Rudolf sat there, utterly frozen—like her body had forgotten how to move. Symboli Speed didn't rush her. After laying out the truth, she simply sipped her tea at her leisure.
Then—no one knew how long it was—Rudolf finally collected herself.
And all the doubts that had surfaced earlier, unanswered at the time, began to snap together, piece by piece, until the full picture took shape.
To most people, it would look like she'd dragged Kitahara into this and everything that followed was just coincidence.
Symboli Speed had simply been watching the fun from the sidelines—and since she'd noticed the two of them gravitating toward each other, she hadn't bothered to send Rudolf any further instructions.
But Rudolf didn't believe that for a second.
The instant her mind started working again, she realized it: from beginning to end, every last detail had been arranged by Symboli Speed.
Because before this, Rudolf had been using Kitahara as a shield—telling the Symboli family he was her boyfriend.
She and Symboli Speed both knew it was just an excuse, of course. But in a situation like this, it was entirely predictable that Rudolf would pull Kitahara in to help.
And after Rudolf came home, Symboli Speed had been deliberately watching her messages. On the surface, it looked like she was trying to keep Rudolf from causing unnecessary trouble—but now it was obvious. She'd been laying the groundwork so Rudolf would lower her guard later.
Because Symboli Speed could predict that the moment Rudolf left, she would message Kitahara and drag him into this.
Back then, when Kitahara knocked and answered almost immediately, Rudolf had felt lucky—she hadn't understood how he'd arrived so fast.
Now, thinking about it carefully, it wasn't luck at all. Symboli Speed had anticipated Rudolf's move and set things up in advance.
And afterward—even though Symboli Speed wasn't even at the social gathering—Rudolf was certain that everything they did had been under that old woman's watch.
Once Rudolf pieced it together, heat climbed up her neck, flushing her face.
The "Emperor," who had always demanded perfection from herself, who had always maintained composure no matter the situation, felt something for the first time:
The urge to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
"So it was all a setup," Rudolf said, forcing down the embarrassment. She looked up at Symboli Speed, her cheeks burning.
"If you wanted to toy with me—if you just wanted to laugh at my expense—then congratulations. You got what you wanted."
Even with the truth exposed, Rudolf still didn't believe Symboli Speed had genuinely intended for her to "matchmake" with Kitahara. At most, she thought, this was entertainment—using Rudolf for a joke.
But Symboli Speed, hearing her, looked… genuinely puzzled.
Strange. I've made it this clear—how is the girl still convinced I'm just messing with her?
Fine—Symboli Speed would admit it: a large part of why she'd done it was for amusement.
But she'd already laid out the situation. With Rudolf's intelligence, she should've realized Symboli Speed truly meant for her to go through with the matchmaking.
After all, by any measure, Kitahara was an outstanding catch—more than worthy of the Symboli family's standards.
And through her own channels, Symboli Speed knew how Rudolf and Kitahara interacted at Tracen. The two of them got along naturally—so much so they were practically co-raising a child together (Tokai Teio).
Under those circumstances, any reasonably intelligent person would see what this was: she was sincerely trying to bring them together. And yet…
In a rare good mood, Symboli Speed couldn't be bothered to wrap it in riddles. She stated her intent plainly.
"No need to be so suspicious. I can tell you this much: I have no further schemes. I simply wanted you two to spend time together."
"…Really?" Rudolf asked, still wary.
"Of course." Symboli Speed's tone remained calm. "At this point, what reason would I have to lie to you?"
Honestly, Symboli Speed thought she'd been perfectly clear. And from what she'd heard, Rudolf had feelings for Kitahara too.
Now that the Symboli family head had made their support explicit, Rudolf should've shown something—if not relief, then at least the way one's shoulders loosen when they finally exhale.
Instead, Symboli Speed saw none of it.
If anything, Rudolf looked even more guarded.
This girl…
While Symboli Speed frowned in confusion, Rudolf met her eyes, drew a deep breath, and spoke.
"Fine. At this point, I admit defeat. This one's yours."
"So can we stop here?"
Symboli Speed's eyes filled with confusion.
"Rudolf… what are you talking about?"
"Still playing dumb?" Rudolf inhaled again, forced her shame back down, and answered steadily.
"Fine. If you insist on playing dumb, then I'll say it outright."
She stared Symboli Speed in the eyes, dead serious.
"Kitahara… he's my little brother, isn't he?"
Symboli Speed: "…?"
A moment later...
After Rudolf's explanation, a laugh that could no longer be contained burst from the study and rang through the Symboli main house's dark night.
And it didn't stop for a long, long time.
...
Elsewhere.
In Sirius's room.
The Q&A game was still going.
But compared to the beginning, the atmosphere had shifted completely.
Kitahara was still in his chair—but at some point Sirius had moved to sit directly opposite him, scooting closer and closer.
And as the distance shrank, even though she kept a veneer of calm, the anger in Sirius's eyes grew sharper by the second—her ears pinned so far back they were nearly against the back of her head.
Long hair. Shorter height. A steady personality…
Proper. Dry humor. The perfect model student…
The more she asked, the hotter the fire in Sirius's chest burned.
At first, she'd tossed out a few questions at random. They just happened to match traits she and Rudolf shared—or so she told herself, insisting she'd only realized it afterward.
But once she noticed Kitahara's answers consistently leaned toward Rudolf, she began choosing options that mirrored the two of them on purpose, asking which he preferred.
Sure, Kitahara picked plenty that sounded like Sirius.
But overall, Rudolf's side won out—no, it wasn't "won out."
It crushed her.
And that made Sirius furious.
Since childhood, she and Rudolf had been compared.
It wasn't that Sirius hated Rudolf. It was simply that they were twins—and the kind of twins with fierce pride and fierce competitiveness. From the moment they were born, their rivalry had been inevitable.
And now, for reasons Sirius couldn't even properly explain to herself, hearing Kitahara's answers tilt so clearly toward Rudolf made her feel like Rudolf had edged her out again.
Not in the usual way, either.
It felt like losing a Triple Crown bid without ever getting a win.
And yet, even though Sirius's questions had become obvious—so obvious she was one step away from asking him outright whether he liked Rudolf or Sirius—
That block of wood still didn't grasp the point. He was still hung up on whether he was "normal."
Still, Sirius had a sense of restraint. Even though that wooden idiot was driving her up the wall—especially with his innocent, clueless face that somehow made her even angrier—she forced her temper down.
And once she realized this couldn't go on, she took the initiative to cut it off.
"Forget it. Let's change the subject."
Sirius sighed.
Kitahara blinked.
"Huh? So… does that mean you admit I'm normal?"
"I—"
Looking at that utterly innocent face, Sirius almost swore.
But even holding back, she couldn't stop herself entirely.
"Kitahara, sometimes I honestly wonder if your skull is solid wood."
She looked at him with sincere disbelief.
"Think about it. Out of every normal person you've met—has a single one had even half the traits you have?"
"I think plenty do," Kitahara replied, utterly calm.
"No—Sirius, don't get mad. I'll admit I'm a bit unusual. But think about it: Eclipse, Tachyon, Digital, Café, and… compared to them, aren't they way weirder than me?"
Sirius's first instinct was to snap, How is that possible? Who's weirder than you?
But after a fraction of a second, the last shred of reason in her brain made her swallow the words.
Fine. She had to admit it—Kitahara was weird, but next to the circus on his team, he was… relatively normal.
Just as Sirius was about to end it and switch topics, Kitahara spoke again.
"But if we're being strict, I do feel like something about me has been getting… less normal lately…"
As he spoke, he raised his hand. Fine threads of faint light seeped out from his sleeve, winding around his palm and slowly coalescing into a hazy pink glow.
"I'll admit, even I think this thing is kind of creepy. The problem is I don't even know where it came from, and it's really… strange."
Kitahara's words died.
Because as he tried to show the glow in his hand, he noticed Sirius's eyes change.
Like a predator sighting prey.
"Um, Sirius… are you feeling unwell—"
"No. I'm great."
Her gaze swept over that hazy pink. The resentment she'd been bottling only swelled larger.
They were twins. She was outstanding too. She'd worked just as hard—so why was she always the one falling behind? Why did she lose even in some stupid little Q&A, and now…
"Um, Sirius, you're… a little too close…"
By the time Sirius came back to herself, she was already standing right in front of him—both hands braced on the back of his chair, her head lowered, her face near enough that he could feel her breath.
"Trainer Kitahara…"
She spoke softly, staring at him as if weighing something.
Kitahara, for his part, realized immediately that he probably shouldn't have used that power. He dispersed the glow at once, but it was painfully obvious it was too late.
"Sirius, calm down. You're just being affected."
"I am calm."
She dipped her head a fraction more, letting him feel the warmth of her words against his skin.
"Calmer than I've ever been."
Before the words finished falling, there was a knock at the door outside Sirius's room.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Kitahara didn't answer. If it was someone from the Symboli family, a man's voice coming from Sirius's room could ruin her reputation.
And Sirius…
Whoever it was outside, she couldn't be bothered to care. Even less to respond.
"Trainer Kitahara," she said, looking at him—half speaking to him, half to herself. "Do you know what's true about this world?"
"Most people are unbearably boring."
"Rule-bound. Stagnant. Going around and around on the same worn-out path, rotting a little more each time in the mud…"
"Society is like that. Tracen is like that. That woman is like that most of all—a perfect specimen. No one is more boring than her…"
"But the world's rules are like that. And faced with a world like this, most people can only obey—until repetition grinds them down into something indistinguishable from everyone else…"
"And the few who resist are small fry who can't stir up any real waves. They struggle, but it's futile in the end…"
"Obedience or rebellion—those are the only two paths people have, in a world this boring."
"But now, Kitahara… you have a third choice."
She raised her arm and extended her hand toward him.
"Take my hand, and let me show you what lies beyond boredom…"
"No—if it's you, then it should be going with me to explore what's beyond this dull world. You have that ability. You're even stronger than I am."
"Will you come, Trainer Kitahara?"
Sirius smiled, waiting for his answer.
Kitahara stared back at her, bewilderment written all over his face.
Alright. He could catch some of what she meant—at least enough to understand she didn't like following the rules.
But beyond that…
Honestly, he didn't get it.
And with Sirius speaking so seriously, he didn't have the heart to ruin the mood with a blunt What are you even saying? and demand she explain.
Besides, he remembered that his ability's influence had a time limit. So after thinking it over, he decided to pretend he was "considering it" and simply ride the time out.
And after he made that decision, whether it was his imagination or not, the knocking outside seemed to grow louder—more frequent, more urgent.
"Uh, Sirius… maybe you should answer the door first? It sounds like they might have something urgent—"
"Let her knock," Sirius said indifferently. "She'll get tired and leave."
So the standoff returned.
A little while later—just as Sirius predicted—the person outside either got tired of knocking or decided no one was home. In any case, the knocking stopped.
And once it did, Sirius seemed to lose patience. She lowered her head again, so close she was almost pressed against him, and spoke slowly.
"Kitahara… I really…"
BOOM—
Before she could finish, a deafening crash shook the room. Sirius's door exploded into splinters.
Then Rudolf—her face red as a boiled lobster—stepped through the debris. She lifted her head to look at them, voice shaking with anger she couldn't conceal.
"Let go of him."
---
T/N: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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