Since Lin Yun and An Ya beca magical girls together, every year until they entered the halls of marriage, An Ya would give him chocolates.
At first, they were store-bought snacks from roadside shops, then later they beca semi-finished products she processed herself using Kingdom Magical Items. Eventually, she transitioned to crafting chocolates entirely by hand, starting from raw materials.
Among all the years of gifted chocolates, the one that left the deepest impression on Lin Yun was probably the year An Ya first purchased semi-finished products and gave the chocolate its own shape.
"Hmm… it's not that I'm being particularly picky. I'm just genuinely confused."
Studying the chocolate he had taken out of the gift box, Lin Yun at the ti couldn't discern what An Ya had attempted to create. "What exactly is this? A cane? A tree branch?"
—"Goodness, it's a sword!"
An Ya exclaid in mock annoyance, pointing to two protrusions on the chocolate, one larger and one smaller. "Look, isn't this the sword's guard? Then here a little higher up, that's the hilt, and this long part is the blade..."
"Is it, though?"
Lin Yun squinted his eyes and looked it over thoroughly, unable to conclude that the object resembled a sword in any way. But seeing how enthusiastic An Ya was, he could only agree reluctantly. "If you say it's a sword, then it's a sword."
"It's definitely a sword!"
An Ya lightly smacked Lin Yun's arm in frustration. "Also, where have you ever heard of soone criticizing a girl's chocolates for their accuracy on Valentine's Day? Shouldn't you be asking why I made them in the shape of a sword?"
"I an, I feel like making it more recognizable might help you in the future when you're actually trying to find a boyfriend..."
Lin Yun began, but he quickly stopped when he saw the obvious signs of displeasure on An Ya's face. He changed his tone obediently. "Alright, then why did you make it into a sword?"
"Heh, see? You're curious after all!"
An Ya suddenly switched moods, from anger to joy, as if enacting a dramatic face change. "I won't keep you guessing. Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you specially, but only this once!"
"Oh, fine. I'm dying to know." Lin Yun's tone was flat and uninterested.
"The reason I made it into a sword is—because in my mind, when you saved in my ti of crisis, Lin Yun, you were just like a knight... No, more than a knight—like a prince riding a white horse, wielding a sword."
Closing her eyes slightly, An Ya adopted the dreamy look of soone lost in their imagination. "I was the princess bullied by villains, and my white horse prince descended from the heavens to rescue ."
"Who could possibly bully you, exactly? And besides, at the start, it was obviously you who saved ; I was rely repaying the favor..."
Lin Yun instinctively started to refute the inaccuracies from his perspective, but halfway through, his brain finally registered An Ya's earlier claim—it seed far more unsettling. "Wait… what did you just say?"
"My white horse prince descended from the heavens?" An Ya crossed her hands and pressed them against the side of her face, tilting her head slightly so her cheek rested on her knuckles.
"No, you're getting closer, but I ant the line before that."
"I was the princess bullied by villains." An Ya donned an expression of whimsical self-pity.
"...Earlier than that." Lin Yun lowered his gaze.
"Ah, I forgot."
Breaking into a radiant smile, An Ya said, "I already told you it's a special revelation just this once. If you didn't catch it, you won't get a second chance."
"But you definitely said I was like a prince…"
"Don't rember."
An Ya lowered her hands and began to shake her head. "After gifting you the chocolates, I've been cleared of mories by the Evil Queen, so I have no idea what I might have said."
She stood up, sliding the piece of chocolate that supposedly resembled a sword but didn't look much like one at all, toward Lin Yun. Then, leaning slightly forward, she brought her mouth close to his ear:
"Take good care of your sword, Prince."
The recollection stopped there.
Lin Yun no longer rembered what he had thought or felt afterward. Was it happiness? Or perhaps the shy longing born of youthful admiration? The finer details faded from his mory over ti, and all that remained was the lingering warmth of the emotions etched in his heart.
anwhile, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang had unknowingly finished their playful squabble. Lin Xiaolu, after begrudgingly hugging Xia Liang, returned to her seat and began unwrapping the last paper box before her.
—"Here, Erald Sparrow, this one's yours!"
She slid her chocolate across the table to Erald Sparrow.
It was a chocolate creation shaped into a brown-black circular ring, dusted with additional protruding thin chocolate slabs. These slabs were ticulously cut into sharp, spiky shapes and adorned with so intricate, hollow patterns.
Despite its imperfections and rough appearance, it was clear that this piece of chocolate, much like the other two Lin Xiaolu had earlier handed out, represented the full extent of her craftsmanship abilities and effort.
"So what is this ti? A bracelet?" Xia Liang observed Lin Xiaolu's "new work" and guessed curiously.
"Just like the hat you get with a birthday cake!" Bai Jingxuan chid in with her assessnt.
To be honest, even Erald Sparrow initially thought so.
She was aware that today was her birthday, and Lin Xiaolu's chocolate, resembling a decorative item, genuinely mirrored the paper birthday hats that cake shops often provided as freebies.
However, as "Erald Sparrow," it should follow that the younger mbers of the Fangting City team wouldn't know "today is Erald Sparrow's birthday" — everyone except Xia Liang.
Eliminating the possibility of Xia Liang secretly confiding in the others, logically, Lin Xiaolu shouldn't know the significance of her birth date. So what, then, did this chocolate symbolize?
Indeed, what were the paper birthday hats in cake shops modeled after originally?
An answer surfaced in Erald Sparrow's mind.
—"This... is a crown, isn't it?"
She murmured softly, "It's very similar, Bai i."
At this comnt, the previously hesitant Lin Xiaolu's expression imdiately lit up.
"Yes! It's a crown!"
She raised her voice excitedly. "I knew Erald Sparrow would figure it out!"
Choosing to ignore Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan's side remarks of "so it's a crown," Lin Xiaolu eagerly hopped beside Erald Sparrow and began pointing out every detail on the chocolate, explaining the thought process behind her design choices. From how the ring represented the crown's base, to the spikes mimicking its emblems and edges, she narrated how each decision was made, challenges she faced, and compromises that yielded unexpected successes. Her explanation lasted six or seven minutes before finally stopping.
"And lastly, I wanted to talk about why I decided to make it into a crown..."
Now her gaze wavered slightly as she glanced at the chocolate crown on the table. "But… saying it out loud might be a little embarrassing. Plus, with soone here waiting to tease , Erald Sparrow... I might only say it the one ti."
Erald Sparrow listened attentively to Lin Xiaolu's words without responding imdiately.
Her eyes remained fixated on the crown, allowing so long-buried mories to resurface like bubbles rising in a deep sea. Those scenes crystallized in her mind, still vivid despite the passage of ti. She let out a deep breath and lowered her gaze with a sense of tranquility:
"Alright."
"It's just... Xia Liang had told before, that if you're going to give chocolate, you need to pour all of your feelings and thoughts about that person into it. So, I've been thinking… about how I truly see Erald Sparrow."
Though she had been eloquent when discussing her design specifics earlier, Lin Xiaolu beca noticeably hesitant as she delved into the motivation behind crafting the crown:
"I thought about making it into threads since your magic armor revolves around threads, and my magic armor incorporates them too; it's sothing I've learned from you. Then I considered whether I should make it into a magic wand, because when we first t, you taught how to fight using one."
"But after a long ti deliberating, I realized that seeing you only through those perspectives wouldn't capture the fullest picture of Erald Sparrow as I know her. My understanding of you is sothing deeper, sothing more complete, more beautiful, and... more distant."
"When you appeared before for the first ti and saved my life, you were—without a doubt—the most brilliant presence in the world to at that mont. Back then, I thought, if this were a fairy tale and I were lucky enough to be its heroine, then in that instant, I must have encountered the prince of my life."
"But I'm not the heroine, and this isn't a fairy tale. And besides, Erald Sparrow, you're also a girl. So over the years, I've often felt regretful, because that fleeting sensation probably only ever exists as a fantasy in my mind."
"Yet even so, the reason this story is re fantasy is only because I'm not good enough. Erald Sparrow, on the other hand... you, without a doubt, *are* the prince who can rescue others. Or maybe you don't need to be a prince; even as a princess, it fits perfectly."
"And so, this crown..."
Lin Xiaolu lifted the chocolate crown, holding it in front of her eyes as if to place it above Erald Sparrow's head. "This represents how I see you."
"Thank you for saving . Thank you for teaching . Thank you for staying by . Thank you for loving ..."
"Erald Sparrow, I like you the most."
Such were Lin Xiaolu's words—the heartfelt sentint she most wanted to convey to Erald Sparrow in that very mont.
And those words left Erald Sparrow speechless for a long ti, her throat tight.
If she could, she wanted to stand up at this instant and tell Lin Xiaolu, "You're my princess. I will be the king who gives you the whole world."
If she could, she wanted to turn and embrace her queen, proclaiming to her, "I love you all. I'll wield sword and crown to protect you forevermore."
The queen gifted her prince a sword from her heart; the princess bestowed a crown upon the one she saw as her prince.
But the prince never beca king; his sword, by now, was rusted and forgotten. The queen did not lie close by his side, and the chambers held only one lonely figure—soone unsure whether they were prince or princess, burdened by endless remorse.
—"Hey, wh-what's wrong? Erald Sparrow, why do you suddenly seem so sad? Are those… tears?"
"What's wrong? Miss elder? Don't cry! Did Lin Xiaolu say sothing wrong? Hey, Lin Xiaolu, hurry up and apologize!"
"Teacher, please don't be upset anymore. I have a handkerchief for you!"
Unbeknownst to her, the juniors had gathered around Erald Sparrow, fussing in mild panic over her unexpected emotions.
"...I'm fine. It's not Bai i's fault."
She accepted Bai Jingxuan's handkerchief, using it to dab her eyes, her voice slightly hoarse: "I just rembered so things from the past. My emotions got a bit overwhelming, but it's nothing worth worrying about."
Indeed, at least now, she was not alone.
Perhaps her sword was decrepit, and perhaps she could not bear the weight of the crown.
But still, she would wield her corroded sword to protect the last of what she had left.
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