"Don't move!" Allen snapped at Cariana beside her. Her charcoal pencil darted up and down rapidly, as if racing against time.

"Sister Lotus, what are you doing? Making me stand still like this..." Cariana held a dignified pose at the wall's end. A wooden plant stand stood nearby, holding a lush rabbit's foot fern. Its fronds spread wide like a giant blooming flower.

"I'm drawing you!" Allen shouted.

"Why draw me?..." Cariana asked fearfully. Allen seemed off—she grinned eerily while sketching.

"I'll draw everyone I know. The reason? None of your business~" Allen said with a terrifying look, eyeing Cariana like a wolf spotting a rabbit.

"You... you're not selling 'me', are you?" Cariana panicked.

"Correct! I'm selling 'you' to that fool Alex!" Allen grumbled resentfully.

"Are you a steamed bun?" Cariana teased, watching Allen's puffed, angry cheeks.

Cariana didn't know why, but Allen had grown used to skirts lately. She seemed less rigid. How could Cariana tell? Whenever Alex or herself came up, Allen's cheeks would puff up.

"None of your business!" Allen lowered her head, sketching on.

"What did Alex do to anger you so much?" Cariana asked, puzzled.

Lotus always avoided Alex—darting away, staying silent, face dark as if facing an enemy.

"Anger is anger. Not your concern." Allen didn't understand it herself. Alex shouldn't recognize her, yet he probed her identity, making her feel watched.

"Badmouth Alex again, and I'll flatten your chest!" Cariana sneered, giving Allen goosebumps.

"Eh, fine! I'll stop!" Allen pleaded hastily. Her puffed cheeks deflated instantly.

Cariana—who was she? Once, when Allen mocked Alex, Cariana pinned her down on the carpet and tickled her. Though called "Sister Lotus," Allen was smaller. Cariana lifted her like a child. Normal people beg when tickled, but Allen felt nothing. Unyielding, Allen thought, *I'm the Hero! How can a weak girl beat me?* She fought fiercely, forgetting she wasn't the Hero anymore. Cariana panicked as resistance grew. Desperate, she switched tactics—grabbing Allen's modest chest and kneading it. Allen's face flushed cherry-red. Resistance surged, fists flying at Cariana's face. The struggle spiraled...

It ended with Allen sobbing in a corner. They didn't speak for three days... until Cariana brought limited-edition pineapple buns from New Moon Bakery.

Their reconciliation was amusing. Cariana apologized in the library, but Allen ignored her like air. After failed coaxing, Allen banished her for "disturbing the books' rest." Cariana left the buns on Allen's polished desk and hid to watch.

Allen sat reading obscure optics texts, seemingly ignoring the buns. But Cariana spotted her wine-red, cat-like eyes flicking toward them. Allen's inner war was clear—*Should I eat them? They'll go cold... but we're estranged.* Proof? She hadn't turned a page in ten minutes.

After another ten minutes, Allen stood abruptly. Cariana jumped. Allen's gaze locked on the buns. She gulped, scanned the empty library, checked the window—only idle servants—then the door. Confirming solitude, she dashed to the desk, snatched the buns, and crawled under to munch.

*Munch munch~* Cariana crept in with a broom, peering under the desk.

"Ha! Caught you! A big white rat stealing my buns!" Cariana feigned outrage.

Allen's face flashed white, then purple, then crimson.

"I'm not... I'm not!" she stammered, shame choking her.

These were her first words in three days.

Trembling, Allen offered the half-eaten last bun.

"You return it after eating most?!" Cariana scolded.

"I'll pay you!" Allen fumbled out a single silver coin.

"Only one?! I queued for these! They cost two!"

Allen earned one gold coin monthly. Late in the month, this coin was her emergency fund. Now, penniless, her face burned crimson. She wanted to vanish like the "white rat" Cariana named her—trapped under the desk, broom blocking escape.

Seeing tears well, Cariana smiled. "These were for after you forgave me. Since you ate them, forgive me."

Allen had no choice. She nodded twice.

Cariana dropped the broom. Allen scrambled out like a white rat, fleeing to her room.

True to her word, Allen acted normal next day—but denied stealing the buns. Her blushing face betrayed her. Mention it, and she'd bury her flushed face in her arms, ears red, looking exactly like a rat seeking a crack.

"What are you daydreaming about! The drawing's done!" Allen shouted. Cariana jolted awake.

"Nothing, just... a white rat," Cariana blurted, meaning "small things."

"You're still thinking about that!" Allen fumed.

"Ah, no!" Cariana insisted.