Never Die Villain Chapter 128

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[ … words ]

“Huh. This place has been trending lately.”

Ilya glanced at Vera as they stood outside the restaurant.

The establishment had only opened around a year ago, but apparently that had been enough time for it to become one of the more popular places in the district, especially among Holy Trinity Academy students and the younger crowd around the capital.

“I’m surprised you’re keeping up with the trends, Senior.”

Vera turned her head. “Are you suggesting I’m old? I’m the youngest member among the academic staff, you know?”

“See, you get all defensive whenever I mention your age.” Ilya opened the door and held it for her. “That’s usually something people start doing when they’re getting old.”

“I’m going to leave.”

“Before or after dinner?”

“After. You’re paying.”

“Heh.”

Vera walked past him and entered the restaurant, with Ilya following shortly after.

The place had gained most of its popularity in the past few months, despite having been open for nearly a year, and, judging by how crowded it was even on a weekday evening, whatever had suddenly drawn everyone’s attention to it had certainly worked in its favor.

“I came here once before it got popular,” Vera said as they waited to be seated. “It used to be quiet enough that you could walk in whenever you wanted, but then people started talking about it, and now look at this.”

“So you knew about it before everyone else?”

“Obviously.”

“That sounds exactly like something an old person would say.”

“….”

Ilya smiled. Vera slowly turned toward him, narrowing her eyes as though she had only just noticed something strange.

“You’ve gotten way cheekier lately, haven’t you?” She leaned forward. “Were these your true colors all along?”

The two were shown to their table and sat across from each other. Ilya picked up the menu, although Vera continued watching him rather than bothering with her own.

“Don’t you think I’ve just gotten more comfortable with you, Senior?” Ilya glanced at her over the top of the menu. “Unless you want me to start acting all distant again, I don’t mind.”

“Hm.” Vera eyed him suspiciously. “For a docile little lamb like you to suddenly start showing his horns like this… something good must’ve happened during Winter Break aside from the whole Distortion mess.”

“Like what?”

“Like finally being acknowledged by your father.”

“….”

Ilya opened his mouth to deny it, but the words never came out. His lips instead pressed into a thin line as he lowered his eyes toward the menu, because no matter how complicated his feelings toward Valentin remained, saying that it hadn’t affected him at all would have been a lie.

No matter how old someone became, there were few things that could give them as much confidence as being acknowledged by their father.

They could grow independent, choose their own path, and convince themselves that their father’s opinion no longer mattered, but hearing that same man finally recognize what they had accomplished was different.

A father’s approval did not determine a person’s worth, nor did everyone necessarily need it, but for someone who had spent years wondering whether they would ever be enough in their father’s eyes, finally receiving even a small measure of recognition could mean far more than they wanted to admit.

And apparently, Ilya was no exception.

“….”

Vera’s smile gradually widened as she watched him, and Ilya immediately knew what she was thinking.

“…I didn’t even say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.” Vera rested her cheek against her hand. “That face told me everything.”

Before Ilya could respond, a waitress finally approached their table to take their order. She had barely managed to get through her greeting when Ilya looked up from the menu, stared at her for a moment, and realized why the voice sounded familiar.

“Lisbet?”

“Ilya?”

The two stared at each other for a long moment. Lisbet’s eyes briefly moved from Ilya to the woman sitting across from him, then back again, although whatever surprise she felt quickly disappeared as she cleared her throat and returned to work.

Then, her gaze settled on Vera.

“…Assistant Professor Adelheid.”

“Oh?” Vera looked up at her, studying her face. “You know me?”

“I was in Professor Nordberg’s Introduction to Magic class last semester.”

Lisbet remained beside the table, not allowing the unexpected encounter to interrupt her work.

“You assisted with several of his lectures.”

“Ah… your name?”

“Lisbet, Miss. Lisbet Beatrix Rosenkrantz.”

Vera stared at her for a few seconds before recognition finally appeared on her face.

“Ah, I remember now. The quiet girl who always sat at the back.”

“…Yes.”

Lisbet gave a small nod, then immediately returned her attention to the reason she had approached their table in the first place.

She didn’t ask why Ilya was having dinner alone with an Assistant Professor, nor did she mention that she and Ilya had spent the better part of the afternoon sitting together in the library.

“Are you ready to order?”

“Ah, right.” Ilya looked back down at the menu. “I’ll have this one.”

Lisbet calmly wrote down his order before turning toward Vera, who proceeded to add another dish, then a side, and then something from the next page.

Ilya slowly lowered his menu and watched her continue ordering until Vera finally seemed satisfied.

“And that should be everything.”

Lisbet glanced at what she had written.

“Understood. I’ll have your order brought out as soon as it’s ready.”

“Thank you.”

Lisbet gave them a polite nod before turning away and heading toward the next table.

From beginning to end, she remained completely professional, treating their unexpected meeting as nothing more than a coincidence between a waitress and two customers she happened to recognize.

Ilya watched her leave for a moment before returning his attention to Vera.

“….”

Vera was still looking at the menu.

“Senior.”

“Hm?”

“How much exactly are you planning to make me spend tonight?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“…That makes me worry about it more.”

Vera merely smiled, and Ilya glanced toward the direction Lisbet had disappeared before looking back at her.

“That aside, how are you going to explain this?” she asked.

“That you’re having an illicit affair with a student?”

“Exactly.”

“….”

Ilya froze.

He had only been trying to poke fun at her, but he hadn’t expected Vera to say it so casually, much less with a perfectly straight face. For once, he found himself growing flustered first, and judging by the amused look appearing in Vera’s eyes, she had noticed immediately.

Apparently, there really were only two reliable ways of getting the better of Vera. One was mentioning her age, and the other was somehow becoming even more shameless than she was, something Ilya clearly wasn’t prepared to do just yet.

He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, quickly recovering his composure.

“We’re friends. I don’t think there’s much anyone could misinterpret about two people having dinner together.” Ilya glanced toward the other side of the restaurant again. “Besides, Lisbet doesn’t seem like the type of student who likes to gossip.”

“You’ve known her for what, a day?”

“Less than that.”

“And you’re already confident about her character?”

“Not exactly.” Ilya shrugged. “But we spent almost two hours alone in the library earlier, and getting more than a few sentences out of her felt like work. I can’t imagine her suddenly becoming talkative just because she saw us eating together.”

Vera raised an eyebrow. “Two hours alone in the library?”

“…Senior.”

“What? I’m just asking.”

“You’re doing the exact thing you accused Lisbet of possibly doing.”

“And I’m proving how easily things can be taken out of context.”

Ilya considered it for a moment.

“Should I be less casual with you at the academy?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“This is exhausting…”

Navigating high society had always been bothersome, which was why Ilya had never cared much about it in the first place.

Who associated with whom, how close they appeared in public, what people might assume from seeing two people together, and the countless rumors that could emerge from something as ordinary as sharing a meal were all things he would rather not waste his time thinking about.

Still, now that Vera had brought it up, he couldn’t deny that their relationship could invite problems if someone decided to interpret it the wrong way.

There were many things Ilya still needed to learn from Vera, and if he wanted to survive, staying close to her was practically a necessity.

Ironically, now that transferring into the Magic Department had made it easier for him to spend time with her, it also meant there would be far more opportunities for other students and members of the faculty to notice just how close they had become.

He would have to be more careful.

“….”

Ilya thought about that for another few seconds.

“Nah. I don’t feel like doing it.”

Vera chuckled. “Right. It’s not like you at all.”

“Yeah.” Ilya picked up his glass. “It’s not like me.”

If people wanted to misunderstand their relationship, then they could misunderstand it.

Changing the way he behaved around Vera just to satisfy people he didn’t particularly care about sounded even more exhausting than dealing with whatever rumors might come from it.

After that, neither of them brought up the subject again.

Their food eventually arrived, and the two enjoyed a good dinner together, talking about whatever came to mind until the earlier conversation was all but forgotten.