Chapter 8
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When he kept calling her name in that spring-like voice, how could she ever let go of her feelings?
Just as Collette bit her lip and clenched her fists, a familiar voice sounded from behind.
“…Senior? Senior!”
It was Meliano Somerset. She had told him to go to the lab—why was he here? Startled, Collette hurriedly rose to her feet. Her scraped knees and palms stung, but the priority was to compose her tear-streaked face.
“Senior, are you all right?”
“…I’m fine!”
Collette subtly refused Somerset’s help and straightened her damp face. It was already embarrassing enough to be seen fallen by her direct junior—she did not want him to see her face, a mess from sobbing.
After a moment, Collette lifted her head and asked him with a composed expression.
“What is it, Somerset? Did something happen at the lab?”
“…No. It’s not that, but…”
Meliano Somerset rolled his eyes and bit his lip. Collette tilted her head. Unless she was mistaken, he looked rather angry.
Why is he angry?
He wore a more sorrowful expression than she had, she who had been unable to hold back her tears while fallen. Collette’s brow furrowed—she could not fathom why her precious junior would make such a face.
Just then, Meliano Somerset, who had lifted his head, seized her by the shoulders.
“Senior Verna.”
“E-Excuse me?”
His hands gripping both her shoulders were surprisingly firm. Collette nearly stumbled backward without meaning to. What had gotten into him? He had never made such bold physical contact before.
At her junior’s unfamiliar behavior, Collette’s eyes went wide. Meliano looked at her, took a deep breath—and then—
“What about me?”
“…Huh?”
“I would never make Senior cry like this. If it were me—if it were me, I would strive to make Senior smile at all times.”
“W-Wait, Somerset. Let go of me and…”
Something told her she should not hear what he was about to say. Collette tried to free herself from Meliano Somerset’s grasp. But Meliano—who had always prioritized Collette’s wishes above all else since they met—would not release her.
“I like you.”
“……”
“I like you, Senior.”
An earnest voice. Collette’s green eyes trembled violently.
Impossible. Somerset likes me?
Collette had never imagined she would receive a confession from anyone. And that the one confessing would be her very first junior, whom she had simply cherished.
In truth, Meliano had always followed her well. Even her fellow seniors in the lab acknowledged it. For a researcher, he had a bear-like build, yet he was especially clingy with Collette. And Collette had found Meliano endearing. He was her first junior, the one who had helped her escape being the lab’s youngest—why would she not find his friendly demeanor charming?
She had assumed Meliano maintained such a warm attitude toward her simply because she was his direct senior. Their relationship could not have remained as it was had they not been senior and junior in the same lab.
But the truth was that he liked her.
What should I do?
She cared for Meliano. She cherished him—but only as a precious junior, a commendable junior. Never once had she seen him as a romantic interest.
How should I turn him down?
Though flustered, she did not wish to hurt Meliano’s feelings—not when she cherished him as she did. No one knew better than she how much courage it took to confess one’s heart.
She could not begin to count how many times she had been hurt when Valen dismissed her confessions as childish infatuation with that gentle smile of his. So at the very least, she wanted to reject Meliano’s confession politely, without dismissing it.
Though Meliano would inevitably be hurt by her rejection, she could not accept his feelings. She had loved someone for years, and Meliano Somerset was merely a cherished junior…
Ah.
It was then that Collette realized, suddenly. The meaning of what Valen had called a “precious child.”
So this is… how it felt.
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