Auren, Rose, and Violet were sitting calmly at the table. A quiet silence hung in the room.
Violet spoke, "Kids, let's go."
Auren asked, "Where?"
"Miss Scarlet is calling us. Sunny is with them too."
Auren hesitated. "But I need to go home. My mom must be waiting for me... I guess it's been more than one or two days since I left."
Rose nodded. "Yes, Auren is right."
Violet reassured them, "We'll drop you at your home. The train from the dojo will arrive by evening."
Auren's eyes lit up. "The train that directly connects the dojo and Scholar Plateau?"
Violet smiled. "Yes. So you know about that?"
Auren replied, "Yes, Bachan told me about it."
"Bachan…" Violet mused. "I see, Mister Bachan is respected here. He's still connected to the Scholar Plateau, even though he can't come here anymore."
Rose suddenly asked, "I heard Scarlet rejected him and threw him out of the Plateau. Is that true?"
Violet glanced at both of them and said, "I can tell you the truth. Actually, Mister Bachan is the husband of Miss Scarlet."
Auren and Rose exclaimed together, "What? Really?!"
Violet nodded. "Yes. He left her because of his obsession with science and magic. He was always busy researching something. We still don't know what he was working on… but Miss Scarlet never liked that side of him."
She continued, "One day, their thoughts clashed hard—and Bachan left the Plateau. Rumors started spreading across the island that Scarlet had thrown her husband out… and to protect Scarlet from that bad reputation, he began spreading a new rumor about himself."
Auren and Rose listened silently.
Violet sighed. "He told people that Scarlet wasn't his wife at all. That he had lied about it—and that Scarlet had rejected him because he tried to peek at her while she bathed. From that moment, Bachan became a fool in the eyes of the island. And he was also beaten many times. Auren looked down, shocked. "I never knew Old Man Bachan carried that much pain with him…"
Rose added, "I feel bad for him. He's a great man."
Violet nodded slowly. "Yes. But listen—you should never bring up that topic in front of Scarlet, alright?"
Both Auren and Rose nodded firmly.
Violet—"Let"'s go."
The three of them stood.
Their footsteps echoed softly as they walked through the heart of the library—past towering shelves, past the warm glow of floating lamps that drifted like fireflies in slow motion.
No one spoke. There was no need to.
The silence wrapped around them gently, like a soft wind whispering through ancient paper.
Auren kept his head low as they walked.
His thoughts, though quiet, were storming.
That old man… Bachan...
How much pain has he carried?
People mock him. Call him a fool. Some even hurt him. And still... he smiles.
He looked up briefly at one of the glowing lamps.
Its light flickered—soft, steady.
Why is it that I break so easily inside... and he doesn't?
My father doesn't see me.
My brothers shine like stars, and I'm just a shadow in the corner.
Even in my own town, they call me useless.
He swallowed hard.
Sometimes I want to cry. And yet… that man—he has lost so much more.
Why is he the one still smiling?
What does he have… that I don't?
The hallway stretched ahead like a memory that never ends.
And Auren… just walked in silence.
The big gate creaked wide. From the giant lift tree, a veined branch stretched out—a natural bridge of vines softly radiating green light. Auren, Rose, and Violet walked onto it, vines yielding to their feet, soft yet firm. At the edge, the living tree reacted, pulling them into its wood heart. With a hum, the lift sprang into action. The tree's transparent walls swung open, showing the whole Royal Palace rising upwards. Everything was surreal from way up high. The ground floor glowed beneath. There, Cyber, the white lion summon, was chasing Ponda around a coral fountain. The two appeared to be a lion and a child embroiled in an enchanted game of chase. Each floor they walked through seemed to hum with life—mages poring over scrolls, shimmering lights drifting between balconies, flowers opening on the walls, and the soft steady hum of Vita energy coursing through the tree like a pulse. The lift moved quietly upwards, heading towards the 10th floor, where Scarlet and Sunny were waiting for them.
Rose: "Wow, this palace looks magnificent! And this tree lift is so cool!" Auren: "Yeah... this place beautifies me too, taming her hair...
ful."
Rose giggled excitedly. "I love it, I love it! Auren, I want to live here—I love this place!" Without thinking, she hugged Auren out of pure happiness.
Auren smiled warmly.
Rose (thinking): "I just wanted a reason to hug you... a reason to touch you..." Auren, Auren, let me hug you more. Auren, I don't want this moment to go away... Let this world stop for a while...
No, no, what am I thinking? I don't love you; it's just happiness, I think. I will be happy with you.
At the same moment—Auren (thinking): Why am I feeling this warm? Why does this feel so good? Why has time just stopped? Do I love her? Is this feeling called love? I never had a friend in my life, so I guess this is the feeling of friendship, I guess... but it's special; it's the best feeling in the world...
"Rose… Thank you for coming into my life. You're the best gift this life has given me."
Standing nearby, Violet watched with a soft smile on her face. Violet (thinking): "Kids... I know the feeling you're both carrying. I hope you grow together."
She kept smiling gently. "You both want to be closer to each other… Even in the library, you kept shifting your chair bit by bit just to be near. Love like this... it's rare."
Auren: "Miss Violet, where are we going now?" Violet: "We're heading to the 10th floor. Sunny is there… and so is Miss Scarlet."