Although Cyril truly appreciated Silvia's company, he had always wondered why she didn't choose to play with the other kids instead. Therefore, he asked her a year after they got to know each other.
At the time, he decided not to prevaricate with his words or keep his thoughts to himself when Silvia noticed him staring at her while lost in thought and demanded to know what he was thinking.
The answer Cyril received to his question surprised him. Silvia claimed that the other kids were mean and liked to talk behind others. She thought that Cyril was friendlier than the other kids in comparison. Regardless of whether what she said was the truth or not, Cyril could only shake his head helplessly and take her word for it.
Of course, even though Cyril understood Silvia's reasoning, he still couldn't help but have an inexplicable feeling that she ignored the other kids on purpose to approach him. Perhaps he was simply overthinking or being delusional about their encounter that day.
Cyril recalled that it was also around that time that Liam approached the two of them, not long after he came to the orphanage as a six-year-old boy. As they were all six years old at the time, the three of them got along just fine without any mishaps.
However, two years later, Liam developed feelings for Silvia and told Cyril about it. He also said that he wanted to protect Silvia if Cyril couldn't afford to do so with his frail and weak body, and that they would be rivals from then on.
When Cyril first heard Liam confess his true feelings regarding Silvia, he initially thought that Liam meant it as a friend. But only as time passed did he come to an understanding that Liam wanted to protect her as his future partner and companion.
Cyril didn't hate Liam for it, nor did he have the right to stop Liam from pursuing Silvia. He was someone born with a weak constitution. It was only a miracle that he managed to live on each day. To him, dying from accidentally taking the wrong step on the stairway or tripping over a random rock and smashing his head wouldn't be out of the question.
His situation was precarious enough that even the physicians and doctors who came to treat him several times throughout his childhood couldn't find anything specifically wrong with his body aside from claiming that he lacked severe nutritional supplements. Furthermore, even though he had been eating properly since he was young, nothing had changed or improved about his constitution. As such, he didn't have any notion of engaging in that type of long-lasting, committed relationship with anyone, including Silvia.
After all, he didn't know when he would suddenly drop dead from his body breaking down or refusing to follow his commands eternally. Considering those possibilities, Cyril believed that it was better for Silvia to find someone else as a partner in the future.
Although his best friend, Liam, was cold ever since his confession about his true feelings for Silvia, Cyril knew that he wasn't a bad person at heart. He knew that Liam was just a determined person who only wanted to protect the one he truly cared about, just like him. Except, Liam was just too serious and grumpy about it.
That was why no matter how harsh Liam's words were in the past or the present, he never retaliated or argued with him. Cyril believed it was better for them to maintain bare harmony in their relationship than to fight over meaningless things.
"Nothing happened. Don't worry too much, Silvia. Come on, let's go to the ceremony, or we'll be late!"
Cyril showed her a bright smile as he spoke, but the wrinkles on his face made his smile look unpleasant.
"And whose fault is it that we're getting late?"
Liam snorted and turned around to leave.
"Let's go, Silvia." He said.
Silvia was still reluctant to let the matter be dismissed, but they truly were running late for the ceremony, so she could only compromise with them for now.
"...Okay. I guess we'll have to talk about this later. The ceremony is more important."
Despite saying that, she glared at them and fiercely added: "But you guys have to tell me what happened between the two of you after the ceremony. Otherwise, I won't talk to either of you ever again!"
"..."
Both Liam and Cyril exchanged glances briefly but still didn't respond to her.
"Did you guys hear me or not?!"
Waiting and hearing no response from both of them, Silvia felt irritated and angrily said: "I guess we'll have to cut ties starting from today! And if I see you come near me in the future, I will beat you up!"
After declaring that, she stomped her feet and left the room in a huff, slamming the door loudly behind her, almost unhinging it from the wall.
The faces of Liam and Cyril turned ashen as they realized they had messed up big time. Whenever Silvia got angry, she never went back on what she said.
One time in the past, Silvia threatened to beat up the two of them when they refused to confess who ate her share of cake while she was sleeping in her room one afternoon because she had a severe fever. Naturally, the culprits who ate the leftover cake meant for her were them, as they thought she was too sick at the time to eat sweets, but they regretted their actions afterward.
Many other similar events happened during their childhood days, and in the end, they only suffered her wrath for their headstrong and irreconcilable stance. Those days had been a terrible experience for them. Now, she has declared cutting ties with them and even threatened to beat them up in the future if they get close to her.
Who knows what other things she might do to them aside from cutting ties with them and beating them up for any transgressions?
""W-Wait, Silvia! I'll tell you!""
The two boys unconsciously blurted out at the same time when they came back to their senses and thought of Silvia once she became angry. Then, they suddenly paused for a moment before turning to face each other in surprise.
Liam snorted, took the lead, and chased after Silvia. Cyril watched him leave and smiled self-deprecatingly. He took off his rag clothes, did some basic cleaning, then got dressed in somewhat decent clothes and followed after them moments later.
...
Awakening Ceremony Venue.
The Awakening Ceremony Venue was a circular square about 10 meters wide. As far as the eye could see, it appeared to be surrounded by teenagers ranging from 15 to 17 years old who were standing around chatting with each other with different expressions.
Most of the people at the venue were anxious, while some were excited with vivid expectations on their confident faces. It was the day of their awakening ceremony, so without exception, they all neatly lined up without crowding or congesting the paths leading to the venue.