In the corner of the great hall. Battler grabbed Beatrice's arm—the one that had just set down her teacup—and pulled. "[angry]Come with me. Now." "[cold]What is the meaning of this insolence?" Golden butterflies fluttered around them, startled. Battler stared hard into the witch's blue eyes. "[serious]I've got something to ask you." "[sarcastic]Oh? Something to ask *me*? Has that tiny brain of yours finally failed to grasp the rules of my game?" Beatrice wore her usual haughty smile. She snapped open her fan, hiding her mouth. Battler clenched his fists. "[angry]Don't play dumb. I heard it from Lucifer. If we don't find your secret, you'll trap the whole island inside the Golden Land, right? That's the penalty for this game!" The air in the great hall went taut. The Seven Sisters stopped what they were doing and looked over. Only Maria kept munching on her scone. Beatrice's smile vanished. "[cold]...Indeed. It is my decree. Do you have a complaint, you useless Battler?" "[angry]Damn right I do! Why are you being so cruel?! We're all just having a fun tea party together!" His voice echoed through the great hall. And in that moment— Beatrice's blue eyes wavered, just slightly. Battler caught his breath. (*What...?*) At the tips of her golden lashes, a tiny light glistened. It wasn't just the reflection of the chandelier. (*That's—*) The witch quickly hid her face behind her fan. "[angry]...It is MY game! I decide the rules! A worm like you has no say!" Her voice was defiant. But it trembled, just a little. Battler didn't miss it. "You... don't tell me—" He started to speak, but— "[excited]Hey, hey, Beatrice-sama!" Maria, having finished her scone, came skipping over with a beaming smile. Completely oblivious to the mood. "[gentle]Maria understands, you know. Beatrice-sama is only playing this game because she wants to play with everyone more." Time stopped in the great hall. Beatrice froze. Battler's eyes went wide. "[excited]Because, you told Maria, remember? You said, 'I hate being all alone.' You said tea and sweets have no taste when you eat them by yourself. So that's why you called everyone here, right!" An innocent voice. Beatrice glared at Maria. "[angry]...Y-you little brat. I am a witch who has lived for a thousand years. Whether I take tea alone, the taste is—" She stopped. She fell silent. She couldn't say anything back. She just opened her mouth, and closed it. Something dropped into Battler's chest with a quiet thud. (*I see. So that's how it is...*) The secret hidden behind her smile. The red letters written on the cards. And Maria's words. "I hate being all alone." The witch just wanted to spend time with everyone. In her eternity, just for a single day, she wanted to forget her loneliness. (*I think... I've figured out the secret.*) But— "[angry]...Dammit!" Battler slammed the table. The teacups clattered. "[angry]I don't get it! I feel like I understand, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to say!" The game's rule was to "guess the secret." Just realizing it isn't enough. Unless he pierces the witch's heart with the right words, this game won't end. "[angry]That... that stupid, complicated mix of stubborn pride and loneliness you've got—what the hell do I call that?!" Beatrice didn't answer. She just kept her face hidden behind her fan, looking down. Battler ground his back teeth. The taste of iron spread through his mouth. "[angry]Forget it!" Battler ran for the great hall's door. "[surprised]Ah—hey, wait!" Lucifer moved to go after him, but— "[gentle]...Let him go. For now." Lucifer herself held her sisters back with a hand. None of the Seven Sisters chased after him. "[sad]Is Battler-nii-san angry?" Maria's anxious voice echoed in the quiet great hall. No one could answer. BANG! Battler kicked open the heavy doors of the great hall and burst out into the corridor. ----- The rose garden was bathed in the afternoon sunlight of autumn. Battler sat alone on a white iron bench. He held his head in both hands. "[angry]...What the hell is all this?" The scent of roses drifted on the wind. It was quiet. The clamor of the great hall felt like a lie. "[angry]So I'm the one who has to guess the witch's feelings? That's way too unreasonable..." But no. It wasn't unreasonable. Lucifer had said it—*"What's precious is the time we spend here on Rokkenjima itself."* (*And protecting that time... is that my job?*) He stared blankly at the rose in front of him. Deep crimson petals. Beatrice had tended this garden alone for a thousand years, they said. On an island no one visited. All by herself, raising roses. (*Those tears of hers...*) Were they really tears? Or had his eyes just been playing tricks on him? He didn't know. But—in that moment, the witch hadn't been able to say anything back. No haughty laughter, no venomous retort—nothing came out. "I hate being all alone." With just those few words, a thousand years of stubborn pride had crumbled entirely. "[whispers]...I know the answer. I know it." Battler stared at his own hands. (*What she wanted... was probably—*) Time together. A lively tea party. Laughing like idiots. And someone who would remember it. "[angry]But what the hell am I supposed to say?! 'I understand your loneliness'? Like that's gonna clear the game!" His head was a mess. Anger, frustration, and an unbearable impatience swirled together in his chest. Battler yanked a single rose from its stem. A thorn pricked his finger. Blood welled up. "[whispers]...That hurts." Tears threatened to spill. But he couldn't cry. Time just kept passing. The autumn sunlight began to tilt, little by little. Battler couldn't move. Holding his head, still sitting on the bench— How could he "guess" the witch's secret? How could he stop the imprisonment? How could he reach the reason behind those tears? No answer came. No words came. Only the sound of the wind drifted through the rose garden. And there, at the bottom of a deep despair—Battler just... curled up and stayed still.