Long, snow-white hair cascaded down like silk, accented by golden floral ornaments and a ribbon on the left. A pair of slightly tapered ears—like an elf’s—lent the look a mystical edge.

Piercing sapphire-blue eyes stared back, framed by blue prism diamond earrings.

The gown was a pristine white, boasting intricate gold embroidery that radiated an air of untouchable nobility.

The skin of the shoulders was so flawless it looked as though it had never been touched by the dust of the world.

"Incredible," I whispered, marvelling at the sheer fidelity. "This is a Legendary tier skin."

But the euphoria was short-lived. The sound of hurried footsteps echoing from the hallway shattered my fantasy.

"Crap," I hissed.

I moved instantly to cancel the spell.

"Afturkalla."

My body shrank back down.

And I felt like I was going to puke.

Nausea slammed into my gut, accompanied by a dizzy spell that turned my vision blurry. The side effects were no joke. I staggered, reverting to my usual form just as the doors burst open.

"KAIRI!"

Azalea and Helena charged in, breathless. I blinked, trying to regain my balance.

"Huh? You guys... just woke up?"

The fight with Valeria should have made enough noise to wake the dead. The screams, the magical explosions, the cracking floor... how could they not have heard?

Azalea glared at me with a mix of confusion and irritation. "Woke up? I’ve been looking for you this whole time! I couldn’t find you anywhere!" She planted her hands on her hips, her face flushed from running. "Helena too. We’ve been wandering the castle like idiots. It wasn’t until I asked Milena—who was just strolling through the lower corridor—that she casually mentioned you were in the Observatory."

Is this room soundproof? Or did Valeria pull us into a pocket dimension?

Whatever. It didn’t matter.

Azalea’s eyes swept the room, and a second later, she looked like she’d seen a ghost.

"SELENE!"

She sprinted toward Selene’s limp body. Helena followed, her face pale. Azalea knelt, checking Selene’s pulse with trembling hands.

"Kairi! What happened?!" Azalea screamed, turning to me with tearful eyes.

"Why is she like this?!"

I scratched the back of my head, still a bit lightheaded from the de-aging. My brain automatically flipped to my default mode: frustratingly calm.

"Oh, that," I replied flatly.

"She’s just sleeping."

Silence. One second. Two seconds.

And then...

SLAP!

My right cheek burned. My head snapped to the side from the force of Azalea’s palm. The pain was real, but more shocking than anything else.

"Sleeping, you say?!" Azalea’s voice rose, cracking with emotion. "Look at her! She’s pale, her pulse is weak! This is the first time I’ve ever seen Selene this fragile, and you... you just stand there like nothing happened! You look perfectly fine, while she...!"

Azalea was livid.

In her eyes, I was the definition of incompetence—the boy who let his companion get hurt while he remained unscathed. She didn’t realize I only looked this "refreshed" because of the elixir’s healing effect.

I held my reddened cheek. My mind raced. If I fought back, this would drag on. If I stayed silent, she’d only get angrier.

I had one ace left to play: Cienna.

I lowered my head. My shoulders began to tremble. Not from genuine tears, but from a forced internal scream.

Or more like... I threatened her.

"Hiks..."

Azalea froze.

"I’m sorry..." my voice shifted. Higher, more fragile. "Forgive Kairi, Sister Azalea... Kairi didn’t know what to do... hiks..."

Oh boy, here comes Cienna with the waterworks! Give the Actor of the Year award to Kairi Izumi!

Azalea’s reaction was instant. Her explosive rage evaporated, replaced by confusion and guilt. For a moment, she forgot the "Kairi" she knew. What she saw—thanks to the perception manipulation I employed—was a fragile "younger sibling."

She remembered Selene’s stories about Milena’s sensitive younger brother.

"Ah... eh?" Azalea stammered, her slapping hand hovering awkwardly.

"I-I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to be so harsh..."

She let out a long sigh and looked at me—this time with exhaustion rather than anger. But her underlying resentment for "Kairi" remained.

"Enough. Stop crying. Just explain what happened."

I wiped away my soul’s tears, gradually letting my normal voice return.

"I’m sorry," I said softly.

"This... isn’t the first time."

"What do you mean?"

"It’s a long story," I dodged.

And honestly, it was too long. Explaining the backstory would take more than a single anime episode.

Azalea snorted in annoyance but didn’t press further. She turned her focus back to Selene.

Meanwhile, I looked at Selene, who was still unconscious.

At least I was right about one thing:

Selene is an idiot. A complete idiot.

She had pushed herself too far. Using forbidden magic, burning through her own life force just to save me. Me—the one who was actually ready to give up. Me, who was willing to die or be taken by Valeria just to end this boredom.

But she refused. She dragged me back from the edge of the abyss, forcing me to stay on this chessboard with her.

Our forbidden love—as brother and sister, heirs to the honorary Nakanarian clan—never made any sense. But seeing her lying there because she protected me...

A complete, selfless idiot who had incinerated her own life force just to keep a jaded variable like me on the board. I had been ready to vanish into Valeria’s void, to let the credits roll on a life that felt like a series of scripted tragedies. But she had reached into the abyss and hauled me back, stubbornly refusing to let the story end without her.

​Our bond—as sisters of the Nakanarian bloodline—was a glitch the world’s fundamental laws couldn’t resolve. Watching her lie there, broken but still breathing, the real fear finally settled in my chest. Not the fear of a written plot, but the terrifying reality of a world where her heart could actually stop.

Maybe, just maybe... being a variable in this story isn’t so bad after all.