Chapter 156
“Where on earth did she go?”
“She definitely headed this way.”
Theodore, Mie, and Chris, who had been chasing after Selina, scanned the crowd packed with people.
But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn’t find a trace of red hair.
Leaving the grumbling of the other two behind, Theodore continued searching for Selina in silence.
For some reason, the expression she had worn as she brushed past him wouldn’t leave his mind.
‘She looked… hurt.’
Mie and Chris said she seemed angry, but to Theodore, she looked like someone wounded and burning with suppressed rage.
As time passed, the image of her face weighed more heavily on him, making him increasingly anxious.
Then, amid the crowd, he spotted pale lavender hair.
Thinking it might be Silvia or her mother, Theodore was about to look away—but suddenly his eyes widened, and he snapped his gaze back to where he had just looked.
“It’s Selina.”
“Huh? Really?”
Without explaining further, Theodore hurried after her.
Gradually, they moved toward a less crowded area, eventually reaching the back of a building where no one passed by at all.
Following behind, Mie and Chris muttered anxiously.
“Is Selina really here?”
“Theodore, are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”
“She definitely went into this alley…”
Looking around, Theodore finally spotted Selina’s silhouette.
“Selina!”
Mie and Chris gasped and rushed toward her. As they drew closer, the three of them were able to see her clearly.
“…Selina?”
“What’s wrong with you? Why do you look like that?!”
Unlike the shocked and flustered Theodore and Mie, Chris—who was seeing Selina’s true appearance for the first time—looked utterly confused.
“What happened to your hair? Are you wearing a wig or something?”
But no one had the composure to answer Chris’s questions.
“You’ve been walking around like this the whole time? You said you can’t let other people see you like this. What about your earrings?”
Mie fussed as she examined Selina, then belatedly realized something was wrong.
“…What’s going on with you?”
“Selina, did something happen?”
Chris also stepped closer behind Mie and Theodore, looking at Selina with concern.
Selina lowered her head, her face looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
It was the first time they had ever seen her so utterly despondent, and all of them were thrown into confusion.
Mie pulled Selina tightly into her arms and gently stroked her hair.
“It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”
“…Guys.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m so tired… I can’t take it anymore…”
Her voice was thick with tears. Mie could feel Selina’s body trembling in small, uncontrollable shakes.
Seeing their always-confident, fearless friend show such vulnerability, Mie bit her lower lip and hugged her even tighter.
Theodore silently took Selina’s hand, his gaze dark and heavy, while Chris—awkward but earnest—patted her back to comfort her.
Being with her friends helped ease Selina’s heavy heart, if only a little.
After some time passed, Selina sniffed and lifted her head from Mie’s shoulder.
“Do you feel a bit better now?”
“…Yeah.”
“What on earth happened to make you—”
Before Chris could finish, Mie and Theodore shot him sharp looks, and he shut his mouth.
“You don’t have to say anything. Talk when you’re ready.”
“Yeah. Just calm yourself down for now.”
They were just as curious as Chris about what had happened, but they knew Selina’s personality too well.
She wasn’t someone who easily revealed her inner feelings. Forcing her to talk now would only cause her more stress.
Grateful for their consideration, Selina lowered her head weakly.
Feeling sorry for her, Mie noticed Selina’s earrings in her pocket and carefully put them back on for her.
Slowly, Selina’s hair began to turn red again.
Chris was bursting with questions, but given the atmosphere, he couldn’t bring himself to say a word.
From far away, cheers could be heard.
It seemed the fireworks would be starting soon.
“Should we head back out?”
“Yeah, let’s not stay here.”
Theodore wrapped an arm around Selina’s shoulders, supporting her as they slowly left the alley.
In the distance, the brightly lit street stalls came into view. People there were all enjoying themselves with their groups.
Amid the excitement, Selina remained listless.
The shock she’d received was greater than she’d realized—her thoughts wouldn’t organize themselves, and it felt as though her insides were twisted in knots.
She tried to smile, even just a little, for her friends’ sake, but her body refused to cooperate.
Seeing the lingering darkness on her face, the three exchanged worried glances.
“There you are! Selina!”
A lively voice rang out. Turning around, they saw Asta, Zenon, and Becky approaching, happily waving.
“Good grief, we’ve been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing in a place this secluded?”
“Yeah, you probably can’t even see the fireworks properly from here.”
As they drew closer, the three beside Selina couldn’t help but panic.
If they saw Selina in her current state, they were sure they’d say something.
Exchanging quick looks, the three subtly positioned themselves so Selina’s face wouldn’t be clearly visible.
“We had some business to take care of, so we came this way. Were you looking for us?”
“Yeah! We wanted to spend the last part of the academic festival all together!”
“We went to the tent, but no one was there, so we came to find you.”
Clueless, they were simply brimming with excitement.
“Oh! Right—Selina!”
Asta, smiling brightly and without the slightest stutter, called out to her. The three tensed, but Asta didn’t notice and walked up to Selina.
Selina lifted her hollow gaze to look at Asta. Her hair was still red.
“Um… thank you for this.”
Asta took off her necklace. As she did, her red hair turned pink.
She pressed the necklace firmly into Selina’s hand.
“It was only for two days, but thanks to this, I didn’t tremble in front of others—I could show who I really am with confidence. It’s all thanks to you.”
Even after removing the necklace, Asta didn’t stutter at all.
Her pale eyes, which had always nervously watched others’ reactions, now sparkled brightly.
Seeing those clear eyes, Selina’s violet pupils wavered.
“You said this was precious to you, right? She’s your mother, but to me, she’s someone I’m deeply grateful to. I felt like I was receiving her warmth too.”
Asta was talking about Stella.
Selina looked at her, then slowly lowered her gaze to the necklace in her hand.
“…Mom.”
Suddenly, Stella’s face came to mind.
The woman who had saved her when she was abandoned.
The woman who raised her with love as if she were her own child.
And… the mother she loved more than anyone else.
“Selina?”
When Selina didn’t respond, Asta asked carefully.
It was too dark to see her face clearly, but the atmosphere around her felt different from before.
‘She seemed a bit drained earlier…’
Now, she looked as though she’d regained some vitality.
Selina clenched the necklace tightly. Light returned to her eyes.
“Thank you, senior.”
“Huh?”
Asta blinked in confusion at the sudden gratitude.
“Thanks to you, I realized something important.”
“Oh—well, I don’t know what happened, but that’s good!”
Piyuuung—bang—boom!
With a thunderous sound, multicolored fireworks burst across the dark night sky.
Everyone gasped in awe, lifting their heads.
Selina felt a warm hand clasping hers and turned around.
Theodore had stepped closer and whispered near her ear.
“Are you okay now?”
Unlike the others, who were absorbed in the fireworks, Theodore was focused solely on Selina, watching her carefully.
Selina smiled faintly and laced her fingers with his.
“Yeah. I’m okay now.”
Her once-fragile violet eyes looked steady again, and Theodore finally felt a bit relieved.
“…Thank you for staying by my side.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Between the cheers and the fireworks, Theodore couldn’t hear her properly.
Selina just smiled and shook her head, saying it was nothing. Then she stood beside him, watching the fireworks together.
‘That’s right. I have people who are precious to me.’
Runios had said she was an incomplete being, someone who lived without fate—but Selina believed he was wrong.
She had met many people, built countless memories with them, and lived her life that way.
She had carved out her own path and made it her own destiny.
‘If I’d lived according to my original fate, would I have been able to meet these people?’
Mie, Theodore, Chris, Becky, Senior Asta, Senior Zenon, Priest Baon, and Friman—who would soon become her father. And…
‘Mom, too.’
Why had learning the truth about her birth mother shaken her so much?
Would it have been the same if Stella were still alive?
Selina suddenly felt apologetic toward Stella.
While she was with her, she had never once searched for her biological mother.
Partly because she had hidden the fact that her memories had returned, partly because she believed her birth mother had abandoned her—but most of all, because she had thought of Stella as her real mother.
As long as Stella was there, nothing else mattered. And that hadn’t changed even now.
‘I still have only one mom.’
Just as Selina had found a new family and new people, her biological mother was likely living happily with her own family.
Now, there was no connection between them. Their bond had been severed twelve years ago, in that alley.
Thinking of Anais, Selina naturally thought of Silvia.
‘Silvia also knows that she stole someone else’s fate.’
The destiny that should have been hers, the life that should have been hers, was now being lived by Silvia.
At first, the shock of having her fate stolen had been overwhelming, but now it no longer mattered.
Knowing the truth didn’t erase what had already happened, nor could she take Silvia’s place.
‘Not that I want to.’
She was satisfied with her current life. She couldn’t say it had been easy, but there had been just as many happy moments.
More than anything, reclaiming Silvia’s place would feel like denying the destiny she herself had built.
It would mean leaving Stella and Friman, who had raised her with love, and returning to the mother who had abandoned her.
Even if Stella was no longer in this world, Selina didn’t want to betray her love. She didn’t want to crush Friman’s hopes of becoming her father.
‘Runios, you asked what it would be like to live according to my original life, didn’t you?’
“I’m satisfied with my life now.”
Beneath the massive fireworks, countless emotions diverged.
For some, hope and despair.
For others, gratitude for what they had been given and new resolve.
And for yet others, worries and concerns.
Carrying their own new emotions, the third day of the academic festival quietly came to an end.
