Dimensional Descent

Thanks to the live-in dorms of Royal Blue Academy, Aina was finally able to live a life close to normalcy after her 13th birthday.

She remembered meeting Savahn in her dorm rooms. Back then, Savahn had been a really shy and reserved person. She was a lot like Aina, having entered the Academy thanks to her talent rather than her family background.

For the first time, it was impossible for Yuri to become a wall against Aina meeting other people for the sake of her 'protection'. In addition, because of the environment, she had to tone down a lot of her usual personality, becoming a lot more quiet and reserved.

Thanks to this, Aina was able to meet and open up to Savahn. Learning that Aina was an orphan, Savahn instantly felt more relaxed. Without having to tiptoe around the heiress of some tycoon family or some arrogant princess noble, she was able to slowly open up and become more and more of herself.

Not long after Aina met Savahn, she met Leonel at their orientation. She honestly didn't remember much about that day at all, all she could remember was his bright smile.

He had his brothers around him and everyone seemed to gravitate toward him. She lost count of how many uppity noble girls cast him one or two extra glances, only to grow frustrated when he didn't seem to notice them back or practically faint when he smiled in return.

Aina had thought that he was the son of some famous noble, but she was shocked when she found out that his background was even poorer than Savahn's, actually coming from a Paradise Island.

From all the social conditioning she had been through, she had always thought that nobles were too high strung to ever care for a commoner like Leonel. But, he had already been proving them wrong for a very long time.

It wasn't until several weeks later their gazes finally met. As much as the first day was a blur, that day was something Aina remembered every moment of. It was as though her entire body had been shocked awake, her hairs standing on end and her heart beating wildly. Her blood rushed through her veins and the air flew from her lungs, retreating with no intention of coming back.

Leonel must have felt the same thing to, because despite all the girls he had ignored up to that point, despite all the popularity he had gathered, he dashed away from his brothers, appearing before her like a gust of wind.

"Will you please be my girlfriend?!"

The words came out like a clap of thunder. He probably hadn't tried to be so loud, but Aina became like a startled deer in headlights, his booming and confident voice becoming like an avalanche to her ears.

Before she realized what was happening, she, Aina Brazinger, someone who had never been embarrassed or shy a day in her life, rushed off as fast as her legs could carry her.

to Leonel's popularity, Aina, who had been practically invisible to the young noble girls, had practically become public enemy number one. They couldn't

She had always tempered her mind and remained calm and calculating. It only seemed to be around Leonel that she completely lost

reformed herself, becoming something she was decidedly not. She became Aina's shield, protecting her from the hail of criticism and mean

become a she-devil to protect her if need be… She had a crush

knew that she didn't need Savahn's protection, she could have shut those girls up with a single punch. She knew that she couldn't say yes to Leonel, the weight on her shoulders was far too much and she had

she didn't stop either

it was as though they had become the center of the world. Despite her blank stare forward,

walked down the aisle, the blooming of the flower steadily reaching

From then on, no matter what she did or how unreasonable she was, they were always by her side, even when she was uncommunicative, even when she blamed them for their weakness… Even

always

as a child, that feeling that should have been given to her by her mother, by

pair made their way down under the eyes of all. Rychard had his chest proudly out, a confident smile on his features as though what had happened previously never

back with the tools

Ten feet… Eight… Five…

the world to see its glory. Motes of

mind in other places. But, by now, the two had walked so far forward that the last line of spectators had been crossed. All anyone could see was the alluring view of

façade of Savahn had crumbled. Or, more accurately, she had finally told Aina the

she had grown tired of always being Aina's shield, silently waiting to be picked

this moment, when she was about to get

there for her since the very beginning, loving and supporting her. But, he too had failed, captured and likely without a chance to be free for decades to

her face. And yet now, she could only recall blurry pieces of her visage. She cobbled

was Leonel… The love

the only one that made Aina's heart move. It wasn't because it hurt the most… Or maybe it was…

them weren't here because they couldn't be… Savahn was barred by Rychard, her mother had