Lili soon followed.
She certainly had her flaws, she and Hestia both. She was clingy, easily irritable, and bossy. But she was willing to protect him at a moments notice, willing to risk her life in order to make sure Bell kept his.
Yet he, too, couldn't give her what she wanted. It was unbearable, seeing their faces fall when he pretended to not understand their advances. But he was Bell Cranel, the captain of the Hestia Familia, the one who remained strong in the face of adversity, the one who they depended on.
He depended on them even more than they did. He couldn't bear the thought of them leaving him if they found out he was aware of their feelings, so he let them stay ignorant.
He was Bell Cranel, the captain of the Hestia Familia, the one who remained strong in the face of adversity, the one who the depended on.
But he was also Bell Cranel, the innocent, pure, blissfully dense goofball. And he let them think that.