No one expected Wilk to confront Alices at this moment.

Nor did anyone foresee his utterly wretched fate.

Merely wetting himself from Luyi’s intimidation during the Night of Stellar Abyss would likely end his academy days.

This was an unbearable disgrace for the Soulfall Royal Family.

The Second and Third Princes exchanged glances. Staying here would only stain their honor.

“Your Highness,” the Second Prince stammered, “I just recalled urgent matters. I must take my leave.”

“Same here. I’ll go ahead,” the Third Prince added.

With flimsy excuses, both scurried off like beaten dogs before Prince Leon’s eyes.

“......”

Leon seemed oblivious to their retreat. He stood lost in thought, replaying recent events.

That breathtaking figure—ethereal as a forget-me-not bloom—was now seared into his mind.

*Luyi-sama...*

Alices stared blankly at where Luyi had vanished.

“Alices-sama, do you remember me?”

“Alices-sama, I’m from the Helka Royal Family. We met last year.”

“Alices-senpai, I’m—”

With Luyi gone, Alices became the center of attention.

After all, Luyi belonged to her.

Luyi’s future brilliance would inevitably elevate Alices above all others.

Even with mediocre talent, she was now the most valuable connection in the hall—second only to royalty and prodigies.

Crowds surged toward her.

Voices clamored. Figures jostled.

But Alices noticed none of it.

Her world held only Luyi.

*Did I... anger Luyi-sama just now?*

She recalled her paralysis when Wilk had swaggered.

She remembered Luyi leaving after crushing both Seger and Wilk.

*Does Luyi-sama... think I failed her?*

“Alices?”

Lan’s poke jolted her back.

“I-I’m fine,” she murmured, forcing a smile at the blue-haired girl behind her. “I... have something urgent. I need to leave.”

She turned toward the exit, deaf to the surrounding chatter—as if the world had gone silent.

Watching Alices’ retreating back, Lan sensed a profound emptiness.

*What’s wrong with her?*

...

She’d lingered too long in the hall.

Luyi was nowhere in sight.

*Luyi-sama...*

The memory of Luyi’s cold, decisive battle stance clashed with her own hesitation and weakness. Her resolve wavered.

Her feet halted.

*Luyi... sama...*

Tears pricked her eyes.

For her ordinariness.

For her cowardice.

For dreams forever slipping through her fingers.

“Calling me?”

A familiar voice behind her made her jump as if electrocuted.

“Waaah!”

“!”

Luyi recoiled two steps, startled by Alices’ exaggerated reaction.

“L-L-L-L-Luyi-sama!”

Alices clutched her chest, lips trembling, face flushed crimson. Tears welled but refused to fall, twisting her expression into something almost comical.

“What’s wrong?”

“I... ah... nothing! Just ran too fast. Catching my breath...”

Her panic was palpable.

*Did I misunderstand again?* Luyi sighed inwardly.

“I feel like spinning. Join me?”

“...Y-yes! Please!” Alices blurted, straining to sound steady.

...

Starlight deepened.

They walked side by side along the academy path.

Past flowerbeds. Past statues. Past... Seger twitching in a pool of blood, glass shards embedded in his body.

Silence reigned.

The tide whispered softly against the shore.

Unnoticed, they’d reached a beach.

Luyi carried her heels, bare feet sinking into cool, damp sand.

Alices followed, her anxious heart gradually calming with each step.

“Feeling better?”

Luyi asked. With Alices, she allowed herself to relax.

Arms outstretched to the sea breeze, her golden braid swayed as her skirt fluttered.

“Mhm.”

Alices nodded faintly, still staring at the sand.

“Won’t they miss you at the hall?”

“It’s fine.”

Alices stole a glance at Luyi. “But... Luyi-sama. Were you... angry earlier?”

“Angry? Why?”

“Because... my fourth brother insulted you terribly. And I... didn’t step forward.”

Her voice shrank to a whisper, like a scolded child. “That’s why you left right after defeating him...”

“Not at all.”

Luyi’s tone softened. “I simply can’t stand crowded places. Wilk? He’s nothing to me. Like how humans ignore ants. One step, and the ant vanishes.”

“As for you—”

She turned. Starlight-filled eyes met Alices’ downcast, flushed face. “Alices. You should believe in yourself more.”

Just as she’d said back at the manor.

Alices was too meek.

Too eager to please.

Too quick to dismiss her own worth over trivial failures.

“...”

Alices stayed silent.

What could she say to this being of unimaginable grace—the one she should serve?

Yet here Luyi was, comforting *her*.

*But this is just who I am...*

She wanted to say it.

A nominal princess. Her talent weaker than her own guards’.

Anything she grasped would be pried from her fingers.

Every dream shattered by others, mocked from above.

She wasn’t a princess. She was a clown. A failure.

She stopped walking. Eyes squeezed shut. Knuckles whitened.

*Do I even deserve Luyi-sama’s kindness?*

*Wouldn’t she be better with the First Prince’s guards?*

*This me...*

*This me...*

“Huh?”

A soft, warm hand suddenly covered her trembling one.

“Don’t look down.”

Luyi’s voice brushed her ear.

“Look up—or you’ll miss the stars above.”