Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Chapter 212
At that comment from one of the Guides, a hush fell over the small auditorium. All eyes turned towards Daniel in an instant.
Feeling the intense gazes directed at him, Daniel looked over at us. Suddenly faced with such fervent attention, Daniel flinched. But he quickly erased the confusion from his face and gave us a radiant smile.
His smile was so beautiful that it elicited silent sighs of admiration from the Guides.
At that moment, Epine, who was beside me, suddenly whispered seriously.
“Rose, I have something important to tell you.”
Epine cautiously looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping before continuing.
“I think… Lord Daniel has a crush on me.”
“Wha…?”
Epine frowned at my indifferent response.
“What, Rose? You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just…”
I tried to deny it, but the truth was, I did find it hard to believe.
Epine had never interacted with Daniel before. I had never seen them exchange a single word.
But Epine remained resolute.
“Listen, Rose. I’ve analyzed this thoroughly, and I’m certain that Lord Daniel has been hovering around me. This week alone, I’ve been in the same class as him three times. He’s attending every joint training I’m in. Does that seem like a coincidence to you?”
“…”
Well, Daniel was participating in all the joint training sessions to overcome his guiding allergy…
Epine and I were attending every possible training session for the perfect attendance award. Naturally, Epine and Daniel would end up in the same classes.
However, Epine insisted she had solid evidence this time, and presented another flimsy reason.
“Seriously, Rose… I think I made eye contact with Lord Daniel at least five times during today’s class.”
“…”
“He keeps glancing over here. As if… he can’t take his eyes off me! It’s totally amazing!”
…I now understand why people call attractive yet kind men ‘guilty’. Daniel probably didn’t mean anything by those glances, yet Epine was completely convinced otherwise.
Instead of pointing out how flimsy Epine’s arguments were, I chose to keep my mouth shut. Nothing I said would get through to her anyway.
Well, why not let her dream a happy dream amidst harsh reality… I tried to respect Epine’s fantasy, but it seems I couldn’t hide my skeptical expression.
Epine, clearly offended, began lecturing me.
“Haah, Rose. Even though you have Lord Claude, it’s obvious you’ve only had one relationship with an Esper.”
“Ugh…”
“When Espers have a Guide they care about, they can’t stay away from them. It’s not something they can control. It’s instinct. And the Guide will always notice the Esper’s feelings. Think about Lord Claude. How did he treat you before you guys imprinted?”
…Claude?
I thought about it for a moment.
“Before it was publicly known you were a Guide, you were already quite famous. Known as the pink-haired commoner that Lord Claude always had by his side, practically like a keychain. Remember that time?”
“…Now that you mention it, I really didn’t notice back then.”
Even though I found it odd that Claude was everywhere I went, I never suspected his intentions. After our first kiss, I was too busy trembling in fear as he ruthlessly participated in mock training sessions.
After I lied about knowing who his Guide was, he would summon me whenever he could, and I just thought he was desperate to find his Guide.
Even when we hung out with Shana, he made sure I was there, but I assumed he wanted me to verify if Shana was his Guide.
When he started spending time with just me, I was a bit puzzled, but he explained it was out of guilt for how he treated me, and I believed him wholeheartedly.
Lost in thought, Epine looked at me with an exasperated expression.
“How could you not notice? Espers never waste their time on someone they don’t care about.”
