.

“Foxes don’t just pop out of bushes unexpectedly.”

It was a relief to see Rutger back to his usual self, even if it meant he was now using his renewed energy to tease her. Anita was just glad he seemed to have his spirits back, though she hadn’t expected it to come at her expense.

The last day at the Lington villa had arrived. Reflecting on her time there, Anita realized she had mostly spent it collecting seashells on the beach and going fox hunting. Both activities had ended rather uneventfully.

While the expansive sea and the grand villa were nice, Anita missed her home in Rohen. She longed for the room filled with books and the tree growing outside her window.

Of course, she knew that returning home meant dealing with her father’s transcription work, but she was ready for that.

“A yacht? I’m sorry, but I think I’ll pass.”

Liliana and her friends planned to spend the last day on a yacht. Anita felt bad about declining the offer, but she didn’t want to risk sea sickness or fainting on the boat. It would undoubtedly inconvenience Liliana, just as it had with the car ride before.

“Ah, you don’t like water, right? I forgot about that.”

Liliana looked disappointed for a moment, then remembered their previous conversation and gave a sheepish smile. As Liliana and her group left, Anita settled onto a nearby sofa.

The weather was clear, and she didn’t want to stay cooped up indoors, so she made her way to the drawing room with its large windows. The intense sunlight streamed in through the window, occupying one wall of the room. Anita lounged lazily on the sofa, enjoying the warmth and tranquility. The drowsy feeling made her eyelids droop, and just as she was about to drift off, she heard footsteps approaching in the hallway.

She figured the person would pass by the drawing room and continued to lie there with her eyes closed.

To her surprise, the footsteps grew closer. Assuming it was a staff member, as everyone else was out on the yacht with Liliana, Anita decided to get up. She didn’t want to disturb anyone working.

As she got up, brushing her disheveled hair caused by the sofa cushions, she paused in surprise. The figure standing in the doorway of the drawing room was unexpected.

“…Finian?”

“Just sit there. You’re not planning to leave, are you?”

He gestured to Anita in a cheerful tone. Caught off guard, she sat back down in her seat.

“Want to do a puzzle?”

“Oh, sure. Why not.”

With nothing else to do and feeling a bit bored, Anita accepted his offer.

“But why aren’t you asking me?”

“Ask you what?”

Anita nonchalantly asked as she considered where to place the puzzle piece she was holding.