"You—you—you! What are you doing here?! You actually dared to break into Schicksal's headquarters! Aren't you afraid you won't make it back out? But since you're here, that works too! This time I'll show you just how powerful I am!"
Theresa was first stunned in shock. Seeing Elias appear out of nowhere, she instinctively covered her butt with both hands.
Then she angrily raised her tiny fists, puffing up like an enruly kitten.
But before she could leap up and smack a certain someone's knee—
"Elias!!"
Cecilia cried out in delighted surprise, rushing past Theresa and throwing herself straight into the white-haired boy's arms.
She immediately pressed her lips to his.
"!!!"
Elias froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Cecilia's welcome to be this enthusiastic. Though his mind blanked briefly, his veteran instincts responded on their own.
In just a few moves, Cecilia's body softened, utterly defeated by his skilled technique. She melted into his embrace, looking entirely at his mercy.
The gap between their levels was simply too great.
Elias was on the same tier as Elysia—if not even slightly superior—a true king of romance. Cecilia, on the other hand, was only a rookie who had just begun to taste love.
Their reunion after a short separation felt sweeter than a honeymoon.
But it left a certain white-haired dumpling utterly miserable.
"Y-you two! How can you do this?!"
Theresa's cheeks flushed red as she covered her face with both hands, yet widened her eyes to peek at them through her fingers while they kissed.
Embarrassed—but also so upset she felt like coughing up blood.
She felt like some unlucky bastard with a lush green prairie sprouting over her head.
Aren't you two going too far?! You're making out right in front of me! Do you even realize I'm only in my twenties this year?!
"Hmm~"
Elias smugly flashed a victory sign.
"Guh!"
Theresa clutched her tiny chest.
She felt blatantly mocked and flaunted at. Though she wanted to do something, seeing Cecilia's utterly lovestruck expression made her realize she could do absolutely nothing.
It hurt! It hurt so much!
So this was how her detestable grandfather felt when he got "greened" by that pink-haired fox spirit? Theresa finally understood! Because right in front of her was a detestable white fox stealing away her Cecilia—her Holy Maiden!
"E-Elias... that's enough now."
Cecilia shyly pulled away. The impulsive passion born from their long separation faded, and the pure-hearted girl now felt embarrassed by her own boldness.
"Alright. I'll let you off for now."
Elias nodded and did not press further.
Beneath the bright moonlight, the white-haired boy licked the corner of his lips. His slightly narrowed golden eyes shone brilliantly. Combined with a face capable of captivating the world—and the charm blessing of Miss Pink Elf's [Ego]—
Cecilia felt her gaze forcibly seized by that overwhelming allure. She couldn't look away. She stared at him in a daze.
Her heart pounded wildly, her cheeks flushed red.
Theresa, meanwhile, shot Elias an unwilling glare, thinking, Why does this guy have to be so handsome?! Is it so people can't bear to hit his face in battle?!
"Elias, why did you come? Didn't you say before that you wouldn't see me again?"
Cecilia asked in delight, her small hand unconsciously gripping the corner of his clothes as if afraid he might disappear.
"Silly girl. Couldn't you tell I was lying? Just like that little shorty over there said—I'm a bad man. And besides, you weren't planning to give up either, were you?"
Elias raised a hand to pat Cecilia's head, then leapt down from the windowsill and produced a bouquet of Casablanca lilies, placing them into her hands.
Cecilia accepted the bouquet.
Her heart thudded violently.
No girl disliked receiving flowers—especially not flowers from the boy she liked.
"Elias isn't a bad person. To me, you're the best person in the world." She shook her head firmly.
"Thank you for the flowers. I'll treasure them."
"Mm. Looks like I worried for nothing. Phew..."
Seeing the undisguised love in Cecilia's eyes, Elias let out a breath as if relieved.
"Eh? Worried?"
Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.
"Before coming here, I worried there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance you'd already let go of what we had. After all, we only spent seven days together. Maybe in your heart, I wasn't as important as I imagined... Ah, forget I said that."
Elias shook his head and withdrew his words.
Seeing the seriousness on Cecilia's face, he realized he had spoken carelessly.
Though they had only spent seven days together, sometimes feelings couldn't be measured by time.
For example, with Eliana, the time had been even shorter—less than two days—yet that love still shone like a diamond.
"How could I let go? Elias, the time I spent with you was the happiest period of my life." Cecilia pressed a hand to her chest and spoke earnestly.
"Is that so? But after that, you never contacted me. Not even a phone call—let alone a message. That kind of coldness would make even someone as confident as me feel uneasy."
"A phone... call? A message?"
"Mm. On the terminal I gave you, my contact information is there. Its signal is strong enough for you to call me even from the moon. It's been a month, and you never contacted me once."
Elias sounded faintly aggrieved.
Cecilia froze, an inexplicable sense of guilt rising within her.
"I—I forgot..."
She raised the bouquet to hide her face.
(That's right... I could have called or sent an email. Something so simple—how did I forget? I even used the terminal every day to look at photos from the trip...)
Cecilia now wanted to smack her own forehead with a brick. How could she forget something so basic?!
Elias' expression turned complicated, utterly speechless. He had considered countless possibilities—but never that Cecilia had simply forgotten. He couldn't help wondering if all Holy Maidens came with an airheaded trait.
"But you didn't call Cecilia either," Theresa jumped in, defending her best friend.
"That's because I don't like phone calls. Hearing a voice or seeing a video isn't enough for me—it only makes me miss her more. That's why I came here in person."
Elias spoke matter-of-factly as he wrapped an arm around Cecilia's slender waist, resting his chin on her fragrant shoulder.
He then smugly showed off to a certain jealous onlooker.
"Only meeting like this—hearing her voice, seeing her face, feeling her presence, touching her—can make me feel satisfied. Got it, you Judah launcher over there?"
"Y-you greedy bastard! Who are you calling a Judah launcher?!"
"Whoever's getting worked up."
"I-I'm not worked up at all!"
"Uh... please don't argue..."
Cecilia looked at the bickering pair, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. To her, both of them were a bit childish... but incredibly cute.
"Alright, I've seen you. Time for me to go."
"Eh? Elias, you're leaving already?"
"Hmph! Hurry up and go! Don't think just because you're handsome you can do whatever you want, sneaking into a girl's room at night like some pervert!"
"Theresa~ Do you believe I could spank you right in front of Cecilia again?"
Elias smiled brightly—but the chill behind it made Theresa shiver more than the night breeze. She instinctively hid behind Cecilia and stuck out her tongue.
But just as Elias was about to return to Elysian Realm, he felt his clothes being tightly tugged.
"Elias... can you... stay tonight?"
"Cecilia?"
"I... I really missed you."
There was a pleading look in the girl's eyes—so pitiful and delicate that even the hardest heart would soften.
Elias turned around.
He thought about it—he had Elysia and the others to keep him company, so he never felt lonely. But Cecilia only had their shared memories.
Memories did not lie—but they couldn't ease the loneliness of being apart. If anything, they only made it worse.
And as the object of her longing... perhaps he had some responsibility to ease it.
"Alright. I won't leave tonight."
Elias gently stroked her white hair.
Cecilia was instantly overwhelmed with joy. She hadn't expected him to actually agree.
"Th-then I'll go prepare the guest room!"
"...Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of me staying? Even if we're under the same roof, I still wouldn't see you."
"...That's true. In that case..."
A few minutes later.
On a soft bed, the three of them lay together. Elias and Cecilia were on either side, with a certain Theresa sandwiched in the middle. Though the bed wasn't large, squeezing together kept anyone from falling off.
"...What is this strange feeling?"
Theresa's eyes were hollow.
Her left cheek pressed against the white-haired boy's firm chest, her right cheek pressed against Cecilia's soft curves. She felt like she had been turned into a body pillow between the two of them.
"How did things end up like this...?"
"Oh? If you're unwilling, Theresa, I wouldn't mind sleeping alone with Cecilia."
"Absolutely not! That's the one thing I refuse!!"
"Then just be a good pillow. Haha~"
Elias ruffled the little white dumpling's head.
To be honest, the three of them looked like a family.
Elias as the father, Cecilia as the mother, Theresa as the daughter—sleeping under one blanket like a warm, happy household. Anyone who saw them would feel nothing but envy and blessing.
Cecilia was a little dazed.
At that moment, her life felt complete.
She couldn't help but think—if only this moment could last forever.
Meanwhile, at the same time, inside the castle of Elysian Realm—
A certain Miss Pink Elf, who had finally defeated all her "companions," wearing pink pajamas and holding a pillow printed with "YES," was attempting a night raid.
However, when she excitedly pushed open Elias' door and skillfully slipped into the bed—
"...Eh? Where is he? Where's my Elias?!"
Elysia kicked the blanket aside and stared at the cold, empty bed, suddenly feeling like a complete clown.
...
The next morning.
When Theresa woke up, she was pleasantly surprised to find herself lying on the cold floor.
She stared blankly at the bed, where the white-haired boy and girl slept in each other's arms.
Their white hair intertwined. Elias held Cecilia tightly, cherishing her, while Cecilia wrapped her arms around his neck, her face buried in his chest.
"You're both terrible people!"
Theresa stomped her foot angrily.
She wanted to wake them up and demand who had kicked her off the bed—but...
(Just this once! I'll endure it this once!)
The scene before her was like something out of a fairy tale—prince and princess, so beautiful that she couldn't bear to disturb it.
In the end, Theresa left barefoot, sulking. Just looking at those two annoyed her.
Not only because she had slept on the floor all night—but also because they looked far too perfect together.
White hair like snow, pure and flawless. Peerless beauty like angels. And though hidden now, she knew those eyes—the boy's brilliant golden gaze, and the girl's clear blue eyes.
They were so perfectly matched that not letting them be together would feel like a crime against heaven. Anyone who tried to stop them would seem like an unforgivable villain.
(That damned guy... what did he even do to Cecilia to make her smile like that?)
Theresa gulped down bitter melon juice, as if drowning her heartbreak in bitterness.
Cecilia's sleeping face had shocked her.
Even in her sleep, she had been smiling—such a happy, gentle smile. Theresa had never seen anything like it before.
She didn't really understand love. After all, she was only in her twenties.
But at that moment, she understood one thing.
Only someone who could make a girl smile like that... had the right to be with her.
And that realization only made her feel worse.
"Cecilia, you're the worst. I'm so disappointed! You abandoned our friendship for a man! We're done—we're done! I hate you! ...Just kidding. I still like you the most."
"Waaah... Cecilia, how am I supposed to live without you? But... someone who can't make you smile like that, who can't take you into the outside world—someone who's only been saved by you... maybe I really don't have the right to be with you."
"That damned guy—you better make Cecilia happy! Otherwise, I'll never forgive you!"
Theresa cried while chugging bitter melon juice.