𝒲𝒾𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇 𝒲ℴ𝓃𝒹ℯ𝓇𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒹： 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓌 ℴ𝒻 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℱ𝓇ℴ𝓏ℯ𝓃 ℋℯ𝒶𝓇𝓉

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑈𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑠： 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 39

*
"I remember you said long ago that I would be the star of your show. In the end, though I see it was lies, you've just come back to reclaim what's mine."

**
Ramshackle Dorm

The moon hung low over the ramshackle grounds, casting silver shadows across the broken stone and frost-tipped weeds. Y/n's voice broke the stillness, steady and guarded, as her icy blue eyes met the tall, horned silhouette before her. "Why are you here on Ramshackle grounds...? Especially at this hour?"

The figure stepped forward, emerald eyes catching the moonlight, warm but heavy with something unspoken. His voice, low and velvety, answered with quiet sincerity: "I quite enjoy having a place where I could go to enjoy the peace of solitude," The horned stranger answered.

Y/n's gaze sharpened, noting the sprawling, curved horns—bigger than even Isfrid's or her own. She noticed the green and black armband wrapped around his arm, her mind searching for the name of the dorm it represented.

'He also has a green and black armband...Which house is that again?' She stepped closer, the faintest blush rising as she spoke, her voice soft but cautious. "Who...Are you, exactly?" she asked, unknowingly talking face to face with her fiancé, Malleus Draconia.

"Who am I...?" The man repeated, voice tinged with a fragile hope. "You really don't know who I am?"

Y/n shook her head slowly. "No... I don't. But... you feel familiar." Her words hung between them like fragile glass. "As if I met you once... in a dream."

Malleus's lips curled in a bittersweet smile. "Interesting. You find me familiar yet...it seems you truly not aware of who I am?" He paused, eyes flicking to the window nearby, where Isfrid's head peeked out with a teasing grin, causing Malleus to break his composure with a slight sweatdrop.

"I believe it's proper etiquette to introduce yourself to a princess?" Y/n said firmly, though kindness laced her tone.

"I am..." Malleus started but stopped himself, his green eyes clouding with worry. "...No. I'd rather you remain unaware,"

"And why not?" Y/n asked, curiosity and confusion knitting her brow.

"It's for your own benefit, I assure you. Otherwise, you'd surely be chilled by the sight of me," Malleus stated, not noticing Y/n's expression.  His gaze softened, yet mischief sparked beneath the surface. "With regard to your naivete, I'll permit you to call me by a name of your choosing. Although you could later come to regret it..."

"......" Y/n blinked, unimpressed. 'There are so many weirdos on this campus,' she thought with a deadpanned expression.

"But alas..." Malleus sighed, his gaze drifting to the worn façade of Ramshackle Dorm behind her. "If you have taken up residence here, then this abandoned dorm is no longer 'abandoned.' Pity. I shall have to find some other ruins for my next nocturnal constitutional. Farewell,"

"Wait," Y/n's voice halted him mid-step. Her tone was steady, but something in her gaze wavered—uncertain, yet drawn to him. "Your armband... I remember it now. You're from Diasomnia. That's my brother's dorm, isn't it?" Her eyes squinted a bit as she pronounced the name carefully, "Dia...somnia."

A flicker of something passed through Malleus's emerald eyes—hope? Sorrow? Longing? "Indeed," he replied, voice calm despite the stirring in his heart.