Silence continued to hang over the place for a while, until Celine spoke first and asked Horselius:"
_Is she really bothering you? Why do you treat her so harshly?."
The boy frowned and answered:"
_I don't treat her this way because I hate her, but because her position is not something to play around with, and she needs to take it more seriously. She annoyed me this morning with her silly chatter, and she is also very annoying when it comes to her duties. She comes to me every time she does something small, to the point that I run into her dozens of times in a single day."
_Haha, I think she wants to get your attention. She comes to you every time to prove her worth and receive praise from you. I don't think she is a bad girl, she just wants you to acknowledge her."
_Hmmmm..... You know, perhaps you're right. I have never acknowledged her properly or thanked her for her presence. Even when I appointed her as my deputy, I spoke to her very coldly and told her that from now on she would serve the school and the students, I didn't say anything like "I am appointing you as my deputy" or "From now on, you will be my deputy and support me", even though I usually refer to her as "my deputy", that's only in front of others, I have never said it directly to her, as I always use "you" or "Maria". I may have been underestimating her, but what she said earlier is still unacceptable."
_She really is a persistent girl. And by the way, I wasn't bothered by what she said earlier, so don't worry about it and don't punish her."
_Aah, hmm... fine, fine, forget it."
_Hmmmm!!! So you did it and gave her a punishment, didn't you!!! Horselius! No doubt it's an impossible task!!!."
_Aaah, haha. Umm... it seems you were quite skilled at guessing games, hahaha."
_This isn't funny."
_Don't look at me so sharply like that, Celine, I'm only teasing you. I will promise you one thing, and that is that I won't expel her, are you happy now? I'll do this just for you, even though I was going to get rid of the headache."
_Cancel her punishment too!!!."
_No, that's too much!."
_Haaa?! Didn't you say you would do it for me." Celine gave him a mischievous smile and moved her face closer to his.
The boy's cheeks reddened slightly as he said:"
_Don't take advantage of my kindness for your own benefit. Anyway, you can relax, I'll cancel her punishment."
_Take advantage of what?!! Hahaha!!!! Kindness?!! You call your silly tricks kindness? You enjoy teasing me far too much, but I'm not your little toy for you to play with."
_I'm sorry if I annoyed you, I truly don't have any bad intentions and I don't mean to bother you. Perhaps... the way I speak sometimes... is rude toward a girl, after all, I am a stranger to you."
_Not rude in the full sense of the word, but you seem like you want to get closer to me, and you also tease me by saying things like "I'm not used to accompanying girls on a tour around the school", "Sit beside me in the first class" and you even wink at me!!! What makes you so interested in me?!."
Horselius laughed at Celine's words, but his laughter soon turned into a sad smile. With all his heart, he wanted to protect Celine so that she would not fall victim to his father's terrible deeds again. He could not remain weak forever and watch innocent people suffer because of his father without doing anything.
'What's wrong with him? Did I perhaps overreact? Besides, it is impossible for someone like him to have bad intentions. He has always been diligent and devoted to his work for the school, and he was also the person who protected me from that girl yesterday and guided me to my destination. Perhaps... I have wronged him'
Celine thought, then sighed and admitted:"
_I really... really am sorry for what I said."
Horselius gave her a calm smile and answered:"
_There is no need to say that, for I am the one at fault. I did something disastrous to you today, and I cannot atone for it even with my life. Four hours ago, when I brought you here, your condition was unstable and your heartbeat was irregular, even your body was as hot as a blazing fire. For a moment, I thought I had failed and that I was going to lead you to your death with my own hands... I.... I... I will try to make it up to you, even if only in a small way... I will do whatever you want from now on."
_Don't blame yourself too much, I am at fault too because I hid from you, I shouldn't have done that. I already owe you for helping me. So, if you want to atone for what you did, stop blaming yourself right now. Besides, I will certainly need you in the future, so please help me."
_I... I don't know what... to say..."
_Wait, I still have one last request!!! Don't cry!! Never cry again!!! Why are your eyes... filling with tears!!!."
_I'm sorry for showing my weakness... I will stop these tears... no matter what happens. I haven't cried in a very long time... why now... I....."
Celine immediately stood up and took some tissues to give to him.
Celine placed her hand on his shoulder and reassured him with a bright expression:"
_Come on, nothing happened. Crying isn't weakness, but I don't want to see you sad, I don't want you to cry because of me."
The head boy struggled to keep his tears from falling as he replied:"
_I don't know why... I... I'm so weak in front of you, for some reason... you affect me in a way that is completely beyond my control. My father has always been harsh with me, and my mother never cared about me at all, to the point that I don't even see her when I return home because she forbade me from approaching the upper floor. They deprived me of so many things, and I don't have any siblings. Despite all this misery, I have never cried. Even when my father hits me or my mother shouts in my face... but now... I...."
_It's okay, you must have suffered a lot. Your heart found an opportunity to rest a little through what happened to me, and that proves how strong its endurance has been throughout all these years, not its weakness. Horselius, you are strong."
_Thank you, I am truly, truly happy that you're alright."
_I told you to forget about it! . Actually... I don't know if it's acceptable to say something like this in front of the student council president, but... it wasn't that bad because I... skipped four classes! Especially Professor Franklin's terrifying mathematics class, hehe."
_Hahahaha, I don't blame you for that... Since you're alright now, let's leave."
Celine nodded in agreement, and Horselius helped her to stand up.
To be Continued...