They say childhood sweethearts rarely work out. Mostly because one of them grows up faster than the other, and the other ends up pretending they never cared in the first place.

Leon wondered which one he was.

"Rinna, huh…" he muttered under his breath, setting his cup down.

Well, the answer was loud and clear.

He was neither.

Rinna was the type who rarely got angry or get pissed on someone, but her hate toward the old Leon told him that he had probably done something weird to her.

But one thing was clear, that the old Leon was head over heels for her.

He recalled the Weapon Selection Process, where Rinna approached him and friendzoned him.

Eula smirked faintly over the rim of her tea. She caught the expression on his face.

"So what happened?"

Leon sighed quietly.

"Princess. Why are you bringing this up?"

Eula raised her cup slowly and took a small sip before replying, her tone as calm as ever.

"Why can't I? She's my sister."

Leon stared at her blankly. He couldn't even argue with that.

He let out a long sigh, his expression turning dull and defeated.

"I talked to her during the weapon selection process."

That got Eula's attention immediately. She straightened her back and leaned slightly forward, curiosity flickering in her eyes.

"Then? What did she say?"

Leon rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

"She told me to be her friend."

"Ah…" Eula's voice softened, her tone dropping almost into pity. "That's rough."

Leon didn't say anything. The silence that followed was enough of an answer.

In truth, he remembered that moment far too clearly. The old Leon had been a hopeless romantic, if you could even call it that. Always trying to get Rinna's attention with ridiculous pickup lines, dumb confidence, and a grin that never worked. Every attempt ended in failure. And every failure made him try harder, like a fool stuck in a loop.

Eula looked at him for a while, her expression unreadable.

Then, as if realizing something, she nodded to herself and said, "So you were friendzoned. Huh. That's nice."

Leon blinked. "...Nice?"

"Of course," she said, her voice carrying a hint of smugness. "Not everyone gets to be my sister's friend. You should feel honored."

Leon's jaw tightened. He gritted his teeth, biting back the urge to argue.

"Princess," Leon said flatly, eyes narrowing. "You're doing this on purpose."

"Weapon selection, huh?" Eula repeated, her curiosity finally piqued. She leaned forward slightly, her elbow resting on her knee.

"So tell me, what did you choose?"

Leon didn't answer right away. Instead, he raised his right hand.

The faint glow of the lamp shimmered over his finger, where a small silver ring sat quietly.

Eula's eyes followed the motion. The moment she saw it, her calm expression faltered.

"…Wait," she said slowly, her gaze sharpening. "Is that… a Spirit Ring?"

Leon blinked, caught off guard by how quickly her tone changed.

'Of course she would find out,' Leon thought, grinning in his mind.

After all, her eyes were special. They could see what was living and what was not. She probably found out from the mana pulse syncing from Leon's core.

"Yeah," he said simply, lowering his hand. "I found it inside the dimensional space with other artifacts."

Eula's brows furrowed.

"How did you even get one inside? No, how did it even exist here?"

Leon tilted his head, feigning ignorance.

"What do you mean?"

he frowned deeper. "Don't play dumb. Spirit Rings are not something you just get."

Leon stayed quiet.

Eula set her cup down and stood up, walking closer to him. "Show it to me."

"No. Why?"

"…Ah,"

Leon saw her reaction, then sneered before apologizing. "I was joking. Here, take a look."

He removed the ring, cutting off the mana sync, and handed it to Eula.

She carefully took it with her slender fingers.

As soon as she touched it, the first thing she did was try to find out what spirit was inside.

"…"

After a few moments, her eyes widened.

"Unbelievable," she exclaimed softly. "This is real. A genuine Ice Spirit. It's a lower rank, but still, it's a spirit."

Leon looked at her with mild amusement. "You sound like you've never seen one before."

Her expression suddenly turned dull.

"Hm?" Leon tilted his head, wondering if he had said something wrong. Then it hit him.

'Ah, shit. How could I forget that?'

Eula's elder sister, the First Princess of Liora, had a Spirit Bond too.

Leon glanced at her face, catching a mix of emotions he couldn't define.

But soon, she relaxed.

"Do you even know what that ring means? It's basically a national treasure."

There were only a few spirit items ever found, and across all kingdoms, they could be counted on one hand.

Eula crossed her arms, her sharp gaze fixed on him. "A Spirit Ring only manifests when a being chooses to bind itself to a soul it deems compatible. It's not something humans can force or manufacture."

She raised the ring between their eyes.

"This ring here is at least a thousand centuries old. One from the Era of the Five Calamities."

"I'm aware," Leon replied calmly.

That was one of the reasons he took it.

"Then you should also know that not a single human in the last hundred years has been recorded forming one, except for one." She paused, her tone dropping lower. "Not even among the royal mages."

Leon smiled faintly. "I'm not bonded yet. The spirit is still asleep."

At the rate things were going, it would take another week for it to fully awaken.

Eula rubbed her temples, half exasperated, half intrigued. "You're seriously something else. First the light affinity, and now this."

Leon tilted his head. "You sound impressed."

"Impressed?" she said with a dry laugh. "No. Concerned, maybe. You attract trouble like it's your second nature."

"That's one way to live," Leon said casually.

Eula gave him a sharp look but didn't respond right away. Instead, she walked back to her seat and picked up her cup again. She swirled what little tea was left before asking softly,

"Does Lady Veronica know about it?"

Leon shook his head. "No. And it's better that way."

If she found out, then as a rare species freak, Leon and his spirit would end up as her guinea pig.

Eula studied him again, her expression was softer now.

"You're walking into dangerous territory. You might not know this, but I think she already figured it out the moment she saw this ring in your hand."

"Would it change anything if I tell her?"

Eula looked down at her tea. "Probably. Because my sister trusted her the most."

"..."

'Her sister, huh...?'

Leon always wanted to ask her something, and now, he think it's the perfect time.

"Princess Eula, if you don't mind, could you tell me about first princess?"

.

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[A/N]: Support with Power stone and Golden tickets!!

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