Melt simmered with indignation at Raiha’s plight—at the way she had been treated as a mere experimental animal for the government just to preserve her family’s status.
However, Raiha shook her head as if refusing to accept such pity, her fists clenched tight.
Every person in the room understood that the tragedy she spoke of was the Five Years Ago Incident.
Under the collective weight of their gazes, Raiha began to recount the events of that day.
"I don't entirely understand what happened myself. I remember being at the government research institute for a routine examination. But when I came to, I was in a distant town... and I learned that the nearby castle had been ravaged by a dragon."
Raiha claimed she had no memory of her time spent rampaging as the Mad Dragon. She pressed a hand against her chest.
Clutching at her shirt, she continued in a trembling voice.
"The only thing I remember is the agony echoing in my chest. This scar proves it wasn't a dream. It was the only clue I had to piece together what I’d done during my blackout."
At first, Raiha must have been utterly lost.
To wake up in a foreign land with a massive scar on her body and no explanation—she must have been terrified.
And what had she felt later, when the full weight of the truth finally reached her?
The realization that she had transformed into a monstrous dragon, attacked innocent people, and ended lives must have plunged her into the depths of despair.
"I'm certain that on that day, I awakened the dragon power dormant within me. I couldn't control a force so far beyond human limits, and I became the Mad Dragon... I attacked the castle where Ryuga-san lived. And then, the father of you two, who stood before me to stop the slaughter—!!"
Raiha forced out the confession of her sins, her voice a strained groan.
Watching her struggle under the weight of such unbearable suffering and regret, Yugo felt a sharp pang in his own heart as he spoke up.
"Hey, Raiha... you’d never lost control like that before the incident five years ago, right? If that's the case, then the fault doesn't lie with you. Isn't it likely the government did something to you at that research institute?"
"The probability is high," Marcos agreed. "Based on her story, it’s only natural to assume the government triggered her rampage while performing experiments under the guise of medical checkups."
"We believed the same and conducted our own investigation," Setsuna said. "However, the secret research institute was destroyed during the incident five years ago, and no survivors were ever found. In the end, we never discovered exactly what they did to Raiha."
"And it doesn't matter what they did to me," Raiha added. "I still lost control, and I still took the life of Ryuga-san and Yui-san's father. That fact remains unchanged."
Yugo had hoped to shift the blame toward the Yamato government, but Setsuna and the others had clearly already explored that path.
As Yugo fell silent, listening to Sakura and Raiha maintain that the 'why' didn't change the 'what,' Ryuga finally spoke.
"Exactly. No matter the circumstances leading up to it, you killed our father. That is an immutable truth. Because of you, my sister lost her light. The world you see through those hideous eyes is the one Yui was supposed to be looking at."
"...I am... so sorry..."
Confronted by Ryuga’s cold resentment, Raiha could offer nothing but a broken apology.
As she hung her head, her shoulders trembling, Melt turned a somber gaze toward Setsuna and Sakura.
"I’m not going to comment on Raiha’s situation or the past," Melt said. "But I need to know one thing. Did the three of you only get close to us because we were around Ryuga? Were Setsuna and Sakura’s feelings for Yugo just a lie used to exploit him?"
"I-It’s a misunderstanding! We didn't approach you with those intentions—!!" Sakura stammered.
"I don't expect you to believe us now, not after we kept something this huge hidden," Setsuna said, her voice dropping. "But we never once thought of using you. We truly wanted to be your friends. I mean that from the bottom of my heart."
Had the three Warrior Shrine Maidens targeted them specifically to get to Ryuga?
Perhaps they had intended to build a bond of friendship while hiding the truth, hoping that if the secret ever came out, Ryuga’s affection for the group would make him hesitate to take revenge.
Faced with Melt’s suspicion, Setsuna and Sakura turned pale as they issued their denials.
However, knowing they lacked the credibility to be easily believed, their voices were weak. Melt and Anhel could only look away and fall into a heavy silence.
"...I think I understand the situation for the most part," Yugo said. "But there’s still something that’s bothering me."
"What is it?" Setsuna asked. "Did we miss something in the explanation?"
"No, it’s not that. If Raiha is a half-dragon and the government knows it, why did they ever let her leave the country as an exchange student?"
"I was wondering the same thing," Marcos added, chewing on the logic. "Raiha is effectively a walking scandal. Why would Yamato send such a volatile secret abroad instead of keeping her under lock and key? Furthermore—"
Before Marcos could finish his thought, a voice rang out from outside the room.
"It’s quite simple, really. Only a handful of people within the government actually know that Raiha-san is a half-dragon. The exchange of Warrior Shrine Maidens is a long-standing tradition; if the government had moved to block it without a public reason, people would have become suspicious. Fearing that, the few in the know decided not to interfere."
The group flinched as the voice answered Marcos’s question.
Recognizing the tone, Yugo and his comrades stared at the door. It swung open slowly, revealing several men.
"And there is one more reason," the man continued. "Because there is someone nearby whose specific role is to move swiftly and bury any problems should an emergency occur. Someone like me."
"You... Sakai-san!?"
It was Koumaru Sakai, the diplomat of Yamato they had met once before.
As Yugo and the others reeled from his sudden appearance, Koumaru’s expression remained professional and cold.
"That's enough chatter. From this point forward, you will follow my instructions."