Nael listened quietly as Mireille poured out the whole story, her words tumbling out between shaky breaths. When she finally fell silent, he let out a slow, understanding sigh.
"...I see," he muttered.
Now everything made sense.
The pieces fell into place: her exhaustion, the guilt weighing on her, the way she'd been clutching his hand like a lifeline.
According to her, after the recruiters had taken her to the principal's office, they'd kept presenting increasingly generous offers. But three had stood out from the rest: the Imperial Academy, the 5th, and the 3rd-ranked Academies. Each had painted visions of her future in golden terms, promising resources, mentorship, and glory.
But Mira hadn't chosen any of them. She'd insisted she needed to speak with her parents and with a close person (probably himself) first. The recruiters had agreed, well, at least on the surface.
'Or they couldn't refuse. She's a Legendary Class Awakened after all...'
And maybe others realized they couldn't win her over; only those three had followed her directly to the hospital, ostensibly to meet her parents. But Nael now knew that their true purpose had been transparent: to maintain pressure disguised as flattery, to remind her constantly of the "opportunity" she was delaying, to make her feel the weight of their "generous" patience.
The Imperial Academy recruiter had even healed her father personally... a calculated display of power and benevolence, Nael guessed, a silent message about what cooperation with them could provide.
'And...'
By dawn, Mira had gone searching for him, accompanied by that same imperial recruiter. But when they'd discovered he wasn't at the orphanage, they'd returned to the hospital. It had been night, after all, and continuing the search would have been 'difficult' according to the recruiter. And Mira could only comply.
The next morning, the discussions had resumed the moment she woke up. They kept pestering her, not giving her a moment's peace. Mira, being young and utterly exhausted, had barely been able to push back against their relentless tide.
In a moment of desperation, she told them she would like to take the test first and then decide on an academy, hoping this would finally get them to leave her alone. But...
'She was wrong...'
Just when she thought she might have found a way out, they had simply found another way to pressure her. They had begun urging her to break records, to deliver a flawless performance that would be worthy of her Legendary status.
But it was the recruiter from the third-ranked academy—the one who called himself Instructor Valen—who made the key suggestion.
He had proposed that to achieve such a result, she should party up with other 'elites'. To make his case, he had even brought Brennon in, who it seemed had already been recruited by that academy.
But she had refused. She had told them she couldn't, that she had already made a promise to party with someone else.
'...With me...' Nael muttered inwardly, and the scene where he visited in the morning resurfaced in his mind. 'And I misunderstood everything...'
It turns out they accepted the idea of her partying with a 'commoner' like me.
But they had still put pressure on her, insisting she focus on leveling up herself first. They told her to secure her own exam success, and then she could party with whoever she wanted.
The words he had overheard in the hallway—her quiet "Alright, I'll join you"—hadn't been a betrayal. She was just playing along on the surface, agreeing to their terms to make them back off. Her real plan was to use their resources, power level to 10 as fast as possible, and then break away to find him. She intended to find him and party with him for real, to help him reach level 10 and pass the exam alongside her.
'She... She hadn't betrayed me or abandoned me...'
The cold knot of misunderstanding that had settled in his chest all those days ago vanished entirely. She had been fighting for him in the only way she knew how, from within the gilded cage they had built around her.
But... The worst part had yet to come.
Just before the exam started, that recruiter from the third-ranked academy, Valen guy, had pulled her aside. He told her not to worry about him. He told her he had already joined a party—a proper one—and that she should just focus on her own performance. Brennon had backed him up, claiming he had looked into it himself and confirmed it was true. He had even added that it was for the best, that a party of commoners was a fitting place for him.
Mira, of course, hadn't fully believed them, a small part of her hoping it wasn't true. But with the exam beginning and no way to verify it, she had pushed forward with their plan, clinging to the hope that she could find him afterward.
'And she truly hadn't noticed me that time...' Nael recalled. 'It makes sense now.'
And that was why the guilt was eating her alive now. She had discovered the truth too late. Had she not... he wouldn't be here right now.
Nael looked at her, at the raw pain and regret in her eyes. A faint, understanding smile touched his lips.
"I don't blame you," he said, his voice quiet but firm. "In fact, I'm happy."
He met her gaze, letting her see the sincerity in his eyes.
"I'm happy that you didn't forget me. I'm happy that you fought for our promise, even when they were pushing you from all sides. That's more than enough for me."
"So... please don't blame yourself."
He finished in his mind.
'...Because the fault lies with them.'
The people who had manipulated her, who had lied to her face without hesitation. The ones so steeped in their classism that they saw nothing wrong with deceiving a sixteen-year-old girl just to separate her from someone they deemed beneath her notice.
Instructor Valen. Brennon. All of them.
They were the ones who bore responsibility for this, not Mira.
"Nael..." Mira's voice was still shaky, but some of the crushing weight seemed to lift from her shoulders. She wiped at her eyes again, sniffling.
"I... I won't make that mistake again," she said, her voice growing steadier with each word. "I won't believe their lies anymore. And I..."
She hesitated, her cheeks flushing pink as she looked down at their still-joined hands.
"I won't leave you," she finished quietly, her ears turning red. "N-not again."
Nael felt warmth spread through his chest. A soft chuckle escaped him, breaking through the heavy atmosphere.
'She's still the same Mira,' he thought fondly. 'The one who blushes when she says something earnest. The one who keeps her promises, no matter what.'
The girl who had saved his life, not once but twice now—first by being the catalyst that unlocked his class's true power, and now by literally dragging him back from death's door.
"Thank you, Mira," he said softly. "For everything."