The night had broken. Subaru was still dragging through what happened last night. Emilias's voice in the garden—"My feelings are real." The fragment glowing blindingly in her pocket. Herself, running away. (Why did I run, anyway?) Walking down the hallway with that thought, the door leading to the forbidden library swung open with force. It was Bianca. A tall man's body with white hair roughly tied back. But the sharpness in those golden eyes remained unmistakably Bianca's, and beneath them dark circles were etched clearly. The grimoire in her right hand never left her grip. "[serious]Everyone, gather in the great hall" The voice was low. More taut than her usual composure—the voice of someone who had something to say. "[surprised]Bianca... you haven't slept?" "[cold]Disagreeable as it is, I couldn't sleep" With just that, she walked ahead. Watching her back, Subaru felt a bad premonition creeping in. --- Everyone gathered in the great hall. Subaru, Emilias, Leon. Because of what happened in the garden last night, the air between the three was subtly awkward. Emilias sat at the edge of the table, gently brushing back his silver bangs, his eyes slightly averted from Subaru. Leon stood against the wall with his arms crossed, his red vertical-slit eyes alternating between Emilias and Subaru. Bianca placed the grimoire on the desk. Beside it, she carefully arranged the stone tablet fragments. The fragments glowed pale blue this morning, but the color of the light seemed heavier than yesterday. "[serious]I've deciphered the final line of the tablet" The room fell silent. "[serious]The condition for breaking the curse isn't just being honest with your feelings. You must call out the name of the person most precious to you—and scream your most shameful true feelings in front of everyone. Moreover, if even one person lies, no one can ever return to normal" "[surprised]...What?" "[serious]It's collective responsibility. If one person escapes, everyone's out" "[scared]Screaming the most embarrassing thing in front of everyone...? That's absolutely impossible!!" "[cold]I have no desire to imagine myself shouting in public" Leon spoke quietly, arms still crossed. His expression hadn't changed, but the small horns on his forehead had gone rigid. Emilias's cheeks flushed red and he clamped his mouth shut. "[sad]I... as a royal selection candidate, in front of people... well... um..." Words wouldn't come. His right hand brushed back his silver hair, then dropped again. Bianca sighed. "[cold]That's precisely why no one can do it—that's why it hasn't been broken until now" Heavy words. Undeniable. No one said anything. "[sad]...Um, I... whether I should call my sister 'big brother' or 'little brother,' that's what's more embarrassing..." In the corner of the table, a young man with sky-blue hair—Rem—was holding his head. Behind him, Ram stood with her arms crossed. "[cold]I could say anything embarrassing for my sister" Pink short hair, a lowered voice. But the way she said it was unmistakably Ram. "[serious]You're the only one who could!!" She couldn't help but retort. For a moment, the taut air loosened slightly. But then it grew heavy again. --- It became noon. Walking down the hallway, Subaru sensed something strange coming from the direction of the servant's quarters. Ram was standing at the corner of the hallway. Her expression was stiffer than her usual composed face. "[cold]...One of the servants went to Aram Village" "[serious]Huh" "[cold]Apparently they got scared of the curse commotion and mentioned it to an acquaintance while shopping. A messenger came from the village. Villagers are starting to gather around the mansion" "[scared]Why!" "[cold]If word spreads that royal selection candidate Emilias is cursed, it's only a matter of time before the royal capital's selection management authority gets a report" Her tone was matter-of-fact, but her eyes were sharp. Subaru glanced back down the hallway. Emilias was standing with his hand against the wall. It was unclear how long he'd been listening. His silver hair hung down the side of his face, obscuring his expression. "[sad]It's because of me... I'm causing trouble for everyone..." The voice was small. His 175cm frame looked shrunken. Subaru tried to step toward Emilias. She reached out to touch his shoulder—in that moment. Someone appeared in front of her. Leon. "[cold]Because you're a royal selection candidate, this situation has grown this large. Stay away from Subaru" His voice was low. Flat, like emotion was being suppressed. Emilias's eyes wavered. A wounded color seeped into those pale purple and silver odd eyes. "[sad]...Understood" With just that, Emilias walked down the hallway. His footsteps faded. A door closed quietly. --- "[angry]Why would you say something like that!!" Subaru stood directly in front of Leon. "[angry]It's not Emilias's fault! Just because he's a royal selection candidate makes it troublesome... there's no excuse for talking like that!" Leon's expression didn't change. His red vertical-slit eyes looked straight at Subaru. "[serious]It's to protect you. Do I need any other reason?" "[angry]Protecting me... that doesn't justify hurting the other person" Her voice was shaking. Anger mixed with something else. Leon's eyes narrowed for just a moment. But he said nothing. Subaru passed by Leon. She stood in front of Emilias's door. She knocked. "[serious]Emilias. It's me, Subaru" No answer. "[serious]Emilias?" Silence. "[gentle]...I'm sorry" The fragment in her pocket began to glow with a faint reddish light. The pale blue light had turned red. Subaru knew. The curse was progressing. But she didn't know what to do. She pressed her forehead against the door and stood motionless. --- Night came. The fourth night. Subaru descended the stone stairs to the basement alone. The reason was simple. She couldn't sleep in her room. Every time the fragment's light flashed red, anxiety grew. It would be better to see the tablet directly—that's what she thought. She entered the sealed chamber on the second basement level. The room temperature was low. Stone walls, dim space. The stone tablet on the stone platform now emitted a reddish light more strongly than pale blue. The ancient Lugnica characters on its surface seemed to writhe in the light. "[serious]...Is there any clue to breaking this curse?" Her voice was swallowed by the empty room. Subaru crouched in front of the tablet. She gently traced her finger along the surface characters. The cold sensation of stone. Each character was deeply carved. In that moment. The light exploded. The room turned pure white. Subaru's vision—vanished. The next instant, she was on the floor. Cold stone beneath her. Her head felt fuzzy. Her body was heavy. (What...) Her left hand felt wrong. Subaru brought her left hand to her face. From her fingertips to her wrist—her skin had turned a pale gray. She touched it. The sensation was gone. She gripped her left hand's fingers with her right. Cold. Stone-cold. "[scared]...Huh" Her voice was small. "[scared]Huh, what, what is this" She tried to stand and her legs gave out. She steadied herself against the wall. She looked at her left hand. Again. The gray was definitely there. She could move it. It moved. But no sensation came. "[scared]This is bad, this is bad!!" She was screaming. Her voice bounced off the stone walls of the sealed chamber. Footsteps came. The sound of descending the stone stairs. The door opened. It was Bianca. Her golden eyes quickly scanned the sealed chamber and stopped on Subaru's left hand. "[surprised]...Did you touch the tablet?" "[scared]I just traced it with my finger! Then there was light, and when I came to, I was on the floor, and my left hand—" Bianca pulled out a fragment. She brought the fragment close to Subaru's left hand. The fragment glowed dark red, intensely. Bianca's expression cracked for the first time. Her golden eyes narrowed, her mouth tightened. "[serious]...Subaru. Listen carefully" "[scared]What, what is this, petrification? Am I petrifying!?" "[serious]Calm down. It won't all happen at once" Bianca held the fragment up again, looking at the tablet. She was silent for a while. "[serious]...The time limit wasn't fixed at seven days. The petrification accelerates in proportion to how long you hide your true feelings" "[scared]In proportion?" "[serious]The more you hide, the faster your body turns to stone. Tonight, you came here alone, suppressing your true feelings. That's what manifested" Subaru's left hand remained cold. "[whispers]...The tablet's creator had a worse nature than I thought" An unusual voice. Bianca was shaken. Subaru gently wrapped her left hand with her right. Cold. Her own hand, yet she couldn't feel her body heat. The stone-like sensation continued from her fingertips to her wrist. Her body trembled. Scared. She was scared. Emilias's wounded face from this afternoon, Leon's unwavering eyes—all of it was still lodged in her chest, and she couldn't tell anyone about it while her body turned to stone. "[scared]...Bianca. What do I do?" Bianca didn't answer. Her golden eyes were on the tablet. Her profile wasn't her usual calculating face. It was a face searching for something, a face with urgency. --- Back in her room, Subaru wrapped her left hand in bandages. She wrapped it tightly, tightly with her right hand. So the gray skin wouldn't show. So no one would notice. Outside the window was dark. The garden of Roswaal's mansion lay black, with only the shadows of trees swaying in the night wind. The small path where she'd walked with Emilias last night was now empty. (I can't say my true feelings) She thought that. Her anger at Leon. Her feelings toward Emilias—what even were they? She didn't understand them herself, but she'd been suppressing them all along. (That's what's turning my body to stone) The fragment in her pocket flashed with dark red light irregularly. On. Off. On again. Footsteps came from the hallway. Heavy footsteps. Leon's gait. They stopped in front of her door. Subaru quietly turned off the light. She hugged her knees in the darkness. The bandage on her left hand showed white even in the dark. The door didn't open. The footsteps lingered there for a while—then faded away. In the dark room, Subaru gripped her left hand tightly with her right. Cold sensation. Fingers without feeling. If she said nothing, how far would it spread by morning—the thought terrified her.