The doll shop played upbeat music, but it was completely blocked out around Viloti by her aura.
For some reason, the other girls in the store deliberately kept their distance from Viloti, afraid that their own flaws would become even more apparent in her presence.
"I'm sorry, Miss Viloti. I know these gifts are a little cheap, but right now I really can't afford anything more expensive," Felyn apologized.
Viloti quickly shook her head and refuted, "That's not what I meant. It's just... just that if I accept the gift, you'll stop caring about me again."
These past few days, while helping Felyn with his studies, Viloti wondered if he was willing to stay by her side simply because he felt indebted to her for all the help.
But if she accepted this gift, that debt would be erased.
And then, he would leave her again.
Viloti didn't understand what this emotion surging inside her meant.
Back at the café, the mere thought of another girl coming to find Felyn had made her so restless she couldn’t sit still.
She had waited for him for a long time before finally asking a staff member, only to hear that a very beautiful girl had left with him.
Her heart sank, and she ran after them.
Seeing Felyn laughing and talking happily with that girl, Viloti clutched her chest tightly.
It was happening again — the same pain she had felt back in the dungeon when she saw Felyn with Adelina.
Her chest was hurting again.
Why did it feel like this? Viloti was confused.
Hiding behind a shelf, she listened to Felyn praising her in front of someone else, and felt pure happiness.
In that moment, her cold and distant face bloomed like a night flower, beautiful and unseen by anyone else.
For some reason, Felyn had officially said goodbye to her that day.
From that day onward, he had been deliberately keeping his distance.
Viloti had lost many nights of sleep over it.
She kept replaying everything she had done before their farewell, trying to figure out what she had done to make Felyn angry.
But she couldn’t figure it out.
She didn’t know where she had gone wrong.
The only conclusion she could come up with was that maybe she had been too cold to him.
When Teacher Sophia assigned them as study partners this time, Viloti had actually been very happy.
In these few days together, she realized that Felyn didn’t hate her or at least, not enough to avoid her.
Maybe, maybe everything could go back to the way it was. Viloti thought so, deep inside.
That was why she absolutely couldn't accept Felyn's gift.
Once she accepted it, Felyn would no longer feel indebted to her.
And once that happened, he might leave her again.
"Viloti, do you have someone you like?"
Felyn asked suddenly, staring into Viloti's eyes.
He didn’t like asking questions like this. It made him feel like some love-struck fool, but he had to.
He could mostly guess what Viloti was thinking.
He didn’t dislike Viloti.
During the time he had played the role of Viloti’s loyal admirer, she had never treated him with disdain or exclusion. On the contrary, she had quietly helped him in many ways.
She simply wasn’t good at communicating, didn’t know how to defend herself against rumors.
But those thoughts weren’t good enough.
Getting entangled with a former client, that was something he absolutely couldn’t allow.
Because once that line was crossed, how could he face all his current clients?
Would he have to "accept" all of them?
If he allowed himself to emotionally connect with clients, unnecessary feelings would constantly get in the way of his best judgment.
Felyn took his work as a "loyal admirer" very seriously. He didn’t think pleasing girls was some kind of technique.
He always threw his real heart into the role, sincerely playing every character.
Only by genuinely caring about the clients could they truly feel his warmth and sincerity.
If he relied purely on logic and manipulation, Felyn feared he would eventually lose the ability to truly love anyone at all.
He was cautious with every client.
If his heart stayed with a client, the consequences would be disastrous.
His clients were rich heiresses, while he was just a clown with nothing but looks and sincerity.
So he used money as a protective barrier around his heart.
"Miss Viloti, I know it’s rude to ask, but... do you like me?"
Seeing Viloti remain silent at his first question, Felyn decided to cut straight to the point.
Viloti still didn’t answer.
Just last week, at the banquet, Felyn had asked her the same thing.
Back then, she had answered, "No."
But now, Viloti opened her mouth, her throat struggling to make a sound but she couldn't say it.
She found she could no longer tell Felyn she didn’t like him.
Was this love?
She couldn't answer. Viloti couldn’t tell.
She had never liked anyone before. She had no friends to explain what she was feeling.
If she said she liked Felyn, but later realized it wasn’t true after all, wouldn’t that hurt him?
Viloti didn’t dare take that step. She was afraid of hurting Felyn.
Maybe, once she grew up a little more, she would understand whether this was truly love.
But until then, she didn’t want Felyn to leave.
Even if she had to spend all her money, she wanted to go back to those days when Felyn stayed by her side.
Even if it was just for one more day.
But she couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t be so selfish, asking Felyn to stay when she herself wasn’t even sure of her feelings.
"I'm feeling a little unwell," Viloti said instead, after a few seconds of biting her lip and staring at the doll in Felyn's arms, "I'm going to head back first. Sorry."
She couldn't answer his question.
She was afraid choosing the wrong option would make things even worse between them.
So she chose to run away.
Viloti took a deep breath, calming herself, and only then realized her limbs had gone numb.
She turned and left, her soft pink figure disappearing before Felyn, who was left standing there alone, holding two stuffed toys.
"This store really plays terrible music," Felyn muttered to himself.
The night air was a little chilly.
Viloti tightened her coat around herself as she hurried across the streets of Holmholt's commercial district.
The neon lights stretched her shadow long and lonely across the cobblestone path.
Her fingers subconsciously gripped the hem of her clothes, her knuckles turning white.
The image of the stuffed toy in Felyn's arms kept surfacing in her mind.
She really wanted that ugly caterpillar.
It was a gift from Felyn.
In the past, Felyn had given her many gifts, but Viloti had refused them all.
Back then, she felt their relationship was unequal. She was too embarrassed to tell him not to give gifts, so she just coldly rejected them every time.
The shops on either side of the street were still lively, their bright lights spilling over her shoulders, but they couldn't dispel the cold in her heart.
She thought about the comforting scent from the café earlier.
Viloti felt a pang of regret.
She hadn't realized how safe she had felt with Felyn around.
Why hadn’t she given him more response back then?
It was her own fault.
"Did you two have a fight?"
Viloti looked up and saw Sophia standing in front of her.
The teacher, who had been napping in the car for two hours, had finally come to pick them up.
"Teacher Sophia? No, we didn't fight. I just wasn’t feeling well and left early."
Sophia walked over and patted Viloti on the shoulder.
"Teacher was young once too, you know. You can’t fool me with that face."
Viloti’s long eyelashes drooped, her amber-colored eyes staring listlessly at the tips of her shoes.
"Teacher Sophia, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"What does it feel like... to like someone?"
(End of Chapter)