They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 478: What He Really Felt

Carl must be curious what she thought of him, and of the other two.

She took a breath, smoothed her hair back behind her ear, and organized her thoughts carefully, because she already knew he would catch her if she tried to wriggle around the question again.

She let out another small sigh, pressing her lips together as if weighing every word with care. She looked down for a moment, then lifted her gaze to meet Carl’s.

"Alright," she began, voice soft but clear.

"If Arthur is an iceberg, recently steadfast, massive, impossible to ignore, then Somto is...like a mountain range."

She paused, searching for the right image. "Strong in a different way. He feels like something that’s been there for thousands of years. No matter what storms or earthquakes come, he doesn’t really move. He has this...quiet certainty about him. It makes you feel like if he says you’re safe, then you really are, no matter what."

Carl listened without moving, though inwardly he felt a small tightening in his chest. There was a different warmth in her tone when she spoke about Somto, so subtle most people would miss it, but he had learned to hear those delicate shifts.

Still, he kept his expression neutral, only tapping his pen lightly against his notebook as if to encourage her to continue.

She went on, voice taking on a thoughtful lilt. "Arthur is colder, more distant, but it doesn’t feel uncaring. He has this focus...like nothing can distract him when he decides something matters. He’s intimidating, but also comforting in this very strict way. Like if he’s watching over you, he’ll never waver. You can rely on him."

Carl’s eyes softened at that. Yes, Arthur always had been unwavering, a quality he respected deeply.

"And you..." She hesitated, a shy smile curving her lips. "You’re...like the ocean when the sun is shining on it."

"The ocean under sunlight?" Carl repeated, amusement flickering in his eyes, though he was careful to keep his tone light.

"Yes," Nnenna said, her voice growing more confident. "Warm and bright on the surface, so much that people can forget how deep you really are. You make everyone feel welcome, like your warmth is just...endless. But there’s so much going on beneath all that light. You can be playful or serious, gentle or overwhelming. And you never stop paying attention, even when it looks like you’re just enjoying the sunshine."

She gave a little shrug. "It’s...hard to describe better than that. You feel safe, and alive, and...impossible to fully understand."

Her gaze dropped to the table, her fingers absently tracing the patterns on the glass. "But I don’t really believe this. I believe that as far as the proper amount of effort is put in, anyone can be understood eventually."

Carl looked at her, and something unreadable flickered across his face before he tucked it away behind a small smile.

Inside, he felt an ache he had long taught himself to bear. She saw him so clearly. So so clearly. And yet, kept missing one thing.

The way she spoke about Somto though, so certain, so unconsciously tender, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was already beginning to love him without realizing it.

If she was, he pitied her quietly. Because Somto’s heart, as far as Carl knew, was already spoken for.

But he would never let any of that show. Instead, he gave her an approving nod, letting only warmth and amusement shine through.

"You have a gift for metaphors," he said lightly. "I’m flattered you think I’m the ocean under light. I’ll try to remember that next time I’m being ’playful.’" noveldrama

Nnenna laughed, a little embarrassed by how much she had said, but the tension in her shoulders eased as she saw he wasn’t upset.

Carl leaned back in his chair, tapping the pen against his palm, studying her with a fondness so practiced that not even she, so perceptive in her own right, could guess everything it concealed.

"Thank you for answering," he said at last, voice steady and kind. "I suppose I can let you off the hook now."

But inside, he knew he would be watching her more closely from now on. Not to interfere, never that.

But because if her heart was truly starting to move toward Somto, he needed to be sure she wouldn’t be hurt when the truth came to light.

After all, he had promised himself he would always be her family. And sometimes, family meant quietly carrying the sorrows no one else even saw coming.

Nnenna let out a sigh of relief once he accepted her answer. I knew he wasn’t telling me to choose a personality. But seriously, couldn’t he have done a better job at phrasing it?

Silence prevailed for a few minutes.

It seemed normal and okay but something about the silence just felt off to Nnenna eventually.

She couldn’t help but look at Carl again. Even though he had smiled and teased her, something in the way his eyes had dimmed for a heartbeat before he caught himself... It tugged at her, stubbornly.

He seemed fine. But she just knew something was off.

"Carl..." she called softly, voice almost unsure.

"Mm?" He answered after a small pause, like he was finishing a thought he hadn’t planned to share.

"Are you okay?" she asked, studying his face carefully. "Are you...upset with me?"

Carl froze for just a second.

He hadn’t expected her to notice. He had been thinking how she could look straight at him and still not see what he really felt, but he also knew he had no right to be upset. Yet here she was, gently pressing a fingertip right to the invisible bruise he had kept hidden from everyone.

Very few people could ever read him that way. Not even Elder Knox, who had known him since he was a boy.

She does know me, he thought, a strange ache stirring in his chest again. Maybe she sees me more than I ever realized.