The Extra's Rise-Chapter 182: The End of the Year Festival (5)

The Festival had come to an end, but the island wasn’t empty just yet. We still had a few days before summer break officially started, before we’d scatter across the world to return to our homes, our families, our separate lives—at least for a little while.

For tonight, though, the four of them had come to my room. The Academy wasn’t particularly strict about things like this, despite what outsiders might assume. Mythos Academy fostered competition, talent, and ambition above all else. Whether it was training or socializing, they didn’t care, as long as you emerged stronger by the end of it.

Rachel, Seraphina, Cecilia, and Rose sat comfortably in my room, a mix of curiosity and expectation in their gazes.

"So, Arthur," Rachel was the first to speak, her voice carrying that distinct lilt of amusement she always had when she was about to tease me. "You said you wanted to talk about something important?"

I exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of my own thoughts pressing down on me.

"Yes," I admitted, my voice softer than usual. "There’s something I need to say."

I hesitated, gathering my thoughts. How was I supposed to explain something I had barely even admitted to myself?

I had spent so much of my life pretending.

Pretending to be naive, pretending to be weaker than I was.

At first, it was a necessity. A survival tactic. There had been no room for trust, no space for attachments. The only rule that mattered was simple: Make people love you, but never love them back.

That was how you survived.

I had learned that lesson the hard way.

But then—I thought of her. The girl from my past life. The one person who had accepted me when no one else would.

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Emma.

I could still remember the warmth of her arms around me, the quiet sadness in her voice as she held me close for the last time.

"Do not live this way, please."

Even now, her words echoed in my mind, a plea from a girl who no longer existed in this world.

I had buried my feelings back then. Warped them. Crushed them. Changed them. All just to keep going.

But I was tired.

I didn’t want to live like that anymore.

I wanted something real.

I looked at them—Rachel, Seraphina, Cecilia, Rose. The four girls who had, in one way or another, changed everything for me. Who had made my world feel bigger, brighter, fuller.

Each of them was watching me, waiting for whatever it was I had to say.

But I wasn’t ready.

Not yet.

"Not yet," I finally said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I’m sorry. But not yet."

Cecilia’s sharp red eyes narrowed slightly. Rachel tilted her head, watching me carefully. Seraphina remained still, unreadable as ever. And Rose—Rose just waited, as if she already knew.

"I know what I said," I continued, exhaling, "and I meant it. But I—before I commit to anything, I need to be sure of something first."

I clenched my fists at my sides.

Before I could let myself love someone, I needed to know who I was.

I needed to know, with absolute certainty, that I was Arthur. Not just a lost soul who had stumbled into this world by accident, not just a borrowed name in a borrowed life.

Until then…

I closed my eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again, meeting their gazes one by one.

Rachel’s deep blue.

Seraphina’s ice blue.

Cecilia’s crimson red.

Rose’s warm brown.

They were the first people who had made me feel alive in a very long time.

The first people who had reminded me that my heart was still capable of beating.

I let out a breath and smiled.

"I like all of you," I admitted, tilting my head slightly, a wry smile tugging at my lips. "Romantically."

For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t pretending.

I pressed my lips together, hands resting on my knees, waiting for their response.

It wasn’t often that silence carried the weight of a falling guillotine.

Maybe they’d reject me outright.

Polygamy existed in this world, sure, but it wasn’t exactly common, especially not among people with personalities as strong as theirs. Rachel, Cecilia, Seraphina, and Rose—each of them had a will of steel, an ego sharpened by talent and upbringing. It wasn’t as simple as saying, I like you all, let’s figure this out.

But I’d said it anyway. And now, I was waiting.

Rachel was the first to move. She smiled at me, the kind that softened the edges of my nerves, though there was something else in her eyes—something both knowing and expectant.

"You beat me to it, huh?" she said, and my breath caught.

She reached out, placing a hand over mine. "Arthur, for a long time, my heart has been yours." Her fingers curled slightly, a squeeze, as if she needed to anchor herself in the moment. "I want to be yours."

A warmth I couldn’t quite name spread through my chest.

"And as for waiting," Rachel added, her sapphire eyes gleaming, "I don’t mind waiting a bit for someone like you."

I barely had a moment to process before Rose spoke up, her voice quieter but just as firm.

"I agree," she said, cheeks dusted with red. "I also… I also like you more than just a friend, Arthur."

Rose. The girl who had always been there, steady and kind, always offering quiet support without demanding anything in return. Hearing her say it outright, admitting something that had likely sat unspoken for a long time, made something tighten in my throat.

Cecilia let out a dramatic sigh, arms crossed, her crimson eyes darting anywhere but at me.

"Well," she said, voice laced with a nervous bravado that was utterly unlike her, "before I say anything, I should probably apologise for how I acted before."

She inhaled sharply, then forced herself to meet my gaze. "I—I wasn’t exactly great to you in the beginning. I pushed you away, toyed with you, treated you like some plaything when I—" She swallowed. "When I was too much of a coward to admit I actually liked you."

Cecilia, the ever-playful, ever-unpredictable, suddenly seemed so much more… human.

"I’m sorry," she said, softer now. "I genuinely like you, Arthur."

And then, finally, Seraphina spoke.

"Me too," she said simply, with that quiet, composed certainty that only she could pull off. "I like you too."

I exhaled, slow and measured, though my heart was anything but.

"Thank you," I said, looking at each of them, taking in the weight of their words, the emotions brimming beneath them. "For caring about me. For trusting me with this."

I inhaled.

"And… I won’t keep you waiting long," I promised, voice steadier than I felt. "I just—I need to be ready. For all of you."

Rachel smirked, though there was no bite to it, only something warm and teasing. "You better not," she said, nudging me lightly.

That was all it took for the tension to shatter. The room filled with laughter, light and easy, washing away the heaviness of the moment. It didn’t fix everything, didn’t erase the inevitable complications that would come—but for now, it was enough.

For now, it was perfect.

The four of them excused themselves after a while, each leaving me with something—a lingering glance, a small smile, a playful shove. When the door finally closed, I fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, letting the day settle into my bones.

This was the best day of my life.