We returned to the true reality, free from illusions caused by monsters or territories created by crystallized hearts, while Tormenta Violet held a lilac crystal heart that shone brightly, returning it to Alex's chest, restoring her to her normal appearance.

"Was it bad? I mean... purifying the heart," I asked while holding Alexandra's unconscious body.

"...It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be," she said, trying to hide as she wiped a tear from her face. "Maybe... not giving up isn’t so bad after all."

She joined Kenos, and they began to walk to another room, wanting to leave.

"Wait!" She stopped as soon as she heard my voice, but didn’t turn around. "Stay. Please. Let's finish this together."

"She is your friend. Not mine. This task is yours." And with those words, the mysterious girl with lilac hair vanished along with her flying black cat.

"That girl... I wonder what’s in her heart..." Anima said.

"I..." I sighed, thinking about how she was when she hugged me... She seemed... seemed a bit like someone I know... "I also... would like to know."

After a few minutes, I transformed back, and Alex began to wake up, not remembering what had just happened.

"Rose... What... happened?"

"Err... We can say that... you cried a lot."

"Oh, well... How strange..." She said, looking at the drawings resting on her chest, still intact. It was as if that heart had also protected them, perhaps even more than Alex herself. "Anyway, since we..."

Before she could finish the sentence, we noticed three men exiting one of the gallery rooms, as if they were having a serious discussion.

Well, two of them looked quite serious, but the other was smiling relaxedly.

"This year's submissions are horrible! They look like a bunch of lifeless paintings! No love! If you put some of these next to a machine, you'd get the same thing!" One of the men, a blonde, portly fellow with very white skin, said.

"Oh, Matheo, don’t be so harsh! Some of them were trembling when they came to talk to you. Many are still young; they tried their best," said the man with dark skin, who wore a carefree smile.

"You are too laid-back, Nalin! Anyway, this year's techniques are also quite uninspiring, lacking a... je ne sais quoi . They are far from impressive," said the third man, white, with brown hair and a pompous suit.

“Err, excuse me, sorry to interrupt! Are you still accepting submissions for the 'Passion Fantasy' contest?” Alex ran after the three men after overhearing part of their conversation, and I naturally followed her.

“ Bonjour, mademoiselle. As you can see from the sign, submissions are CLO-SED!” The man in the suit was ruder than I expected. If he was having a bad day, he didn’t need to take it out on others…

“Calm down, Ox, weren’t you just complaining about the techniques this year? Let’s see what you have for us, young lady.” The dark-skinned man said with a smile, taking a loot at the drawings Alex was holding. “By the way, are you Morgana Verannis’s daughter?”

“Yes, I am. Do you know my mother?”

“Ahahaha, then you’re already part of the family. I’ve worked with your mother in the city’s cultural department for many, many years! I saw you when you were little, when your mother was still pregnant with a big belly.”

“I didn’t know Morgana Verannis’s daughter was interested in art. She never mentioned anything like this in any of our meetings…” The blonde man questioned.

“Oh, these aren’t mine… Actually… They belong to a friend, but… She’s going through a tough time and couldn’t come to deliver them.”

“If you had no involvement, why are you delivering these drawings?” The man in the suit, Ox, said. He was really annoying.

“I was with her the whole time while she was drawing! I know how much effort she put into making the illustrations for this contest, I didn’t want that effort to go unnoticed! And I’m the one who posed for her to make these drawings!”

“Woah, you’re determined, aren’t you? You really look like your mother!” The dark-skinned man, Nalin, said with a smile. “But these drawings are quite interesting; how old is your friend?”

“We’re going into our third year of high school, she’s seventeen.”

“Well, there are interesting elements here.” Ox said, analyzing one of the drawings. “The idea of mermaids painted in watercolor… It’s a bit cliché, but your technique is somewhat fascinating…”

“Since we agree, we can make an exception for the little Verannis here, can’t we, folks? She went through the trouble of coming here and talking to us.” Nalin said smiling.

“I don’t mind.” Matheo said.

“If Matheo says yes, then there’s no point in arguing.” Ox said.

“Ah, thank you so much, really!” Alexandra replied, cheerful.

“But, she drew you in these drawings, didn’t she? This friend of yours must really like you, huh? They’re so detailed… You can see love overflowing from the paper!” The dark-skinned man said, making Alexandra blush.

“Re-really?! I mean, she really loves drawing, but…”

“No doubt, your friend is full of amour for art, but… We see here that you’ve become her true muse!” That annoying man, Ox, apparently decided to become a bit more friendly.

Alexandra seemed happy at that moment, which made me release a relieved smile.

There was still much to do, like finding a way to fix Hanna’s heart, but… Maybe after today, there might be some success, after seeing a slightly emotionally touched Tormenta Violet.

For now, I could celebrate a bit; slowly but surely, Alex achieved what she wanted. And I was happy to help. Happy to help another friend.

♡

On that spring of Tuesday, matching the pleasant weather of the city, Alexandra walked as if she had nothing to worry about. I could feel the warmth of her lilac crystalized heart, even though I wasn’t the Destroyer who purified her, the was still a connection I could feel to that heart beating in my red-haired friend's chest.

Many of the students seemed uninterested in starting the morning at school, some just smiling while talking with friends, others still trying to sleep with their faces hidden from the sun on their desks, but Alex was the only one who, as soon as she arrived in the classroom, had a determined look as she went straight to Hanna Bovary’s desk.

“Hanna, I…” She hesitated for a second, noticing the uninterested look from the black-haired girl. “I submitted your drawings to the contest.”

“And?” Hanna continued to ignore the other girl who was speaking to her, responding but not even looking Alex in the eyes. “You must have a lot of courage to talk to me after the drama you caused yesterday.”

“It’s not drama!” Alexandra impulsively banged on Hanna’s desk, drawing the attention of other students. “It doesn’t matter how strange you’re being these days, stopping you from giving up was never drama! And I’ll show you that after the competition is over!”

“Alex, calm down… Everyone’s looking…” Melissa came up to the red-haired girl, who was also red with anger, and whispered in her ear.

“Let them listen then!” She shouted. “And you, Hanna, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but when the results of the contest come next week and you’re among the top artists, you’ll have to listen to me! You’ll have to believe my point!”

“Is this a bet?” Hanna finally turned her face to Alex, even with her uninterested expression, I felt a bit of hope in my heart. Despite the strange behavior of her broken heart, the Hanna I knew was still trying to show herself in some way… I was sure… “I highly doubt you’re right, but… What do I get if you’re wrong?”

“If you’re not among the best…”

“You’ll stop annoying me? You’ll stop pestering me and let me study in peace? Because that would be quite a prize.”

“Hey, Hanna, what’s gotten into you? You used to talk about how Alex…” Ariel tried to join the conversation, but when her friend glared at her, she realized it was better to stay silent.

“You… really aren’t the real Hanna, are you?” Alex said quietly, more to herself than to anyone else in the room.

Even though she didn’t know what the Liebeherrscher was doing… Even though she had no idea of the monsters she and Hanna had transformed into… She knew… Or at least believed…

That this broken version of the girl she loved was not the real Hanna Bovary.

“Alright.” Alex returned to facing Hanna. She was serious, but a part of me believed she was holding back her tears with great effort. “If I lose, if you’re not among the best… I’ll stop talking to you. We’ll be just classmates, nothing more.”

“Great. That way there’ll be one less pebble in my shoe believing that this nonsense is worth it.” Hanna replied curtly, making Alex sit at her desk and the class return to its normal state, with some students whispering about what had happened and others going back to casual conversation. But this time, despite the strange feeling, I wasn’t bothered.

Maybe… I had as much faith in Hanna as Alex did at that moment.

Even though I still needed to find a way to fix Hanna’s heart…

I wanted to believe that this competition meant much more to her than she let on.

And I wanted to believe in her. Just as Alex did.

My heart beat fast, it was as if each passing day made it accelerate more or get warmer at times, but looking at Miss Hazel somehow calmed me down…

Not that my heart turned cold when I looked at her, but it beat gently when we were like this, and I could only see her existing, beautiful as always, while she seemed disinterested in much of what she saw.

For a moment, I could ignore my activities as a Destroyer and be just a lovesick girl, couldn’t I?

Because that weekend, I would finally visit Miss Hazel’s home, see how she lived… What her room was like… How she was when she was at home…

And just thinking about it made my heart feel like it might explode, with no relation to that otherworldly magic consuming my body.