"How did you find out?"

Elira, acting completely nonchalant, pulled a small diary from her skirt pocket. There wasn’t a single trace of guilt on her face. She held the diary out toward Lucian and said casually,

"Sorry, but I ’borrowed’ this book from you."

Lucian froze.

His mind went blank for a moment before he instinctively snatched the diary from her hand, staring at it in disbelief.

"This isn’t ’borrowing’ — it’s called stealing! "Don’t you have any shame? Breaking into an innocent guy’s dorm and stealing his stuff?"

With a perfectly deadpan expression, Elira simply shook her head.

"What else did you steal?"

One second..." she smiled ad She stood up and began pulling even more items from her other pocket, laying them out on the bed.

Lucian stared at the growing pile. "That’s my toothbrush, and—"

His eyes landed on a scrap of fabric — a piece of a shirt stained with dried blood. Lucian’s face went completely deadpan.

"You’re a huge pervert," he stated flatly.

Elira placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, nodding with a shameless sense of pride.

"This is all just evidence for my ’observation’ process.

It’s not an observation! It’s called stalking! And this scrap of my torn shirt—" Lucian cut himself off

He realized then that with Elira’s level of social audacity, she would probably never feel a shred of embarrassment — but she would definitely make sure the person across from her felt one hundred percent of it.

Elira’s gaze grew somber.

You know... from a certain perspective, it’s a good thing your talent was sealed. Otherwise, you would have been trapped in this curse as well.

Lucian walked back toward the bed and looked straight into Elira’s eyes. "Okay, Elira... there’s one thing I don’t understand."

"Hmm?"

"You keep calling this a ’curse,’ but... I mean... You could just run away, right?"

Elira slowly shook her head.

"No."

"What?"

"This isn’t something any Hero can choose, the moment we receive the title of Hero, our Fate gets sealed. They use Word Magic during the ritual, and once that happens, we can never escape it. If we ever try to turn our backs on this fate or run away then we start aging rapidly and die from it.

"Wait — You’re telling me your parents... I mean, the Queen and King of Frostfall Kingdom... they cast this magic on their own daughter?"

Then realization hit him like a cloud of concern.

His own parents would’ve done the exact same thing. If his talent hadn’t been stolen from him, they would’ve sealed his fate too. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Well..." Elira’s voice pulled him back.

"I didn’t expect it either. Not until my older brother revealed everything. When I found out — since childhood, they’d been mixing a Transformation Spell into my food. All to hide my ears... and suppress the limits of my Dragon Blood

Lucian blinked.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!"

You have Dragon Blood?

Elira bluntly nodded. Then immediately activated villain’s gaze.

Name: Elira Frostveil

Race: Half-Dragon, Half-Human

Age: 18

Affection Level: 77

Mana Stage: Force

Combat Power: 37,850

Lucian jerked back and sat down hard on the bed.

Everything suddenly made sense to him what happened during the goblin massacre.

’So that’s where her brute strength comes from and those ear.’

Lucian stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke in a neutral tone.

"Then, what’s your real reason for being here? I mean, you must have some kind of goal in this kingdom?"

Elira’s lips curved into a soft smile, and in an unexpectedly affectionate tone, she said:

"You already know this.

This academy in the Egis Kingdom is one of the top five in the entire world. It has quite the reputation...

That is why my parents specifically sent me here — to recruit Heroes to our side before they receive their title

However..."

She stepped closer.

Crossing both arms over his shoulders, She leaned in — her ice-blue gaze locking directly onto his eyes.

At first, I only came here to go along with my parents’ disgusting plot. But over the past month... watching you, observing you..."

Her voice dropped lower.

"I finally realized what I truly want."

Lucian’s breath hitched.

"And to get it — even if it means my lifespan shortens — I don’t care anymore."

My only goal now is to stay by your side, as close as I can possibly be.

Without warning, she climbed onto the bed and sat directly in his lap, locking her legs around his torso in a perfect, inescapable embrace. One hand rested on his shoulder while the other tangled itself into Lucian’s hair.

The bed gave a soft, rhythmic creak as she closed the final gap between them, pulling him into a warm hug. Her voice was a mere ghost of a whisper against his shoulder.

"You know, Lucian... we’re exactly the same."

"You lost everything. When you were a prodigy, this world treated you worse than a slave because their expectations were too high... they suffocated you."

"When I realized the people I called ’parents’ only saw me as an ’asset,’ I made a choice. I decided I would never use my dragon strength for them. After that, they started treating me like nothing more than a ’broken tool.’

"In the end, only my brother tried to save me, but even he got trapped in this curse and was taken away from me when I was only thirteen. Since then, I’ve had no reason to look at this world with the same eyes. I just... observed. Nothing more."

"Except... after meeting you, I realized that you’re just like me. You’re a ’broken mirror’ reflecting my own soul."

Lucian’s mind went completely still.

He closed his eyes.

His hand — which had been merely resting on her back, uncertain and unmoving — suddenly tightened its grip.

Without thinking twice — he wrapped his arms around her properly, returning the embrace.

Offering her the same warm, quiet comfort she had already given to him.

For a moment, he wondered—

’Is this just pity?’

But then—

[BING!]

[AFFECTION INCREASED]

Elira Frostveil: 77 → 94

Status: Deep Feelings → True Love

New Thought: I know now... I want to spend every moment of my life with my beloved. And that person is only you, Lucian.

Elira gently ruffled Lucian’s head and leaned in, her lips inches from his ear.

"Your warmth... this feeling... There’s peace in it, Lucian. I don’t care anymore what happens to me, or this curse. I just want to be with you. As long as you love me, I don’t care even if you sleep with someone else — I know this feeling they call it love... And I felt it when we were fighting together...

Her voice dropping to a low, hungry growl.

I just need you. You’re mine, Lucian.

I love you."