Girlfriend?
For real?
Raphael and Valra both froze, their eyes wide in disbelief.
Sakura looked down shyly, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as her fingers fidgeted nervously by her sides.
Just then, the door creaked open and a nurse stepped in briskly, scanning the room.
"Miss Raphael, there's an urgent meeting going on. You're needed immediately."
Raphael's shoulders tensed. She groaned and stood up with a tired sigh, but her eyes narrowed sharply at Leo.
"You have a lot to explain, Mister,"
She snapped, her tone heavy with warning. As she headed toward the exit, she paused at the door and glared back at the others.
"You guys better not do anything... weird while I'm gone."
Her eyes darted between Pride, Sakura, and Valra, radiating a stormy kind of fury.
Pride tilted her head with a puzzled look, unsure what she meant, but Valra—her face flared up in deep red.
"W-What are you even saying?! I-I'm not like that…!"
Before she could finish her protest, Raphael was already gone, the door clicking shut behind her.
Valra stood there, frozen, her face still burning as she cautiously looked toward Leo. The moment their eyes met, her blush intensified, and she quickly looked away, flustered.
'What the heck is going on here...?!'
Sakura, on the other hand, had a playful glint in her eye. Her lips curled into a sly grin, clearly enjoying it.
Valra straightened up and turned toward Leo with a more serious expression.
"Girlfriend? When exactly did that happen?"
Sakura stiffened beside him, 'Oops! I forget this bitch was still here' she thought as a small bead of sweat rolled down her temple.
"T-That was—"
"I wasn't asking you."
Valra cut her off coldly and locked her eyes on Leo, waiting for a real answer.
Leo let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Well… apparently, before I lost all my memories, I was in some kind of relationship with Sakura."
His voice was unsure, his smile weak, like he himself was struggling to grasp the truth of it.
"Oh?... Oh..."
Valra raised her eyebrows in shock and surprise before humming lowering her gaze to Sakura.
Sakura swallowed hard, clearly feeling the heat from Valra's glare.
Valra stepped closer to her, eyes narrowing.
"Looks like we need to have a talk… A.L.O.N.E."
Sakura blinked. "W-Wait, I can expla—"
Too late.
Valra didn't wait for any excuse. She grabbed Sakura by the wrist like a hunter catching prey and dragged her out of the room.
"Hey—wait—Valraaa!"
Sakura yelped as she was pulled away, heels scraping against the floor.
Pride and Leo were blinking in silence.
"...What just happened?"
Leo asked, bewildered.
Pride leaned against the bed, arms crossed thoughtfully.
"What did you do? That power… how did you suddenly do that?"
Leo turned his head toward her, puzzled.
Pride met his eyes, her voice growing more curious.
"I'm talking about that moment... For just a few seconds, it felt like you had fully awakened as a mage. I could sense the burst of magic through our link. And now… it's completely gone."
She stared at him, trying to read his expression.
"For that brief moment... it felt incredibly close. Like I was part of your core."
Leo blinked, surprised. Of course, he remembered the strange surge in his body—his muscles tensed, his senses sharp—but he didn't understand how or why it had happened.
"I… I don't really know. It just happened. My body reacted on its own, like it remembered something even though my mind didn't."
Pride nodded slowly, her voice dropping.
"Hmm… so your body remembered something. A part of your past."
Her gaze lingered on him, thoughtful and serious... She needed to think about this thoroughly.
"Anyway," she continued, detailing what he missed and what had happened so far.
Meanwhile…
Up on the hospital rooftop—
Thud!
Valra slammed Sakura against the wall with one arm, pinning her with force.
Yup. That infamous kabedon.
Sakura stared at her with a deadpan expression, lips tight.
"If Senior had done this… I'd be on cloud nine by now. Tsk."
Valra's lips twitched, barely holding in her frustration.
She leaned in, her voice low and biting.
"Listen carefully. I don't know what game you're trying to play… but don't forget that he's already taken."
"Oh? You mean that bitch? Of course, I know her."
Valra's eyes widened in disbelief at Sakura's words.
Sakura's smirk darkened, her eyes gleaming with wicked intent.
"But she's not here right now. And that means… it's my chance. My chance to steal my beloved Senior."
Valra clenched her fists. Her nails dug into her palms as anger bubbled up inside her.
"You idiot… You lying snake! Do you think this is going to end well for you?!"
She stepped even closer, her voice seething with fury.
"When she comes back… she'll burn you at the stake. You leech!!"
Sakura stared at her with a blank expression before speaking in a low, bitter voice.
"I didn't lie... It's that bitch who stole my senior. And if we're being honest, you would've done the exact same thing, right?
She just beat us to it...!! She's an opportunist—so am I. She left him behind... and now I've got my chance to take him back. I'm not losing him again."
Her eyes narrowed sharply, her tone growing colder with each word.
"Unlike you—who couldn't even say you loved him. Scared of your precious family. I'm not holding back, coward."
Sakura swatted Valra's hand away and turned her back, defiantly walking toward the door.
Valra stood frozen, gritting her teeth furiously, her fists clenched at her sides.
/Just… what the hell is going on here?/
She took a sharp breath, trying to ignore the voice clawing inside her mind—Envy.
But the moment Sakura reached for the door, Valra's voice exploded, filled with rage and desperation.
"Do you really think you can hide this from him?! Do you think he'll still love you after knowing the truth—that you lied to him?!"
Sakura snorted and glanced over her shoulder, a wicked smile curling on her lips.
"By the time he finds out… he'll already be in my hands, bitch~"
She let out a giggle, sweet yet venomous.
"After all, love is blind~ I'm going to drown him in affection until he can't even breathe without me~ Hehe~"
Valra's body trembled. Her teeth clenched hard as her lips twitched in frustration.
/Master, I don't know what's happening here, but… if you truly love him, then you better step up your game. Otherwise, you'll lose him.../
Her expression changed. The hurt in her eyes was sharp, like a wound left open too long.
/You're not hiding it anymore, Master... You haven't eaten a thing since he was admitted to the hospital. You've barely moved from his side. You're scared. Lost. Broken... If that's not love, then what is? Believe me… when it comes to love, it's always blind—no matter what you do./
Valra bit her lower lip until it trembled.
/I… I don't want to lose him again… I'm scared, Envy… I really am. But…/
/Then do as I say…/
And when Envy finally explained her plan, Valra's heart skipped.
Her eyes widened.
She was horrified.
/W-What? No... I would never—/
/Either play the game… or lose him forever./
Envy's serious voice echoed coldly in her head.
Valra's hands curled into fists again as she watched Sakura take one step closer to the door.
/Master... Do it!/
Valra exhaled deeply and straightened her back. Her eyes gleamed with a new fire as a sly smile played on her lips.
"Oh dear... what if I told him everything?.. Maybe I should call her—tell her that her boyfriend is being seduced and tricked by some random bitch."
Sakura flinched hard. Her eyes widened in pure alarm as she turned back.
"Y-You won't…!"
"Oh... I will~"
Valra lifted a hand, and a faint pink mist shimmered in the air between them—only to vanish like a warning spark.
"Don't play your cheap tricks with me, bitch," she snapped.
Sakura bared her teeth but forced herself to calm down. She closed her eyes briefly, then smirked again.
"What do you want?"
Valra's expression turned blank, cold, as she answered flatly.
"I want him too."
Sakura shook her head slowly, her voice rising in denial.
"That's impossible. He's mine!"
Her words cracked like a whip, and her fangs flared out, eyes glowing wild with fury—like she was ready to devour Valra alive.
But Valra didn't flinch. She simply took out her phone and started dialling a number.
Sakura panicked instantly, her proud face morphing into dread.
"W-Wait! Wait!!"
Valra paused, her thumb hovering above the screen as she glanced at her.
Sakura was fuming, eyes burning with frustration.
"F-Fine! I'll help you, okay?! FUCK!"
Her scream echoed across the rooftop as the air around them trembled slightly.
Valra raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised by the outburst.
Sakura gritted her teeth and glared at her through clenched eyes.
"You better not screw this up. This is our chance…"