Ais returned to her Familia in a daze.
It felt like a hole had been torn in her heart, leaving her utterly lost about what to do.
She didn't respond to Tiona's greetings. The moment she returned, she locked herself in her room, curled up on the bed, refusing to acknowledge anyone who came by.
Her mind was a tangled mess. The knocking on her door only worsened her already foul mood. She wanted to scream to vent her frustration, but ultimately held back.
After a while, the knocking finally stopped.
Ais felt slightly relieved.
But soon, the door was unlocked with a key.
"Ais, Tiona told me you're not feeling well?"
The voice of the elven royalty reached her ears.
The green-haired elf in sacred robes entered the room, drawing back the curtains to let light flood the dim space.
Riveria had a key to her room.
The elven princess turned to look at the girl by the bed, then suddenly froze.
"Are you... crying?"
Crying?
Ais looked up blankly, touching her cheeks to find them damp.
It seemed she'd been holding back desperately outside, only to abandon all pretense and let it out once in the safety of her own space.
"What happened?"
Riveria's expression darkened.
Ais was a strong-willed girl.
In the nine years since Riveria had taken her in, she'd rarely seen her cry. Even when on the verge of sobbing, Ais would sniffle and hold it back.
Because she'd already shed all her tears in the catastrophe nine years ago.
Yet now, someone had made her precious Ais cry?
Absolutely unforgivable!
"...Riveria, just leave me alone for now."
Ais turned her face away, unwilling to explain.
"Ais, I know you've grown up and prefer keeping things to yourself. But you must remember that I... and Finn and the others have always been your family."
Riveria initially wanted to say she alone was Ais's family, but found that too embarrassing, so she dragged Finn and the others into it.
Not that it was wrong—Finn and Gareth had cared for Ais since childhood, though unlike Riveria, they hadn't poured their entire hearts into raising her.
Ais hesitated briefly.
Riveria had always been the most understanding.
"...Today, I saw Eiji with another woman."
After some internal struggle, she finally whispered.
"And then?"
Riveria frowned.
"They were very close... and she did this..."
Ais awkwardly mimicked Freya's flying kiss gesture.
"Hmm... just that?"
Riveria pondered briefly before pressing further.
"?"
Ais blinked in confusion.
Wasn't that enough?
Just seeing that scene had made her feel like her heart was shattering.
"What was Eiji's reaction?"
Riveria rested her chin on slender fingers, eyes gleaming with insight.
"Ais, you must understand—Eiji is extremely popular. If he went out without his cloak, people would be blowing him kisses left and right!"
Flying kisses were nothing. Some might even try to pounce on him for public mating right then and there.
After all, everyone knew how uninhibited the Amazons could be.
Of course, Riveria, being an elf, couldn't bear to imagine such a scene—it would be nothing short of defiling her own thoughts!
She spoke with utmost seriousness, "So, to judge the relationship between Eiji and a woman, we can't just consider it from the woman's perspective. We must also look at Eiji's own reaction!"
"What was his reaction when that woman blew him a kiss? Did he seem happy?"
Reaction?
Ais had no idea.
The moment she saw Freya blowing that kiss, her world had spun into darkness. Overwhelmed and unable to accept it, she had turned and run away without even glancing at Eiji's reaction.
"I see. Now I understand. You're just feeling jealous unilaterally."
Riveria finally let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, a deeply comforting smile spread across her face.
Her daughter had finally grown up!
Ais, who had always cared only about fighting, was now showing interest in the opposite sex—even feeling jealous because of it. This was a sign of awakening, and it filled Riveria with a sense of accomplishment.
Yet, a faint melancholy lingered in her heart.
Even Ais, barely sixteen, already had someone she admired, while Riveria, a nearly century-old elf, hadn't found a single man worthy of her attention. It was rather disheartening.
'Of course, as an elven royal, I can live up to five hundred years. Right now, I'm only the equivalent of a human in their twenties. There's still plenty of time!'
Riveria tried to reassure herself.
But in reality, the sisters who had left the village with her had long since married, some even having children older than Ais by three years.
Deep down, Riveria was anxious. But bound by elven pride, she refused to admit it—she stubbornly kept it all bottled up.
"Jealous?"
Ais lifted her confused eyes.
What did that mean?
"Listen carefully, Ais. You've fallen for Eiji, just like your mother fell for your father."
Riveria patiently explained, "It's a natural human emotion, just like how Tione likes Finn. There's no need to feel afraid or restrained."
Ais nodded, though only half-understanding.
"Try to think about it. You probably wish to be alone with Eiji, don't you? You don't want other women around him. If another woman gets too close to him, you'd feel upset and resentful. That's jealousy..."
Riveria racked her brain, trying to explain it in the simplest terms possible.
"For example, if you saw Tiona getting close to Eiji, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?"
Ais suddenly understood.
That was exactly it!
That night, she had already taken a bath and shouldn't have let herself sweat again. But the moment she saw Tiona pestering Eiji, she had rushed over without a second thought, forgetting even that her hair was still wet.
At the time, she hadn't thought about anything else—just that she couldn't let those two be alone together. So she had used sword practice as an excuse to force her way in.
"Listen, Ais. You must fight for your own happiness!"
Riveria adopted a lecturing tone, like a teacher.
"Eiji is highly sought after. There are plenty of people who want to be with him. Since he hasn't made a decision yet, you can't just sit here waiting. You have to take the initiative—that's how you'll win him over!"
Riveria was confident.
Ais was incredibly adorable. No man could possibly remain indifferent to her!
As long as Ais was willing to take the initiative, there wasn't a man she couldn't win over!
I'm sorry, Tiona.
But I still want Ais and Eiji to be together!
"So that's how it is!"
Ais finally understood.
Looking at it this way, she had been too foolish.
She completely missed Eiji's reaction to Freya and just left the competition arena on her own - wasn't that equivalent to forfeiting the match herself?