Chapter 340
Hhhh!
"Because of that, don't carry everything on your own. Whatever the problem is—no matter how bad—talk to me. We'll face it together."
A smile finally bloomed at the corner of Theo's lips, not wide, but warm and full of understanding, like the first ray of sunlight breaking through the morning mist.
Without any warning, his hand that had been stroking her hair moved with an almost childlike gentleness.
The tip of his index finger slowly and carefully approached Aldraya's nose.
He touched the porcelain-white tip of it, the skin feeling supple and incredibly soft beneath his touch, before, with an affectionate motion, lightly tugging it, as if performing a simple yet meaningful ritual of familiarity.
Only then did his voice flow out, washing away the remaining tension.
His answer did not circle around, going straight to the core of Aldraya's unease.
He stated, in a calm voice reinforced with steel-like conviction, that Aldraya's life as it was now—with all its complexity, its fall, and its rise—was a shared responsibility.
An unspoken pact, now declared aloud.
He emphasized that whatever happened, even if Aldraya took an action without careful calculation, without perfect logical analysis, or driven by waves of emotions she had only just begun to recognize, the consequences would never be hers to bear alone.
Theo would be there, standing beside her, sharing that burden.
Not as a distant savior, but as an equal partner, carrying it together.
After that declaration, he continued with a more fundamental message, a request that was also a hope.
His voice was gentle yet firm, carving a new rule into the shape of their relationship.
He voiced that the burden of overthinking should not, and must no longer, be carried by Aldraya alone.
Every worry, every confusion, every shadow of a problem—no matter how heavy or complex—would always be better brought before the two of them.
To be discussed, to be unraveled together, to have solutions sought with four eyes and two different perspectives.
He stressed that no matter how bad, how trivial, or how strange a problem might appear to logic, he would always be ready to listen.
Because in his mind, facing a storm alone was an unnecessary burden, while sharing the deck of a ship—even as the waves raged—would always make it more bearable.
"Thank you… for everything you just said."
Buuuk!
Buuuk!!
"It looks like I have to go back to class now. My restroom pass only has fifty seconds left. Let's continue this another time."
For a moment that felt eternal, Aldraya allowed herself to sink into the warmth and calm radiating from Theo's chest.
Her head, crowned with long white hair as pure and unblemished as snow, fit perfectly there, as if searching for and finding a harbor from all the storms of logic and emotion crashing into her.
Theo's steady heartbeat became a soothing metronome for her internal systems that had briefly fallen into chaos.
But like all things that must reach their end, she eventually pulled away.
With a deliberate yet heavy motion, her slender body stepped back, retreating two steps and recreating the physical distance between them.
She straightened her posture again, her back rigid like a soldier returning to formation, though her eyes still carried the remnants of the tenderness she had just discovered.
Her head slowly nodded.
Not a quick or formal nod, but a deep one, filled with understanding.
Every word Theo had spoken, every note of calm and acceptance, had been absorbed, processed, and interpreted.
That nod was an acknowledgment, a silent confirmation that the message had reached her, and that she understood it with the full capacity of her unique comprehension.
After that meaningful pause, Aldraya finally opened her mouth again, her voice having returned to its usual flatness, now tinged with a new clarity.
She asked for permission to take her leave, redirecting their focus back to the more profane reality of the world.
She informed Theo, with her characteristic efficiency, that she had to return to class immediately.
The reason was concrete and indisputable.
The remaining time on the restroom pass granted by her teacher was only fifty seconds.
The mention of such a specific time was a harsh reminder of how the rigid world of schedules and discipline awaited them at the end of this corridor.
Fifty seconds.
It was a brief duration, almost insignificant compared to their epic exchange, yet enough to separate the two dimensions they had inhabited.
Aldraya, with one final light nod, decided to step back into her role as a student, leaving behind this space of conspiracy and intimacy.
"Of course."
Theo merely nodded softly, a small gesture full of understanding.
There was no protest, no attempt to stop her.
Instead, he calmly allowed Aldraya to go, humbly acknowledging that he too was bound by the same obligations.
Behind his composed expression lay a mature acceptance that this profound moment of exchange had to meet its pause, temporarily buried beneath the relentless demands of the real world.
This empty corridor was merely an interlude, a liminal space between two schedules, and now its time was up.
Yes, Theo also had to return to his class, to a seat that might still be warm from where he had been sitting before, as if the inner journey he had just experienced were nothing more than a daydream between a teacher's explanations of formulas or history.
"Wait a moment, Aldraya."
Ssssh!
"Come to my dormitory after classes are over. There's a plan I want to discuss with you."
Only at that distance did Theo move.
His voice, clear and firm, cut through the near-perfect silence of the corridor, halting Aldraya's retreating steps.
The girl froze in place, her slender back still turned toward Theo, forming a silhouette sliced by the twilight streaming through the tall windows.
The ten-meter distance suddenly felt like a chasm that could only be crossed by sound.
Theo's gaze locked onto her, radiating a new intensity, different from the earlier gentleness—a command that was soft yet undeniable.
He delivered his request clearly, without preamble.
His message went straight to the point.
Aldraya was to be present at his dormitory, immediately after the day's lessons concluded.
There was no room for negotiation or delay in his intonation.
It was a predetermined meeting point, a promise of reunion that was more than a casual farewell.
Behind that sentence lay a neatly structured urgency, a need to act swiftly.
Theo was no longer talking about feelings or gossip, but about the next concrete step.
That what they had discussed, the burden they had agreed to share, required a blueprint, a strategy.
The reason was stated briefly.
Theo would discuss his plan.
The word "plan" hung in the air, resonating with a different weight.
This was no longer an academic plan or a simple alibi, but a plan to confront the dark narrative, the enraged Bathee family, and the six-day time trap looming ahead.
He needed Aldraya there, not merely as an informant, but as a partner in designing every step.
That dormitory meeting would become their true war room, where the map provided by Aldraya would be transformed into an executable rescue route.
"I won't disappoint you."
Aldraya turned around.
Her entire body rotated with measured, precise movement, fully facing Theo.
To be continued…