Discussion between Araya and Margarida.

Everyone looked at Frederica with anger or suspicion. She trembled, her shoulders hunched, trying to avoid their gazes. It was at that moment that I decided I wouldn't miss the opportunity to rip off her last mask.

I crossed my arms and spoke loudly, so everyone could hear.

"Do you want to know why Frederica got mixed up in all this? Why did she help Margarida betray me, sell me into slavery, manipulate guild information?" I said.

Her eyes widened suddenly. It was as if she knew what was coming. I smiled coldly.

"It wasn't for gold. It wasn't for power. It was for love." I continued .

Silence fell like a blade. Ryn frowned, Kalea widened her eyes, Yukiko clenched her fists, and Margarida… Margarida froze, unsure whether to laugh or scream.

I pointed to Frederica .

"She's in love with you, Margarida. That's why she moved worlds to help you. She bribed soldiers, forged plans, lied about my ability… all to win your attention," I said, mocking Frederica .

"Shut up!" Frederica snapped, her mask of control slipping completely. A blush rose to her face, not just from embarrassment, but from the pain of seeing her secret exposed.

Margarida put her hand to her mouth, shocked, but quickly removed it and looked at Frederica with a mixture of contempt and disbelief.

— You… for me? After everything I did, after I used you myself? — said Margarida.

Frederica tried to answer, but her voice faltered. Ryn laughed dryly.

—So that was it… all that manipulation, all that pose of intelligence… in the end, just a woman in love who sold herself for crumbs of attention. — he said Ryn mocking.

Kalea shook her head, biting her lip to hold back a mocking laugh.

"It's even poetic, Araya . She, who used charm and masks, now kneels because of the same weakness she exploited so much in others." Kalea also mocked Frederica .

Frederica fell to her knees, weak, murmuring almost inaudibly:

— I… I just wanted her to see me… — Frederica said, almost crying.

I looked at everyone and then at her, and spoke in a firm voice

"Now you know. This is the real Frederica . Not the perfect receptionist, not the cold manipulator. Just a woman who destroyed lives to satisfy a desire that would never be reciprocated." I said mockingly.

Margarida looked away, the shock evident. Yukiko sighed heavily, as if the revelation had left an even bitter taste in her mouth. Ryn and Kalea , for their part, were satisfied with the humiliation.

I stood, looking down at the broken Frederica . For once, she had no cards to play.

I looked at Frederica on her knees, her eyes red with tears, and I sensed she was still clinging to a last shred of hope. Her sick love for Margarida was her anchor—and I could cut that with a single sentence.

I crossed my arms and spoke loudly, letting each word fall like a blade.

"You can cry all you want, Frederica . But I'm going to tell you the worst truth you could ever hear: the first time in Margarida's bed wasn't with you. It was with me." I told her, destroying her last bit of hope.

The whole room froze.

Frederica stared at me, her tear-filled eyes filling with pure despair. Her mouth parted silently before a sob escaped. The tears flowed harder, and she turned her face, searching for Margarida with a look that begged for denial, for a lie that would save her.

Margarida, however, had no compassion. She looked first at Frederica , and then at me. Her eyes were full of hatred, not for Frederica , but for me.

— Araya …! — Margarida growled through her teeth.

— You didn't have to… — Margarida was furious.

“Yes, I did,” I interrupted, firmly, without blinking.

—Because only then will she understand that all this theater she put on... was useless. All this blind love, all this devotion... would never be reciprocated. — I mocked both Margarida and Frederica .

Frederica cried softly, each sob heavier than the last. Her pride, her manipulative mask, the woman who dictated the lives of the guild's adventurers… was shattered before everyone's eyes.

Ryn shook her head with a wry smile, as if approving of the cruelty of the lesson. Kalea let out a dry laugh, pleased with the humiliation. Yukiko looked away uncomfortably. And Margarida glared at me, as if she wanted to cut me with her eyes.

I didn't deviate.

“Now everyone knows,” I said, my voice as steady as steel.

"She knelt for you, Margarida. But it was me you gave in to first," I said, mocking them both.

The silence that followed was so heavy it seemed to crush the air in the room.

Margarida stepped forward, her face flushed with anger, her fists clenched. Her eyes bored into mine like blades.

— Araya , you wretch! — shouted Margarida.

"How dare you say that here? How dare you expose me like that in front of everyone?!" said Margarida irritated.

The tension in the air became unbearable. She advanced further, as if to strike me, as if each word were a knife.

"You have no right! You have no right to use my name, my body, as a weapon against another person!" said Margarida.

I kept my gaze steady, cold, without backing down.

"I have every right, Margarida. Because you already used my body, my life, and sold me like a toy to Oliver. If anyone here doesn't have the moral authority to yell at me… it's you." I replied firmly to Margarida.

The silence was broken by the sound of everyone's heavy breathing. Ryn squeezed her eyes shut, Kalea watched with a nervous smile, Yukiko looked petrified. Frederica sobbed on the floor, shame etched on every feature of her face.

Margarida raised her hand, ready to slap me in front of everyone. That's when it happened.

A scream cut through the air, sharp and loud enough to silence everyone:

— STOP NOW!

The voice came from the little twelve-year-old maid, the mysterious girl who had remained silent until then. The scream echoed in everyone's chest like thunder. Margarida froze, her hand suspended. I myself felt my body paralyze for a moment.

She took a step forward, her eyes shining with something inhuman, a hidden force none of us had noticed until then.

— You all… — said the maid with surprising firmness.

"They're destroying each other, while the real enemy remains out there!" the maid continued firmly.

The weight of those words immediately silenced everyone. Even Margarida slowly lowered her hand, taking a deep breath, unable to look the girl in the eye.

I looked at her, intrigued.

Who are you really? — I thought.