CHAPTER 126: THE GIRL WHO LOVED

"How does it feel?" a sweet voice asked.

"It feels great," the young man replied, lying flat with his head resting in the girl’s lap.

She smiled, her fingers combing lazily through his soft, pink hair like it was the most precious silk she’d ever touched.

"You know I love you, right, El?" she asked, so casually.

The young man’s eyes fluttered open. He looked straight at her, sensing something was wrong .

He reached up and cupped her cheeks with both hands, holding her as if she might vanish if he didn’t.

"What’s wrong?" he asked seriously, brows drawn tight.

Her smile didn’t falter, but something in her gaze sharpened.

"...We’ll have to be apart for a while," she said gently.

"I understand that. But... why do you sound like I won’t be seeing you again?" he asked. His voice had dipped lower now—wary.

She leaned down, pressing her forehead to his. Her hands slipped around his, warm and firm.

"It’s nothing," she said. "I just want you to remember—you can’t love anyone else."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Why would I ever do that? They all want me dead. You’re the only one I trust. The only one I can ever love."

"I know that," she said, and her voice trembled with something... off. "But while we’re apart, things happen. People lie. Pretend. You might run into Katherina... or someone else who tries to trick you."

He scoffed.

"So? She’s that idiot’s fiancée. What does that bitch have to do with me?"

"Calm down, Yuriel," Maria said, easing him back down onto her lap again. Her fingers ran through his hair like she was calming a wild animal. "I don’t like it when you get that way."

"...I just hate them," he said, jaw tight. "You were right. They were using me. Every last one of them. Even Katherina—I was stupid enough to think she saw me as a friend."

His hands clenched into fists.

Chu~

A kiss landed gently on his forehead.

He blinked, eyes softening at the sight of her.

Maria.

"It’s okay," she whispered. "Stop thinking about them. Just focus on me."

"I... I just can’t believe how blind I was. All those times I thought you were the one trying to kill me—never knew it was him. That bastard prince... and her."

"You’re still here, aren’t you?" she said.

"Because of you," he muttered. "You saved me. Every time. And you never even told me it was you."

"Forget all of it," she said, voice barely above a breath. "I don’t want you to carry it anymore. Once we meet again at the academy, it’s just us. No more pain. No more lies. Just me and you, El."

He reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Thank you... really."

"No... I should be the one thanking you," she said. She bent over him for a second longer, her lips brushing his forehead again before she turned and grabbed something from the shelf.

"Your medicine."

She popped open the bluish vial, and the familiar bitter scent hit the air.

He grimaced.

"Do I have to? It feels like it’s melting my brain..."

"You know why you have to take it," she said softly but firmly.

He eyed the bottle with a mix of dread and frustration.

"It hurts so much," he whispered. "Like it’s clawing through my skull."

"You have to grow, Yuriel. Your mana pool is too small—you never learned breathing techniques, never trained. You’ll never pass the academy’s requirements at this rate." She brought the bottle closer. "This potion is forcefully expanding your mana. That’s why it hurts. It’s making up for all the years you were being held back."

"...Fine," he muttered through clenched teeth.

"Don’t worry," she said, her voice soft as silk. "This is your final dose."

She poured the potion into his mouth.

"ARGH—!"

He convulsed instantly, muscles locking up, eyes wide in sheer agony. His back arched as if lightning struck down his spine.

"Ria... argh! It hurts!" His voice cracked as tears spilled down his cheeks. He clawed at the air, like he was trying to rip the pain from his body.

"Shh... I’ve got you," she murmured, hands on his cheeks, steady, unwavering. Golden light began to stream from her palms, pouring into him. The tremors slowly began to ease.

And then—

She leaned in.

Her lips met his.

Slurp~

A deep, slow kiss. And with it, her body lit up like a sun. A golden radiance flared from her, flooding into him.

And then... his mana responded.

A pink aura bloomed from within him, slow at first... then fast. It wrapped around his frame, a hungry storm of energy.

"Ahhh~ I feel it... finally~" she gasped, her grip on him tightening. She kissed him again, deeper, more desperate, as if she could drink his soul if she just tried hard enough.

The room began to shake, faintly at first, then violently as the energy swirled and merged—gold and pink entwined.

Slurp~

She kissed him again, breathless, eyes glazed in ecstasy. She wanted more. She needed more. She had dreamed of this—of him—becoming one with her.

Inside her.

And now, she could feel it. The merge. The connection. Like his very essence was sewing itself into her bones.

It was better than she ever imagined.

His energy wasn’t just potent—it was pure. Untouched. Addictive. It wrapped around her heart like a vice, and she didn’t want to ever let go. She couldn’t.

She kissed him again and again, intoxicated.

Her beloved—her Yuriel—was finally part of her.

No more doubts. No more distance.

And she felt it, in her core:

He had fallen.

And oh... how glorious his fall was.

"Hahh... haah..." She pulled away at last, her lips trembling. "It’s done."

She hugged him close, cradling his limp body like a prize she’d won after a lifetime of war.

"You’re mine now," she whispered, her voice as tender as it was possessive. "Forever."

....

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