___'_'
The atmosphere in the palace was heavy. Harman sat in silence for a while, then slowly turned toward Dante, his gaze sharp and his voice cold:
– "Dante… that was terrible of you. To accuse someone without any proof—that's not fair behavior."
Dante lowered his eyes, intertwining his fingers in tension:
– "I… didn't mean to accuse her. In fact, I was just trying to explain my first impression when I saw her… something inside me made me doubt."
Harman replied in a firm tone that hid a trace of concern:
– "I know you don't trust people easily, Dante… but that doesn't give you the right to accuse them like this."
A feeling of guilt overwhelmed him as he recalled his hurtful words, as if they were knives shredding the image of Black Withe in everyone's mind. He muttered hoarsely:
– "You're right… I acted rashly."
Jude broke the silence, sighing:
– "I suppose I should apologize too. Maybe I shouldn't have brought up the idea of a spy among us… I've brought tension and suspicion to everyone."
Elias smiled faintly, trying to calm the atmosphere:
– "It's alright, it was just a hypothesis. Now we have to rebuild trust among us… we won't survive if we keep doubting each other."
...
At that time, Black Withe was in her room, lying on the bed, her arms wrapped around her pillow, her eyes gleaming with anger mixed with sorrow. She whispered in a trembling voice:
– "Fools… I knew from the start I shouldn't have trusted them… especially Dante, that stupid idiot! I hate him! I hate him!"
She struck the pillow violently, each blow carrying some of her suppressed rage, then gasped deeply and muttered:
– "I don't know… why this always happens to me…"
A soft knock echoed on the door. She flinched for a moment, then exhaled in frustration:
– "Damn it… I don't want to talk to anyone!"
But the door slowly opened, and Dante appeared standing there awkwardly, his expression tense:
– "I want to talk to you…"
She didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence. She grabbed the pillow in her hands and hurled it at him:
– "Get out, you stupid idiot!"
He tried to dodge the pillows as he moved closer, his voice suddenly rising:
– "I'm sorry! I know I'm an idiot, and I shouldn't have said that… I really am sorry!"
She stopped throwing for a moment, her hands trembling as she shouted nervously:
– "Yes, you are an idiot! I'm not sad because you doubted me… but because you doubted only me! Do I seem like the worst person among them to you?"
He stepped closer, his eyes gleaming with a trace of regret:
– "No… that's not it. I was talking about how I felt the first time I saw you. I admired your courage and strength back then… but when Jude said there was a spy, I remembered that feeling… it just seemed unusual to me."
Her lips quivered as she whispered, anger and sorrow blending in her voice:
– "You… fool. If I were you, I would never have doubted you."
Dante felt something pulse in his heart—a mix of embarrassment and admiration for her:
– "I… really am sorry…"
They exchanged a long look, one that carried more than words could ever say. Then Dante sighed and held out his hand to her:
– "Everyone's waiting for you…"
They left the room together, heading downstairs.
In the hall, everyone was gathered, their faces somewhat tense. Dante stood in the middle of the circle and apologized to Black Withe in front of them. Her expression softened slightly, as if a bit of trust was returning.
Ray suddenly laughed, trying to break the silence:
– "What do you say we play a game, guys?"
Lily gasped in disbelief:
– "Are you insane? We're between life and death, and you want to play?"
Ray smiled cheerfully:
– "Yes! Let's have a little fun… who knows, it might be our last night!"
Vivian commented, raising her eyebrows lightly:
– "Actually… I like the idea. The atmosphere here is way too gloomy."
Everyone finally agreed and sat on the floor in a circle, while Ray brought an old glass bottle from the kitchen. He said with an excited smile:
– "We'll play Truth! Get ready."
They all sat around the bottle, breaths filled with anticipation. Ray grabbed it and spun it quickly. It twirled amid nervous laughter and expectant gazes until it suddenly stopped at Lily and Vivian.
Lily asked curiously:
– "Alright… I'm the one asking, and Vivian answers… hmm… do you have someone you love?"
Vivian's face flushed visibly. She covered half of it with her hands and whispered shyly:
– "Yes… I used to love the actor Leon… but he suddenly disappeared a year ago, and I haven't heard anything about him since."
A short silence fell over the group, a mix of sadness and surprise. Then Ray spun the bottle again. It spun quickly before stopping at Jason and Elias.
Jason smiled mischievously and asked:
– "Elias… what's the biggest thing you've ever wanted to hide from your friends?"
Elias tensed, his clasped hands giving him away:
– "Well… actually… before my mother died, she told me who my real father was. And I never told anyone."
Linda gasped in shock:
– "Impossible! You've been hiding that from us? But… why?"
Elias shook his head with difficulty, his voice low:
– "Because I hated him…"
Linda leaned closer, curiosity burning in her eyes:
– "Who is he? Tell me, please…"
Elias swallowed hard and said:
– "It's… the mayor."
The room fell into heavy silence. Everyone gasped at once, their faces stunned as if a bomb had dropped among them. Elias shifted uncomfortably:
– "Alright… alright… next."
The bottle spun again and stopped at Harman and Black Withe. Harman raised an eyebrow:
– "Question… when you became famous, how did you treat the friends who betrayed you?"
Black _Withe smiled coldly:
– "I tried to kill them. But I couldn't… so I just exposed everything they did to me… and sued them."
Everyone exchanged uneasy looks while Ray spun the bottle once more. It stopped at Camelia and Linda.
Camelia asked sharply:
– "What's the thing you regret the most?"
Linda lowered her head, her eyes filling with sorrow:
– "It's… that I didn't save my friend when she was calling for my help…"
Silence hung in the air for a moment before the bottle spun again and stopped at Lily and Jude.
Jude smiled:
– "A direct question… is there someone here you really hate?"
Lily answered hesitantly:
– "Yes…"
Jude raised an eyebrow:
– "Who is it?"
Lily smiled mockingly:
– "You asked, 'Is there someone,' not 'Who is it.' So… I won't answer."
Jude laughed:
– "It's the same thing."
But suddenly she exhaled and said:
– "Fine… it's Vivian."
Vivian was stunned, raising a hand to her chest:
– "What?! Why me? I thought we were friends!"
Lily lowered her eyes and whispered:
– "The person I loved… was fascinated by you. And that made me hate you… I know it's a silly reason… but I really loved that person."
Vivian bowed her head sadly:
– "I'm sorry…"
Lily felt a pang of guilt:
– "No, you didn't do anything wrong… the problem is me… I was always jealous of you. The fault is mine…"
The bottle spun again until it stopped at Jason and Karm. Jason smiled as if he had been waiting for this moment:
– "An old question, Karm… why did you change? I remember you were the leader of your high school… then suddenly you became a completely different person."
Karm froze in place, his hands trembling slightly, tension clear on his face:
– "Why… why did you have to ask that question?"
Silence fell. All eyes were on him, the air thick with anticipation, as if Karm was hiding a dark world behind his silence, waiting to be revealed…
____'_'