"Sisteeer…"

Lisa had fallen asleep on Lina's shoulder, her breathing uneven from exhaustion after crying so much. Lina gently stroked her sister's hair, her movements careful, as if she were afraid Lisa might disappear again if she let go.

Watching the scene, I finally spoke.

"So… Lisa was the precious thing you've been searching for all this time."

"Yes," Lina answered quietly. "I've been looking for Lisa this whole time."

For over a hundred years, she had lived for that single purpose.

She joined the rebels to gather information, searched every corner of the capital, even combed through the darkest underground waterways—never sparing herself, never giving up.

And now, at last, the two sisters were reunited.

There must have been countless emotions piled up between them over the years—words that could never fully be spoken.

I stood up silently and went to pay the bill, leaving the sisters to their long-awaited moment.

"You don't have to pay…" Lina said, glancing at me with an apologetic expression.

But her words lacked urgency. She didn't really try to stop me.

Given that she'd been starving for days, it wasn't hard to guess she didn't have much money left.

"Thank you," she said after a brief pause.

"If you're grateful," I replied lightly, "pay me back later."

"Yes. I will," Lina said firmly. "No matter what it takes, I'll repay you."

"Good," I said, turning away. "Then I'll be going."

I walked out, leaving Lina behind—still holding her sister, her eyes filled with quiet determination.

Elena, who had been waiting outside, walked up to me as I stepped out.

"Where's Lina?"

"It looks like she wanted to talk first," I replied.

"I see."

It didn't seem like a bad idea to let the two of them catch up for now. We were already running late anyway, so Elena and I headed toward the classroom at an unhurried pace.

"But those two…" Elena tilted her head slightly. "Why are they so happy to see each other? I have an older sister too, but we're not like that, so I find it kind of strange."

"They were separated when they were young," I explained. "This is the first time they've met again in a very long while."

"Oh… I see. That makes sense."

The confusion on Elena's face faded as she nodded in understanding.

Still, from what I knew, her situation wasn't all that different.

Elena's older sister, Celia, was famously overprotective—borderline a sister fanatic. Because of that, the two of them were actually quite close. At the very least, they didn't have the constant bickering relationship most sisters seemed to have.

Though, to be fair, Celia's affection was mostly one-sided, and it could be a little overwhelming for Elena at times.

Even so, they were a harmonious family.

Watching the reunited sisters with a faint smile, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.

'A harmonious family…'

For some reason, that concept didn't resonate with me at all.

For someone like me, it felt distant—almost unreal.

Loneliness and solitude were far more familiar companions. My heart had always felt hollow, and the thing that filled that emptiness was manga.

"Hm? What's wrong?"

Elena must have noticed my expression stiffen, because she looked at me with concern.

"It's nothing," I said, shaking my head lightly. "Really."

Even as I said it, a faint bitterness lingered in my chest.

----

Late at night, the Academy was wrapped in an unusual stillness.

Most of the students had gone out to enjoy the festival, leaving the grounds eerily quiet.

Walking through the nearly deserted pathways, I found myself savoring a rare moment of peace. Since enrolling, one incident after another had piled up without giving me a chance to rest. The exhaustion had been constant, pressing down on me day after day.

But now, with the cool night breeze brushing against my skin, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

…Yeah.

People really do need time like this.

I'd been living far too frantically lately.

Lost in thought, I strolled along at an unhurried pace—until a familiar silhouette caught my eye in the distance.

"Where are you going, Louis?"

At the sound of my name, I looked up to see Viola approaching. Her hair was braided differently from usual, giving her a softer impression as she walked toward me with quick, light steps.

"I was heading back to the dormitory," I replied. "What about you, Viola?"

Ever since the study group we'd formed to prevent Lisa's expulsion, we'd naturally started speaking to each other more casually. It felt strange at first, but now it came easily.

Viola slowed to a stop in front of me, the faint glow of the lanterns lining the path reflected in her eyes.

Although she hadn't exactly become friendly, the way she addressed me now felt noticeably more familiar. I'd never seen Viola speak casually with anyone else, so this was probably her own quiet way of showing closeness.

"I was on my way to the festival," she said. "Aren't you going too, Louis?"

…The festival.

Now that she mentioned it, hadn't Lisa said she was going with Viola? Was that today already?

Lisa hadn't shown up to class because she'd reunited with Lina, but it seemed she was still planning to attend the festival tonight. After meeting her sister again after so long—and getting to see the festival she'd been looking forward to—today was probably one of the happiest days of her life.

"As for me," I replied after a moment, "I'm not particularly interested. I'll probably just rest in my room."

Honestly, lying down on a comfortable bed sounded far more appealing than squeezing through a crowded festival.

It wasn't that I hated festivals.

It was just… troublesome, I guess.

And more importantly, I didn't really have a reason to go.

"Ah… I see."

At my answer, Viola lowered her gaze slightly. For just a moment, she looked… disappointed.

Why is she acting like that?

As I looked at her with puzzled eyes, Viola suddenly raised her head,

looked into my eyes, and said:

"Um... Louis...!"

"Whtat?"

"Would you like to go to the festival with me?"

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