Chapter 25/1 – The Day of the "Whispered Secret"
New moon night, everything dark.
The children formed a circle on the dormitory floor, with only a single magical purple candle in the center (a gift from Kuroe).
Rule: each one whispers a secret into the ear of the person next to them. No repeating, no telling afterward.
It started with Sylvara whispering into Rina's ear. Rina giggled. Then Rina whispered to Marina, and so on.
When it was Joker's turn (he was sitting next to Lysithea), he leaned in very slowly, cupped his little hands around her ear, and whispered so softly that only she could hear:
— Secret: sometimes I'm afraid of growing up and you not being here anymore.
But then I remember we promised to take you with us to our circus…
…and the fear turns into wanting to grow up fast so we can make you queen.
Lysithea felt hot tears running down her face before he even finished.
Harley, on the other side, waited her turn and whispered:
— My secret: I keep every one of your smiles in an imaginary jar inside my chest.
When I have a hundred, I'll open it and it'll turn into a sun just for you.
When the circle ended, Lysithea was a sea of tears.
She opened her arms and everyone piled on top of her at once.
No one said anything more. They just hugged until the candle went out on its own.
Chapter 25/2 – The Wish Tree
They planted a magical tree that grows one fruit for every wish fulfilled.
It already has 38 glowing fruits because "every hug wish has come true."
Chapter 25/3 – The Day They Made Soap Snow
A magical experiment went wrong (or right?).
The entire room turned into a cloud of foam.
Lysithea walked in and came out looking like a soapy Santa Claus.
Official photo: nine people covered in foam making snow angels on the floor.
Chapter 25/4 – The Collective Lullaby
It all started because Lysithea had a bad headache after a busy day.
She went to bed early and said she was going to rest.
Five minutes later, eight pairs of bare feet tiptoed into her room.
Joker made a silence gesture.
They arranged themselves in a semicircle around the bed.
Lyrics they made up on the spot (off-key voices, but full of love):
Sleep, sleep, Mommy Lys,
we're right here by your side,
if a nightmare comes,
all eight of us will chase it away with laughter.
If the world out there feels too big,
we'll shrink it with a hug,
you'll never be alone,
because our love is a bond.
Sleep, sleep, queen of our castle,
we'll take care of your heart with our warm hugs…
good night, good night, good night, Mommy Lys.
In the end, each one gave her a kiss on the forehead, one by one.
Lysithea pretended to be asleep… but tears were soaking the pillow.
When the last kiss (from Joker and Harley together) was given, she opened her eyes, pulled them both into her lap, and said hoarsely:
— You are the strongest medicine in the world to me.
And they all slept together in that bed, as always.