CHAPTER 76: PROMISE ME ONE THING

Evelisse gasped. "You mean... Fluffy left me? Or—did I lose my system?"

But the older figure was fading now, disintegrating into light, her hood falling, revealing a face too worn for her age—too sad.

She lifted a trembling hand. Tried to reach for Evelisse. Her mouth opened. But only half a word left her lips.

"Mar..."

Then, with a final pulse of light—she vanished.

The echo of her last breath still rang in the air.

Evelisse stood frozen.

The chamber around her shuddered.

At her feet, where the hooded girl had stood—

A single plush sunflower pin lay, familiar and worn. It had Marcus’s embroidery pattern on the stem. She bent and picked it up with trembling fingers.

"...Mar..." she whispered. "Did she mean Marcus?"

She didn’t know.

But something inside her twisted. A knot in her stomach that wouldn’t untangle.

The tunnel behind her opened with a hiss.

And suddenly, the way back to the garden stood clear.

But nothing felt safe anymore.

Nothing.

"Let’s go," Evelisse whispered.

She held the pin tight in one hand. And Fluffy in the other.

Because if there was one thing she’d just learned—it was that someone, somewhere in the future... lost everything.

She wouldn’t let it happen again.

Not to her.

Not to Marcus.

Not to any of them.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Evelisse bolted upright in bed, gasping like she’d woken from a nightmare. Her canopy fluttered from the sudden motion, sheer pink curtains swaying like startled ghosts.

"Fluffy," she whispered, not even blinking. "Status window. Now."

Fluffy, ever-glowing and ever-sassy, hovered out from behind a velvet pillow and blinked. "You know it’s not going to change if you check it five times every hour."

"Please!"

Fluffy, mid-hover while munching on what looked like a silver-dusted macaron. "Did the future traumatize you already, or are you just being dramatic for aesthetics again?"

"Both!"

The translucent Affection Status Window bloomed before her, petals of soft light flickering open like a magical scroll. She scanned it with wild eyes, fingers trembling. The bar. The points. The Magical Item shop.

No change.

"Still the same," she breathed, voice tight. "Why isn’t it moving?"

"Because," Fluffy said, chewing idly on a magical marshmallow quill, "you haven’t done anything affection-worthy lately."

Evelisse’s lower lip wobbled. "I thought doing good things raised the points... but it barely moved since the tower." She sat up straighter, eyes narrowing. "I have affection points. Why haven’t I used them to help my brothers?"

Fluffy blinked. "Finally."

"What?"

"That little lightning bolt of conscience took long enough."Fluffy blinked. "Finally."

"What?"

"That little lightning bolt of conscience took long enough."

"Wait... can I help them with the shop?" She flicked through the system, tapping on the sparkling item catalog. Pages flipped: Healing honey drops. Muffin of Memory. A Blessing Biscuit. "Could I just... buy stuff and give it to them?"

"You could buy it," Fluffy said. "But they wouldn’t be able to *use* it."

"What? Why?!"

"System rules," he said, licking a floating crumb from his paw. "You can only gift items to things you *own*."

She stared at him.

"Wait... but I got that anti-sneeze patch for Snugglewuff. That worked."

"Because Snugglewuff *counts*," Fluffy said. "You were gifted him by your mother, and he’s bound to your system. Cute and legally yours."

Evelisse nodded slowly. "Because he kept sneezing magical pollen and having things blow over out of proportion."

"Exactly. But your brothers aren’t yours."

She frowned deeply. "That makes it sound horrible."

"System doesn’t do sentiment. Only code. It’s practical," Fluffy muttered. "You can’t go healing half the kingdom with magic pastries."

She exhaled sharply, brows furrowing. A thought wriggled into her head, unwelcome but stubborn. ’I’ve been using the system selfishly... and I didn’t even realize it.’

"I have to fix this," she muttered, already getting to her feet.

"Fix what exactly?"

"Marcus. He had come to my aid on several occasions, yet all I did was receive and never considered giving."

"You think now is a good time to bring pastries and apologies?"

Guilt slammed into her like a runaway carriage. She hugged her knees.

’How could I have been so careless?’

"I’m sure you’ll find a way somehow. How about a meet up with him?" Fluffy suggested with a pat on her head.

"Yes!" she declared, getting to her feet, fully invigorated.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Moments later, she was dashing through the palace halls in her slippers, hugging a wrapped bundle under one arm. The castle guards recognized her frantic pace but wisely stepped aside.

She found Marcus where she knew he’d be: the eastern greenhouse, alone, tending to his lilies.

He looked up the moment she burst in, face flushed from the warmth. His sleeves were rolled up, hair tousled, and a smudge of dirt on his cheek. Sunlight caught in the glass panes above, framing him in gentle gold.

"Brother Marcus," she called, voice a soft trill.

He looked up, surprised. "Eve? What’s the occasion? Did Leo get stuck in a tree again?"

She puffed out her cheeks. "I only brought a tart. No tree rescues today."

Marcus tilted his head, expression amused. He stood, brushing off his pants. "That’s suspicious. You usually only come here when you need advice or moral justification for another ’minor’ prank."

Evelisse held out the wrapped tart. "I thought... you might like this. You like honey blossom, right?"

He stared at it, then at her. "You bribed the chef to get this special treat? For me?"

"Technically I didn’t bribe per se," she mumbled, clutching the fabric tighter. "But you can think of this as a gift instead. That’s... close enough."

A small smile spread on Marcus’s face. He took the tart carefully, like it was made of crystal. "Thank you, Eve. That’s really thoughtful."

She stared at the garden floor. "I’ve been selfish, haven’t I?"

"What?"

"You gave me that stone. Helped with the festival. Even fixed my ruined practice robe. And I never thanked you properly."

Marcus stepped closer. "Evelisse, you’re seven. You’re not supposed to carry guilt like that."

"But I do," she said quietly. "Especially now."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Did something happen?"

She hesitated. ’Tell him. Warn him. He needs to know he’s in danger.’

But the words caught in her throat. If she said too much, the system might interfere. Or worse, someone could be listening.

She pulled back and looked him dead in the eye. "Please, you mustn’t tell anyone about it. Or about what you can do."

Marcus’ expression faltered.

"But I haven’t used it since—"

"Still. Promise me."

He nodded slowly. "Alright. I promise."

She let out a shaky breath. "Good. Because I want to hug you when I’m twenty. And you’ll probably still smell like lavender and compost."

He laughed. "Rude. But accurate.Won’t I be married by then, though?"

She squinted. "Not unless she likes dirt under her nails and oddly passionate speeches about seed rotation."

He chuckled. "Noted."

The tension broke. Just a little.

They settled onto the bench beneath the hanging wisteria, petals dancing in the breeze. Evelisse bit into her tart with a pleased hum. Marcus watched her for a while, then reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

A small wooden trinket—shaped like a sleeping fox. Carved with care, smoothed along the edges.

"I was going to save this for your nameday," he said, placing it in her palm. "But I figured now’s a good time."

Evelisse’s mouth formed a silent "oh." The carving fit perfectly in her hand.

"It’s... Fluffy," she whispered.

"It is. With your hair ribbon pattern etched in. Took me a week."

Her eyes watered. "It’s the most beautiful thing ever."

"You say that about every pastry."

"This one’s better than pastries."

They sat in silence after that, the kind that didn’t need to be filled.

A few feet away, a bee bumbled past, and the lilies shivered in the breeze.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

Unseen, Lucien stood above in the shadow of a flowering arch. He hadn’t meant to spy. But when he saw Evelisse so grave—and heard Marcus’s words—his blood ran cold.

’An ability... and something else. A time-reversal stone?’

Lucien’s fists clenched. He’d been so focused on external threats, he’d forgotten how secrets grew roots inside their walls.

And if his siblings were hiding something...

He would find out, but a part of him wanted answers now, he would make do with any little info he could get directly.

Suddenly—

"Marcus."

The greenhouse door creaked.

Both turned.

Lucien stood just inside the threshold, half in shadow, his expression unreadable.

Evelisse stiffened. "Brother Lucien—"