"Did you just tell me “fuck off”?"

  "Eh? No! Not at all! It’s just that… I’m hungry?" I blurted out, tossing excuses like darts in the dark.

  Maxine looked at me like I’d just told her the moon was made of cheese.

  "… Say what?", she repeated, incredulous.

  "Yeah, that!" I rushed to add ". I get cranky when I’m hungry and, you know, that quintet of idiot nobles still won’t leave."

  I tried to sound convincing, but even I didn’t buy my own excuse. Judging by Maxi’s cold stare —those silver eyes sharp enough to pierce through steel— neither did she.

  "You didn’t believe that, did you?" I asked, trying to salvage a shred of dignity.

  She frowned just slightly, her tone dry and direct.

  "Remember how I told you a few minutes ago to stop doing weird stuff so I don’t start hating you? Well, you’re starting to rack up negative points."

  That sounded bad. Really bad. I needed a solid distraction. My brain went into full emergency mode.

  Quick, brain —I muttered internally—, don’t you dare abandon me now. Think of a good excuse or I swear I’ll stab you with a corkscrew when we get back to the room, got it?

  Obviously, threatening myself didn’t help. My mind went bnk. Totally, terrifyingly bnk.

  Luckily, something I never expected happened: the voices of Carlotta and Fisalia came to my rescue.

  "Do you truly think this dress suits me, Lady Fisalia?", Carlotta asked in that haughty tone that always set my nerves on edge.

  "Of course. Lady Wiebke’s skin is pale, so these vibrant colors bring it out beautifully. I assure you, she’ll look stunning in this gown. You should try it on now; there’s an empty booth right beside Miss Marinette’s" Fisalia replied, calm and precise.

  "I appreciate it. Aren’t you going to try one yourself?" Carlotta asked, her tone softening a little.

  "I’d like to browse a bit more. I’m heading to the other side to look for a long dress, so I might take longer. No need to wait for me. You can go ahead. That being said, I’ll see you ter."

  Fisalia’s footsteps faded, and then Kaelvarion’s arrogant voice filled the air.

  "Finally! Come on, friend, let’s go for a walk around. Maybe we’ll find a couple of interesting dies", he said, oozing confidence.

  "I’d rather not. Too zy to move" Elion replied in his eternal half-asleep tone.

  "Suit yourself. It’s your life", Kaelvarion shot back, then sighed dramatically.

  "Fine, let’s take a quick walk. If Clementine comes out and doesn’t see me here, I don’t even wanna imagine what she’ll do."

  Their footsteps trailed off. A retive silence returned to the hall.

  I gnced at Maxi, and she met my gaze. We both knew exactly what the other was thinking —those two just ditched the girls.

  "…You know… that’s kind of-"

  "A dick move", we said in unison.

  I’m not sure how to feel about agreeing on that, but whatever. The point was: did that mean Carlotta and Clementine were still in the fitting rooms while Fisalia had left, along with the two “heroes”? Wasn’t that exactly the chance we’d been waiting for?

  "This is our shot, Maxi!" I excimed, tugging her wrist like someone who’d just spotted an escape route in a stampede. "Let’s get out of here, now!"

  She didn’t move.

  "I’m guessing we’re leaving without buying anything, right?" she asked, feigning calm.

  "Obviously not." She looked at me with that razor-sharp patience. "I swear, if you really want that pajama set, I’ll buy it for you another day to make up for today."

  I sighed in relief… until she added:

  "But first, I need to take off these pajama pants."

  "Eh?" My voice caught in my throat.

  Looking closer, I realized she wasn’t wearing her Academy skirt.

  "Alright then. Go ahead" I gestured with my hand, meaning “hurry up already.”

  "Turn around. Again. I don’t trust you. If you don’t, forget the nobles; I’ll kill you myself" she said, in that deadpan tone that turned warnings into simple statements of fact.

  It kind of offended me, but I also couldn’t help but ugh inside. It was the kind of threat that almost sounded affectionate, in her own twisted way.

  I turned around, praying she’d hurry. Behind me, my anxiety bubbled like an overboiling pot. The system window fshed in my mind again, its timer ticking down like a guillotine.

  [Main Quest: Act One — Shopping Mall Chapter. Heart-to-heart talk with a main character — End with a sweet physical interaction. Time remaining: 00:08:29]

  My stomach twisted. When I’m nervous, my mouth goes rogue—it just says the first thing that pops up. And right now, the only thing on my mind was the scar on her chest.

  "What happened there?" I blurted before I could stop myself.

  Everything went silent. I could even hear a faint ticking sound—funny, I didn’t remember there being a clock in this pce. My heart was pounding like crazy; embarrassment, curiosity, and that dumb fear of crossing yet another line tangled inside me.

  "So you were staring at my chest. Sexual harasser."

  "No! It’s just—you were standing right there! It was impossible not to look!"

  "Excuses."

  "Ah…"

  "…Fine. I’ll tell you. I don’t see any reason not to. When I was little, I had an accident. Long story short, my heart got damaged, so they performed an emergency surgery. That’s how I got the scar."

  "…I didn’t know that…"

  Maybe it was my silence, but Maxi spoke again, her tone a little softer.

  "Don’t worry about it. Cheer up. It happened… what, ten years ago? Eleven, maybe. I’m over it. But since we’re talking about the past, I wanna know more about your childhood."

  "Mm?"

  "No “mm.” Tell me why you’re so weird. You must have some kind of grudge against nobles, or something that expins your actions. I get it when it comes to Lord Kaelvarion… but seriously, it feels personal with Lady Wiebke, Marinette, and now even Lady Fisalia."

  "I…"

  I should stick to what’s written in the game. I should just tell her Kathryn’s story. But… I don’t want her to know the fake version of me. I want her to see me. The real me.

  "It’s not that I hate nobles. I just hate being looked down on. When I was little, I dealt with that crap a lot, so… yeah, I decided I’d never let it happen again. Though… saying it out loud now, I guess I do hate them. Especially that jackass Kaelvarion."

  "Yeah. Not a fan either."

  "I guess we’ve got something in common, huh?"

  "…Guess so."

  The sound of fabric sliding against skin stopped. I took that as a sign she was done changing, though I still didn’t turn around. Better to wait for her permission—no need to tempt fate.

  "Done. Let’s go."

  "Alright, time to..."

  "What?"

  Maxi asked when she noticed my voice trail off.

  I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help it. My eyes drifted again to her chest, beneath all that fabric, right where the sternum was—where that scar rested.

  She’d been through an accident that left a mark like that…? How the hell was that never mentioned in the original game!?

  Sure, she was a side character, but still—something like that should’ve mattered!

  And, of course, my fangirl brain started firing off a thousand questions at once. Was she okay? How bad was the accident? Did it still bother her? Should I ask more? No, that’d be rude. I’ve already lost enough affection points as it is.

  But damn it, I really wanted to know more.

  "…Ah. You’re that curious, huh? Fine. Just for today, I’ll be a little lenient. Otherwise, I feel like you’ll never move."

  "Wha-?"

  Before I could react, Maxi grabbed me by the colr and pressed my face against her chest.

  The sensation was soft yet strange. Her body wasn’t warm—it was cool and soothing, like napping under a half-closed blind on a mild afternoon. The pressure was firm, and something inside me loosened.

  "Y-You know, I’m not compining, b-but what are you doing?" I stammered, cheeks burning.

  "Shh" she whispered. "Just listen."

  I rested my right ear against her shirt; the fabric brushed my skin and, for an instant, I waited to hear something. A heartbeat. A drum. Some proof of life.

  What I heard instead was a tick-tock. Mechanical. Steady. Like an old clockwork mechanism.

  "The surgery", she said softly. "It was an emergency case. My heart was too damaged to fix. There were no transpnts avaible, and we couldn’t afford to pull strings at the hospital. So they used something experimental —a mechanical repcement. It was supposed to be temporary… but time passed, no hearts, no donors, and this thing fused so deeply with my tissues that removing it would probably kill me."

  My mind spun. A mix of horror and tenderness washed over me, leaving me breathless.

  "…I see. So you literally don’t have a heart."

  "Weird, huh? Maybe that’s why I don’t hang out with people. Am I missing emotions?" She was probably joking, clumsy as always when trying to ease tension.

  "I doubt that" I said. To me, she was… "You’re kind."

  "Girl, seriously, you’ve got issues if you think I’m kind" she shot back.

  We both chuckled, a short ugh that eased the heavy air between us.

  "…Well, I think you are. Guess weirdos understand each other."

  "I guess", she smiled faintly. "And for the record, I think it’s kinda cool. Makes you unique."

  "Cool?" she repeated, somewhere between annoyed and secretly pleased. "Mmm, maybe you’re right."

  [Main Quest Complete! Bond strengthened with the Maiden Without a Heart!]

  Wait… why the hell did that work? Not that I’m compining, but I thought the quests only applied to main characters. Maxine’s just a side character in the original game! She should’ve been safe from these ridiculous mission triggers.

  Hmm… maybe it’s because Maxine matters more to me now—as Kathryn von Adelheid?

  …Crap. That means I’m actually changing the game.

  "So… does this make us friends now?" I asked, half-joking.

  "…Nah", she replied dryly.

  "So cold!" I protested.

  "What did you expect? I don’t have a heart", she said, and we both burst out ughing again.

  The ughter was brief, warm, and for a moment, the fitting room felt like a safe little bubble suspended in time.

  Then the door creaked open.

  I guess Maxine had forgotten to lock it after teasing me earlier.

  I couldn’t stop myself from jumping. In the doorway, a curtain of white hair fell into view like a cascade of snow.

  It was Fisalia. Her presence filled the space with that chilling calm that could freeze steam midair.