"Here, let me join you." Dier raised her cup and drained it, ale spilling down her chin, trailing over her snow-white neck into her blouse. The thin fabric clung where it wet, leaving little to the imagination—Houshao'nao swallowed, forcing his gaze away.
"What's wrong? Why stop drinking?" Dier set her cup down, brows furrowed.
"I… I'm drinking." He fumbled, filling his mug from the barrel and downing it in one gulp.
After several rounds, their words flowed freely—regret at parting, shared loneliness. Inevitably, the conversation turned to his mission. Tipsy now, Houshao'nao pulled out Giles' envelope, letting Dier flip through the papers. Her smile faded at the Aifar acceptance letter, her gaze lingering like a plea.
"…Dier, you're my best friend. I'll visit as soon as I can," he slurred, eyes heavy.
She snapped back, forcing a smile. "I'll count the days. To your success—drink!"
"Thank you… you're the first to treat me like a person, not dirt. I'll never forget this," he mumbled, voice thick.
Dier's cheeks flushed, whether from wine or his words. "Would you… forgive me, if I hurt you someday?"
"Of course. We're friends," he replied, too drunk to notice her tears as she refilled their cups, hiding her face.
"Then I'll remember this promise. One day, I'll repay you—even with my most precious thing," she whispered, raising her cup.
They drank until Houshao'nao's world spun, Dier's voice fading into a haze. When he passed out face-first on the table, she waited until the tavern emptied, then hauled him to her tiny room, pocketing the acceptance letter and check as he snored.
By dawn, Houshao'nao woke naked, head pounding, to a cramped attic room and a crumpled note:
*"I had to go. Forgive me for leaving like this. I hurt you, and I can't face you. If we meet again in another life, I'll repay you with everything…"*
His heart plummeted at the bloodstains on the sheets. *"Did I… no, I was drunk! Dier, what happened?!"*
He tore through the tavern, but Dier was gone—no one had seen her. Panic drove him through town, but she'd vanished like smoke. Back at the tavern, the donkey's bray cut through his daze.
"Boss, you look like death warmed over," the donkey said, eyeing his wild hair.
"Dier's gone," Houshao'nao moaned.
"No kidding. She said goodbye to *me*, you know. Said she couldn't bear to see you again, that she'd wronged you—"
"Wronged me? I'm the one who—" He choked, recalling the blood, the note.
The donkey studied him, suspicious. "Wait, you think *you* did something? Boss, drunk as you were, you couldn't overpower a kitten, let alone an elf. This reeks of magic—or manipulation."
Houshao'nao paused, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Think: she took the letter, the coins, left blood on the sheets. Elves have ways to fake such things. Why would she run unless she had something to hide?"
"You… you think she set me up?"
"All I know is she left in a hurry, and you're holding the blame for something *she* did." The donkey snorted. "Check your envelope—bet half the contents are missing."
Houshao'nao ripped open the envelope: only scraps remained. The acceptance letter, the check—gone. Dier's "goodbye" suddenly felt less like regret, more like a calculated escape.
"Damn it," he hissed, fist slamming the stable wall. The donkey flinched but pressed on:
"Face it, Boss. She used you. That 'precious thing' she mentioned? Probably the letter. She's headed to Aifar, and you're left holding a contract to find a girl *she* might be pretending to be."
Houshao'nao froze, the pieces clicking: Giles' vague mission, the necklace, Dier's sudden interest in magic academies. *"She's the girl with the ruby necklace. She took the letter to enroll herself."*
The donkey nodded, solemn for once. "And now you're stuck chasing a ghost—no, worse: chasing *her*, while she hides in plain sight at Aifar."
Houshao'nao stared at the empty envelope, rage and sorrow warring inside. Dier's kiss, her tears—had any of it been real? Or just a ploy to steal the one thing that could lead her to her past?
"Fine," he said finally, jaw set. "If she wants to play games, I'll find her. And when I do—"
"You'll what? Confess your love? Demand the necklace?" The donkey smirked. "Face it, Boss: you're tangled in a mess of elves, curses, and nobles chasing ghosts. Best pack up—Aifar awaits, and your 'mission' just got personal."
Houshao'nao sighed, glancing at the rising sun. Dier's betrayal stung, but the donkey was right—he had no choice. Giles' contract bound him, and somewhere in that academy (academy) of secrets, the truth about Dier, Anna, and his own cursed past waited.
"Help me saddle up," he said, voice hollow. "We leave for Aifar today."
The donkey brayed, a sound halfway between laughter and lament. "Finally, some action. Just promise not to fall for any more elf tricks."
Houshao'nao didn't reply, staring at the spot where Dier had stood, her scent of jasmine still faint in the air. *"I'll find you, Dier. And when I do, you'll tell me why you ran… even if it burns the academy (academy) down around us."*
And so they rode, the donkey's hooves clattering on cobblestones, Houshao'nao clutching the torn envelope—unaware that in Aifar's halls, Dier adjusted her new uniform, the ruby necklace hidden beneath her robes, a single tear falling for the boy she'd left behind, and the curse that bound them both.
The storm raged on, its winds carrying secrets, lies, and the faint hope of a reunion—where fire would meet ice, and curses would shatter, or bind them forever.