The club room door slammed shut, leaving the Gyaru group rooted in the dark hallway. The shock and a trace of fear still lingered in their chests. Yumi panted, her hands trembling slightly. The image of the "CEO's" icy gaze and the decisive blow to the "Vampire" left her and the entire group too stunned to recover.
"C... crazy..." one girl in the group stammered.
Yumi said nothing. The curiosity inside her grew, overwhelming the fear. What were they doing inside? Why did that conflict happen? The world they created, that light and music, something was strangely mesmerizing and alluring.
Just then, a new melody sounded from inside the room. It wasn't the tragic background music from before, but the melodious, deep, and warm sound of a violin, yet laden with a profound loneliness. It was like an invitation, an irresistible temptation.
"What... what else is this?" another girl whispered.
Yumi glanced around. She suddenly remembered a small window at the end of the hallway, covered by a thin curtain, perhaps they could peer inside. "Follow me," she signaled.
The whole group tiptoed after Yumi. Sure enough, there was a small gap between the curtain and the window frame. They crowded together, eagerly pressing their eyes to it.
Inside, the lighting had changed. A faint, illusory white spotlight shone down on the center, where Itsuki—the Prince—still sat in his wheelchair. Behind him, a large projection screen displayed animated images.
It was a vast garden, like a fairy-tale forest within the palace grounds. A young prince, with eyes devoid of light and a motionless body, sat in a wheelchair amidst nature. Small birds perched on his shoulders, timid wild rabbits lay at his feet. This was his only world—a world of solitude and silence. The King, the Queen, all were distant, indifferent strangers.
Then, the image of a maid appeared. She had a petite figure and a gentle face. She came to the Prince's side, without fear or pity, simply caring for him. Every glass of water, every page of a book she turned, every little story she whispered by his ear. Gradually, a bit of vitality seemed to appear in the Prince's lightless eyes. A very soft, very rare smile bloomed on his lips when the maid arrived.
Back in the reality of the room, Itsuki was holding a violin. His eyes were tightly closed, his entire soul seemingly immersed in the music. The notes flowing from the instrument were no longer about loneliness, but about warmth, gentleness, and a pure, timid love. It told of the moment the ice in his heart began to melt, of the first rays of sunlight piercing through the fog of solitude.
As the piece neared its end, Itsuki slowly opened his eyes.
Ah...
A soft, involuntary gasp escaped the lips of the peeping girls. On the projection screen, a close-up of his face revealed that his eyes had completely transformed.
Those eyes... were no longer vacant. They sparkled, deep as an autumn lake, containing a sky full of emotions: gratitude, tenderness, and a love so intense it was heartbreaking.
The spotlight etched every exquisite feature of his face: the smooth, pale skin, the soft, pink lips, the straight, elegant bridge of his nose. His beauty at this moment was not a fragile beauty, but the beauty of a soul being reborn, radiant and pure to the point of taking one's breath away.
Yumi nearly stopped breathing, her hand clamped over her mouth to prevent any sound. The girl holding the phone trembled, but still tried to hold it steady to record every moment.
The piece ended. Itsuki set the violin aside. He gently pushed the wheelchair towards a corner of the room, where a realistic wax figure stood, dressed in a simple maid's outfit, sculpted to look exactly like the maid character from the story.
He looked up at the figure, his eyes brimming with love and absolute trust. His voice rose, soft, warm, yet full of sincerity:
"Since you came, my world is no longer gray. You are the sunlight, the breeze, all the miracles I never dared to dream of. I... I love you."
That simple confession echoed in the quiet space. The girls outside felt their hearts pounding, as if they themselves were the ones being confessed to.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Itsuki, still in character as the Prince, slightly bowed his head. On the projection screen, without anyone noticing when, the girl had picked up a dagger. With a movement so fast it was unreal, the girl raised the blade and stabbed the Prince's heart. Simultaneously, below, he fell forward, his head resting in the lap of the wax maid figure.
His voice, weak, full of pain, but still struggling to speak: "Why...?"
And then, on the projection screen, the girl's face became tormented. The maid's voice, trembling and choked, rose:
"Because... my parents... were falsely accused by the Queen, your mother... and were executed by His Majesty. I came here for revenge. But..." A real tear traced a path down Itsuki's cheek, "But I never expected... I would fall in love with you. I love you, Your Highness... truly."
As the last word faded, the body of Itsuki's "Prince" seemed to go limp, his eyes closed tightly, a serene, fulfilled, yet pained smile gently blooming on his lips. He had "died" in the arms of the one he loved, with her final confession.
Outside the window, there was absolute silence.
Not a sound. The Gyaru girls no longer cared about being discovered. They were completely drawn into the story. Many of them, including Yumi, had tears in their eyes. They witnessed a death that was not bloody, but full of tragedy and haunting. The death of a lonely prince, who had just touched happiness only to have it snatched away, yet died knowing the truth of a love that was returned.
Instead of an unconfessed love—the day he intended to profess his love to the girl who made him want to escape the shadow of loneliness being the very day she murdered him, dying silently unknown to anyone—Itsuki had tried to change the tragedy of his character's life, and received the answer he desired in the final moments.
The girl holding the phone slowly lowered her hand, the screen still recording, but she no longer thought about posting it online. What they had just witnessed was no longer just a cosplay performance. It was a masterpiece of emotion.
And they understood, the world inside that small room was far deeper and more complex than they had ever imagined.