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Rudeus stared blankly at Allen, listening to the stream of vulgar words spilling from his mouth—words he had only ever heard during the cheating incident. For a long moment, he just stood there, stunned.
The forced smile on his face slowly faded.
His expression twitched a few times as he met Allen's unwavering gaze.
Then, with a sudden grit of his teeth, he snapped.
In one swift motion, he grabbed Allen by the collar.
Instinctively, he even used a burst of wind magic, flipping Allen around and slamming him against the wardrobe.
Allen was completely taken aback, never expecting Rudeus to pull off such a bold move.
Before he could react, Rudeus's voice, urgent and furious, hissed in his ear.
"You're asking me, Allen? You're asking me?!"
"Whether Roxy-sensei likes me or not?"
"You want to know what I would do?"
"Fine! I'll tell you—I'm not like you, always trying to protect everyone, always wanting to make sure everyone's smiling. I know myself well enough. If I were Paul, I'd be just as pathetic, probably even worse. I'd be on my knees, crying and begging Zenith and Lilia for forgiveness."
"Yeah, we all messed up that night. I know that!"
"But who was it that fixed everything in the end? You, wasn't it? You were the one who handled it best!"
"Aren't you always the one with the right words? The one who knows how to make things work?"
"You always want to be perfect. You always want to protect everyone."
"Aren't you arrogant enough for that?"
"Then move!"
"Have you forgotten how you solved things that night?"
"Didn't you tell us to respect Zenith, to see her as a real person?"
"To ask her what she really wanted? To think from her perspective?"
"To beg for her forgiveness and then leave the choice in her hands? To give her that respect?"
Allen's brows furrowed at that. He opened his mouth to speak—
But Rudeus cut him off.
"You want to respect them? Then shouldn't you ask how they feel? Let them choose?"
"Wasn't that what you taught us that night? So why can't you do it now?"
"Or… do you just not have the confidence?"
Silence.
The air grew heavy.
Allen's expression went blank, his gaze drifting upward toward the ceiling as if lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Rudeus, still gripping Allen's collar, suddenly froze.
The anger that had fueled his outburst drained away.
He looked down at his own hand, still clenched in Allen's shirt, and flinched.
With an awkward cough, he let go.
Could Allen have resisted?
Of course he could have.
But he hadn't. He'd just… listened.
And now, it seemed like…
He'd actually taken Rudeus's words to heart.
Rudeus scratched his head, forcing a weak grin before slumping into a nearby chair.
But… had he even said anything useful?
He'd just been spouting nonsense, riding the wave of his own anger, throwing Allen's own logic back at him.
This wasn't advice.
It was just…
Complaining.
Oh no. What have I done?
Is he going to start avoiding me now? Will he get Sylphie to ignore me too?
"Self-righteous… kindness…"
Allen's murmur snapped Rudeus out of his thoughts.
He turned, surprised, to see Allen leaning against the desk, still staring at the ceiling. His face was eerily calm, none of the intensity from before remaining.
Then, quietly, his voice carried through the air.
"…Sorry."
"N-No, I'm the one who should apologize! You—You actually made a lot of sense, Allen. If Father had been more like you back then… Mother wouldn't have cried that night. Hah… Why did we even start arguing? I didn't come here planning to yell at you. If Sylphie heard us, she'd probably laugh at how stupid we—"
Rudeus's forced laughter died in his throat.
His eyes widened.
Allen, too, snapped out of his daze, turning to look at him in shock.
A second later—
Both of them lunged for the door at the same time, crashing into each other.
"Ow—!"
Rudeus was instantly shoved aside as Allen smoothly used the Flow technique to slip past him.
The door creaked open.
Allen peeked out—
And visibly relaxed.
Rudeus scrambled after him.
Sylphie's door was still closed.
The two exchanged a glance, then crept forward on tiptoe, heading toward her room.
But before they could take more than two steps—
Thud.
Rudeus walked straight into Allen's back.
He blinked, confused.
Allen had gone rigid.
Slowly, Rudeus leaned to the side, following Allen's gaze—
And froze.
At the end of the hallway, standing silently in her white dress…
Was Sylphie.
Watching them.
Rudeus panicked, his head whipping toward Allen.
Did I just make him expose himself too soon?!
But Allen's expression wasn't one of shock or fear.
He was just… frowning slightly.
Wait, why is Sylphie even out here at this hour?
Rudeus opened his mouth to call out to her—
But Allen moved first.
He strode down the hallway, the flickering lamplight casting shifting shadows over him.
In just a few steps, he reached the end.
Rudeus had to jog to keep up.
When he caught up, he saw Allen standing in front of Sylphie, looking down—
At her feet.
Only then did Rudeus notice.
She wasn't wearing any shoes.
Her bare feet rested lightly on the wooden floor.
Allen crouched down, examining them silently.
Her feet were smooth, but the soles were dusted with faint patches of dirt—some darker, some lighter.
Then he looked up at her.
Two and a half years had passed since their first meeting in Buena Village.
Now, when Allen crouched like this, he could no longer meet her eyes at the same height.
There was half a face's worth of distance between them.
But because of that, when he tilted his head up, he could see her eyes clearly—no longer hidden behind the curtain of her white hair.
Sylphie's reddish-brown eyes were dull, lifeless—until they focused on him.
Their gazes locked.
"Why aren't you wearing shoes?"
Sylphie studied his face.
Allen used to talk to her like this often, but in the past six months, it had become rare.
His familiar gray eyes.
She had just seen them earlier.
She looked away.
"…Forgot."
Allen watched her for a moment longer, then glanced back at her feet. He started to lean forward—
But stopped.
Instead, he straightened up and stood.
"Let's go. The floor's cold."
"…Okay."
The two turned and walked back toward the dorm rooms.
Rudeus trailed a step behind, watching their backs. His lips curled into a smile—not a lewd one, but something softer.
He clasped his hands behind his head, following them.
After Sylphie washed her feet and put on slippers, the three of them stood in front of their respective doors.
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The moment the words left their mouths, Rudeus yanked his door open and darted inside.
The other two simply stood there, hands on their doorknobs, hesitating.
A second passed.
Or maybe longer.
Then, in a voice so quiet it was almost a whisper, Sylphie spoke.
"…Allen."
"Did Rudeus tell you?"
"That it was my idea to invite Edna to teach etiquette?"
Allen didn't turn.
"He said it was his idea."
"…I see."
"I think… I might have messed things up."
"You didn't."
Sylphie turned her head slightly to look at him.
Allen met her gaze, his expression steady.
"…Really?"
"Not at all. What you did was important."
"I… really liked it."
"That's good."
"…See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The sound of two doors opening—nearly in sync.
Then closing.
Sylphie slid down against her door, hugging her knees to her chest.
"…Didn't I?"
She buried her face in her arms.
On the other side of the wall, Allen stood motionless.
"Listening."
Only a wall between them.
Just a single wall.
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