"Thank you for doing all this for me," Hilda said sincerely.

  "Ah, come on, you said it yourself—we're friends," Caius replied with a casual wave, grinning with his usual nonchalance.

  Hilda looked momentarily dazed, then gave a small nod. "Mm, friends."

  Heh, friends, exactly what I wanted!

  Caius grinned inwardly, his expression gleeful as if a fox’s tail was twitching behind him.

  You’ve gotta become friends first before you can become her boyfriend, right?

  Those idiots who confess without any emotional groundwork—what are they even thinking?

  Expecting her to be moved by... what? Your thick skin that could rival city walls?

  Not a chance.

  This kind of thing takes time. No rushing.

  Hilda had no clue what Caius was plotting. She only knew—she had gained a new friend.

  And friends were rare for her.

  Those who wore flattering smiles and showered her with compliments weren’t friends.

  She was proud—so her standards for friends were equally high.

  Anyone who could be her friend had to be exceptional.

  To her, excellence of soul and character far outweighed talent or strength.

  And clearly, Caius had both.

  At least, that’s how she saw it.

  Which made her happy. Genuinely happy.

  So much so that even her smile softened a little.

  She wasn’t a cold person—Caius had always known that.

  That icy exterior was just armor; this little swan carried a passion most people couldn’t imagine.

  Otherwise, why would the president of the student council personally venture into Nofalark Forest so many times, risking danger herself?

  That wasn’t just responsibility—it was a burning drive for life, for self-betterment, for the future.

  She wanted to become stronger.

  She wanted to become better.

  That kind of fire, many people had long lost to time and harsh reality.

  It showed that her family had protected her well.

  But precisely because of that protection, she had learned to hide that fire—

  Because she yearned to be independent, not reliant on her Clan.

  That much was obvious from how she always went to Nofalark Forest alone,

  and how after being defeated by Caius, she accepted her loss—and his advice—without hesitation.

  She was a strong and independent girl.

  Which meant Caius had to work even harder.

  He needed to turn this proud little swan... into a clingy little swan!

  Like a kitty that won’t leave your side.

  And speaking of kitties—silly mushroom was strong and independent, too.

  But unlike the little swan, her strength didn’t come from protection or privilege.

  It came from hardship.

  Which meant what the little swan needed... was challenge.

  But what silly mushroom needed... was security.

  Two extremes.

  But both, in their own way, were breathtakingly beautiful.

  “Caius,” Hilda suddenly said.

  “Call me big bro. I’m a year older than you, you know,” Caius said with a smirk.

  Kiki twitched her ears but said nothing.

  Hilda blinked, then let out a small laugh.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  This towering figure who had just overwhelmed her in battle—why was he acting like a kid now?

  But this kind of casual banter between friends—

  It was new to her. Intriguing.

  No one talked to her like this. Not even her own family.

  “Then... big bro?” she blinked innocently.

  Caius leaned back like a cat in the sun. “Ahh~ that's the stuff.”

  “Is it really that satisfying? I don’t feel anything,” Hilda said, puzzled.

  “You just don’t get it~” Caius replied smugly.

  “Then I won’t say it anymore,” Hilda shot back suddenly.

  “Hey, hey! Don’t be like that!” Caius widened his eyes.

  Hilda laughed again. His exaggerated reaction was oddly satisfying.

  “Can you teach me how to fight? You seem really good at it,” she asked.

  “Take back the ‘seem.’ I am good at it,” Caius said seriously. “Better than forging iron!”

  “So that means you’ll do it?” Hilda’s eyes lit up with hope.

  “I suppose I’ll take on the task,” Caius said with mock reluctance. “Your techniques were so clumsy, I couldn’t bear to watch.”

  Just as expected, the little swan refused to back down. “Then you won’t be thinking that for long!”

  “We’ll see.” Caius nodded. Then, before she could throw a pout, he quickly changed the subject.

  “But we can’t train here.”

  “Why not?” Hilda blinked in confusion.

  “Didn’t you see the look in those students’ eyes after I beat you? They looked like they wanted to tear me apart. I’m not looking to pick a fight with your fan club,” Caius explained.

  “Ugh…” Hilda lowered her gaze, a hint of guilt flashing through her. “I don’t want it to be like this either… but they always act that way…”

  “Am I allowed to say you’re being ‘Versailles’ right now?” Caius asked with a straight face.

  “Versailles?” Hilda tilted her head.

  “It’s a way of humble-bragging—complaining while actually showing off,” Caius explained.

  “That’s not it!” Hilda said quickly, puffing out her cheeks.

  Caius’s eyes lit up.

  Oh man. So freaking cute.

  But Hilda, oblivious to her own cuteness, continued, “It’s honestly really annoying. I don’t need them to do all those things for me, but they keep doing them anyway—without my permission—and then expect me to act like I wanted or appreciated it.”

  “I really hate that. I’ve told them clearly: don’t do unnecessary things for me. But they don’t listen…”

  Clearly, after that battle, her guard around Caius had lowered a lot.

  She truly saw him as a friend now—

  Because only with a friend would she vent like this.

  Caius simply sat and listened, occasionally chiming in with:

  “Really?”

  “No way.”

  “They did what?”

  Truthfully, he wasn’t catching every word.

  He was too busy watching her pout while she ranted.

  Whenever she did, her cheeks would puff out—round, soft, and pink.

  Caius had the strongest urge to pinch them.

  They must feel like jelly, just like silly mushroom’s.

  “That’s why I don’t want to stay at the Academy. Even Nofalark Forest is more peaceful than here,” Hilda said, lips curling into a tiny pout.

  Caius chuckled and nodded. “Alright then. After the day after tomorrow, once I’m done with my errands, I’ll go with you. It’s actually a great place for training.”

  “Really?” Hilda beamed. Then, as if afraid he’d change his mind, she quickly added, “Then it’s settled!”

  Caius almost burst out laughing.

  This little swan’s hidden charm was dangerously adorable.

  But then, Hilda tilted her head. “Why not tomorrow? Didn’t you say you’d come find me tomorrow?”

  Caius: “……”

  Okay, that part of her wasn’t cute—she had too good a memory!

  Still, Caius recovered quickly. “I said I’d come see you, sure. But just to check in. I’ll need to head back right away—don’t forget, I’m a mercenary.”

  “And mercenaries have lots of jobs to do.”

  Hilda nodded, accepting the explanation.

  But before Caius could relax, she asked again, “So what do mercenaries usually do?”

  Caius started to sweat a little.

  This girl’s curiosity was seriously on par with a kitten’s.

  He couldn’t exactly say that he usually just smashed things with his warhammer… smashed people… and smashed even more people.

  But this curiosity was good.

  After all, do you ever get curious about people you don’t care about?

  Of course not.

  So this showed that in the little swan’s heart—he was becoming more and more important.

  So, Caius decided to feed that curiosity—just a little.

  He said, “Mercenaries take on dangerous and deadly missions!”

  “Like what?” Hilda leaned closer, eyes shining with curiosity.

  “Like… getting hired by the family of a bullied girl to teach the school bully a real lesson,” Caius said with a perfectly serious face.

  Hilda immediately covered her mouth and laughed. “That must’ve been quite entertaining.”

  “No. If you had been the one living through it, you wouldn’t think so,” Caius sighed and shook his head.

  Hilda was taken aback for a moment, then quickly reined in her smile. “Why?”

  “You probably see it as something trivial, don’t you? Just giving a bully a well-deserved beating, right?” Caius said.

  Though still a bit puzzled, Hilda nodded.

  “Exactly. That’s because you haven’t experienced it firsthand. To you, it seems like nothing more than a small matter. But for those kids who were bullied, it was anything but trivial.” Caius shook his head again, his tone tinged with heaviness.

  Then, he recounted everything that had happened around that girl—without mentioning Belle by name, simply referring to her as “that girl.”

  As she listened to Caius’s quiet, measured voice describing those events, Hilda finally understood why he was no longer smiling.