Chapter 106: Melody of the Heart

"I... happened... to overhear your conversation on Monday morning," she explained. "I realized I'd already dealt with the Vampire King in the past."

"By accident, huh?" Kiyan scoffed coldly.

She flinched. She had never heard that tone from him before.

"And what about you? Did the video disappear by accident too?"

He visibly tensed.

"You're not ready!" he shouted.

Blanche stiffened.

He had never shouted at her.

"Ready for what?" she whispered.

Silence.

Long.

Painful.

Then:

"When you discover the truth... come see me. Then I'll tell you the rest."

Something else?

Blanche frowned.

She was about to answer—about to mention the photograph—but Phénix suddenly appeared in her lap. She swallowed her words.

Kiyan glanced at the familiar without comment, then started his favorite album.

The voice that filled the car pierced straight through her.

The beauty of that voice felt strangely familiar.

"Is that Derek's voice?" she blurted out, shocked and utterly bewildered.

"Here, his name is Erik. They call him the DarkNight."

"Seriously? How...?"

"Listen. You'll understand."

And she did.

When they arrived at the Academy, Kiyan stopped the vehicle.

The engine died with a soft purr.

Yet neither of them moved immediately.

The music continued to drift through the cabin.

Soft.

Heartbreaking.

Almost unreal.

Blanche wasn't even sure she was breathing properly anymore.

For several minutes now, she had been unable to utter a single word.

All the emotions that had piled up throughout the day—the meeting with Asmodeus, the revelations, the unspoken truths, the anger, the confusion—seemed to have merged into something even deeper.

And Erik had somehow found a way to press directly on it.

As if his voice knew.

As if it already understood every wound she was trying to hide.

Blanche stared through the windshield without truly seeing it.

The Academy lights had become nothing more than blurry smears beyond the veil of tears clouding her vision.

She wasn't even trying to hold them back anymore.

What was the point?

They had already been rolling freely down her cheeks for several minutes.

Silently.

Endlessly.

As if her body had decided to cry on her behalf.

Erik's voice was nothing but suffering.

Not a violent kind of suffering.

Not something that screamed.

It was worse.

Much worse.

It was a gentle pain.

A resigned one.

The kind of sadness that no longer seeks to be understood.

That simply exists.

That settles into your bones and remains there for years.

Every note seemed to carry the weight of grief.

Every lyric felt as though it had been written with a broken heart.

And yet...

His voice was absolutely sublime.

Clear.

Pure.

Angelic.

Like sunlight passing through stained glass.

Like something that should never have existed in a world this cruel.

Blanche had never heard a voice like it.

Not once.

There was no anger in it.

No bitterness.

No accusation.

Only that devastating beauty that sometimes emerges from the deepest wounds.

And it was destroying her.

Because she understood.

She didn't know how.

She didn't even know Erik's story.

But she understood.

She recognized that kind of pain.

That way of continuing forward when something essential is missing.

That quiet melancholy carried for so long it becomes part of who you are.

Another tear slid down her cheek.

Then another.

And another.

Pathetic.

Truly pathetic.

A few hours ago, she had been threatening a demonic prince.

Now she was crying in a car because of a song.

Her personal dignity had probably just died.

Beside her, Kiyan remained silent.

As he had for most of the drive.

As if he understood that some emotions could not bear the weight of words.

Then, when the car finally came to a complete stop in front of the Academy, he turned toward her.

And his expression changed instantly.

Because Blanche was sobbing.

Not discreetly.

Not elegantly.

Her cheeks were soaked.

Her makeup was beginning to surrender.

Her nose was probably red.

A disaster.

A complete disaster.

She sniffled with all the grace of a distressed baby seal.

Magnificent.

Absolutely magnificent.

Without saying a word, Kiyan took her hand.

The gesture was simple.

Natural.

As though he hadn't even thought about it.

His fingers wrapped gently around hers.

A presence.

An anchor.

Something steady amid the chaos.

Blanche lowered her gaze to their joined hands.

Then another tear fell.

Traitorous thing.

She wanted to recover at least a shred of dignity.

Just a little.

But her dignity had apparently decided to stay behind at the club with Asmodeus.

And never come back.

So she simply squeezed Kiyan's fingers.

Very lightly.

As if thanking him.

Or perhaps asking him not to let go just yet.

Just a few more minutes.

Long enough for her heart to process everything that had just been thrown at it.

Without looking at her, Kiyan asked hesitantly:

"Do I bother you? I mean... does Aaron bother you?"

"No," she replied, squeezing his hand again as she wiped away her tears. "Everyone missed him last night."

"You included?" he murmured.

If only he weren't so handsome...

He would've been adorable.

"Yes."

He nodded.

Outwardly neutral, though his aura betrayed a deep happiness.

"Winter sent me a message. He's expecting us tomorrow for your shopping trip. Eva will come with us. But she won't be attending the Gala."

Another order.

Commander of the Northern Players, after all.

"But..." Blanche protested.

"I can't keep an eye on both of you. And I'd rather she stay out of the spotlight a little longer. That will happen soon enough. I'll leave it to you to explain."

Great.

The unpleasant task fell to her.

She thanked him anyway before getting out.

She watched him drive away toward the road leading to his house.

With Phénix in her arms and the setting sun at her back, she made her way toward the dormitory, still shaken.

There she found Eva.

Arms crossed.

Scowling.

Oh, damn.

Might as well rip the bandage off.

"I'm sorry," Blanche began, "but I absolutely cannot tell you anything."

The look on Eva's face was priceless.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I wish I were. But I'm not. I'm an abomination—half drakion and half something else that's just as astonishing as it is dangerous. And if I tell you, we'll both die."

Eva paled.

Blanche would never say something like that without reason.

She gave in...

But sulked for appearances' sake.

"Your father can't take you to the Gala," Blanche continued. "He can't watch over you and me at the same time, especially since I'll be the center of attention. But to make up for it, he's agreed to let us both skip gym class tomorrow. Shopping trip with my grandfather. Take it or leave it."

Eva grumbled, but accepted, then returned to an infuriating silence.

Blanche sighed.

Terrible day.

Having no appetite, she skipped dinner.

After reading a chapter about demons—especially their dietary habits—she felt chilled to the bone.

Might as well sleep.

That seemed like the better option.

Since when had she started preferring the Otherworld to Epsilon?

She shook her head.

Seriously, something up there wasn't working properly anymore.