"Why won't you just listen to me properly?" Victoria's voice echoed in the empty room.

The stream flowed through the valley, ethereal and gentle.

Jetri sighed again.

"In my hometown," Jetri suddenly began, veering into what seemed like an irrelevant tangent, "there's a form of gambling."

Victoria didn't interrupt. Her lake-blue eyes shimmered quietly as she watched him, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"It involves a card coated with a scratchable layer. Beneath it are numbers, words, or symbols. If what's revealed matches the winning conditions after scratching, you win money."

"The cheapest, most common scratch cards have only one coating to scrape off. Hidden beneath it are just two possibilities: 'Thank you for your patronage' or the name of a prize."

"Usually, if you see the word 'Thank' after scratching, there's no point scraping further."

Jetri took a deep breath. "But what if the same card has already been scratched once? If it's just been recoated... why bother scraping it open again?"

"I see," Victoria murmured, her voice low and soft.

"What if I told you... you actually won? That after 'Thank you,' it doesn't say 'for your patronage'—but 'for winning'? What if scraping it all off revealed 'Thank you for winning'...?"

Jetri saw utter sincerity in those beautiful lake-blue eyes.

He just rolled his eyes. "Then I'm Qin Shi Huang."

"What?" Victoria froze.

"Nothing. Just a hometown saying."

Victoria pressed her lips together. After a long pause, she reached out and clasped Jetri's hands.

Like moonlit lake water rippling in widening circles.

The princess's gaze suddenly turned resolute.

This time, her voice didn't tremble.

The inn's lamplight flickered dimly. Jetri saw her eyes gleaming like a lake's surface.

He saw her glistening lips part.

He saw her radiant golden hair shimmer like liquid light.

He heard the owner of those eyes speak—gentle yet unwavering.

She said:

"Jetri... will you... go out with me?"

The lamplight seemed to still its sway. The howling wind outside the window paused mid-breath.

"... " Jetri felt dazed. He slowly closed his eyes. "What answer do you want from me?"

"Do you expect me to joyfully accept after three years of coldness? Or do you want me to reject you in return?"

Jetri couldn't quite name what he felt right then.

Chest tight.

Heart heavy.

"I don't know your thoughts. I can't guess whatever hardships you might—or might not—have had. I only know you already rejected me long ago. I can't see what's different between the me back then and the me now."

"So what exactly is the reason?"

Jetri's voice grew quieter.

"Let me think it over, alright? After we return this time... I'll give you my answer."

Victoria's grip on Jetri's hands tightened.

She stared at his closed eyes.

"Open your eyes and look at me, Jetri," she suddenly said.

"Just let me hide for a moment," Jetri refused.

"OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT ME!!"

Victoria collapsed against him like she was breaking apart, clawing desperately at his shut eyelids.

Jetri remained unmoved.

Tears splattered against his chest with every movement.

Victoria finally gave up.

"Just... look at me..." she sobbed weakly, slumped against him.

Even winning lottery tickets have expiration dates—

"Calm down on your own," Jetri said gently, lifting her off him.

He stepped out.

Closed the door.

Outside, Jetri took a deep breath and finally opened his eyes.

*Since when did this party-leaving comedy turn into such a stomach-churning drama?*

He chuckled wryly to himself.

Then he knocked on Vya's door.

"Done?" Vya looked up from polishing her sword, a faint smile on her lips.

"Yeah."

"So? How'd it go?" Vya lowered her head again, continuing her task, the smile lingering.

"... " Jetri dropped onto a nearby chair. "Who knows—Vya, have you ever had this happen? A girl who rejected you suddenly... confessing or something?"

Vya's hand froze.

A jarring scrape tore through the air from her sword.

Jetri blinked in surprise—he remembered how carefully Vya always treated her blade.

Acting as if nothing happened, Vya resumed polishing.

"Nope. Never had that experience. I've never even been in a relationship."

"I see. Hey, what did you need earlier when you came to find me?" Jetri let it drop easily.

"Nothing major. Just wanted to discuss our next move." Vya set her sword aside.

Casually, as if it were an afterthought, she asked, "So... did you say yes? To the confession."

"No. My head's a mess right now. Lilith and Victoria are both acting weird..." Jetri rubbed his temples.

"If she'd just said it sooner, I'd have come running like a puppy. Now it's all messed up..." Jetri cracked a self-deprecating joke. "What am I supposed to do? Just wipe my memory of Victoria's weird attitude with some big 'Forgetfulness Spell'?"

"It's so damn blue—especially since that weird attitude was because she suspected us..." Jetri's face twisted with disgust at the memory.

"True," Vya chuckled softly.

Her expression unreadable.

"Well, about our route—we'll wait for Lilith to return. No rush."

"Timing-wise, she should've arrived there a while ago." Jetri tilted his head back slightly, calculating.

Before the words fully left his mouth—

A familiar figure materialized in the center of the room.

"Jetri! We have to leave. NOW!"

The half-elf looked terrible. Fine cuts covered her body, her appearance utterly disheveled.

She grabbed Jetri's arm the moment she appeared, yanking him toward the door.

"What happened?" Jetri didn't resist, glancing back at Vya. "Go to my room. Bring Victoria."

Vya nodded.

Lilith panted heavily—half-elves rarely looked this wrecked.

"Chelsey's resurrected. Just as you feared." Her blunt words made Jetri grasp the severity instantly.

"I think I lost her, but I don't know when she'll track us down. We need a new route."

"Got the latest map?"

"Yes."

Vya caught up just then, carrying Victoria in her arms.

—*Only a princess carried like this truly counts as a 'princess carry,'* Jetri's mind absurdly supplied.

"Chelsey's resurrected," were Jetri's first words to Vya as she approached.

Vya's pupils contracted sharply.

"She's likely after me," Jetri added. Vya's hand instinctively flew to her sword hilt.

"Relax. She probably won't find us here yet—Victoria, tend to Lilith's wounds first."

The weary princess glanced at Jetri, her eyes dull.

She nodded silently.