"So, you're dating Lydia, now?"

  I stiffened as Bir's quiet words hung in the air. There was little emotion in her voice, yet somehow, it mao send a nervous jolt through me. I'd been expeg her rea when she came to fetch me for my bath. Against expectations, she merely gratuted us on our new retionship.

  Only now, after we'd returo my bedroom alone, did Bir pose the question I'd been dreading. Knowing that she loved Lydia, I felt awful for taking her pce at Lydia's side. But I couldn't fight my ow. I wao be with Lydia, even if it hurt Bir.

  ?I am,? I signed as I sat on the edge of my bed.

  Bir nodded quietly, more to herself than to me, and sat down beside me. "I expected you would. I just didn't realize it would happen so soon."

  ?Are you angry with me??

  Turning to look at me, Bir took a deep breath before responding. "Of course not. I'm not your keeper. Who you date ges little for me. I will tio devote myself t for your wellbeing."

  ?But you love Lydia, don't you??

  "Is that," Bir's eyes widened a bit. Turning away from me she scoffed and sighed. "You believed I had feelings for Lydia?"

  ?Did you not?? I was fused. It seemed obvious to me that Bir had feelings for Lydia. Why else would she have gone so far in Rofeir?

  Bir's eyes met mine. For a moment she sat silently, looking over me as if searg for something. Pg a hand on my leg, Bir leaoward me. For a moment, it looked as if she might kiss me, then she backed away.

  "I value Lydia," Bir announced, standing up and straightening her dress. "But she does not make my heart stir." Bir made her way toward the door, her gaze focused ahead. Under her breath, she muttered a phrase that seemed to vanish into the air, "Not in the same way it stirs for you."

  After Bir bid me a good night aed, I was left alone in my room. My hand instinctively rose to cover my heart as I struggled to calm myself down. Had I truly heard what Bir had whispered? Her words were soft enough that even my sensitive ears hardly picked up on them.

  Does Bir have feelings for me? The question echoed withiry as I might, I couldn't escape it. Every moment we'd shared took on a new significe, transf with each passing thought.

  Memories flooded my mind, Bir's rosy cheeks as we chatted outside the cafe in Rofeir. Lydia teasing her after snagging a bite of my pastry, Bir's willio try a bite herself, and the joy that seemed to radiate off of her after I fed it to her. At the time, I thought their iion was a form of pyful flirting through me. But now, what if it was more? What if they weren't vying for attention through me, but peting for my affe?

  As the thoughts swirled within me, I buried my fato the pillows in a desperate attempt to escape them. The memories lingered, making it hard for me to silehe questions eg in my mind.

  The more I tried to push the thoughts away, the more they seemed to take hold. Even as I drifted in and out of sleep, they ed me. Even if Bir was willing to tinue serving me and move on, I had no idea how to face her. I didn't regret choosing Lydia. But how could I have ever known she wasn't the only oracted to me?

  A geremor through the mattress and the sound of shuffling pulled me free from the dozenth of my fusing dreams. Opening my eyes I found Lydia slipping into bed beside me. "Did I wake you?"

  Even if we'd slept together in the past, now that Lydia and I were dating the thought of it made my face flush with nervousness. ?What are you doing?? I signed with trembling fingers. Lydia couldn't possibly be pnning to do that, could she?

  Lydia's face lit up with a bright smile as she settled beside me. "I didn't mean to wake you, but I couldn't sleep either," she said softly. "Too many butterflies in my stomach."

  My heart fluttered as Lydia ed her arm around my waist and pulled me close. With each passing moment, it felt as if my heart ounding louder and louder. ?I'm not ready.?

  "Not ready?" I felt as if I might melt as I gazed at Lydia's bnk expression. Furrowing her brow she blinked slowly and then burst out ughing. "I didn't know you had such a dirty mind, ne!"

  My face burned with embarrassment as I realized Lydia hadn't had any untoward iions when she slipped into bed with me. She was simply pnning to sleep beside me, as we had in the past.

  "This is a first for me too," Lydia gently kissed my forehead. "I'm not going to try and rush into things. I'm happy just getting to hold you, knowing your heart is mine."

  Snuggling close to Lydia I buried my fa her neck, hiding it from view. Being close to her made me happy. Despite my embarrassment, I was gd she'd snuto bed with me. With Lydia by my side, I was able to drift off into more pleasant dreams.

  When m came, Lydia helped me get dressed. As I sat in front of the vanity in my room, she began to carefully brush my hair. If not for the pounding of my heart, it wouldn't have been anything special. Now that we were dating, though, it was as if every touch sent a shiver down my spine.

  "You've never enjoyed having your hair brushed so much," Lydia giggled pyfully. "Is my sweet little ne having more ihoughts this m?"

  I turned bright red. ?Don't tease me so much.?

  "Of course, princess," Lydia straightened her back, taking on the air of a proper maid. Only her mischievous smirk ruihe image. "Will you be attending sword practice with Reika today?"

  ?Yes.?

  "And what do you have pnned after that?"

  ?Magic practice??

  "Oh?" Lydia sighed aed her between my ears. "Such a busy little saint. We just started dating and you already don't have time for me."

  ?You could teach me magic?? I didn't uand what Lydia was getting at. She hadn't invited me to do anything. So why was she ag as if I was blowing her off?

  "Or," Lydia winked pyfully. "We could skip training and go on a date in town. You haven't had a ce to explore Wylru have you?"

  Before I could ahere was a soft knock at the door. After announg herself, Bir stepped into the room. As her eyes nded on Lydia and me, Bir wavered. It almost looked as if she was going to run away. Instead, she approached us. "Good m, ne... Lydia."

  "I'm almost finished with her hair," Lydia smiled triumphantly. "If you'd like, Bir, I don't think ne will need you today. You take a break."

  Bir silently stared at Lydia for a moment. She seemed relut to leave, and equally hesitant to stay. I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. Was it iable that we'd lose the sense of familiarity we had with one another now that I was dating Lydia?

  Biting her lip, Bir looked toward the window and then back at Lydia. I watched her in the mirror of my vanity as she ched her hands into fists over and ain.

  The air in the room seemed to grow heavy. Even Lydia who'd been grinning moments before became pcid. Her gaze was locked to Bir, watg her as if she was a monster about to rampage.

  Sighing through her teeth, Bir shook her head. "I uand. I realize that I'm no longer needed. Not as a maid, nor as a teacher." Tears beaded in the er of Bir's eyes. "I will do as you suggest. I hope you both have a pleasant day."

  ?Bir, wait—? I started to sign, but Bir had already turo leave. I pleaded silently with Lydia to call out to her, but Bir was gone before she could say anything.

  I quickly raced to the door. Stepping into the hallway I looked for Bir, but she'd already vanished from sight. ?Please go after her,? I turo Lydia, begging for her help. If Bir wouldn't even look at me, there was little I could do. But Lydia could call out to her. At the very least, she could call out to anyone she saw and ask them which dire Bir had fled in.

  "I'm probably the st person she wants to see," Lydia winced, her expression ced with regret.

  ?We 't let her leave like this,? I signed, desperate to find some kind of resolution that'd work. Even if Bir felt she could no loand beside me, I didn't want our st moments to be like this. If she wao leave, I wao see her off with a smile. Bir deserved that much. I didn't waher of us to live the rest of our lives full ret.

  "She might've returo her room," Lydia suggested. "I'll go see. You wait here in case she es back."

  I rying to remain calm as Lydia rushed out of the room. I waited for what felt like ay, my heart ag with every breath, knowing Bir could be getting further and further away. When Lydia returned, her expression told me little.

  "She's not in her room," Lydia reported softly. "But I did find Reika, and she said she saw Bir rag out of the castle. She apparently called out to her, but Bir didn't even look her way."

  ?What do we do??

  "ne," Lydia hesitated, nervously shifting her weight. "Do you know... How Bir feels about you?"

  ?I do.?

  "I figured," Lydia ed her arms around me in a tight embrace. "I... I don't want to give you up. Please don't—" Lydia's voice wavered. "Please don't pick her over me."

  Shaking my head forcefully, I grabbed Lydia by the and pced a gentle kiss on her lips. ?It's not about pig her over you. I just don't want things to end like this.?

  "Yeah," Lydia aking a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I don't want it to end this way either. e on, we o go tell Edna what's happening. Wylrune is too big for us to find her on our own."

  Once we found Edna, she quickly sent word to the guard to keep a for Bir. Together with Reika and Azmoria, she left for the city alongside us to assist in the search. As much as I'd wao explore Wylrune, I'd never imagined I'd be doing it like this. Hunting for a friend who'd fled from me in tears.

  "We'll find her," Lydia whispered to me, squeezing my hand tightly. The setting sun bathed the city around us in amber hues. After searg all day, there'd been no sign of Bir. At this point, I feared she'd already left the city entirely.

  As night fell, I began t my feet. The weight of exhaustion was bearing down on me heavily, but I didn't want to give in. We'd searched nearly every tavern and inn in town. All that was left was the temple. Bir had once mentioned just how important healers were to the church. She'd been adopted into a baron's family just to ehey couldn't prevent the knights from recruiting her.

  If there was ahat'd offer Bir a pce to stay without hesitation, the church had to be it. Depending on how desperate the local priests were for another healer, they might even willingly lie to the guard on her behalf. If Bir wasn't there, then we'd have to accept that she'd already left Wylruogether.

  We made our way to the temple, a massive structure in the heart of Wylrune's mert district. The air inside was heavy with the smell of inse. Given how te it was, I'd feared everyone would be asleep already, but a robed priest was quick to greet us.

  "Lord Priest," Lydia bowed. "We're looking for one of our friends. She's a young woman with bck hair. She was wearing a maid's attire st we saw her. Please, have you seen her?"

  The priest appeared flicted for a moment, but eventually shook his head. "I'm sorry. I've not met aoday who matches that description. But, if I do see her, I will let her know you are looking."

  Lydia and I exged a worried gnce. We'd been searg for Bir all day, and now it seemed like she might have slipped right through our fingers.

  Tears fell freely from my eyes as I bowed to the priest. Lydia pced her hand on my bad gently led me back out into the street. We'd given it everything, but Bir was still o be found. My heart heavy with regret, I let Lydia lead me back to Edna's castle. We'd done all we could.

  Returning to my room, I colpsed into bed without ging into my night clothes. Lydia tried to help me ge but I couldn't bring myself to care. In the end, she quietly id beside me and held me close as I cried.

  The st of wildflreeted me as I found myself transported to the garden where Rochelle and I first met. Just as before, she was waiting for me in a beautiful white gazebo at the garden's heart. Only ohing was different than before.

  "What is this pce?" Lydia gasped looking wide-eyed around the garden.

  "Phantasia, a world within dreams," Rochelle answered, making her way over to us. "It is a pleasure to meet you Lydia. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."

  "Daughter?" Lydia looked from Rochelle to me in fusion.

  "She's Rochelle," I noted with a wave of my hand. "The phantom of the first saint trapped within my sword."

  "ne," Lydia ed her arms around me. Her voice overe with emotion. "You talk!"

  "Only because this pce is like a dream," I gasped as the force of Lydia's hug took my breath away. "But... why now?"

  Rochelle's expression turned somber. "I couldn't remain silent when my daughter is bawling her eyes out. So I've brought you here, to impart a little motherly advi you both."

  "How exactly am I here?" Lydia asked, looking down at her hands as if she expected them to start fading away.

  "Direct physical tact with ne, and a little extra effort on my part," Rochelle answered mirthfully with a wink. "Now e, both of you. Join me in the gazebo, I don't have the power to keep you here for long."

  As we walked towards the gazebo, Lydia held my hand tightly. Despite all of her strength, when faced with the prospeeeting my mother, she was trembling.

  We sat down, and Rochelle served us both tea and an assortment of cakes. "Now then, feel free to indulge. Nothing you do here will effect your physical self, Lydia, so there's o hold back."

  "Your advice," I leaned forward, my heart ag with worry. "Is it about, Bir?"

  Smiling, Rochelle nodded. "When you and I first met, ne, your heart was overe with grief. I ot say how much it warms my heart to see you now. Even if the pain you felt will ruly go away, I am gd to see you are no longer suffering as you were. For that, Lydia, I owe you a debt of gratitude."

  Lydia's grip on my hand tightened. Her lips parted, but she couldn't speak. After a moment , she fell silent and simply lowered her head, nodding in acceptance.

  "You're not the one I expected to choke up like this," Rochelle giggled, her eyes twinkling with mischievous warmth. "But it's true. Alohere was little I could've done for ne. You have filled her heart, and that is all that matters to me. But, you're not the only person responsible."

  "Bir," I choked out her name, overe with grief. It was true. Even if I didn't know how she felt, I still cherished her. Bir was important to me. Now she was gone.

  "I have no doubt that you'll see her again," Rochelle started, her voice ge clear. "And I want you both to be ready when you do. While it is on to take a single lover in life, and give them all of your heart, that is not the only path toward happiness."

  Rochelle paused for a moment before tinuing. "Unorthodox as it may be, there is nothing preventing you both from weling Bir into your retionship, if she's willing. There are certainly hardships involved with loving multiple partners, but deep down, you both care for her don't you?"

  "Wha—" Lydia looked up at Rochelle with widened eyes. "Why should I have to share h her?!"

  "I'm not simply suggesting that ake two ued spouses. You would be datioo. While you and Bir may not have the same retionship with each other that you have with ne, you ot say you don't care for her, you?"

  "Is this some kind of test?" Lydia whispered, l her gaze. "I only have eyes for ne."

  "Exclusivity to one another is certainly an option you have," Rochelle replied, gingerly sipping from her cup before tinuing. "But, I wa you here, to give you both the opportunity to hear of another path you could take. How you want to proceed is something you should decide before fag her again."

  As I silently listeo Rochelle and Lydia, I felt a swirling storm of fusiions withio me, love had always been something exclusive. I'd po remain loyal to Elise for the rest of my life, before tragedy took her from me. Now, I'd shifted those same thoughts to Lydia. The thought of having feelings for Bir, coexisting with my love for Lydia, hadn't crossed my mind.

  Bir was someorusted without exception. I couldn't truly put my finger on the exaent my faith in her became so absolute, but it was true. I held her opinion in high esteem. Outside of Lydia, she was the closest friend I had. Just the thought of losing her seemed to sap the color out of my world.

  But were my feelings for Bir ever romantic? Could they be? I didn't know. The truth of her affe had blindsided me. I hadn't been ready to respond to it. I still wasn't.

  "Thank you," I softly squeaked out the words, trying to give voiy thoughts. "I didn't think about how to approach her. But, we really should give it some thought."

  Lydia turo me, her eyes wandering as if searg for answers. I could see the doubt and uainty in her expression, and it broke my heart. "ne, I... don't want to lose you."

  "This isn't about losing me," I gently squeezed Lydia's hand. "I'm not going anywhere. But, Mom is right, we o decide what we're going to do about Bir, together."

  "ne!" Rochelle's eyes sparkled with tears as she jump to her feet and raced around the table to hug me. "I think this is the first time you've called me Mom! Ah, my heart it feels as if it's going to burst."

  My face warmed as I melted into Rochelle's embrace. I'd always wanted a mother who loved me, and I couldn't ask for a better ohan Rochelle. She cared so much. I was grateful for her guidance. Eve came to matters of romance which had little to do with my role as the saint, she was trying to help.

  "I think I see why you're trying to free her from this pce," Lydia smiled softly, a hint of amusement on her face.

  "Even if I'm wary of the deal we made," Rochelle nuzzled her face against the top of my head. "I am certainly looking forward to getting to hold my adorable daughter in the real world. But, ah, we're out of time. I hope both of you give our versation some thought. I support whatever decision you make."

  Before I could speak another word, the garden around us began to fade from existence. A moment ter, Lydia and I were once again ying in bed, my face still soaked with tears.

  "Tomorrow," Lydia whispered gently into my ear. "We'll talk. I do that much."

  Wiping my tears with the bay hand, I nodded. Rochelle had given us a lot to sider. For the sake of our future, there was a lot to talk about.

  eri