ROSES HAVE THORNS

"It’s about the cul– uhm.. Zealots. A few weeks back, I ran into these two kids. Brother and sister. The zealots brutally murdered their parents right in front of the brother. Luckily, the sister wasn’t there, seeing as they were after her specifically.

"The kids somehow managed to escape, surviving in the streets of the slums for about the better part of a week... until Dominik and I finally found them."

Sophie didn’t interrupt. Her sharp eyes remained locked onto his face, her arms crossed tightly over her chest as she listened with the quiet intensity of a guild master.

"Here’s the thing... the brother, he wanted to protect his little sister from the horror of it all. So he told her this ridiculous, elaborate story that they’re going on some sort of grand ’adventure.’ And she bought it.

"Basically, long story short... Instead of sitting her down and telling her the cold, hard truth that her parents were slaughtered, Dominik and I deepened the lie. We backed up the brother’s story, telling her that her parents were out on a highly classified, secret adventure issued by the King himself."

"Kurt..."

"It gets worse," Kurt muttered as a self-deprecating grimace pulled at his lips.

"To keep the illusion alive, we have spent the last few weeks fabricating and sending her fake letters, pretending they’re from her parents. Writing about how much they love her, how the adventure is going well, and that everything is okay.

"She reads those letters wholeheartedly, Sophie. She cherishes them. She spends every waking moment looking forward to the day her parents finally return... which they’re obviously never going to do."

Sophie let out a long, slow sigh as she uncrossed her arms. "So... what exactly is the advice you’re looking for from me, Kurt?"

"You’re the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild. In your line of work, with all the casualties and failed contracts... I’m assuming you must have had to deal with the burden of delivering bad news to families too many times to count.

"I need to know what to do. Should I finally come clean and just tell her the truth? Or... do I continue maintaining the lie, waiting until she’s old enough to properly understand?"

Without a single second of hesitation, Sophie reached her hand out and rested it firmly on Kurt’s shoulder. "You tell her, Kurt. Right away."

"But... but she’s so happy right now, Sophie. She smiles every time a letter arrives. Wouldn’t it be easier for her to just... not know the horror? To live in that happy little bubble?"

"Easier for who? Easier for her, or easier for you?" Sophie countered sharply.

"Think about what you’re actually doing to her. That poor little girl is spending her childhood waiting for two ghosts who are never, ever coming home.

"She’s reading fake words, pouring her heart into pieces of parchment in the desperate hope that the next line she reads will say they’re finally coming home. It is too cruel."

Kurt’s gaze drifted erratically as he tried to find an alternative. "What if... what if I get Dominik to arrange for some Prefects to break the bad news to her? They could sit her down and tell her that her parents died while away..."

"And what on earth will deepening the lie accomplish? At the end of the day, she is going to be hurt regardless of who says what. But think about the long game, Kurt. She is not going to stay a child forever.

"She will eventually grow up, and she will inevitably uncover this elaborate web of lies everyone has spun around her. And when she realizes that the years of comfort were all fake – that she was lied to continuously by the people she’d come to trust more than anyone else in the world – she will completely break, Kurt. Her entire world will shatter."

Sophie squeezed his shoulder tighter as her eyes softened with protective earnestness. "So don’t do it. Don’t drag innocent third parties into this burden just to shield yourself. Don’t lie to that little girl anymore."

"But– I–... Haaaaa... You’re right. I’m just being a pathetic coward about this, aren’t I?"

Sophie smiled gently and lightly patted his shoulder before letting go. "I can see your intentions were good. You wanted to protect her innocence. But a beautiful lie is still a lie, and this is simply not the way to go about things."

"Heh... you know, that’s exactly how most villains are made in the stories. Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons." He took a deep, steadying breath, his posture re-aligning as an unyielding determination hardened behind his single eye.

"She’s probably going to absolutely hate my guts for the rest of her life... but I’ll do it. I’ll tell her the truth."

"Good." Sophie smiled proudly. " By the way, how old is the girl now?"

"Six."

"I see... In any case, tell her as soon as humanly possible. At that age, it’s going to sting terribly, but the wound will be fresh and temporary. She has time to heal, and more importantly, she has you, that idiot, Dominik, and the brother to help her carry the grief. She’ll grow up strong."

Kurt offered her a genuinely thankful nod. "Thanks, Sophie. I needed to hear that."

BZZZZZZ!

["Attention all spectators not inside the coliseum. The semi-finals will formally begin in exactly thirty minutes. You are urged to clear the plaza paths and please begin making your way inside."]

Suddenly, as if on a perfectly orchestrated cue, a crimson, gold-trimmed carriage smoothly pulled up to the private VIP drop-off zone. A man in servant uniform stepped out first and held the wooden door open. Stepping out into the sunlight right after him were both Reuben and Julianne Valentine.

Julianne was the first to spot them, her elegant dress fluttering slightly as she walked over with a warm smile. "Good afternoon, Sophie. Good afternoon, Kurt..."

"Hey, Jules! Man, it’s been some time since I last saw you."

"Good afternoon, Julianne." Kurt greeted her normally.

Reuben stepped up beside his wife and offered a stiff, formal nod toward Sophie. "Good afternoon, Guild Master."

Sophie immediately let out a wicked little giggle as she placed a hand on her hip and tilted her head to tease the stoic Duke.

"Well, well, if it isn’t the Grand Duke of Valentine himself! I must say, Reuben... everyone in the guild is absolutely losing their minds over what happened yesterday. I mean, walking away without throwing a single punch? That’s certainly one way to handle a family dispute, hahaha!"

All of her sharp remarks and teasing prods washed over Reuben like water over stone.

Slowly, he turned his frame directly toward Kurt. As his piercing gray eyes locked onto his, Reuben raised and extended his hand forward extended, gesturing for a handshake.

Kurt paused in genuine surprise.

Beside them, Sophie shot her eyebrows up and let out a low, amused whistle, while Julianne clasped her hands together against her chest as her face practically radiated with quiet hopefulness.

Kurt looked down at Reuben’s extended hand, then looked back up into the old man’s serious eyes. Deciding to play along, he reached out and shook on it. They shared a single, powerful squeeze before letting go.

"After the tournament concludes today, Rossana... I would like to speak with you privately."

"Oh? What’s this about? Are we finally about to have our much-anticipated battle now that I’m all rested up and ready to go?"

"No," Reuben replied flatly.

Suddenly, a faint silver glow pulsed behind the duke’s eyes as he stared at Kurt’s body. "Besides... I can easily perceive that you are far from being in your best condition today anyway."

"Heh. Well, that’ll just make the fight entirely fair, won’t it, old man?"

As the two men stared each other down, a silent aura of mutual respect rippled between them. "So? May I take a little bit of your time later this afternoon? Rest assured... it is not to initiate a fight."

Kurt casually shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, I guess. I can spare a few minutes."

Reuben offered a brief, rigid nod of appreciation. "Thank you."

Without another word, the duke turned and offered his arm to Julianne. She firmly held onto him and the two, after a quick "thank you" from her as well, casually walked together through the building of the academy, leaving the open plaza behind.

With a smug grin plastered across her face, Sophie turned back toward Kurt and nudged his side. "My, my, my, Kurt... what a busy man you are~"

"Don’t even get started. Let’s just head inside. I need to sit down before my head explodes."

.

..

...

Deep within the fortified stone corridors beneath the academy’s coliseum, the atmosphere inside the private dressing room was thick with pre-match anxiety.

"Emelie," Amber spoke to the girl beside her. "Just to double check one more time. We have no idea what the Myrian’s opening strategy is today. Are you absolutely sure you want to be the one to go out onto the floor first?"

Standing near the lockers, Emelie smoothly zipped down the front of her tight, sleek black bodysuit, letting the fabric part wide all the way down to her upper stomach.

Victor instantly let out a loud, choked cough, quickly turning his head away to stare intensely at the blank wall. Zack’s eyes blew wide open before he spun on his heel, muttering an apology under his breath, while Junior’s face exploded into a bright red blush, resulting in Kiana frantically covering his eyes with both hands and shoving him toward the corner of the room.

Now feeling comfortable and completely unbothered by the chaos she had just inflicted on her male teammates, Emelie’s eyes turned sharp and ready.

"Yes. I’m sure."

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