The moment Elysia sat down on the edge of the bed, Bronya shifted sideways, deliberately putting half an arm's length between them, as if drawing a clear border down the middle.
"The bed's huge. What are you hiding from, Big Sister Bronya?"
Elysia tilted her head and leaned closer, her nose nearly brushing Bronya's cheek. Warm breath grazed the shell of her ear, making Bronya instinctively shrink back.
"Maintain distance."
Bronya kept a straight face and pressed a hand to Elysia's forehead, pushing her away slightly. "Bronya gets hot easily."
"But staying warm is more important." Elysia puffed out her cheeks in protest. She slipped the rabbit plush between them, then edged closer anyway. "Look, even the bunny thinks it's cold~"
Bronya glanced at the crooked-eared rabbit, then at the smiling eyes inches away from her. The heat in her ears climbed higher.
"…No fidgeting."
In the end, she did not push her away again. Instead, she pulled the thin blanket over Elysia's shoulders, her voice low.
"…Don't actually catch a cold. Siberia is still very cold."
"Got it~"
Elysia's eyes curved in triumph. She lifted her wrist slightly, and the tiny bell on her bracelet chimed brightly.
"Then good night, Big Sister Bronya."
"…."
Bronya did not answer. She simply turned over, offering her back, though her thoughts were in complete disarray.
This is not letting someone stay the night. This is inviting a wolf into the house.
—
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Elysia had grown into a graceful young woman.
Over the years, she had charmed her way through the entire orphanage from top to bottom. Truly the reigning queen of affection in Siberia.
Once a dungeon is cleared, it is time to change maps.
Elysia presented a perfectly reasonable excuse: studying abroad.
As for the destination…
"Hehe~ ♪"
She hooked a finger around the handle of her suitcase and walked briskly beside a sharply dressed woman.
At the security checkpoint, the woman stopped and removed her sunglasses.
Her face was carved in clean, severe lines, sharp as a blade. A soldier's edge lingered in her expression, yet when she looked at Elysia, the hardness softened, and the tenderness in her eyes could no longer be hidden.
"Take care of yourself out there. If you run out of money, call. We'll all be thinking of you."
"Mhm~!"
Elysia rose slightly on her toes and nodded enthusiastically, her hair swaying in a gentle arc.
"Then… bye-bye~!"
She waved brightly, hands clasped behind her back like the heroine of some romantic anime, her smile flawless.
"…Goodbye."
The woman's voice dropped a fraction. She put her sunglasses back on swiftly, her knuckles paling slightly from the force of it.
Her turn was decisive, almost ruthless, as if lingering even one more second would betray the reluctance in her heart.
She did not dare look back.
She was afraid her composure would crack. Even more afraid of seeing the girl walk away.
Elysia stood there for a moment, slightly stunned.
That retreating figure, so crisp and unhesitating, made her chest ache faintly.
If not for the years they had spent together, she might have believed she had never truly mattered.
Cocolia, cold on the outside but warm at heart.
Seele, gentle and considerate.
Bronya, so cool and mechanical she sometimes seemed like a machine.
The bickering idiot twins.
And the short-haired tomboy who always pretended she did not care.
They were the ones who had walked with her through the brightest, most irreplaceable years.
But what she longed for was the pursuit of fleeting beauty.
She turned toward the security gate, her steps slowing despite herself.
After passing through, she could not resist looking back.
The tall figure still stood there, back turned. Sunlight streamed through the airport windows, casting a long, faintly lonely shadow at her feet.
Elysia's lips curved upward.
She waved hard, even knowing the other woman could not see.
And in that instant, she caught it—
The hand hanging at that woman's side lifted ever so slightly. The fingers hovered in the air for a breath, then fell quietly back down.
—
"Huh? Where's Elysia? Mom!?"
A pink-haired girl with short twin-tails ran into Cocolia's line of sight, her voice crisp and slightly drowsy.
Cocolia removed her sunglasses and gently brushed a hand over the fluffy pink hair. The cold sharpness in her gaze melted completely.
"Rozaliya, Elysia went abroad to study. She was afraid you'd cry, so she didn't tell you in advance."
"What?!"
Rozaliya's voice shot up, her whole body going rigid.
"Elysia went abroad?"
Liliya hurried over too, staring up with wide, round eyes full of disbelief.
The news spread through the orphanage like ripples from a tossed pebble.
The girl whose smile bloomed like spring flowers, who carried light wherever she went, had left just like that?
"No, no! I want to go abroad too! Mama Cocolia!"
The first sob shattered the quiet.
Rozaliya plopped onto the ground and began rolling dramatically, arms and legs flailing. Her pretty pink hair dragged through dust as she wailed at the top of her lungs.
"You? Abroad?!"
Cocolia could not help laughing in exasperation. She flicked Rozaliya lightly on the forehead.
"You barely recognize your letters. Are you going abroad to become an illiterate?"
"Get up! Have you finished your homework? Without Elysia copying notes for you and patching your mistakes, let's see who can help you fool the teachers now!"
"…I'm sad! I don't even feel like doing stupid homework!"
Rozaliya clung to Cocolia's leg, rubbing tears and snot against her clothes, sobbing pitifully.
"Honestly, you're the most trouble…"
Cocolia sighed and rubbed her temples.
Anyone could see it. Rozaliya shouted about missing Elysia, but what truly haunted her were those endless math problems.
Bronya and Seele were far less worrying.
"She'll probably send a letter once she settles in."
"Mhm…"
Cocolia gently patted Seele's trembling back, her voice soft as she soothed the girl crying into her arms.
Only one person was missing from the commotion.
She did not join the crowd, nor did she stand beside Bronya.
Hands shoved into her pockets, she wandered alone to the lake behind the orphanage, kicking pebbles as she went.
"What the hell…"
The lake wind carried a chill. She stopped abruptly and shouted at the calm water.
"You show up out of nowhere, then leave just like that! You absolute—jerk! Total jerk!"
The frustration she had nowhere to release burst inside her chest. Sin lost control.
She crouched down and yanked at the wild grass beside her, ripping it out by the roots and flinging clumps of dirt aside, again and again, until the patch around her was stripped bare.
Mud smeared her hands and clothes. Finally, she collapsed onto the ground, arms wrapped tightly around her knees, burying her face.
Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. Tears fell soundlessly, soaking into her sleeves.
"I swear…"
Her voice was muffled, thick with tears, yet stubborn and resolute.
"I'll drag you back here… and make you apologize."
…
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