Chapter 136
The book remained tightly gripped in her hands, becoming the center of a silent storm threatening to shatter the remnants of control.
In the agonizing stillness, the simple romance book transformed into a symbol—a profound question of whether Ilux truly understood the teacher he had always admired, or whether he had unknowingly touched the deepest wound Aldraya tried to hide beneath her impenetrable layer of ice.
"Please don't misunderstand.
This book is not a cheap read at all.
On the contrary, the love within it is not explained from the perspective of ordinary humans."
Fhhhh!
"Each chapter is narrated from the perspective of various races, including holy beings and angels.
That is why I believe this book is worth reading."
A soft chuckle broke the silence, like pebbles falling on a frozen lake.
Ilux, from behind the curtain, tried to straighten the misunderstanding reflected in Aldraya's furrowed brow.
His voice, though faint, carried a calm explanatory tone, attempting to elevate the book beyond the level of a trivial romance novel.
He emphasized that the work actually described love not through the eyes of mortal, desire-driven humans, but through a more universal and noble lens.
'Next, Ilux will say the most outrageous thing.
And Aldraya will leave with an increasingly heavy chest, haunted by guilt all the way to her hometown.'
From behind the gently rustling leaves, Theo's watchful eyes caught every micro-change in Aldraya.
Her frozen fingers scribbled a few final notes in his yellow notebook, sketches of cracking composure and questions hanging in the air.
An almost inaudible murmur escaped his lips—a prophecy of the anguish about to unfold.
He knew that within seconds, Ilux would utter words that would cross all boundaries—a combination of phrases that sounded ordinary to the speaker, yet like salt thrown onto a raw wound for the listener.
"I will take it."
Aldraya merely tilted her head to the left, a minimalist movement barely visible in the dim light.
Her cold eyes blinked once, slow and thoughtful, as if processing all the layers of meaning behind Ilux's explanation.
Then, with a flat voice leaving no room for further discussion, she declared her decision to take the book.
The acceptance itself felt like a quiet concession, an acknowledgment that perhaps among all the heavy readings on betrayal and philosophy, there existed a different perspective worth exploring in her impending exile.
"This book will introduce an alternative perspective on understanding faith, devotion, and betrayal."
"The reason?"
"Based on all the readings you recommended, I realized one thing.
Works on these themes tend to be monotonous.
They are limited to a single viewpoint, bound by uniform dogma, and disregard how such teachings affect others."
Uuuuh!
"That is why I chose this book.
At least it offers a perspective that is not constrained."
With a calm but confident voice, Ilux continued his explanation after Aldraya's decision was made.
He stated that through a book about love from the perspective of exalted beings, Aldraya would find a way to view faith, devotion, and betrayal with a completely new lens.
His statement hung in the space between them—a bold proposition challenging the foundation of all the readings he had previously recommended to his student.
When Aldraya, with a brief silence requesting further explanation, prompted him to continue, Ilux elaborated his reasoning.
His voice, though still respectful, now carried a sharp critical tone.
He revealed that after reading all the books on faith, devotion, and betrayal that Aldraya had suggested, he had noticed a disturbing pattern.
All that literature, in his view, felt monotonous—trapped in a narrow perspective, constrained by identical dogmas, and never questioning the impact on those around them.
From his hiding place, Theo could sense how bold—or perhaps reckless—Ilux's words were.
Every word spoken by the student was not only a critique of the books themselves but also indirectly challenged Aldraya's teaching methods and possibly even her personal beliefs.
The air between the two figures seemed to thicken with the weight of revealed meaning, transforming the already tense space into a battlefield of unspoken ideology.
'These words will linger in Aldraya's mind as she returns home.
But I must see whether she reacts according to the script or diverges onto another path.'
Fhhhh!
'In the game before, Aldraya had opposed Ilux's opinion, yet he continued.
And because it was too painful, Aldraya eventually excused herself, claiming it was time to return home.'
Behind the tightly closed window curtain, the two shadows were frozen like characters in a tragic puppet show.
Theo, from above, watched with bated breath, every nerve in his body tense, awaiting Aldraya's reaction.
Ilux's harsh critique of all the dogmatic readings that had formed the foundation of Aldraya's thinking hung in the air like a sword suspended by a thread.
Theo knew this was the decisive moment recorded in the original Flo Viva Mythology scenario.
The teacher would defend herself coldly, Ilux would insist, and ultimately Aldraya would leave with an open wound.
Yet, something unexpected happened.
Aldraya's shadow did not move to object.
No cold rebuttal.
No sarcastic retort.
Only deep, encompassing silence, as if all the energy in the room had been drawn into her.
She simply sat still, like a statue contemplating every nuance of her student's words.
The romance book still clutched in her hands now seemed to carry a different weight.
No longer an object of rejection, but a mirror reflecting the potential truth in Ilux's critique.
Theo recorded this deviation with both frustration and hope.
His heart pounded, realizing these moments were a crossroads of fate not found in the game's script.
Could Aldraya, with all the complexity beginning to surface, choose not to flee from this discomfort?
Could she, for the first time, fully listen, swallow the bitter pill of criticism, and let it settle in her soul rather than being deflected defensively?
'There is irritation, yet on the other hand, my heart leans toward the second option.A strong premonition tells me that Aldraya will deviate from the game scenario I have memorized.Everything is still wide open, and it's not impossible that she will choose a path entirely outside my expectations.'
A strange sensation crept over Theo, disturbing his confidence in the fate that had seemed written.
Though a flicker of annoyance teased him as his prediction wavered, he could not deny the sudden emergence of a new possibility before his eyes.
The option that Aldraya would deviate far from the path encoded in Flo Viva Mythology was no longer mere imagination, but a real potential suspended in the frozen night air.
The possibility felt alive, liberating, as if the fate of the silver-haired teacher had not yet been set in stone, and every passing second in this silence was carving an entirely new alternative path.
Theo gazed at the unmoving shadow of Aldraya—a silent portrait full of unspoken turbulence.
To be continued…