[Music Recommendation: "Dreamy Shards" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

[Please note: We're still in Hora's POV - after she's done talking to the mysterious woman, aka the Secret Witch, who's now her master in magic]

After a few minutes of hugging each other, Verrill and I went back to Aunt Vora's house. On my way, I suddenly remembered that I hadn't contacted Sena and Crystal so I decided to shoot them a quick text message to let them know we're fine and that we'll discuss things later with Auntie in the afternoon—somehow, I didn't want to explain anything about my previous talk with Aunt Vora, plus my meeting with Master. I couldn't possibly tell Sena about that. I should think of an alibi when I get back.

When I took my phone in my side pocket, it was filled with mom's message saying she's coming over. Haaahh… she was probably jealous that I'm visiting Aunt Vora before she did. If I didn't know, she probably visited her a hundred times while I was away in another country. Anyway, I should send that message to Sena and Crystal.

Moments later, we arrived back at Aunt Vora's residence. Verrill and I headed towards the guest room instead of meeting with Auntie again. Maybe I'd just meet her again when mom comes in. There's two things I needed to do—first, think of an alibi for Silky's situation; second, not raise any suspicion with Auntie. She's fixed into that solution of hers she was thinking, probably for the greater good of many, but I didn't care about the others.

'So… I will just make her think that I'm going along with her plan. I can come up with lots of excuses later. The only problem would be Silky. Auntie will most likely tell her everything and she will definitely carry them out. So I need to stop her, too. I wonder if there's any mind altering magic? Like changing how she remembers things? That way, I'll make her believe that protecting Sena is the best way instead of keeping her from her happiness. Hmm… I should ask Master later. I should have gotten her phone number. But then again, she wouldn't give the pocket watch if it's safe to use the phone.'

Ugh… so many things to think about.

"Verrill," I called him when we're finally seated on the couch inside the guest room. "I don't want Sena and Crystal, or anyone at all, to find out the whole truth—about that conversation we had earlier with Aunt Vora."

"I agree. It's not something anyone can know. They might believe you if you tell them but… it's not safe."

"Yes, that's right. But I can't think of any alibi. What should we tell them once we come back?"

"Hmm…" Verrill pondered for a moment. "We can tell them that… Silky really had a twin and that she wanted to pursue her dreams but her mother was against it. Aunt Vora didn't want to bother you so she didn't tell you. And now, the other Silky—her twin, is with her, living a normal life. Nothing too serious so we ended up just having a great time visiting your aunt, and meeting your mother who's arriving later."

"I see. Yes, that could work," I agreed. "If they ask more questions, I can just say that the others are private matters or something along those lines."

Verrill nodded. "We could go with that."

"Verrill… I'm really sorry about all this. Making you lie to others—I'm really, really sorry."

Verrill patted my head and smiled at me.

"There's no need to be sorry. This is not something you can just say to anyone so it's fine. Besides, I lie all the time when I prank someone. This is basically the same."

"But we're not pranking anyone," I replied in a chuckle.

"What I mean is, it's a white lie. And in any case they somehow find out about it, they'll understand where you're coming from. They're friends—best friends so they'll definitely understand us. So don't think too much about it, okay?"

Smiling, I nodded. "Okay."

After that, hours passed by again and it was finally afternoon. We took our lunch inside the guest room. The cook had it brought to us as Aunt Vora commanded. She probably knew I was still upset so she's giving me time. She's really nice. I still liked her a lot as my aunt but I didn't like her idea so I'm not going on with that. I couldn't possibly tell her about Master as well or she could be in danger. Uncle was still a member of the Fatum, her husband, so she'd definitely tell him about everything. In case she didn't, that's great, but I couldn't risk Master. We still had a lot of things to do, and she's still gonna teach me about magic to improve my skills.

And so, when afternoon came, my mom finally arrived at Aunt Vora's residence. She was greeted warmly by auntie and the clone Silky. Then, she went over to us to talk. I introduced Verrill to him, much to her delight. She had been waiting for me to get a boyfriend since forever. According to her, I was so devoted to Sena that she's beginning to doubt if I'm—oh my goodness. She should have considered my age first—I'm still in my teenage years and she's already expecting a boyfriend!

"Oh my! What a handsome young man!" my mom exclaimed as soon as she saw Verrill. "Great job on finding this very fine man, Hora!"

Verrill politely introduced himself, and after that was pretty much the same reaction as Aunt Vora—with all the squealing and mistaking him as my boyfriend when he's still my suitor but then again, I didn't care to correct them anymore since we'd probably end up there anyway.

While happily chatting with my mom, I told them that we're going back to the Land of the Red Dragon tonight, saying we still had projects we needed to complete and books that needed to be studied before Monday. Despite my mom's complaints, they agreed in the end. Besides, there were no more clean rooms to stay in. Cleaning guest rooms would take time even with magic involved. And I really wanted to just get out of there. I couldn't take pretending to agree with Aunt Vora's solution that much. And yup, my mom was also made aware of the situation. Hopefully, that wouldn't make the situation worse.

And so, we took Verrill's private jet again to go back home. Good thing it wasn't that long of a flight. Just around two hours and we're back to the Land of the Red Dragon. Another hour on the road and we're finally at the Ma Residence. Everyone was surprised when we arrived. I did forget to call them or send a message that we're going back tonight. Because of that, I made Sena and Crystal so worried. They ran to me and gave me a big hug as soon as they saw me sitting in the living room, trying to relax after the flight. Mr. Wei, the head butler, probably told them of our arrival.

Ahhhh… feeling the warmth of Sena and Crystal's embrace made me forget all the bad things. Verrill's presence with me was amazing and kept me strong, but still, nothing beats great friendship. It's a little bit of heaven on earth. My heart felt peaceful and happy despite the shocking truths and revelations I just went through.

"Hora, is everything okay?" Sena asked, with her expression filled with worry.

"You can tell us everything," Crystal added.

"I'm good. The situation was much simpler than what I first thought it was. I just overreacted but I'm fine now. Thank you so much. And I'm so sorry for making you all worry."

I stared into Sena's eyes—she didn't believe me. So, I told her the alibi Verrill and I thought about. She was still skeptical about it but later on, she finally accepted. Since it was night time already, they let us off the hook. We ate dinner afterwards, and went back to our rooms to rest. Verrill was given a guest room he could stay for the night—in the western area of the mansion, basically in Kaiden's turf.

"Haaaah…." I sighed deeply as I laid my body down the bed, with hair still a bit wet from taking a shower.

Noticing it, I raised my arm and made the hair blower float in the air towards me. It plugged itself on the nearest outlet and went to me to dry my hair. I turned around so it reached every part of my head.

While it dried my hair, I sighed again. Doubts came rushing into my heart.

'Will I really be able to protect Sena? Is my power enough to do that? What if it's not? What should I do then?'