Lucy's cries slowly thinned out, no longer sharp or overwhelming, just broken fragments of sound fading into Ryū's chest. Her grip loosened little by little, like a storm losing its wind.
The arena, once tense and silent, began to stir.
Servants finally rushed in.
Late, as always.
The first to break through the crowd was Leo.
He nearly stumbled at the sight of the blood pooling beneath them, his eyes widening as he took in the scene. For a moment, his voice refused to come out properly.
"Big sis… are you… are you—"
He couldn't finish.
Ryū didn't even look worried. Instead, he gently shifted Lucy slightly and answered first, casually, like this was just another inconvenience.
"She's fine."
Lucy immediately lifted her head at that, glaring through tear-streaked eyes.
Ryū glanced down at her and added with a light, teasing grin, "Good thing I know useful spells like healing magic. Unlike some people who call swinging a sword a personality trait."
There was a pause.
A dangerous pause.
Then Lucy, still half crying, snapped upward and bit straight into his neck.
"OW—HEY—OKAY, OKAY, I'M SORRY—!"
She held on for a second longer than necessary before releasing him with a satisfied huff, wiping her face with her sleeve like she had just won something important.
Leo blinked.
Then, slowly, his shoulders relaxed.
"…You're both insane."
But he was smiling now.
He stepped forward and hugged Lucy tightly, ignoring the blood, ignoring everything else.
"Thank God… you're okay."
Lucy hesitated for a moment, then returned the hug with her remaining arm, a soft, exhausted breath leaving her.
Ryū watched them for a second, then exhaled through his nose.
Servants were already entering the arena properly now, carrying equipment, speaking in low tones, moving toward Lucy like she was just another scheduled procedure.
No urgency.
No care.
Just routine.
He clicked his tongue faintly.
Still the same.
Even now.
Even after something like this, the system treated her like a checked box rather than a person.
And then he saw it.
Her arm.
Picked up without hesitation, wrapped, labeled, already being taken away before she could even process what it meant.
Ryū's gaze sharpened slightly.
Too calm.
That part always bothered him.
In his past, this moment had been the beginning of something far worse. Policies like this were always justified under "medical preservation" or "research recovery." But what they actually led to… was never clean.
He forced the thought down.
Not yet.
Not the time.
He turned back toward Lucy and Leo.
"Hey," he said lightly, as if nothing important had just crossed his mind. "I'm gonna go have a talk with your dad. You two stay here and don't do anything dramatic while I'm gone, alright?"
Lucy immediately straightened.
"Wait. I'm coming with you."
Her hand grabbed his sleeve tightly, not letting go.
"I can talk to him too. Maybe we can fix this—"
"Mm," Ryū hummed, already shaking his head. "And what, you're gonna negotiate with your father using half an arm and emotional damage?"
Lucy opened her mouth.
Closed it.
Then narrowed her eyes.
"…You're really annoying right now."
"That's my talent," he replied instantly. "I'm a specialist in emotional stability."
"Liar."
"Truth."
She looked like she wanted to argue, but the energy drained out of her halfway through. Instead, she just tightened her grip slightly.
Ryū softened his tone just a bit.
"Don't worry. I've got a plan."
Her expression didn't ease.
"That's what you always say before something goes wrong."
"I resent that," he said, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair slightly. "I also say it when things go right. You just don't notice those."
That earned him a faint glare.
But it wasn't sharp.
Just… tired.
He let go and glanced toward the nearly empty stands.
"Besides," he added, tone light again, "your mom's definitely unconscious somewhere. Imagine her waking up and seeing you like this. She's gonna think I trained you into a disaster."
Lucy snorted weakly.
"That's rich coming from you. You're the reason she had to patch your arm back together that one time."
Ryū froze mid-step.
"…That was a strategic incident."
"Oh really?"
"I was testing fire resistance."
"With a kitchen explosion?"
"Exactly."
Lucy gave him a slow, exhausted look.
"I still have the recording of you getting dragged through the entire mansion for that."
"…You what."
"Oh," she said sweetly, leaning back slightly. "It helps with stress. I rewatch it sometimes."
A beat of silence.
Ryū turned his head slightly away.
"…I'm leaving now."
Lucy's grin flickered for the first time into something lighter.
"Don't get yourself killed, idiot."
"I won't," he replied without looking back. "I'd feel bad for your recovery schedule."
"You're impossible."
"And you're missing an arm. We all have problems."
"HEY—!"
Her shout followed him as he walked away, but there was no real anger in it anymore.
Just familiarity.
Just them.
—
As his figure disappeared down the corridor, Lucy's expression slowly changed.
The brightness faded.
Not gone.
Just… quieter.
Leo noticed immediately.
"Big sis?"
She didn't answer right away.
Her hand rested on where her arm used to be, fingers curling slightly as if expecting something to still be there.
"…Do you think I look weird now?"
Leo blinked.
Then frowned hard.
"What? No. That's stupid. You look like Big Sis Lucy. That's it."
She gave a small, uncertain laugh.
"That's not really an answer…"
"It is," he said firmly, stepping closer. "And also, you're scary now. So don't start doubting yourself or I'll be in trouble too."
That finally made her pause.
Then she exhaled slowly.
"…You're bad at comforting people."
"I'm great at it," Leo replied instantly. "You're just difficult."
A silence.
Then Lucy gently pulled him into a one-armed hug.
"Shut up…"
Her voice cracked slightly at the end.
But she was smiling.
Leo, trapped in the hug, grinned anyway.
"Are you crying?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Say that again and I'll bite you too."
"…I believe you."
And just like that, even in the aftermath of loss, the moment didn't fall apart.
It just… stayed.
Fragile.
Alive.
...
As things slowly settled behind him, Ryū walked through the long corridor in silence.
Servants moved aside the moment they saw him, their gazes lingering just a second too long before dropping away. Word had already spread. It always did in a place like this. The result of the duel, Lucia Tsukinome's defeat, and by extension… his departure.
To them, it was already decided.
He didn't care.
Their eyes, their whispers, their quiet judgments meant nothing compared to what he had already seen, what he had already lived through. Compared to that future… this was nothing more than the opening move.
His attention shifted inward.
A translucent window flickered into existence before him.
<
<
> > Claim Rewards
Ryū blinked once, mildly surprised.
"That… was fast."
He hadn't forced anything. No calculated move, no grand execution. Just… being there for her, the way he always had been. Somehow, that alone had fulfilled the condition.
It felt almost too easy.
Suspicious, even.
Still, curiosity won out.
With a thought, he triggered the reward.
The interface responded instantly, reacting to his will rather than any physical motion. A familiar mechanic. Invisible to most, untouchable unless one possessed a sufficiently advanced perception or analysis ability.
Convenient.
And usually safe.
Which was why—
"Nice system window you've got there. When did you awaken?"
The voice came from behind him.
Cold.
Flat.
Perfectly timed to send a chill down his spine.
Ryū stopped.
Then slowly turned around.
It wasn't a servant.
It was her.
Frostle.
She stood there with the same composed posture as before, her presence sharp without needing to raise her voice. The faint redness on her cheek stood out immediately.
A mark.
Recent.
His eyes lingered on it for a second before he spoke.
"…Did you get slapped? Guess that's pretty expected for cutting your sister's arm off."
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"Don't dodge the question," she replied, her tone clipped. "When did you awaken, and why are you showing it so carelessly?"
The words were harsh, but there was no real hostility behind them. Just tension.
Ryū glanced around briefly, confirming the hallway was empty before answering.
"Relax. Most people here can't see it," he said casually. "And even if they could, it's nothing special. Awakening isn't exactly rare."
"That depends on the person," she shot back immediately. "For someone like you, it changes everything. If Father finds out—"
"No need."
He cut her off without hesitation.
Frostle's eyes narrowed.
"…You're refusing it?"
"It's already decided," Ryū replied calmly. "He doesn't want me in the succession race. Same goes for Lucy."
A faint smile tugged at his lips, but there was no humor in it.
"You were waiting, weren't you?" he continued. "For him to step in at the last moment. To stop you."
Her expression didn't change.
But her silence answered him.
"He didn't," Ryū said simply. "Because this is exactly what he wanted. Lucy out of the race. Cleanly. Permanently. You cutting her arm off just… saved him the effort."
"What are you even talking about?" she replied, but there was a slight tension in her voice now.
"Don't play dumb," he said, his tone still light, but sharper underneath. "You could've ended that fight the moment it started. You didn't. You held back just enough to let her struggle… just enough to make it look real. You wanted her to have a chance to step back."
He shrugged slightly.
"I act stupid sometimes, sure. But that's mostly because I hang around that gremlin too much. Doesn't mean I don't notice things."
Frostle's jaw tightened.
She turned her head slightly, a faint flush creeping onto her face despite herself.
"…How is she?"
The question came out quieter.
Carefully.
"…Does she hate me?"
Ryū exhaled lightly.
"She's fine. I got to her in time. Eye's safe. Arm's gone. Big scar too, if you're keeping score."
Frostle flinched, just barely.
Then she asked, more seriously this time, "Tell me honestly… would you start to despise her if she stayed like that?"
Ryū blinked.
Then let out a short breath that almost turned into a laugh.
"Despise her?"
"It's not funny," she snapped immediately. "I'm serious. She… she clearly has feelings for you. Anyone with eyes can see that."
That caught him off guard.
He tilted his head slightly.
"…You really think that?"
"Yes."
"…We're just close," he replied, brushing it off. "That's all it is."
Frostle stared at him.
Then, without a word, she spoke again.
"June 23rd. Last year. She fell asleep on the couch watching a romance film."
Ryū blinked.
"…You memorized the date?"
"I remember patterns," Frostle replied flatly. "She said your name thirty times in her sleep."
"…Maybe she was chasing me in a nightmare."
"December 1st," Frostle continued, completely ignoring him. "Different movie. I was there."
She cleared her throat slightly before repeating in a near-perfect imitation—
"'Please, Ryū… don't leave me. I can't live without you…'"
He stared at her.
"…You're making that up."
Without a word, she pulled out her phone.
A recording played.
Her own voice came first.
"Do you really think you love him? Or is it just attachment?"
Then Lucy's voice followed.
Clear.
Unfiltered.
"Why do you keep asking that?! I really love him! I can't live without him now!—Wait, ARE YOU RECORDING—"
Ryū slowly leaned back against the wall.
"…This is bad."
Frostle's gaze sharpened.
"Why is it bad?" she asked. "Because she's not as pretty anymore?"
He blinked at her.
"What are you even talking about?"
She didn't respond immediately.
"I'm saying," he continued, pushing off the wall slightly, "if I get involved in that kind of situation, I'm basically stepping into a power struggle inside one of the most influential clans in the country. That's not exactly a peaceful lifestyle."
Frostle let out a quiet breath.
"I don't care about that," she said. "Just answer the question. Do you like her or not? The rest… I'll handle."
She looked away slightly.
"…It's the least I can do after what I did."
There was no defense in her voice.
No justification.
Just… acceptance.
Ryū was quiet for a moment.
Then he answered.
"I want to protect her."
Frostle's expression softened, just a fraction.
"You can do that better if you're closer to her."
"I know," he admitted. "But—"
"I don't have time for hesitation."
She cut him off again, her tone returning to its usual firmness.
"We're leaving overseas in two days. I'm not letting this end unresolved."
She stepped past him.
And then, without even turning back—
"I'll make sure you take responsibility and marry her before I leave."
Ryū froze.
Then immediately turned.
"Wait—what?"
She kept walking.
"What do you mean 'marry'?!" he called after her, already moving to catch up, his composure cracking for the first time.
Frostle didn't slow down.
Didn't even look back.
And somehow…
That made it worse.
...