Chapter 96: For Being by My Side

Without stopping the stream, I placed my phone on the table.

The Evelyn in the mirror looked back at me. White hair, red eyes, a black crown… Even the bloodstains on the wedding dress were exactly where they belonged.

I couldn’t find a flaw in the costume. I doubted I could even if I tried; the form I had created with Umbrella was a perfect copy of the Evelyn in my mind.

But when I thought about what I would do onstage, I couldn’t come up with much beyond a few poses I could make in front of the mirror.

Telling someone who wanted a photo to come closer was easy. They were right in front of me, so I could show them where to look and say something to guide them if necessary.

There would be hundreds of people sitting in the audience. Cameras would be filming me. While everyone waited for something to begin, was I going to stand there and turn the raven’s head?

Hello, mortals. My wedding dress is pretty, isn’t it?

I frowned.

Great. Wave at them too. First place is guaranteed.

I ran my fingers through my white hair and pressed them against my forehead.

Music, lights, fog, a background…

Everything that completed the others’ movements made my own shortcomings a little more obvious. I had thought I’d solved the problem the moment I fixed my costume. But I still didn’t know what to do once I stepped onto the stage.

Looking at my reflection, I sighed.

Just then, something cold touched my cheek.

“Kyaaaah!”

My shoulder ached when I turned my head too quickly. Narrowing my eyes, I saw Eris. She had pulled the can away from my cheek, and small droplets of water covered its metal surface.

“Lemon soda?”

Eris smiled.

“I saw plenty of these at your place. You like them, right?”

I looked from the can to her face. The music from the performance I had just been watching continued on my phone. As Eris waited for an answer, she held the soda out to me.

I liked that she had noticed something so small.

The corners of my lips lifted on their own.

“Yes. I do.”

I took the soda. As its coldness spread through my palm, Eris glanced at the phone on the table and stood beside the mirror.

“You don’t need to be so nervous.”

“Who said I was nervous?”

Her gaze moved from my forehead to the hair I had ruffled with my fingers. I tried to stop frowning.

“I’m just thinking.”

“This is what you look like when you think too much.”

I opened the can. After the brief hiss, I took a sip and waited for the dryness in my throat to fade.

Eris stayed quiet for a while. Then she looked at the skirt of my wedding dress. She moved her hand as though to straighten a small fold along the edge, but pulled it back.

“I’ve had so much fun getting ready for this contest with you,” she said.

I raised my head.

“I don’t really care that much whether you win.”

Immediately after saying that, she frowned slightly.

“Well… Of course it would be nice if you won. We worked hard on this.”

She was trying to keep a serious expression. Her eyes briefly met mine before dropping to the dress again.

“But the important thing was that we had fun. I really enjoyed being with you.”

My fingers loosened around the soda can.

I remembered the moment she told me she had signed me up for the contest. At first, all of this had seemed like torture. Wearing a wedding dress, appearing in front of people, trying to play a character…

Then we had started preparing together.

I thought about how much fun we had while choosing the wedding dress, buying supplies, or simply spending time at my apartment. The things Eris said to annoy me, my complaints, and the moments when neither of us could hold back our laughter…

At some point, I had started looking forward to those preparations more than the contest itself.

I couldn’t stop the smile forming on my lips. A small chuckle escaped with my breath.

Eris’s expression changed immediately.

“What are you laughing at?”

A faint blush had appeared on her cheeks.

“I’m trying to tell you something serious, idiot.”

I placed the soda on the table. Eris must have thought I was going to answer; she was still watching my face when I stood up and took a step closer.

I wrapped my good arm around her back and pulled her toward me.

Her whole body tensed for a moment.

“Noc, what are you… All of a sudden…”

I turned slightly, careful not to trap my broken arm between us. Eris’s hand touched my shoulder. She seemed about to push me away, but her fingers stayed there.

Her face was so close to mine that I didn’t need to raise my voice.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Huh?”

I swallowed, trying to ease the lump in my throat.

I hadn’t been able to tell her this morning.

My arm had hurt while I sat on the floor. Looking at my wrecked apartment, I hadn’t known what to do. Eris had found me, knelt beside me, and hugged me.

And I had told her I wanted to be alone.

I remembered her looking back as she walked toward the door. She had wanted to reach out to me. If I had managed to pull myself together a little, perhaps I would have stopped her.

Now I could feel her fingers holding on to my shoulder.

I drew my head back slightly and looked at her face. Her cheeks had turned a much deeper pink than before. Her eyes, one red and the other blue, searched my face with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

From this close, it was clear that she didn’t know what to do either.

The girl standing in front of me, with red hair falling beside her face, pink cheeks, and an unfinished protest…

She was my sweet, slightly annoying childhood friend.

She had been beside me through almost every part of my life. Even when I received no love from my family and couldn’t get close to anyone else, Eris had been there. Most of the time, I didn’t need to tell her when I needed attention.

She got angry on my behalf, supported me, and was happy whenever she saw me happy. Sometimes she did all this while complaining, sometimes while scolding me and calling me an idiot.

Even so, she stayed by my side.

Having someone like her in my life was enough to make me feel like the luckiest man in the world.

But had I ever told her any of this?

I tried to remember. Dozens of moments came to mind when I had teased her, made fun of her, or asked her for something. But I couldn’t remember a time when I had openly told her how much she meant to me.

“For always being by my side,” I continued. “For supporting me… For caring about me.”

Eris didn’t move.

Applause from the phone’s speaker filled the room. I heard a staff member pass through the hallway. As their footsteps faded beyond the door, I couldn’t say anything else for several seconds.

Eris waited.

There was enough time to turn it into a joke. I could tell her she had earned the Great Noctis’s gratitude, give her a light pat on the head, and pull away.

I didn’t want to do that.

“I’m so lucky to have someone like you in my life.”

My voice grew a little quieter on the last word. The hand resting on my shoulder slowly moved to my back.

I took a breath.

“I love you, Eris.”

I felt her lift her head very slightly. Her back tensed beneath my arm, and her grip on the fabric changed. Her fingers opened and closed again.

She didn’t answer. I didn’t pull away immediately either.

I held her for a few more seconds. Her hair brushed my cheek. All the images that had filled my mind while I pressed my forehead in front of the mirror had faded. Now I could feel the warmth of her hand on my back, and I didn’t want the moment to end so quickly.

I still didn’t know how good a performance I could give.

But I remembered the smile I had seen on Eris’s face since she entered the room. I wanted to see it again at the end of the day.

The voice from the speaker startled us both.

“Noctis Evernight, please proceed to the stage entrance. Noctis Evernight…”

It was my turn.

I loosened my arm. As Eris pulled her hand away from my back, her fingers held on to the fabric for another moment.

I took a step back, but I couldn’t look at her face.

I picked up my phone from the table. As I tried to turn off the screen, my thumb touched the wrong spot. I tapped again to stop the music.

“Noc…”

I walked toward the door. As the skirt drew back from my feet, the raven on my shoulder raised its head.

I stopped when my hand reached the handle.

My heart was still beating fast. This time, it felt different from when I had been sitting in front of the mirror.

I turned my head slightly toward her but kept my eyes lowered.

“Watch me closely.”

A smile formed on my lips.

“I’ll show you the best cosplay you’ll ever see.”