Supreme Magus novel Chapter 270

"A Rememberer." Another touch from Phloria made the egg close and the hologram disappear. Then, Lith watched one showing Phloria playing with Lucky when the mastiff was still a puppy, both covered in mud from head to toes.

Another was about Jirni teaching her the basics of self defense.

"It’s how mages store their precious moments."

"Why did you never show them to me before?" Lith’s doubts were turning into a suspicion.

"Because those are my private moments." Phloria fiddled with her hair while she was staring at the ground incapable of looking him in the eye out of embarrassment.

"I didn’t share them even with my sisters."

"Okay, let’s cut to the chase." Lith closed the Rememberer, resisting the temptation to pry further in her life.

"Are you jealous?"

"What? Why do you say that?" Phloria’s flinching like that was a big tell.

"Well, whenever you called me after the gala, you seemed nervous. You have always liked to keep some boundaries. To go slow and steady. Yet now you are offering me to sleep here and sharing all this stuff. Sounds..."

"Desperate?" She completed the phrase for him.

"No. I was going to say: ’out of character’."

"Oh." Phloria blushed up to her ears. She wished for the ground to swallow her whole, but the carpet remained still.

She walked to her bed, sitting on it before answering with a sad voice.

"Yes, I’m jealous. I don’t think I can compete with the Marchioness’ daughter." Phloria’s fears had gone through the roof when Jirni had pressed her to visit him during the last days of winter, instead of nagging her about her studies as usual.

"She’s better than me under every aspect. She’s very beautiful, moves and speaks like a lady. I’m just a clumsy giantess compared to her." Her eyes fell on her chest area, closing the speech with an unspoken comparison.

"Since when it’s a challenge?" Lith scoffed.

"Do you think I have a little book where I assign all the girls I know points or something? That I score them according to some standards? How shallow do you think I am?"

"Wait, did you say all the girls? As in there’s more?" Phloria was dumbfounded.

"Of course, there are. Ever since the rankings came out, all the girls of marrying age of my village have been parading in front of me every time I left my house. I keep getting invitations from small and medium importance nobles of the Lustria county.

"Most of them I didn’t even know they existed. To be honest, I expect to receive the same attention from our female schoolmates Yurial did last year, if not even worse. Because now he is publicly engaged, while I am just ’an ignorant fool’.

"I expect them to think of me as a limitless letter of credit. I’m not stupid or arrogant enough to believe I’ve suddenly turned into a beautiful swan. They are all just gold diggers."