Chapter 655: Chapter 655 - Taming the Fifth Year - Hitch

Talking to Liora about what had happened with Aldric’s girls hadn’t been as difficult as Ren had anticipated.

Larissa had been there, helping him explain the situation.

There had been a tense moment when Ren had mentioned too soon that he’d "forgiven" the three girls, and Liora had frowned dangerously. But Larissa had interceded just in time, reframing the situation in terms Liora could understand and, eventually, accept.

She wasn’t too happy. Her expression had made that clear.... But she understood. Understood the political pressure, the impossible positions, the lack of real choice the three girls had faced.

Yet now came the harder part.

Luna.

The girls had told him they’d leave the shared room empty at the hour Luna usually arrived, to give him privacy. To let him apologize alone, without an audience to make things more complicated than they already were.

Ren arrived when they’d agreed, his steps slowing as he approached the door. Each footfall felt heavier than the last, dread building in his chest like gathering storm clouds.

And then he saw Klein leaving the room.

Ren stopped, blinking surprised. "Klein?"

Klein saw him and his face turned slightly red. He looked away immediately, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"I’m sorry," he muttered quickly, his voice coming out tense and strained. "I can’t... I can’t talk, bye."

And he left, practically fleeing down the hallway before Ren could ask what he was doing there. His steps were quick, almost running, retreating intentions in every line of his body.

’Weird,’ Ren thought, watching him go. But he had more important things to figure out than Klein’s strange behavior right now.

So he approached the door and knocked softly. "Luna?"

Silence.

But he could feel the mana inside the room. Erratic, fury and darker tones Ren couldn’t completely identify. Like a storm contained behind fragile walls. She was there.

"Luna," he tried again, keeping his voice gentle. "Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

"Leave," Luna’s voice came muffled through the door, but the emotion in it was clear even through the wood and the distance. "I don’t want to see you now."

Ren felt his chest tighten. He could feel it was a lie in her mana. No, not a full lie, a half-truth. She wanted to see him, yes, but also... something else. Something complicated and painful that tangled with a desire.

"Luna, I’m sorry," he said, deciding to be tactful and tell her from outside without insisting, as Larissa had suggested was an option. "About the girls, about not explaining to you before. About..."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Luna interrupted him, her voice firmer now. "You can leave now. You don’t need to mind or worry about anything."

But Ren remained standing in front of the door, processing her words.

’Don’t need to worry, huh...’

As if there were no reason to care. As if assuming she didn’t matter enough for him to bother about her. As if she were asking him to treat her as less important than she was for him.

Could he do that?

Ren remembered Sirius. Remembered not being able to stop him. Remembered seeing Luna crying, her mana screaming ’pain’.

Remembered what mattered most to Luna: her family. The Starweavers. Her light relic that was in other people’s hands.

Remembered the kiss. That moment where Luna had pressed her lips against his, and then denied it afterward. Had said it was a mistake. That it meant nothing.

It had been a lie...

He also thought about Liora, about her honest confession in that tree. About her request for time just recently.

Thought about Larissa, about what Julius had told him.

"Don’t bite off more than you can chew."

Was he being greedy? Trying to surround himself with all these beautiful girls without thinking about the general view or the consequences?

Maybe he should leave Luna alone...

Give her space. Not complicate her life more when she already had so many political and family problems to solve.

But then...

’NO! Why would I have to stop myself from helping an appreciated friend?’

The thought came fierce, almost angry. Would he do the same for Min? Yes, right? For Taro? For Liu? For any of his friends?

’Yes! It’s the same!’

The "mature" feelings adults talked about... those could wait.

Right now, Ren just wanted to help.

"Luna!" he shouted, his voice louder. The words came from somewhere deep. "I want to help you! I want to be your support. I care because you matter to me!"

The silence that followed was deep.

Ren felt like the world had stopped breathing, waiting for her response.

He could feel the emotional whirlpool in the mana on the other side of the door. More chaotic now.

And then, with a broken voice, Luna spoke.

"Please..." her vulnerability bleeding through despite her attempts at control. "Don’t insist anymore!"

She paused, and Ren could hear how she took a trembling breath.

"If you really want to help... please distance yourself a bit."

Ren felt like he’d been punched in the chest. "Wha... Why?"

"You’re an obstacle to my goals, Ren," Luna continued, her voice becoming firmer though it still trembled. "Your presence... complicates things. Makes the decisions I need to make more difficult. So if you really care about me, if you really want to help..."

She stopped again, and this time Ren heard something that could have been a suppressed sob.

"Back off."

Ren remained paralyzed in front of the door, feeling her mana. Reading the intent beneath her words, the pain and resolve.

And he realized.

It was TRUE...

He was an obstacle.

Somehow, his presence in Luna’s life was complicating the things she needed to do.

"In that case," Ren said finally, his voice coming out sadder than he’d intended, "okay."

He stepped away from the door, taking a physical step back that felt symbolic. Final.

"I’ll distance myself..."

Silence from the other side.

Ren waited a moment, maybe hoping Luna would change her mind. That she’d open the door and tell him she didn’t mean it. That they could work through this together.

But the door remained closed.

The mana on the other side continued being a whirlwind, but there was no movement toward the door. No sound of footsteps. No click of a lock turning.

"I’m sorry," Ren added softly, the words barely audible even to himself. "For complicating things."

And he left.

Each step away from that door felt heavier than the previous one.

He didn’t know that moments later, on the other side, Luna had collapsed against the door, her back sliding until she was sitting on the floor. Her hands covered her mouth, trying to contain the sobs that threatened to escape. Tears streamed down her cheeks, hot and bitter and impossible to stop.

Her shadow wolf materialized, whining softly and pressing against her side. Offering comfort it didn’t know how to give.

While Ren walked through an empty hallway, oblivious to the pain on the other side of the door, he could only think about one thing.

’I’m an obstacle.’

And if that was true...

Then the best thing he could do for Luna was exactly what she’d asked.

Distance himself from her.

Even if it hurt more than he’d anticipated.

Even if every part of him wanted to turn around, knock down that door, and solve the problems magically.

But he couldn’t... He would be unable to solve it. He didn’t know how...