The palace courtyard was quiet now, the distant music from the ballroom reduced to a faint echo carried by the night breeze as Hajin stood near one of the benches with his hands shoved into his pockets, staring up at the stars.

Juna was leaning against the wall nearby, her arms crossed and her ears swiveling to track any movement while Uriel stood a few feet in front of him with her arms crossed and her face turned away stubbornly.

Hajin just looked at her, and she refused to meet his gaze, her cheeks flushed bright red as she stared at the wall.

The silence stretched on until she shifted her weight, and he let out a long sigh before finally breaking it.

"Why do you look down on me," he said, his voice flat and tired, "but also won’t leave me alone?"

Uriel’s head snapped toward him, her eyes wide with indignation. "I don’t look down on you!"

"You called me family trash and a talentless fluke earlier tonight," he said, not missing a beat, "right here in this courtyard."

"That was different."

"How?"

She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again before looking away with a frustrated huff.

He watched her for a moment, letting the silence settle before he spoke. "You have been like this ever since we were kids, following me around everywhere and never leaving me alone for a single second."

"But then spend the whole time insulting me and calling me a failure, telling me I was embarrassing just to be related to," he paused, his eyes narrowing, "and you insulted my mother as well, more than once."

She flinched at that, her defiant posture crumbling as she dropped her gaze to the ground, and he continued in the same even tone.

"And every single time I snapped back at you, you would start crying, full-on loud attention-grabbing sobbing like I was the one who had done something wrong, and then you would run to the servants and act like a complete baby until someone came to scold me."

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache forming while Juna let out a small amused snort from her spot against the wall, not bothering to open her eyes.

Then he glanced at the stream panel and noticed a new username he hadn’t seen before.

[ AnimeConnoisseur42:] wait wait wait

[ AnimeConnoisseur42:] i have seen this exact behavior in anime before

[ AnimeConnoisseur42:] she is a tsundere lmaoooo

[ CringeSlayer91:] NO WAY

[ ShadowMage44:] bro really said it out loud

[ DarkBlade:] idk man, tsunderes dont insult peoples mothers

[ NewViewer_02:] yeah thats a bit far for a tsundere lol

[ AnimeConnoisseur42:] nah nah nah you guys are just looking at the surface level, the core is still there: acts hostile, follows him everywhere, cries when he ignores her

[ CringeSlayer91:] i mean she did call him family trash too LMAO

[ ShadowMage44:] tsundere or not the dynamic is hilarious

[ DarkBlade:] im not convinced but i see the vision

He stared at the chat for a second, the word triggering a memory of Ashley explaining it back during the ranker exam. Someone who acts hostile on the outside to hide their real feelings. He looked at Uriel, then back at the chat.

’They are not wrong,’ he thought, letting the idea settle. ’That does describe her pretty well, except for the mom stuff.’

"So you guys think she is a tsundere," he muttered under his breath.

[ AnimeConnoisseur42:] EXACTLY, your sister basically follows the template minus the mom insults

[ CringeSlayer91:] bros little sister is in love with him LMAOOO

[ ShadowMage44:] this is peak fiction right here

[ DarkBlade:] i still say the mom thing disqualifies her from full tsundere status, that is just being mean lol

[ NewViewer_02:] maybe she is a violent tsundere? those exist too

[ LurkerNoMore:] honestly who cares what we call it, the way she acts is funny

He slowly closed the chat panel, "That explains a lot, actually," he said flatly before turning to face Uriel directly.

She shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable with the silence and completely unaware that a bunch of viewers from another dimension had just analyzed her personality in under thirty seconds.

"Look, I need to go rest, it has been a very long night," he said, and when she didn’t answer, just kept staring at the ground, he added "behave yourself" in a flat voice.

Then, on a whim, he reached out and placed his hand on top of her head, and she went completely still.

He patted her once, twice, testing the reaction the way Ashley had described. ’If she really is a tsundere, she should act hostile but secretly like it,’ he thought, but to his surprise she didn’t pull away or snap at him or swat his hand off, just standing there with her face burning red and her eyes fixed on the ground.

He pulled his hand back, momentarily caught off-guard before clearing his throat, "Anyway, do not try what you were trying in the ballroom again."

"If you shout that I am related to you in front of everyone, it will cause big trouble," and she stayed silent, her hands gripping the hem of her dress.

He waited for her to say something, to argue or snap or make an excuse, but she just stood there with her ears red and her mouth shut.

"Ok then, good night, Uriel, it was nice seeing you after such a long time," he waited a few seconds before turning and walking away, Juna silently pushing off the wall to fall into step beside him.

He didn’t look back, but he could not help wondering if that had actually worked.

The moment his footsteps faded into the night, Uriel let out a shaky breath she had been holding the entire time. Her hands flew up to cover her face, the heat radiating off her cheeks so intense she could feel it against her palms.

’He patted my head,’ her mind raced, replaying the moment over and over again.

’He actually patted my head, and I just stood there, and I did not even say anything, and now he thinks I am some kind of weirdo who just takes head pats in silence.’

She let out a small, frustrated whine, pressing her palms harder against her face.

From the shadows near the ballroom entrance, a figure stood with his arms crossed, his face completely unreadable as he watched the entire scene unfold.

The eldest son of the Flint family had been standing there since the moment Hajin walked away, his cold gaze fixed on his little sister as she clutched her face and let out a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a squeak.

He did not say a word, just turned on his heel and walked back into the ballroom with a look of pure irritation etched across his face.