"Wait, how can it be? She told me she doesn't have a lover!" Ziven said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yes, because she has a fiancé, not a lover," Cior shot back, his tone dry.
"Hey, my love has to be your fiancée!" Arven said dramatically, crossing his arms as if declaring a new rule of the universe.
"Yeah, no one's allowed to lay eyes on her now, okay?" Cior said, glaring at them like he was guarding a treasure.
"So unfair! Prove it to us, then," Mateo said, leaning forward with a skeptical grin.
"Fine, I'll ask her to video call you guys tomorrow, using a magic tool or something," Cior said, throwing his hands up in mock defeat.
"Sure, sure," Ziven replied, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But if it turns out you're lying, I'm telling her I saw her first."
"Ha! You wouldn't even recognize her if she slapped you in the face with her hair," Cior teased, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, who's the one with the girly face, huh?" Arven shot back, crossing his arms.
"Enough with the jabs! Just wait till tomorrow!" Cior huffed, though it was clear he was enjoying the banter.
The guys shared a collective eye-roll, knowing that the next day would bring a whole new level of drama.
The next day, Cior's plan was set in motion. She created a clone of herself with a letter in hand and sent it to her father. The clone, with long, flowing hair courtesy of Cior's father's magic, was sent to the boys via a video call.
"Hello, I am Cior's fiancée," the clone said sweetly, looking every bit the part.
The boys stared at the screen, mouths agape.
"Now you believe me?" Cior asked smugly, sitting with the boys and watching her clone interact with them on the call.
"My name is Lunette," the clone continued, giving the boys a coy smile.
The boys, still processing, blinked in confusion, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Alright, enough now. Bye, Lunette," Cior said nonchalantly, cutting off the call with a swipe of her hand.
The boys were left staring at the now blank screen, utterly speechless.
"So... Cior, you've been hiding this fiancée all along?" Ziven asked, still processing the information.
Cior grinned, his secret safe—for now. "Well, what can I say? Some things are better left mysterious."
Little did they know, they had just spoken to Cior's own female version, and the truth about her gender was something they'd yet to uncover.
"But she looks kinda like you," Amaias said, still eyeing Cior with suspicion.
"Because she belongs to my mother's side, everyone there looks alike," Cior quickly lied, trying to keep a straight face.
The boys exchanged glances, still not fully convinced but too confused to argue further.
"Sure, sure," Ziven said, raising an eyebrow. "Seems... legit."
"Yeah, totally," Arven added, though his tone was laced with skepticism.
Cior just shrugged, her confidence unshaken. "See? Told you she's my fiancée."
The boys were still processing the idea of Cior having a fiancée—especially one that looked like him—when Cior decided to change the topic.
"Anyway, let's focus on something else. We've got training to do," Cior said with a grin, hoping to steer the conversation away from her secret for a little while longer.
But in the back of their minds, the boys couldn't help but wonder... was Lunette really who she said she was? And why did she look so much like Cior?
That night, after Cior dismissed her clone, something unexpected happened. As soon as the clone was gone, Cior felt a strange shift. Her hair began to grow longer, and she suddenly realized that without using her voice-changing medicine, her voice was clearly feminine.
"Those guys... they were completely fooled. Such idiots," Cior muttered to herself, absentmindedly spinning her now long hair. She smirked at the thought of how easily she had tricked them.
Meanwhile, Mateo, who had entered Cior's room without permission to ask something, froze when he saw her. His eyes widened in shock as he saw her in her true form, with her long hair and her unmistakably feminine features. She was clearly talking to herself, unaware that he was standing there.
Without making a sound, Mateo quickly backed out of the room, his heart racing.
"Do I hear a noise?" Cior mused aloud, but dismissed it with a shrug. "Nah, probably just my imagination."
Mateo, however, was in complete disbelief as he ran to his room. He jumped onto his bed, his thoughts a whirlwind.
"No way... Cior is a girl... and she's also Lunette?!" Mateo gasped to himself, the realization sinking in. "What is happening?!"
His mind raced, trying to piece together the bizarre situation. "No one else knows... but she looks exactly like Lunette! And she's been pretending to be a boy this whole time!" Mateo was still processing, completely stunned by the truth he had just discovered.
His thoughts were a jumble of confusion and shock as he lay there, trying to wrap his head around the shocking revelation.
The next morning, Mateo couldn't seem to shake off the shock from the night before. As soon as he saw Cior, his brain short-circuited, and he said nothing. His usual confidence was replaced by an awkward, flustered silence.
"What happened? You look like your love life just got rejected," Cior teased, her boyish voice making it harder for Mateo to process the situation.
"Something worse... and more unexpected happened," Mateo mumbled, his mind still reeling.
"What?" Cior asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly curious.
"Nothing at all," Mateo quickly said, dodging the conversation, before practically running towards class, desperate to escape the awkwardness.
Cior stood there, confused. "What happened to this doofus?" she thought, watching him disappear.
For the entire week, every time Mateo saw Cior, all he could think about were all the times he had hugged or playfully punched her, thinking she was just a boy. He felt the overwhelming embarrassment flood him, his face turning bright red every time he remembered it.
As much as he tried to ignore her, he couldn't stop himself from blushing every time their eyes met. Cior, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on in Mateo's head and was starting to find it all hilarious.
"Guess I'm just too much for him to handle," Cior thought, smirking as Mateo awkwardly avoided looking at her.
"Hey, Mateo," Cior said suddenly, wrapping her arms around him from behind while they were training alone in the training ground.
"Don't do that, please," Mateo said, sounding frustrated but not pushing her off.
Cior raised an eyebrow, her voice tinged with annoyance. "You don't seem to mind when others do that. You've been ignoring me—what have I done?"
Mateo sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Please, I don't want to talk about it," he muttered, still avoiding her gaze.
"Tell me what happened," Cior insisted, her voice firm as she turned to face him.
Mateo's expression shifted. With a frustrated growl, he stepped forward and, before Cior could react, pinned her to the wall. "You know what happened," he said, his voice low, a mix of embarrassment and confusion.
Cior blinked in surprise, her heart racing slightly from the sudden intensity. "What do you mean I know? What's going on, Mateo?" she asked, now genuinely concerned but still trying to keep her calm.
But Mateo just stared at her, unable to form the words he needed to explain his turmoil.
Mateo brought his mouth close to Cior's face, his breath warm against her skin. "You are a girl, aren't you?" he whispered, the tension between them palpable, the words hanging in the air.
Cior's heart skipped a beat, her mind racing as she stared up at him. She had to say something, but in that moment, it felt like the world had paused—her secret was hanging on the edge of being exposed, and she could feel the heat of Mateo's proximity.