The academy courtyard hummed with the gentle buzz of student life—laughter, clashing training blades, and the flutter of spellbooks as they flipped through pages on their own.
Cael sat on the stone bench beneath an old ash tree, half in shadow, his cloak drawn close. He didn't speak. Didn't move. Just watched.
His eyes tracked the sunlit group gathered near the practice yard.
Leon stood at the center of it all—his smile bright, posture easy. He laughed with the younger students, nodded attentively at the older ones, and even helped a girl lift her dropped staff with a warm word and a modest smile.
"He doesn't even realize how much they adore him."
"I used to think it was fate. Now I know it's design."
They were drawn to him like moths to flame—students from all houses, even instructors. His presence pulled focus. Bent the world.
And among them, Cael saw her.
Seris Valen.
He remembered the name—barely. A noble daughter of House Valen. Sharp with a blade, sharper with strategy, though she never claimed attention for either. She stood behind the others now, hands clasped too tightly behind her back, eyes locked on Leon with something caught between admiration and panic.
She blushed when he turned.
Stammered something when he smiled.
"Ah. There it is."
"The shine in her eyes. The hesitation in her breath."
He didn't need confirmation.
But he got it anyway.
The system blinked to life behind his vision. A new display—threads of emotion, color-coded, pulsing faintly like living veins.
[Emotional Thread Detected]
Target: Seris Valen → Leon Eltros
Emotion: AffectionIntensity: 87%
Status: Blooming – Romantic Inclination
Then another ping:
[Rewrite Option Unlocked]
Thread: Seris → Leon
Action: Sever or Redirect
Cost: 6 Emotional Points – Romantic Reserve
Warning: High Cost.Severe rewrite may destabilize related outcomes.
Cael's breath caught.
Not because he was surprised—but because he wasn't.
"She'll protect him."
"That's how the ambush fails. She throws herself between him and the bolt. She bleeds, not him."
He watched her now, laughing awkwardly as Leon bumped her shoulder with some casual, oblivious joke. She was red down to her collarbone.
"He won't even remember her name when she dies for him."
Cael leaned back into the bench's shadow, arms folding.
"If I pull that thread—Leon falters."
"He gets injured. Maybe captured. Maybe worse. But that's the point."
He clenched his fist, knuckles pale beneath the glove.
"I need him weak. Not broken. Not dead.Just… not invincible."
The system hovered, pulsing faintly.
The cost was high. Six Emotional Points in the romantic spectrum. He didn't have many of those left—not since Lira.
He remembered her, the commoner girl from days ago. The way she'd looked at him with terrified gratitude after he stepped in. He couldn't even feel guilt anymore. The rewrite had taken it.
"Do I even have enough left to feel love at all?"
His hand hovered over the screen—fingers trembling.
The prompt pulsed faintly, alive and patient:
[Rewrite Thread: Seris Valen → Leon Eltros – CONFIRM?]
[Cost: Lock Romantic Emotion Core – Irreversible]
He hesitated.
The system didn't push.
It didn't persuade.
It simply waited.
One more sacrifice.
One more step away from who he once was.
Across the courtyard, laughter rose. The wind caught the flags of House Eltros above the battlements.
And Leon turned.
Caught sight of him.
And smiled—bright, casual, unbothered.
Raised a hand and waved, like the past hadn't happened. Like Cael hadn't died choking on blood while Leon ran to safety.
Like nothing had changed.
Cael didn't wave back.
He turned.
And walked away.
Later that night, alone in the dormitory, Cael sat cross-legged on the floor, candlelight flickering around him.
The system hovered before him—lines of glyphic text forming a circular interface in the air.
The cost blinked again, harsher now. More demanding.
[WARNING: This action will LOCK the following emotional faculty:]
[Core: Romantic Love – All Present and Future Emotional Ties Severed]
Proceed?
He stared for a long time.
Tried to remember a moment—any moment—where he had felt it. Not admiration. Not friendship.
Love.
There was a girl, once. Dark hair. Soft laugh.
What was her name?
He couldn't remember.
"It's already gone, isn't it?"
His finger brushed the glowing prompt.
"Then there's no point pretending."
He pressed Confirm.
There was no scream.
No blast of light.
Just a slow, searing burn in his chest—like someone carving something out of him with a dull blade. He clenched his jaw, eyes watering—not from pain, but the sudden vacuum left in its place.
The system chimed:
[Emotion Core: 'Love' – Locked][Rewrite Complete.][Emotional Thread Severed: Seris Valen → Leon Eltros]
Cael let out a slow breath, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Another thread cut. Another weight removed."
"And another piece of me gone."
The next morning, the courtyard was lively as always.
Students passed by with spellbooks tucked under their arms, trading jokes and greetings, preparing for the upcoming combat assessments.
Cael stood beside the colonnade, eyes trained on Leon as he entered the training circle, chatting easily with a few instructors.
But it was Seris who drew his attention.
She approached the group, her pace slowing.
Her eyes landed on Leon.
And for the first time—nothing. No blush. No falter. No shy fidgeting.
She simply walked past him. Didn't speak. Didn't even look again.
Leon blinked in confusion. His smile faltered.
"Seris?" he called after her.
She didn't respond.
He turned to one of the others, brows furrowed. "Did I do something?"
Cael stepped up beside him, all sympathy and sugar in his voice.
"Maybe she's just realized," he said softly, folding his arms, "that you're not worth her time."
Leon stared at him, stunned. Cael tilted his head innocently.
Cael tilted his head, smile smooth and unreadable.
Then turned away.
Behind him, the rising sun stretched his shadow long across the marble tiles—cold, sharp, and unwavering.
He passed by Seris on the steps.
Their eyes met—briefly.
She didn't smile. Didn't blush.
Didn't even linger.
There was no affection. No hate either. Just… a person.
To her, he was no one. And she was no one to him.
"What does it feel like, he wondered, to fall in love with someone?"
The question came like a phantom—quiet, curious.
But no answer followed.
There was no longing, no ache, no stir of interest in her face, her voice, her existence.
Nothing.
The system had taken more than he'd realized.
"Not just the capacity for love."
"But the memory of what it was ever like to want it."
He let out a breath, low and bitter.
"One thread cut," he murmured. "How many more until I'm just a puppet with scissors?"
That night, alone in his dorm room, Cael sat with the system screen flickering dimly before him.
He opened his notes—detailing moments, movements, key divergences from the original timeline.
He marked today.
Red ink. Bold stroke.
[Divergence Point 01: Seris Valen – Emotional Thread Severed]
A new whisper echoed in his mind—clear, cold, mechanical:
[New Divergence Detected.][Fate Thread Altering…]
Cael's lips curled faintly—not into joy, but something close to satisfaction.
"One down," he murmured, eyes sharp and distant. "The hero's kingdom is crumbling."
And I'm the one pulling the threads.