Last chapter, Arth confessed to Scarlett and if I do say so myself, it was a bit forced. how could Arth, who had never shown any sign of liking Scarlett in any way, suddenly have these "hidden feelings".

Well, since I can't change what had already happened, I'll explain why in this chapter and stuff.

Anyways, once again, check out my _Patreon_ cause I wanna see if I can cheat the system.

Sorry for the plot holes in my story

:/

/—/

Arth grumbled to himself for the millionth time that day while attempting to make his hair.

Honestly, he had enough drama for the rest of the year.

Getting selected as a champion was stressful.

Fighting a dragon was painful.

Deciding on who to dance with for the Yule ball was difficult.

He was going to go to the ball with Luna, however, changed his mind last moment when he saw how Scarlett was being pestered.

Why didn't she just find someone to dance with? She had so many willing partners, what was she waiting for?

She was waiting for him.

Arth would have to be the dense protagonist of a poorly made harem novel if he couldn't decipher the hidden signals that Scarlett sent at him thought the two years he knew her.

It was quite obvious that Scarlett fancied him.

It wasn't surprising either.

Arth was the one who saved her from being stuck in a musky old chamber for her entire life. He cooked for her, who had previously feasted in mice and bugs, and spent the most time with her excluding the deceased Bask.

He helped her learn modern English, helped her get caught up with the school curriculum, laughed with her, slept with her, lived with her, almost everything she did was with him.

However, if he had to answer why he asked her out to the ball, he wouldn't say it was because her fancied her.

Of course he loved her, they were close, closer than any other person near his age. Not even Harry, Ron, or Hermione.

They were more connected than normal siblings. That's how much they spent time together.

No, the reason he gave her a black rose wasn't because of love.

It was because of guilt.

Guilt of ignoring her feelings. Arth knew that Scarlett liked him. Yet he chose to ignore it.

He knew that he probably hurt her feelings. Many times over. Once in Paris, once during school, and once again for waiting so long to propose.

So he chose to push away his selfishness for once and accept her wish.

And dance.

Arth stopped messing around with his hair and glanced at the mirror. Seeing no particular visual faults, Arth proceeded to dress into his dress robes.

It wasn't that Scarlett was not attractive, in fact, Arth was lost by her beauty. It was simply that he felt no need for romance. It was a flimsy excuse to say that he didn't want her due to them being siblings.

A complete lie.

It was the same for Hermione and Luna, he didn't feel a particular need to love them. Yearn for them. Be with them.

Sure, at times, they would be particularly attractive in Arth's eye, however, it was just for a moment.

Just a fleeting d.e.s.i.r.e.

He was uninterested.

No, that was wrong, he wasn't uninterested.

He was scared.

Did he truly deserve to love like normal people?

After all he did, was he even capable of living normally?

His hands paused and slowly let go of the dress robe that was adorned on him.

He took a deep breath and glanced into the mirror once more.

Was it fair for him to share his burdens with someone else?

Was it ok for him to enjoy his life?

His entire life, he wore a false mask that made sure no one could see the pain inside.

Could he truly take the mask off for someone he loved?

Arth sighed before straightening his posture.

It didn't matter. Today, it wasn't for him but for the Scarlett Rose that was willing to dance with darkness.