After all, even if Randy wasn't interested in Emilia that way yet, maybe it was because the boy was just too dumb to realize that it was even a possibility.
In Crystal's mind, given that this was what Emilia's father wanted, the possibility of Emilia 'sleeping' with Randy next time must be quite high.
Even though she hadn't met the man yet, Crystal couldn't help but hate him in her heart. 'Just why does he always have to stick these bastards to her? Can't he just leave her alone?'
Of course, Crystal knew that the reason she thought so was because she selfishly wanted to keep her crush single for herself, even though she would never dare to pursue her own happiness even if she had been available.
Thinking about how easily Emilia had slipped into her bed like this, if she did the same thing with Randy, was there even any need to speculate about what would happen next?
Unless Randy was impotent, there was no way he could keep it in his pants under such a situation.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she felt.
Crystal knew that she was no longer the same girl as before she met Emilia. Whether it was the loneliness of her life or the destitute state of her home, they were both irrevocably changed by the girl in her bed.
Most importantly, even the safe of her closed-off heart had been unknowingly pried open, and it was stolen long before she realized it.
The blonde knew that this 'crush' of hers had grown far out of her control. But what bothered Crystal even more was the fact that she didn't want to 'control' it at all, even if she could.
After all, why should she? Didn't she also deserve some happiness in her life?
However, even if she made up her mind to chase after her, Crystal knew that perhaps her realization came too late. 'Even if gather up my courage now, would it matter?'
If it had been someone like Dixie, or some other girl, Crystal would have fought against them in a heartbeat. However, if Emilia didn't 'like' girls at all, it would put her at a significant disadvantage.
But unfortunately, Emilia seemed to quite favor this guy chosen by her father to be her future 'husband', with their marriage pretty much already set in stone. And Crystal had no idea how to go about destroying it at all.
With such turbulent thoughts still in her mind, Crystal somehow unknowingly fell asleep in the arms of her crush.
Emilia, who still hadn't figured out how to broach the subject, thought that it was better to not bring up such things and disturb Crystal's sleeping schedule anyway. Without any makeup, the effects of her recent bouts of insomnia were clear on Crystal's face, even if Emilia didn't point them out.
She couldn't help but furrow her brows. "I wonder what I overlooked…"
Emilia didn't think Crystal's financial situation, which had been her greatest weakness in the original timeline, would be the source of her troubles at this time. She had already made sure of that through Dixie.
As for the results of the exam, that was even more unlikely. If it hadn't been something already bothering the girl, her exam results wouldn't have suffered in the first place.
At first, she didn't think that her recent fiasco with Randy would cause her such distress, either. Although the heroine was certainly attached to her, Emilia didn't think that the girl was far enough along her path to love for it to disturb her mind so much.
However, since everything else was ruled out, Emilia couldn't help but reconsider it.
If it wasn't something the hero had done that she didn't know, then it was actually quite likely that the distress Crystal was going through right now was directly caused by being jealous of Randy.
Emilia couldn't help but sigh. Although it was certainly cute, she couldn't let the poor girl remain distressed, could she?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Meanwhile, at the hero's mansion, the silver-haired boy was once again facing his father, though this time their tone of conversation was different from what he had usually been faced with.
Amos didn't know why, but his father's attitude had drastically improved after he had been hospitalized.
However, it didn't bring any relief or happiness to him at all. If anything, it made him far more anxious. 'This bastard always tries to be so unpredictable! It's okay to do it with your corporate buddies, but do you have to be like this all the time?!'
Just thinking about how he had been fooled for almost all his life, thinking that his father was a calm and cold-blooded man who thought things through ten times before doing them, Amos felt like a complete idiot.
Fortunately, the bastard had exposed himself to be a lunatic before it was too late, and now the hero knew that he was not to be trusted.
But not knowing what sort of trick he was trying to pull still put him in a bad mood, and his expression couldn't help but turn slightly gloomy despite trying his best to appear neutral and unaffected.
Contrary to his son's thoughts, Mr. Black appeared quite pleased as he patted the boy's shoulder. "I knew you had it in you, Amos. Fifth place in the Imperial Academy of Excellence, huh, not bad at all!"
Amos couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Yeah yeah, whatever. Is that all you called me here for?"
The buff man couldn't help but laugh. "Ahaha… well, a good performance deserves a reward, I think. How about it, tell me what you want?"
The hero's expression couldn't help but turn a little interested. Regardless of anything else, this bastard still controlled everything he could possibly get, after all. If he could get something decent out of him, it might actually be worth his while. "What kind of reward are you talking about?"
Mr. Black chuckled.. "Anything you want, of course, as long as it's not unreasonable for me to get."