"This is so uncomfortable to wear. I really don't like this..."

Azriel grumbled as he kept fiddling with his clothes.

"Stop pulling on them! They'll come loose!"

"So?"

"So?" Jasmine shot him a look.

"You look good in them, and the maids went through all that effort to pick something that suited you and help you put it on. Besides, it's tradition in this kingdom to wear these at the festival."

"Why would I care about traditions and looking aesthetically pleasing to others when it comes at the cost of my last remaining shred of comfort?"

Even after hearing her reasoning, Azriel still wore a sour expression as they walked together toward the estate's exit.

The clothes in question were robes.

Silky robes.

Azriel was wrapped in deep crimson silk, the fabric flowing around him with every step. A half-mask covered the upper half of his face, crafted from a red, gem-like material that looked almost like polished rubies. The mask's shape was that of a fox.

Jasmine wore similar robes, but hers were pure black. On her, they looked sharper, more regal. Her mask was black as well, shaped like a tiger. Unlike Azriel, her clothes had been tailored with extra care, accentuating her figure while still matching his.

"You seriously want to disrespect them even more?" she asked.

"You already burned the wolf mask they gave you in the beginning."

Azriel clicked his tongue and looked away, clearly unrepentant, making Jasmine sigh in resignation.

"Both wolves and dogs... foul creatures of evil..." he muttered.

Jasmine glanced at him over her shoulder with a wry smile, but his expression only darkened further.

"And how cliché... robes... It's always those damn robes..."

Jasmine scratched her cheek behind her mask, looking at him in innocent confusion.

"I don't follow."

Azriel's voice dropped as he glanced around, as if the night itself might be listening.

"It's always the ones who are supposed to be dead, or insane, or both, who wear robes," he muttered.

"And this world is full of them. It makes me want to vomit."

"Uhm... sure..." Jasmine replied, looking at him like he was the strange one.

At last, they reached the gate.

Night had already fallen, but even from here they could see the crowds beyond the estate—a sea of people from the Kingdom of the Sun, dressed in robes and wearing animal masks, moving through the streets, laughing, running, talking, living.

All of them enjoying the festival.

Azriel hadn't even known what festival this was supposed to be until Jasmine explained it to him.

It was called Sun Rise.

The Sun Rise Festival, which only officially began once the sun had disappeared. The name and the timing didn't match; they outright contradicted each other...

But that was because the festival was held in honor of the first King of Ismyr.

The meaning behind it was simple: even when the sun went down, there was still another "sun" looking over the kingdom.

The King of Isymr.

Thinking about that, Azriel's lips curved slightly, darkly.

'Looking over the kingdom, huh...'

As if the current king cared about such things.

In Azriel's eyes, the king was scum. The royal family was scum. The nobles were scum. The revolutionaries were scum.

This world was full of scum.

"They're later than us, it seems," Jasmine murmured—only for another voice to answer, almost immediately:

"No, you are."

Both Azriel and Jasmine turned to see Celestina approaching.

She, too, wore silky robes, pure white this time, and a silver mask shaped like a wolf.

Azriel's expression soured instantly.

Jasmine folded her arms and sighed.

"Well, if it weren't for a certain someone, we would have been on time."

She didn't bother to name him, just sent a pointed glare at Azriel, who refused to meet her eyes and instead inspected his nails with exaggerated interest.

"I see," Celestina said simply, as if that explained everything.

"Ahem..."

A soft cough sounded a heartbeat later.

They turned toward the gate, where a familiar figure was leaning casually against the wall—also pretending to check his nails, just like Azriel had done earlier.

He, too, wore white silk robes like Celestina, but his mask was silver and shaped like a... bunny.

"Nol."

Jasmine called out to him, and Nol turned his head with a startled expression.

"Oh! Jas— no, Your— no, that's not right either... s-sister! I didn't know you'd arrived!"

He forced an awkward smile, while Jasmine simply looked amused, her gaze warm. Celestina chuckled softly beside her.

"Did you choose the mask yourself?" Celestina asked, looking at him with the same gently expression as Jasmine.

'Hm... It seems these two have grown closer to Nol than before...' Azriel noted inwardly.

Nol tilted his head and glanced away, looking a little shy.

"...No, but they said it would suit me a lot. Were they wrong? Is it bad?"

"No," Jasmine replied at once.

"It suits you perfectly."

Celestina nodded in agreement.

As Nol brightened a little, he sneaked a quick look at Azriel, then immediately turned away again, crossing his arms as he huffed, his cheeks puffing out beneath the bunny mask.

Azriel scratched his hair.

When he glanced at the two princesses, he could tell very clearly, from their eyes alone, that they were both telling him the same thing:

Make up with him.

Their stares were almost physically heavy.

Azriel sighed. It felt like sighing was all he'd been doing lately.

So, naturally, he sighed again.

Then he suddenly walked past all of them—past Jasmine, Celestina, and Nol—heading through the gate as he spoke quietly over his shoulder:

"Buy whatever food you like. It's my treat."

Nol froze for a moment.

Then he spun around, eyes going wide behind the silver bunny mask. The long ears on top only made the expression somehow cuter as he stared at Azriel's back.

Nol pressed his lips together, looking down for a moment, his expression becoming unreadable.

Then, slowly, his lips curved into a small, genuine smile.

He looked up again, and with a bright, almost glowing expression, he rushed after Azriel and shouted:

"Alright! Master, let's fill our stomachs with all kinds of delicious food until they burst!"

Celestina, watching Nol's excited reaction, couldn't help but chuckle once more.

"I should have expected it to be that easy," she said, then turned to Jasmine with a bright smile of her own.

"Shall we, Jasmine?"

But oddly enough, Jasmine didn't respond.

"Jasmine?" Celestina prompted.

Instead, Jasmine stared at the backs of the two boys with a completely deadpan expression and muttered under her breath:

"...He doesn't even have money to buy himself food..."

*****

The moment Azriel and the other three went deeper into the street, they were hit with what could only be called culture shock. It was obvious none of them had ever seen anything like this before. Nol was getting more excited by the second.

The street was a river of light.

Lanterns hung from ropes strung across the alley—glass orbs, paper globes, carved wooden frames—each glowing in soft shades of gold and red. Their warm light washed over a crowd dressed in flowing, silky robes that shimmered whenever someone moved. The men wore robes similar to Nol's and Azriel's, while the women had more elaborate, stylish versions like Jasmine's and Celestina's.

Almost everyone wore an upper-face mask shaped like an animal: long-nosed foxes, feather-edged owls, stylized stags with curling antlers, sleek cats, wolves, ravens. Children darted through the throng in tiny masks and oversized robes, laughing as they weaved between barrels and festival stalls. Adults moved more slowly, hands tucked into wide sleeves.

Food stalls lined both sides of the cobblestone street they were in. One offered skewers of spiced meat dripping over glowing coals, another was stacked with sugared pastries dusted in glittering crystals, and a third stirred bubbling cauldrons of thick stew. Vendors shouted over music and chatter, their counters cluttered with wooden plates, clay mugs, strange vibrant fruits...

And a dreadful pink banana, which Azriel mentally noted never to touch again.

Toward the far end of the square, performers had drawn a ring of spectators—jugglers tossing arcs of flame into the air, a musician plucking at a strange stringed instrument, and a cloaked figure that looked like a mage from some fantasy book, sending harmless sparks spiraling upward like tiny wandering stars. Somewhere deeper in the festival, a drum kept a steady pulse, joined by flutes and delicate bells.

"...Wow," Jasmine said simply.

Celestina nodded in agreement.

"Let's go! Let's go! I want to try that skewered food! Oh, and also those weird-looking fruits—like that pink banana! And that candy over there! And then—"

"Easy there, Nol."

Jasmine cut him off quickly and grabbed his hand as he was about to bolt toward the stalls.

"We'll have time to try them all, but don't rush off on your own like that. Clearly, there's... a lot going on here."

As she said that, she glanced at Celestina with a troubled look. Azriel did the same.

Celestina's face wasn't showing much, but her eyes were. They were shining so brightly it almost made them look silver as she stared around with intense focus. It was almost adorable—like a child trying to contain themselves while their parents were stuck talking to friends for too long.

"It seems both these silver-heads can't contain their curiosity for long..." Jasmine whispered to Azriel, making him smile.

"Well, let them have it for tonight. I suggest we split up. Once they've calmed their curiosity a bit, we can meet up again and look around together."

But his words made Jasmine look at him with slightly saddened eyes behind her mask.

"But... I wanted all of us to see everything together..."

Azriel's smile turned a bit strained.

'Is she actually upset, or is this just one of her usual little manipulation tactics...?'

"...There's going to be a lot to do and see," he said.

"Just give them twenty minutes to run around... hop around, even... and then we'll all meet back here."

Jasmine sighed in disappointment and reluctantly let go of Nol's hand.

"Fine. Twenty minutes, not a minute more. You two—keep your curiosity only in this are—"

Unfortunately, Jasmine never got the chance to finish her sentence. By the time she turned to look at them, they were already gone.

"Seriously..." she muttered.

Azriel laughed, earning himself an annoyed glare.

"Don't laugh. You're good at hiding it, but I know you're itching to run around as well."

Azriel froze, exposed, and seeing his reaction like a deer in headlights, Jasmine's smile turned teasing and a bit cruel.

"Oh, I remember—back when we were little, you would run around everywhere. If it wasn't me or Amaya with you, forced to hold your hand the whole time, you weren't allowed to go outside. Because you'd always somehow end up in the most unexpected places, scaring everyone into thinking you'd been kidnapped, or lost, or worse."

Azriel looked away and coughed, trying to bury his embarrassment.

"I have no recollection of such."

"Really?"

She stepped closer, leaning in to peer at him, but he kept refusing to meet her eyes, pressing his back away from her. Eventually, she gave up, smiling cheerfully as if pleased with how uncomfortable she'd made him.

"So, what are you planning to do?"

Azriel exhaled in relief and shrugged.

"I don't know. Honestly, I'm just planning to walk around, watch everything, and wait for those two to come back."

"I see... Well, if you're not coming with me, I'm going to Nol first."

"Nol?"

Jasmine nodded, glancing in the direction he'd run off.

"It's like you said—he's a giant baby. I don't want him to get deceived, scammed, or unknowingly kidnapped..."

Certainly, Azriel could picture it. Just lay out a trail of fried chicken and that boy would follow blindly.

"That's not a bad idea... You two seem to have gotten much closer, huh."

"I guess we have," Jasmine said. "He's proven himself a lot these past few months and... well, I can't help but feel some affection for him, like I do for you, after having him around us for so long. Though I have noticed he tends to distance himself from me for some reason. I even asked him to call me 'big sis', but he still struggles with it... Does he not like me?"

As her mood visibly dampened, Azriel flicked the back of her head, making her flinch and glare at him.

"What was that for!?"

"You overthink too much."

"Says you!?"

Azriel shrugged again.

"Like I said, he's a giant baby. I'm also the one who gave him the opportunity to... not be alone. To have a family, if you want to call it that. To explore what he wants. He's learning emotions, so of course he's going to feel awkward or afraid around some humans."

Jasmine frowned behind her mask.

"He's afraid of me?"

"You don't think you're scary?"

"Huh? When have I ever—"

"The only time you drop that cold persona of yours is when you're with me," Azriel said. "But I doubt you've shown much of your warm side to Nol when it's just the two of you, right? You're also my sister, while he looks up to me. Of course he's awkward around you and scared. He doesn't even know how to properly treat you or act around you."

Jasmine's expression turned troubled again.

"I... I never really thought about it like that," she admitted. "Me acting cold—it's something I do subconsciously. It's not like I was trying to be mean or scary to Nol... I guess I should've been more aware of it."

"There, there. My dear sister is so smart."

"Stop that! You're ruining my hair!"

Jasmine slapped his hand away as he patted her head. She grit her teeth and quickly checked that her hair was still intact while Azriel laughed.

Then she turned away.

"All right," she said. It sounded like she'd just made up her mind.

"I'm going to stop acting cold toward him."

Azriel hummed.

"Best of luck."

Jasmine nodded and started walking—only to pause when Azriel added,

"What about Celestina? Is Nol's curiosity more important than that of the Frost Princess?"

She turned back to look at him like he was an idiot.

"Huh? Of course it isn't. That girl... I swear, as much as she pretends otherwise, her chances of getting scammed or kidnapped are just as high as Nol's! That is why I am going to her right after I find Nol!"

Azriel burst into hearty laughter as Jasmine muttered curses about him being useless and unhelpful while she walked away.

Once she was finally out of sight, Azriel's smile faded. His face quickly emptied, going calm and expressionless, his eyes turning frigid.

He turned and looked toward an alley.

Just beside its entrance stood a little girl, entirely out of place. She wasn't wearing the traditional robes, but her clothes were still clean and fresh, which meant she wasn't a beggar. Because of that, many people passing by shot her displeased, annoyed looks, as if insulted that she wasn't following their traditions tonight. She was the only one in that spot who didn't fit.

Some people even seemed to be talking about approaching her.

Watching all of this, Azriel adjusted the mask on his face and exhaled softly.

"Lia, huh..."

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