Lin Xiaolu's Chocolate

From the year after Lin Yun and Anya became magical girls together until they got married, Anya would give him chocolates every year.

At first, they bought snacks from roadside shops. Later, they made semi-finished products themselves using magical artifacts from the Kingdom. And then, they made chocolates entirely by hand, starting from the raw materials.

Of all the chocolates given as gifts over the years, the year that left the deepest impression on Lin Yun was probably the first time Anya bought semi-finished products and shaped them.

"Well... it's not that I'm being overly demanding, it's just that I do have some doubts."

Examining the chocolates taken out of the gift box intently, Lin Yun couldn't recognize what Anya had made at all. "What are these chocolates you made? A cane? A twig?"

"Really, it's a sword!"

With a hint of reproach, Anya pointed to two raised bumps, one large and one small, on the chocolate. "Look, isn't this the hilt of a sword? And a little above that is the hilt, and this longer one is the blade..."

"Is that so?"

Lin Yun squinted, looking at it from left to right, but couldn't come to the conclusion that "this thing is a sword." However, seeing that Anya was really interested, he could only reply, "If you say it's a sword, then it's a sword."

"It's a precious sword!"

Anya angrily slapped Lin Yun's arm. "Besides, who criticizes a girl's chocolates for not looking like a sword on Valentine’s Day? Shouldn't you be asking me why I made them into the shape of a sword?"

"I think doing it more realistically will really help you find a boyfriend in the future..."

Lin Yun was halfway through his sentence when he saw that Anya was clearly very unhappy, so he obediently changed his words and said, "Okay, then why did you make it into a sword?"

"Hmph, you're really curious, aren't you?"

Anya, like a Sichuan opera face-changing act, quickly went from anger to joy. "I won't keep you in suspense. Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you this one time, okay?"

"Oh, okay, I'd love to know." Lin Yun's voice remained completely calm.

"The reason it was made into a sword is because—in my eyes, Ah Yun, who came to my rescue when I was in danger, was like a knight... no, more like a prince riding a white horse and holding a sword."

Anya closed her eyes slightly, her face showing a lost in thought, "I was a princess being bullied by bad guys, and then my prince charming descended from the sky and saved me."

"What princess being bullied by bad guys? Who could possibly bully you? Besides, you were the one who saved me in the first place; I was just repaying a favor..."

Lin Yun subconsciously tried to correct the linguistic inconsistencies he perceived, but halfway through his sentence, his brain gradually realized that Anya's first sentence seemed to have said something even more shocking, "... Wait, what did you say?"

"My Prince Charming has fallen from the sky?" Anya clasped her hands together, placed them on one side of her cheek, tilted her head slightly, and let her face rest against the back of her hands.

"No, although it's very close, I'll say the sentence from before."

"I'm a princess who was bullied by bad people." Anya looked at herself with a self-pitying expression.

"...and the sentence before that." Lin Yun lowered his eyelids.

"Ah, I forgot."

Anya smiled and said, "I already told you this before, I'm only telling you this once, and if you don't hear me clearly, I won't repeat myself."

"But, it was clearly you who said I was like a prince..."

"Have no idea."

Anya lowered her hand and began to shake her head. "I am now a princess whose memory has been wiped clean by the wicked queen after I delivered the chocolates, so I don't know what I said."

She stood up, pushed the chocolate that didn't look like a sword at all, but was supposedly "a sword," in front of Lin Yun, then bent down slightly and brought her mouth close to Lin Yun's ear:

"In any case, put away your sword, Your Highness."

The recollection ends here.

Lin Yun couldn't remember what he was thinking after that. Was he happy? Or perhaps shy about knowing Mu Shao Ai? He had forgotten the details, leaving only the lingering warmth of the emotion in his heart.

Before they knew it, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang's playful fight had ended. Lin Xiaolu reluctantly hugged Xia Liang and returned to her seat, opening the last cardboard box in front of her.

"Here you are, Larkspur, this is for you!"

Then, she pushed her chocolate in front of the Larkspur.

It was a dark brown ring made of chocolate, with raised chocolate plates on top, cut into sharp shapes and decorated with openwork patterns.

Undoubtedly, this chocolate, like the two Lin Xiaolu had just given away, had many imperfections, even bordering on rough. However, given her skill level and ability, the chocolate now placed in front of Larkspur was probably the limit of her craftsmanship.

"So what is it this time? A bracelet?" Xia Liang asked, observing Lin Xiaolu's "new creation" as she guessed.

"It's like a hat that comes with your birthday cake!" Bai Jingxuan commented.

In fact, even Larkspur himself initially thought so.

Because she knew it was her birthday, and the chocolate that Lin Xiaolu took out, which looked like a decoration, was undoubtedly very similar to the paper birthday hat that cake shops used to give away, just like she remembered.

However, since she is now "Larkspur," logically speaking, none of the younger members of the Fangting City Squad, except for Xia Liang, should know that "Larkspur's birthday is today."

Excluding the possibility that Xia Liang intentionally told the other two, Lin Xiaolu shouldn't know Larkspur's birthday. So, what does this chocolate symbolize?

Or, to put it another way, what were those paper birthday hats in cake shops originally modeled after?

An answer had already formed in the Larkspur's mind.

"This... is it a crown?"

She said softly, "It looks very similar, White Rose."

These words immediately brightened Lin Xiaolu's expression, who had been somewhat hesitant.

"That's right, it's a crown!"

She raised her voice excitedly, "Sure enough, Larkspur, you could tell!"

Ignoring Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan's exclamations of "So it's a crown," Lin Xiaolu got up and ran to the Larkspur's side, pointing out every detail on the chocolate and explaining, "This ring at the bottom is the base of the crown, this part above is the emblem, and then I made a pointed top here. When I was making this part..."

She earnestly recounted to the Larkspur the details of the "crown," explaining her thoughts when designing each decoration, the problems she encountered during the process, the good ideas that had to be abandoned due to insufficient ability, and the compromises that resulted in better outcomes... She talked for a full six or seven minutes before finally stopping.

"And finally, I want to explain why I decided to make it look like a crown..."

She glanced at the chocolates on the table, her eyes darting around. "But because it might be a little embarrassing to say, and there's this guy next to me who's going to make a scene, so Larkspur, I might... only say it once."

Larkspur listened to Lin Xiaolu's words but did not respond immediately.

She simply gazed at the "crown," and certain memories surged in her mind like bubbles in the deep sea. The images in those memories remained so vivid even now, causing her to suddenly let out a long sigh of relief. Then, she lowered her gaze peacefully.

"Um."

"Well... because Xia Liang told me before that if you're giving chocolates, you have to put all your feelings and thoughts into them. So, I've actually been thinking about how I really feel about Larkspur."

While she had been very talkative when discussing the specific design details, Lin Xiaolu suddenly became quite hesitant and stuttered when it came to the motivation behind designing the "crown."

"I actually considered making it into a thread shape, because your Magic Armament is Larkspur of thread, and mine also has thread Magic Armament, which is something I can learn from you; later I also thought about whether to make it into a wand, because the first time I met you, you used a wand to teach me how to fight."

"But after thinking about it for a long time, I still feel that the Larkspur I see from these perspectives is not the most complete Larkspur I know. The you I know must be something more complete, more beautiful, and also more... distant."

"When you first appeared before me, you saved my life, and at that moment, you were the most dazzling existence in the world in my eyes. I thought to myself, if this were a fairy tale, and I were lucky enough to be the heroine, I would surely have met the prince of my life at that moment."

"But I'm not the heroine, and this isn't a fairy tale. You're a girl too, Larkspur, so I often feel regretful because that feeling in that moment will probably always just be my illusion."

"Even so, the reason this story is just a fantasy is simply because I'm not good enough. As for you, Larkspur... without a doubt, in my heart, you are the prince who can save others, or rather, you don't need to be a prince, a princess would be just as good."

"So, this crown..."

Lin Xiaolu raised the chocolate crown, suspending it in front of her eyes so that it faced the Larkspur's head. "That's how I see you."

"Thank you for saving me, thank you for guiding me, thank you for staying for me, thank you for loving me..."

"I love you the most, Larkspur."

This is what Lin Xiaolu most wanted to convey to Larkspur at this moment.

These words left the Larkspur speechless for a long time, and even made her throat tighten.

She really wanted to stand up right now and tell Lin Xiaolu, "You are my princess, and I will be the king who gives you the whole world."

She longed to turn back and embrace her queen, to tell her, "I love you both, and I will protect you with sword and crown, forever."

The queen presented a sword to the prince she always admired, while the princess presented a crown to the prince she saw as a prince.

The prince failed to become king; his sword was rusted, and the queen was no longer by his side. In the palace, only a man remained, unsure whether he was a prince or a princess, filled with regret.

"Hey, w-what's wrong? Larkspur, why do you suddenly seem so sad? Are these... tears?"

"What's wrong, little senior? Don't cry. Did Xiao Lu say something wrong? Hey Xiao Lu, come here quickly, apologize!"

"Teacher, don't be sad, I have a handkerchief here!"

No one knew when, but the younger generation had already surrounded the Larkspur, anxiously pacing around because of the Larkspur's sudden outburst of emotion.

"... I'm fine, it's not White Rose's fault."

She took Bai Jingxuan's handkerchief and covered her eyes with it, her voice slightly hoarse. "I was just thinking about some things from the past, and I got a little emotional. It's all in the past, nothing serious."

But yes, she is not alone now, at least.

Perhaps her sword had already decayed, or perhaps she was no longer able to bear the weight of the crown.

However, she will use this decaying sword to protect everything she has left.