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Chapter 54: Dale Han\'s Secret Personal Life (3)

“What... what is this?”

Iris trembled as she barely managed to suppress the scream rising in her throat.

She looked at the hologram screen over and over again, hoping she had seen wrong, but what was stored there was unmistakably a photo of Juliet Kang.

A photo of him dressed as a woman, posing seductively as if trying to entice a man.

‘Why... why does Dale have this picture...?’

Her mind felt as if someone were stirring her brain with a large spoon.

The causal links she couldn\'t comprehend floated chaotically around in her head.

‘Could it be... Dale’s tastes...?’

She had always thought that, just as she had feelings for Dale, Dale had feelings for her too.

It seemed obvious.

Anyone would think so considering Dale’s kindness and care towards her.

But.

What if Dale’s kindness wasn’t born from romantic feelings?

What if Dale wasn’t even interested in women?

‘No, no, no, no! That can’t be!’

It wasn’t unheard of for men to fall in love with other men, even within the school.

She knew that this was just another form of love and that it deserved respect.

But.

No matter how much she knew this, the thought of Dale, the man she harbored feelings for, having saved a scandalous picture of another man (who was even cross-dressing!) in his Hero Watch album felt like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky.

‘Wait, calm down. It’s not just a picture of a man undressed, it’s a picture of him dressed as a woman, right?’

That means there’s still a desire for the opposite sex deep in Dale’s heart, right?

‘Or maybe... it doesn’t matter to Dale whether it’s a man or a woman as long as they look good!’

Her mind, overwhelmed by the shock, began spiraling into bizarre speculations, racing forward with no brakes.

‘If... if Dale isn’t interested in me, and if he’s involved with this Juliet Kang...’

“A-ah... Oh Seven Gods.”

Iris clutched her head and staggered as if she might faint.

The shock seemed to have reached her legs, because Dale groggily opened his eyes.

“Ugh... how long did I sleep?”

“D-Dale?!”

Dale squinted as he sat up. Iris quickly turned off the hologram before he could see it.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

Nothing?

Her stiffened expression said otherwise.

Could it be...?

“Did I do something wrong while I was asleep?”

“N-no! You didn’t do anything wrong at all! Not at all!”

They say strong denial is actually confirmation.

The way Iris frantically shook her head, her face flushing all the way to her ears, made it clear that something had definitely happened while he slept.

‘Damn, what did I do?’

Did I grope her in my sleep?

Or maybe I rubbed my face against her thigh?

Did I mutter something embarrassing in my sleep?

I desperately tried to recall but, of course, nothing came to mind.

“W-would you like to head back now?”

“A-ah, uh, sure.”

An awkward silence hung between Iris and me as we awkwardly walked toward the school, maintaining a bit of distance.

“Um... Dale?”

Then.

Iris carefully called my name.

“What?”

“Do you... how do you feel about... men loving other men?”

“...What?”

Men loving men?

Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?

“P-please be honest!”

“A-ah, uh, sure.”

Men in love with other men, huh.

‘Honestly, I don’t really get it, but...’

Well, it’s not like it harms anyone.

If that’s what they like, why should I criticize them?

“I guess... it’s possible?”

“I knew it!”

“...Huh?”

What did she mean by "I knew it"?

“D-Dale, when you kissed Professor Elisha before, how did you feel?!”

“Ugh.”

Why is she bringing that up again?

‘To be honest, it felt good.’

Professor Elisha had a beauty so striking that even the ugly scar by her left eye seemed to add to her allure.

She was like a rose full of thorns.

Kissing someone like that, how could it not feel good?

‘But of course, I can’t say that.’

I cleared my throat and answered firmly.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

“...Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though she’s that beautiful?”

“Of course.”

“Even though you kissed her deeply, with tongues and everything?”

Hey, hey.

Sister, your wording is a bit intense, no?

‘So, she’s still bothered by that incident, huh.’

At the time, Iris acted as if it didn’t matter, saying it was an unfortunate accident and that it didn’t count, but I guess it’s been weighing on her mind.

‘Well, I’d feel terrible too if I were in her shoes.’

Imagine if some random male professor stole Iris’ lips during class?

‘I’d kill him.’

I wouldn’t just stand by.

I’d take action, regardless of who it was.

‘Considering that, Iris has been quite gracious.’

Despite how she must feel, she’s been trying hard to let it go.

‘I can’t let her effort go to waste!’

I looked into Iris’ eyes and answered with a serious expression.

“Like I said, I felt nothing when kissing Professor Elisha. In fact, it was unpleasant.”

“Oh, my goodness...”

Iris sighed deeply and clasped her hands together, almost as if in prayer.

“Oh Seven Gods... why must I face such trials...”

“...Huh?”

This reaction was different from what I had expected.

‘Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?’

As I looked at Iris in confusion, a voice called out to me from the direction of the school gate.

“Dale!”

“Juliet?”

What the heck is he doing here?

“Well, um, I sent you a message earlier, but you didn’t reply... I went to your dorm, and they told me you went out to Valhalla City today.”

“So you waited at the gate all this time? Until I came?”

“Y-yeah.”

Juliet nodded his head timidly, looking a bit shrunk in on himself.

It seemed that the message I sent him this morning—‘We need to talk seriously, just the two of us’—had scared him quite a bit.

“I told you I’d contact you later.”

“W-well, I have a present for you.”

“A present?”

“Yeah.”

Juliet handed me a box with a luxurious design, adorned with a golden vine motif.

“What’s this?”

“My family sent me some fine wine as a gift. Um... Dale, you drink wine, right?”

“Well, I drink it sometimes.”

I did have a few bottles stashed on my dorm room shelf for when I got bored.

They were not high-quality wines like this—just the cheap stuff you can buy at the convenience store.

“Hehe, that’s a relief.”

Juliet’s stiff expression softened, and a bright smile spread across his face.

“It’s top-quality wine made from holy kingdom grapes. I’ve had it a few times, and the aroma is amazing.”

“Why are you giving it to me, though?”

“No reason! I just thought... you’d like it! No special meaning!”

Juliet shouted in a flustered voice, looking startled.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight.

‘No special meaning, huh?’

There’s only one reason he’d suddenly give me a gift like this.

‘It’s probably a bribe, asking me to delete those photos.’

I was already thinking that it was about time to get rid of them anyway.

“Um... y-you’re Juliet, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s me.”

Juliet flinched as he turned to face Iris.

His expression clearly showed his bewilderment—‘Why is the Saintess talking to me?’

“Could I ask what your relationship with Dale is?”

“Uh... with Dale, um...”

Juliet shot a quick glance in my direction.

Before he could say anything strange, I quickly spoke up.

“What do you mean, what’s our relationship? We’re obviously just friends.”

“Y-yeah! Friends! We’re just friends!”

Juliet nodded his head vigorously, looking quite startled.

“Hmm, just friends?”

Iris narrowed her eyes as she looked at Juliet, who was clearly acting suspicious.

‘Damn it.’

It would be bad if Iris found out that I had dirt on Juliet and was blackmailing her for money.

I casually slung my arm over Juliet’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

“Right? We’re friends, aren’t we, Juliet?”

“Y-yeah! We’re really close!”

“We even had a meal together before.”

“Y-yeah! That pork stir-fry was delicious!”

Juliet, now locked in a shoulder hug with me, desperately played along with a forced smile.

This should be enough to clear up any suspicion, I thought as I glanced at Iris’s face.

‘Wait, what?’

Why does she look like her world just collapsed?

“...Sniff.”

Huge tears began to well up in Iris’s blue eyes.

“W-wait, what?”

Why is she crying all of a sudden?

“That’s so cruel... How could you... How could you do this to me?”

“W-what?”

“If this was how it was going to be, you shouldn’t have been so kind to me from the start! Do you enjoy playing with people’s hearts?!”

Iris, her eyes brimming with tears, marched toward me.

“D-damn it... I’m not the kind of girl who gives up easily, you know?”

“Wait, what have you been talking about since earlier... Mmph?!”

Iris grabbed me by the collar and suddenly kissed me.

A sweet peach scent tickled my nose.

Her tongue forcefully invaded my mouth, wildly exploring.

“Pwah!”

Iris pulled away, panting heavily as she clenched her fists.

“Just you wait. Even if Dale likes men, I’m not giving up on him!”

“No, hold on.”

What the hell is she talking about?

* * *

“So... what you’re saying is, Dale doesn’t like men. It’s actually Juliet who likes men, and he sent you pictures of himself cross-dressing to ask if he looked good because he wanted your opinion?”

“Exactly.”

“So the person Juliet is interested in is...?”

“Have you heard of Berald Ryu?”

“Ah, yes, from the Ryu family...”

“Right. The Ryu family’s scoundrel. He’s a cadet in the year below us.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of him.”

“Juliet has a kink for being forced into cross-dressing and dominated by muscle-bound macho men.”

“N-no way...!”

Iris trembled with shock.

“Um... Juliet?”

She approached Juliet with an awkward smile on her face.

“There... there are all kinds of preferences in the world! I support your love, Juliet!”

With those words, Iris quickly distanced herself from Juliet as if fleeing.

Dale hurriedly followed after her, trying to keep up with her pace.

“...Sniff.”

Left alone, Juliet hung his head and quietly cried.

“No... that’s not what I’m into...”

Transparent tears rolled down his cheeks.

It was spring.