T/N: Heya~ Huge shoutout and thank you to Hunter1, Vester 1 and Avelino Favela for your support~ I really appreciate it, you guys are the best 💕
Edward stood there, a stiff and somewhat helpless smile on his face as he looked at the young woman before him.
Vill-V’s perfectly composed expression finally shattered.
The joy that had lit up her features only moments earlier, the excitement she could no longer hide, drained away in an instant.
Her face turned deathly pale.
“How… could this possibly be… Edward?”
Her voice came out choked and unsteady.
The gentle, slightly hesitant tone she always used, the one that seemed to carefully test how others might perceive her, had vanished completely.
In its place was something raw and frantic, filled with emotions Edward had almost never seen from her before.
She was utterly losing control.
She had never imagined anything so absurd could happen.
She had prepared everything so carefully.
She was finally going to start living together with Edward.
How could this be happening?
How could she have overlooked something so critical right here in her own room?
Why, of all moments, did she have to leave such a terrible impression at the very last second?
Why hadn’t she cleaned up last night when she was tossing and turning, unable to sleep?
Now everything was a mess, and she had done something so embarrassing…
Her heart wailed in silent despair.
The resolve she had built up with every ounce of courage she possessed was crumbling apart, collapsing from within like a magnificent tower that had nearly touched the sky only to fall because of its own hidden weaknesses.
For so long she had lived in quiet darkness, accepting that she might one day close herself off completely and let her true self fade away while only her fragmented personas remained for the world to see.
But Edward had appeared in her life like a sliver of genuine light.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she had allowed herself to hope.
The feelings she carried for him were too intense, too desperate.
They had built up through countless sleepless nights, through every conversation where she heard the quiet disappointment in his voice when others ignored him—especially Elysia. You are reading on novelping . com, the official source.
She had tossed and turned in bed until the early hours, her emotions swelling until they reached a breaking point.
Choosing to live with him had been an all-or-nothing gamble.
If it failed, she would lose everything she had.
Looking at the girl who was clearly flustered—gently biting her crimson lower lip, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears while she desperately tried to keep her usual gentle demeanor—Edward could no longer hold back his concern.
The day had been perfect.
All the potential problems had seemed to melt away.
He never expected something like this to arise in what should have been a completely smooth, problem-free moment after they had overcome every other obstacle.
Vill-V’s emotions had suddenly collapsed.
This was not entirely unexpected.
Although the girl he first met had seemed almost too perfect—like something out of a light novel—she had given him a belated birthday gift and had been the only one at the party who truly paid attention to him when no one else did.
Under all those favorable circumstances, her first impression had even come close to the one Elysia had left on him during their childhood encounter in the forest.
Even so, Edward had never blindly compared Vill-V to Elysia.
That would have been foolish, arrogant, and completely ignorant.
After their later conversations, he already understood that she was not someone with a flawless personality.
Vill-V was like him.
Both of them were the kind of people who would eventually grow into ordinary adults, weighed down by the complex emotions and small trivialities of life.
Beautiful feelings could not last forever under that weight.
She was the complete opposite of Elysia, who seemed eternally flawless and would never lose that pure, almost otherworldly quality that belonged only to a girl.
For most people, growth was a cruel thing.
It came hand in hand with hardship and painful self-realization.
True growth meant recognizing one’s own shortcomings, working hard to overcome them, and steadily moving toward an ideal self.
It was a beautiful process, yet also an inevitable one. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
No one would stop progressing toward something they truly loved.
The only problem was that so few people could actually achieve it.
Most people in the world were beaten down by suffering.
They lost their talent, their creativity, and the childlike wonder they once possessed.
They became nothing more than ordinary tools forced to mature before they could even enjoy life.
Edward had never seen Vill-V as a substitute for anyone else.
Even comparing their similar figures would have felt disrespectful.
She was a complete person, shaped by all her past experiences, her innate talents, and everything she loved and hated.
No one deserved to be viewed as a mere copy of someone else.
Still, he had never imagined her emotions would run this deep, or that such a small oversight could nearly shatter everything at the moment of success.
It was not completely incomprehensible.
Even ordinary people would likely break down if they discovered a problem right before achieving victory.
What was truly unacceptable was failing at the very last moment… or falling after you thought you had already succeeded.
“This style is quite nice,” Edward said softly, his voice warm and reassuring as he tried to ease the tension.
“Is this the hat you prepared for me?
I didn’t realize your design skills were still this impressive.”
Years of living side by side had taught Edward everything he needed to know about the girl in front of him.
He knew her quirks, her hidden vulnerabilities, and the occasional cracks she revealed once they grew closer.
He believed he had the right words to soothe her emotions as much as possible.
He refused to let this small incident ruin the beautiful new chapter they were about to begin together.
200 Stones
And so on
New Fic~