Chapter 28: "The Commoner, the Yandere, and the Uninvited Spark"

The Festival of Flames (and Poor Life Choices)

The Arcana Regalia Academy's annual Firebloom Festival was a kaleidoscope of chaos: enchanted lanterns shaped like dragons, stalls selling cursed candy apples, and a suspiciously sentient Ferris wheel that screamed every time it reached the top. Aizen—disguised as Grey—stood at the edge of the madness, nursing a caramel latte and regretting every life choice that led him here.

"Master," Vermis chirped from his pocket, "your stress levels suggest you'd rather be fighting stormkin. Shall I summon some?"

"No," Aizen thought back. "But if that Ferris wheel eats someone, I'm blaming you."

Stephanie materialized beside him, her ice-blue gown clashing violently with the festival's neon aesthetic. "Grey. You're late."

"You said 'sunset.' The sun's technically still up."

She froze his latte. "Now it's a slushie. Problem solved."

Enter the Heroine

The first harem member arrived in a cloud of glitter and existential dread.

"Excuse me!" A girl with honey-blonde curls and a basket of enchanted roses squeezed between them. Her dress was patched but clean, her smile brighter than the festival's fireworks. "Would you like to buy a flower? They're infused with luck!"

Stephanie's glare could've curdled milk. "We're busy."

The girl blinked, undeterred. "Oh! You're Lady Redwyne! I've heard so much about you! I'm Lilia, a first-year scholarship student! Your ice magic is amazing! Can I—?"

"No," Stephanie said, summoning a wall of frost between them.

Aizen sighed. Of course the game's original protagonist would be a walking sunshine dispenser.

Lilia's Secret Weapon (It's Kindness)

Lilia Meadowspring was everything the otome game promised: kind, clumsy, and magnetically adorable. She'd been selling flowers to pay her tuition, dodging noble bullies, and accidentally befriending stray magical creatures (currently, a three-legged fire salamander named Sir Spicy).

When a group of snickering nobles "accidentally" knocked her basket into a fountain, Aizen intervened.

"Pick them up," he said, lightning flickering in his palm.

"Or what?" sneared the ringleader.

Stephanie froze his shoes to the ground. "Or I'll turn your tongue into an ice cube. Permanently."

Lilia beamed. "Thank you! You're both so heroic!"

Stephanie's eye twitched. "I'm not. He's just… moderately useful."

The Yandere's Dilemma

Later, at the festival's bonfire, Stephanie dissected Lilia like a lab specimen.

"She's a commoner. Unrefined. Annoyingly optimistic."

Aizen shrugged. "She's… nice."

"Nice?" Stephanie's frostbloom hairpin sharpened into a dagger. "She called me 'approachable'! Approachable!"

"Maybe she's nearsighted."

Stephanie's magic flared. "If she touches you, I'll invent a new taxidermy technique."

Aizen hid his smile in his scarf.

The Harem Grows (Reluctantly)

Lilia's introduction to the group was a masterclass in awkwardness:

Felix: "Welcome to the chaos! Wanna see my cursed tattoo?"

Kael: grunts (Translation: "I tolerate you.")

Stephanie: "Sit over there. Not next to Grey."

Lilia, oblivious, gifted everyone luck flowers. Stephanie's "accidentally" combusted.

"So!" Lilia clapped, igniting a minor firework mishap. "What's next? Karaoke? Fortune-telling? Forbidden blood rituals?"

The group stared.

"...Too much?"

The Midnight Confession

Aizen found Lilia alone at the festival's edge, feeding Sir Spicy roasted chestnuts.

"Thanks again for earlier," she said. "Most nobles ignore people like me."

"People like you?"

"The ones who don't fit." She twirled a flower, its petals glowing gold. "But I think… that's okay. The world needs misfits."

Aizen's chest tightened. She's the protagonist. The game's "true heroine."

"Master," Vermis hummed, "her mana signature is… unusual. Almost divine."

Lilia smiled, handing him a flower. "For luck!"

Stephanie's voice cut through the night. "Grey. Now."

He pocketed the flower.

The Yandere's Counterattack

Stephanie cornered him behind a cotton candy stall. "You smiled at her."

"It was a polite smile."

"It was a traitor smile." She melted his scarf with frostfire. "I'll allow her existence. But if she calls you 'hero' again, I'll repurpose her into a garden statue."

Aizen kissed her forehead. "Jealousy doesn't suit you."

"Everything suits me," she muttered, thawing.