...
Since neither Urara nor himself had eaten breakfast, Lucian entered the kitchen very early.
Today, he had rare free time, so he decided to cook personally.
"Urara, time to eat."
After calling out a few times with no response, Lucian carried the plates and entered Urara's room again.
She was still lying with her back to him, and even the most oblivious person would realize by now that Urara was upset.
"Still sleeping? Eat first, then you can go back to sleep." Lucian brought over a small table and set the food on it.
Urara could no longer pretend to be asleep, though she still sounded confused as she asked, "Trainer, didn't you go shopping with them?"
"Something came up suddenly, so I didn't go." Lucian placed the chopsticks in front of Urara. "I cooked today. Weren't you always saying you wanted to try these dishes? I made some for you—go ahead and taste them."
Urara hesitated for a moment but eventually picked up the chopsticks.
No matter how angry she was, she couldn't bring herself to reject good food.
...
Lucian ate quickly, but unlike usual, Urara wasn't devouring her meal with gusto. Instead, she listlessly took small bites.
"Eat more." Lucian could tell that Urara wasn't in the mood to talk, but he couldn't help asking directly, "Urara, can you tell your trainer why you're feeling down today?"
"No reason, Urara is in a good mood."
"Yesterday, you told me directly when you were upset. Why are you hiding it today?"
Urara suddenly put down her chopsticks and wiped her lips. "Trainer, I'm full. I want to rest some more."
If Lucian hadn't brought it up, it might have been fine. But now, Urara's mind was flooded with what she had heard last night, and her appetite vanished completely.
"Alright... Eat a little more, and I won't ask anymore. After you finish, I'll take the dishes away so you can rest."
Plan A had failed. Lucian knew he had been a little too hasty.
But it didn't matter—there was still Plan B.
"I can't eat anymore, Trainer. Please take it away."
"Fine. I'll be next door if you need anything, Urara."
...
Lucian had slept in late, so by naptime, he wasn't particularly tired.
He sent Rice Shower a few messages, asking if Urara had acted strangely last night, but Rice Shower said everything had been normal.
This only deepened Lucian's confusion. Could it be something related to her family that she found difficult to talk about?
"Onii-sama, is Urara okay? She's not sick, is she?" Rice Shower asked worriedly.
"No, she's not sick. She's fine, don't worry."
"Is she still sleeping?"
"Yeah. I don't even know what time she fell asleep last night."
...
After chatting for a bit, Lucian didn't get any useful information from Rice Shower, so he reminded them to be careful and come back early.
For now, he'd keep it to himself and try to resolve Urara's worries on his own.
...
Urara didn't leave her room all afternoon. By three or four o'clock, Lucian had no choice but to initiate Plan B.
"Urara, Rice-chan and the others just sent a video saying they'll be back soon with some shopping. They wanted to know if you need anything." Lucian knocked on the door and used a flimsy excuse to enter again.
"No."
"Still resting? Are you hungry?"
"Not really." Urara buried her face in the blanket.
"Hmm... You haven't replied to their messages, so I came to ask." Lucian licked his lips. "Really nothing you want? Rice-chan bought a lot of cakes. Spe-chan also asked if you wanted to hang out tonight, and Seiun Sky—"
"Trainer." Urara abruptly cut him off. "Please leave. Urara wants to rest."
Lucian let out a heavy sigh. "Does Urara hate her trainer?"
Urara didn't respond, but hearing Lucian's tone, her heart already ached.
"Your trainer is always afraid he's not doing enough, not doing things right. Sometimes, it makes him really anxious—worried he might neglect any one of you..."
"When you're feeling down, your trainer always tries his best to cheer you up, to listen to you. But... what about his own feelings? Sometimes, it feels like he just has to swallow them all."
"Urara, please stop pushing your trainer away. I won't bother you anymore."
...
After saying this, Lucian left without hesitation.
His words might have sounded overly sentimental or deliberate, but they were also genuine.
His footsteps gradually faded, and though there were no physical traces left in the room, the floor was littered with fragments of hurt and disappointment.
Appeal to reason, appeal to emotion.
If even this didn't work... No, there was no "if." Lucian believed Urara would open up.
She was the one who clung to him the most, wasn't she? If he shared his own grievances, what choice would Urara make?
...
From yesterday until now, Lucian hadn't had a proper bath.
So after leaving Urara's room, he immediately went to soak in the hot springs.
But dinner still needed to be prepared—Silence Suzuka and the others would be back to eat soon.
So he didn't stay long, quickly drying off and changing before stepping out.
Just as Lucian finished blow-drying his hair in the changing area, the curtain to the men's bath was suddenly pushed aside.
There stood Urara, barefoot, her eyes red and swollen, tears streaming down her face.
It was impossible to tell how long she had been crying. Her once plump, pink lips now looked withered, like crumpled fabric, and her lips were pale, as if covered in frost.
"Urara..." Her appearance made Lucian's heart ache.
But if he wasn't a little harsh now, she might never come out.
The moment Lucian spoke, Urara burst into loud sobs. "Urara doesn't hate Trainer! Urara didn't mean to push Trainer away... Waaahhh!"
The little angel cried pitifully, though deep in her eyes lingered a faint, unangelic shadow.
"Mhm, I know."
"Does... does Trainer hate Urara now? Is Trainer disappointed in Urara?" she choked out between sobs.
"No."
If this were an anime, the screen would probably be flooded with comments like, "Hug her! Hug her now!"
But Lucian remained standing where he was, his tone calm, still holding the towel and hair dryer.
This had to be done once and for all—he couldn't let her sulk and act distant every time she was upset, especially without telling him why.
At the very least, he needed to know what was bothering her.
So Lucian simply watched as Urara hiccuped and wept, rubbing at her tears with her hands.
Even when her sobs quieted and her tears ran dry, Lucian remained still.
"Trainer... are you really disappointed in Urara? You... you won't even hug Urara anymore..."
"Didn't Urara keep pushing me away?"
"I won't do it anymore, I won't... Urara was wrong..." Her voice trembled. "I love Trainer the most."
Finally, Lucian set down the items in his hands and pulled Urara into a hug. "Now, can you tell me what's wrong?"
"Mm!"
...