Chapter 399: Edelweiss's Little Scheme!
Looking at Sara's confused expression, Luke suddenly realized something.
After thinking briefly, he asked another question.
"Why did you choose to visit me at this hour?"
"I came once during the day, but you weren't in your room. I assumed you would return to sleep at night."
"I see… Then how did you know I lived next door? Did you investigate me?"
"No. I planned to, but I happened to see you leaving yesterday."
"Honestly, I was surprised you lived next door too. Is this what people call fate?"
Those two answers gradually confirmed Luke's suspicion.
Everything had gone far too smoothly. There had been practically no obstacles between his first contact with Sara and the current situation.
Causality.
Luke now understood what he had encountered.
However, the present situation still confused him, and he had no active method of dealing with such an intangible force.
Although Luke could resist or even ignore fate and causality to a certain extent, that was a passive trait, similar to a natural constitution or a permanent enhancement.
It was not something he could consciously control.
Once he was truly drawn into its effects, he could not actively break free.
Luke was also surprised that it had affected him at all. According to a certain someone, this kind of power should have had almost no influence on him.
Still, although Luke had no solution, someone else did.
He glanced behind him from the corner of his eye and revealed a helpless smile.
A certain someone was clearly pretending to be unconscious.
Luke could not guess her goal, but he knew she would never calmly watch him become intimate with Sara.
Deciding to provoke her a little, Luke crouched beside the chair and examined the suspicious traces nearby.
Then, as Sara's expression turned shy, he brought his hand to his nose and took a sniff.
After that, Luke glanced back again. Seeing no reaction, he stood up and walked toward Sara, who was slumped on the floor.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Luke approached while Sara watched him in growing panic.
Finally, on the fourth step, just as he was about to reach her, a familiar and razor-sharp sword intent suddenly appeared!
It did not take physical form. Instead, it swept repeatedly across Luke's back as pure intent.
The motion clearly expressed its owner's intense dissatisfaction.
Amused, Luke turned around.
Looking at Edelweiss, who had secretly opened her eyes at some point, he smiled, shook his head, and walked back.
Reaching the bedside, Luke lightly poked her puffed cheek and teased,
"So you finally decided to open your eyes?"
"Hmph!"
"Oh? Then should I go back to Sara?"
"…You're awful. Couldn't you come back to me yourself?"
"You had to make me call you over. You're not considerate at all."
Edelweiss turned her head away, avoiding the finger tormenting her cheek, and wore an expression that clearly said she was unhappy and needed comforting.
Luke gave her a light pat and replied in annoyance,
"You have the nerve to call me inconsiderate? You noticed the causal interference long ago, didn't you?"
"It started when Sara knocked… No, it probably began sometime during our date, after Kiriko called me."
"You noticed something this important but said nothing because you wanted to laugh at me. You've learned some bad habits!"
Hearing this, Edelweiss angrily pinched his waist.
"What do you mean, bad habits? If I've become bad, you're the one who corrupted me!"
"You bullied me in public, so I decided not to tell you!"
After venting her frustration, Edelweiss quietly muttered,
"I-I only wanted to see how far you would go…"
"What if you couldn't restrain yourself after seeing Sara?"
"H-How was I supposed to know whether you might be unfaithful?"
Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
Clearly, testing her boyfriend in this way made her feel somewhat guilty.
In Edelweiss's eyes, it was practically an admission that she did not fully trust Luke.
The outcome of her test surprised her even more.
Whether Sara was watching earlier or when the causal force reached its peak just now, Luke had behaved with unexpected restraint.
He had never tried to involve Sara in their private relationship, nor had he attempted to exploit her confused state.
At the end, he had deliberately approached her only to provoke Edelweiss into revealing that she was awake.
Edelweiss could clearly tell that his actions had been a performance meant for her.
Edelweiss treasured her relationship with Luke immensely.
It was her first love, and she believed it would probably be her only one.
Precisely because she valued it so much, she was especially afraid of losing it.
Although Edelweiss had never dated, she had still heard countless warnings about unfaithful men.
Northern European society was also far more open than much of Asia.
She had personally seen men maintain multiple lovers, betray their partners, or openly pursue several women at once.
The higher a man's status or the greater his strength, the more common such behavior seemed to become.
Then, while Edelweiss was worrying about gains and losses, an ideal opportunity suddenly appeared before her.
Even if she did not call it a test, she could not abandon a chance to understand her boyfriend's true thoughts more deeply.
She had already mentally prepared herself: if Luke was just taking advantage of the situation, she could pretend not to notice.
But if he tried to drag Sara into the fray, or if he lost control when the Power of Causality reached its peak, she would step in to stop things from going further.
That would be her chance to have a real talk with him.
Whether she would convince Luke to abandon his wandering eye, or he would convince her to make concessions like the women she'd seen before—either way, this was a golden opportunity for them to truly understand each other.
However, Luke's reaction had completely surpassed her expectations.
Edelweiss truly had not expected him to show so little interest in Sara.
Even under the influence of causality, all his affection and attention had remained directed toward Edelweiss.
That made her feel deeply embarrassed, but she could not suppress the small happiness growing inside her.
Of course, she still had plenty of questions.
Before she could voice them, Luke teased her first.
"So you really were conscious while allowing Sara to watch everything?"
"I never knew you had that kind of preference."
"You're terrible!"
Edelweiss's face instantly turned bright red.
"I already told you there was a reason!"
"Besides, weren't you affected too? I only… I only…"
…
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