Chapter Text
This is a bit complicated to explain, Leonard thought.
Before he left for the fifth time in half an hour to bring coffee into the recreation room, Rozanne finally couldn't help but whisper, "What's wrong with you?"
Leonard wasn’t sure if Rozanne was referring to a physical or psychological problem, but he had to say he had neither. The problem wasn't with him. Well, at least he wasn't the most problematic one here.
The problem was with Daly.
It's certainly inappropriate to say such a thing about Daly; despite her promotion, she never forgot Tingen and travelled all the way to celebrate the captain's birthday—she truly was loyal and grateful. Leonard couldn't find fault with Daly, and probably no one else could either.
But that didn't mean sitting next to her was a pleasant experience. Yes, that's right, Daly was a great beauty; normally, people would be eager to sit next to her. But this time was different. Frye left the game after less than fifteen minutes next to Daly, and Seeka, who had replaced Frye, could only bravely remain seated at the table with Daly and smile—that took considerable courage! As for Klein, who remained steadfastly at the table, Leonard was certain he must have sensed Daly's intense gaze on him by now.
In fact, even Leonard could feel the chill emanating from Daly from five feet away. The room was cold as if it was snowing in June. Even Frye couldn't withstand it, so you can roughly imagine the atmosphere. Meanwhile, Dunn, the respectable captain, sat relaxedly on the sofa reading the newspaper, seemingly oblivious to the strange atmosphere.
Before picking up his coffee, Leonard finally decided how to answer Rozanne. With a surprising hint of gravity, he slowly said, "It's like this: I have a friend who's fallen in love with his colleague."
Rozanne slowly replied, "You can just say you like Klein, you know?"
Leonard choked on his coffee.
His statement certainly sounded misleading. After all, most conversations about relationships began with "I have a friend," and making up a friend out of thin air for convenience’s sake when confiding one's feelings. Rozanne had been watching Klein and Leonard dance around each other for quite some time, and she couldn't stand Leonard's indecisiveness about his feelings. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she finally asked.
But unfortunately, Leonard wasn't the type to create fake friends out of thin air.
"I really do have a friend, not myself," Leonard insisted. "He's fallen for one of his colleague, but his colleague doesn't like him back. And at the same time, another colleague has a crush on him and has given him plenty of hints, but he's completely unaware of this."
Rozanne thought for a few seconds, then said, "So, you believe that Klein has someone else he likes?"
Leonard breathed a sigh of relief, even though something felt off. Anyway, she'd got the "friend" right, so he continued, "Yes, the situation is that the colleague who likes him isn't ready to wait any longer, but my friend, uh, is still hopelessly in love with the other colleague?"
Rozanne glanced at her own cup of coffee and said, "Well either way, I think there is a misunderstanding. Have you talked to Klein about this?"
Leonard thought to himself, I also think you might have misunderstood something.
“I already hinted at it.”
Rozanne shook her head and said, “I suggest you hint again. The coffee’s getting cold, you should go inside before it’s too cold to drink.”
Leonard walked back to the recreation room dejectedly, realising that this hadn’t solved anything at all.
It couldn’t be clearer that Daly liked Klein. Leonard wasn’t blind; if a woman went to great lengths to get close to a man, she definitely had ulterior motives. Daly’s attention to Klein was clearly not the kind of attention a senior should have for a junior; she was too focused on him, even inquiring about him in their occasional correspondence. Not to mention, she found various excuses to go to Tingen, and while here, her gaze always lingered on Klein.
If Klein truly couldn’t see it after all of this, Leonard would really agree with Pallez’s statement that he’d lost his mind.
And Klein… Leonard’s head ached just thinking about this mysterious new colleague. Indeed, Klein was kind, his smile warmed people’s hearts, and although he was a bit stingy with money, he was never stingy with his friendship. He seemed overly cautious most of the time but was incredibly decisive when it came to important matters. He possessed both courage and loyalty, and was exceptionally talented, digesting potions at an astonishing speed. Even the old man privately told him he didn't seem like someone who had just been introduced to the Beyonder world.
Of course, Daly would like Klein. Who wouldn't? If they were together, Leonard would bless them. But the problem is, Klein likes the captain.
That's right, Klein likes Captain Dunn.
Leonard initially didn't believe his own judgment, but how else do you explain Klein always finding excuses to see Dunn? Klein only paid attention to divination, his salary, and the captain. Whenever the captain went on a mission, he secretly inquired and tried to participate, and even if he couldn't participate, he still asked about the details afterward. There were other things Leonard wouldn't list, but in short, Klein's concern for the captain couldn't be simply summarized as a junior's admiration for a senior; it was more like…
Klein's behaviour was almost as if he was afraid the captain might slip away from him, so he constantly checked to see if the captain was still there.
How could such extreme possessiveness be considered simple friendship?
The first half of the sentence above was borrowed from a romance novel. Leonard didn't want to use that phrase, but he honestly couldn't find a more fitting way to describe it.
Klein, sigh, why did Klein have to like the captain?
The captain was clearly as straight as Daly's bedpost, just like Leonard—definitely a straight man.
Pallez commented that the second half of the sentence was debatable, but Leonard ignored him.
He opened the door. A round of the card game had just ended, and Daly had won. Klein stood and switched seats with Dunn. Strangely, as soon as Dunn sat down at the table, Daly's expression suddenly brightened. However, Leonard didn't notice this because as soon as he sat down on the sofa, he saw Klein subtly move closer to him.
“You’re finally back! Want to play a game of Gwent?” Klein said. “I can’t last another round against the evil side, thank goodness the captain is here in my place.”
As he spoke, Klein took a box with cards from a drawer beside him. Leonard watched him pick the leader card, and thought to himself that this guy really could play any card game. Then he glanced at the table again. Daly, who usually loved playing the evil side, had decisively abandoned that role this time to join Dunn in a fight against Seeka.
So Daly was going to… side with the captain first, and assassinate him later? Leonard wondered.