Chapter 160: Why Not ?

But that wasn't her only reason.

As Blanche grew genuinely fond of Asher, the feeling was mutual. The pixie found himself developing the beginnings of a friendship with her—something that felt even deeper than brotherly affection. His Neige. His best friend from another world.

She then asked for his schedule and contact information so she could reach him if necessary. After all, he was the only one who could help her...

And vice versa.

She also asked how Kiyan somehow knew Nicky's napping schedule. The pixie explained that one afternoon, Nicky had simply fallen asleep, and Kiyan had happened to find him there. Ever since, he'd just kept following the same routine.

Finally, Blanche shared her brilliant plan to make everyone aware of her little "problem"—the one affecting every Player:

Her infertility.

Asher personally took care of the rest.

With almost chilling composure, he falsified every medical report related to her accident, altered the examination records, and buried the real results beneath a mountain of flawlessly convincing paperwork. Every signature, every official seal, every handwritten note was reproduced with such precision that even the world's leading experts would have been completely fooled.

The lie was perfect.

And that was exactly what made it so dangerous.

Then he made sure the information found its way into the right hands.

A Drakion Crown Princess incapable of doing the one thing expected of her: bearing children.

It was going to become a media bombshell throughout the Otherworld for quite some time.

The tiny creature warned her about the possible consequences once she woke up.

Blanche, however, was already looking forward to the chaos.

If they thought they could marry her off without her having a say in it...

They had another thing coming.

Blanche eventually made her way back toward her son's apartment, taking her time as she walked through the long hallways bathed in soft golden light.

She wasn't in any hurry.

Quite the opposite.

Before leaving, she had spent more than an hour with her friend, comfortably settled into the security office armchair with a steaming mug in her hands, chatting with surprising ease about her little "fiancé problem."

Asher already knew about her feelings—and about Kiyan's alter ego.

More importantly...

He was simply easy to talk to.

She spoke.

He listened.

Never interrupting, except to ask a question or clarify a detail.

At first, she'd simply recounted the facts.

Then, little by little...

The details came pouring out.

After the story about her fiancé, she told him everything else.

Sapphire.

Kiyan.

Fenrir.

The way they looked at her.

Their gestures.

Their silences.

Those moments when her heart suddenly seemed to decide it had a life of its own.

"So, if I'm following correctly..." he began with an amused smile. "You blush around one, forget to breathe around another... and you still insist you have no idea what's happening to you?"

Blanche sighed.

"That's exactly it."

"Fascinating."

"Thanks for the support."

"My pleasure."

He adopted an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression.

"Would you like me to draw you a diagram?"

He burst out laughing.

"You're making fun of me!"

"Obviously."

Then his smile softened.

"More seriously..."

"You think way too much."

Blanche raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"You're trying to understand what you're feeling before you even allow yourself to feel it."

She fell silent.

"You analyze every glance they give you, every word they say, every reaction you have... as though you're trying to solve a mystery."

He shrugged.

"The problem is... feelings aren't a detective case."

"They simply come and go."

Despite herself, Blanche smiled.

"That's a shame."

"I probably would've gotten a better grade."

"Without question."

They both laughed.

The conversation naturally drifted toward lighter topics afterward.

He teased her about her chronic inability to admit that she might simply find a man attractive, then recounted—with undisguised amusement—Argy's catastrophic teenage years, when he'd been convinced he was in love every three weeks.

Finally, he shared a few embarrassing stories of his own, enough to make Blanche feel considerably less alone.

Several times, she caught herself completely forgetting the weight she'd been carrying.

She laughed.

Really laughed.

A genuine, spontaneous laugh she'd sorely missed these past months.

Pixies viewed love and relationships in a way that was radically different from humans.

Among them, relationships were rarely exclusive. They came together, drifted apart, and reunited according to affection, desire, and the changing seasons, embracing a freedom that seemed almost bewildering to other races.

Jealousy was considered an unnecessary emotion.

Loving several people at once wasn't unusual.

If anything...

It was perfectly natural.

To Asher, there was absolutely nothing wrong with having multiple lovers.

To him, the heart wasn't a vault whose key had to be protected.

It was a garden, capable of blooming again and again without ever exhausting itself.

He shrugged with disarming simplicity before offering her a warm smile.

"You're beautiful, you're young, and you're single. Have fun. Besides, it's not like you can get pregnant or catch an STD. As a—you-know-what—you're immune to all that. As long as the Boss is okay with it, don't overthink things. Date whoever you want. Date several people at once if that's what you want."

He grinned.

"We've got more than one lifetime ahead of us, remember?"

He had said it with almost unsettling casualness, as though he were simply suggesting she try a new dessert or book a vacation.

For him, there was no shame.

No taboo.

No guilt.

Only the freedom to fully experience whatever she felt.

Blanche remained silent.

The pixie's words continued echoing through her mind as she tried to reconcile them with everything she'd been taught since childhood.

Two visions of the world.

Two almost opposite ways of understanding love.

One built upon convention, promises, and expectations.

The other upon trust, consent, and almost limitless freedom.

She wasn't entirely sure which one unsettled her more.

When she finally stood to leave, she felt lighter.

Her problem wasn't solved.

Far from it.

But simply having been able to put it into words—without being judged, without being told what she should do or feel—had done her an incredible amount of good.

She let out a slow breath, thanked her friend with a distant smile, and turned away.

Her footsteps echoed softly through the corridor as she retraced her path, her gaze fixed somewhere far ahead.

She wasn't sure she'd found the answers she'd come looking for.

What she had found instead...

Was an astonishing number of new questions.

And strangely enough...

That suited her perfectly.

What if it really was that simple?