Ichinose Honami's face, already pale from the cold, had turned as white as paper.
"Heh..."
Ichinose Honami gave a faint, bitter laugh.
"As expected of you, Kazehara-kun..."
"If it were someone else, they might say something comforting, like 'I believe you're a good person' or 'It's all in the past now.' But with you... you've been weighing the pros and cons from the very beginning."
"But... I guess that only makes how ugly I am right now stand out even more, doesn't it?"
"I committed such a terrible crime. I'm a despicable thief... and yet I still put on the act of a 'perfect Top Student' and a 'trustworthy leader' in front of everyone."
"To cover up my crime, to keep anyone from discovering the filthy person I really am, I had no choice but to 'play' the good person."
"The more I tried to cover it up, the brighter I had to smile. The guiltier I felt, the harder I had to try to help others."
Ichinose Honami's eyes reddened, tears welling in them.
"Like a clown covered in makeup, desperately putting on a show onstage."
"Kazehara-kun... you saw right through me."
"The person I am now is nothing but a liar, forced to pile lie upon lie to cover up that first deception."
If the students in Class B heard her confession, their faith in her would probably crumble in an instant.
An ordinary person would probably be fumbling for a tissue by now, offering her comforting words.
But Kazehara Tetsu didn't.
"Why do you think that?"
His offhand question left Ichinose Honami stunned.
"W-why...?"
Ichinose Honami looked at him in confusion, as if she couldn't understand the simple question.
"Because it's the truth! I stole something. No matter what the reason was, it was still theft. Even