Chapter 4: Heartless Pills, Lemon Faces, and Rivalry

The bottle held the legendary Heartless Pill.

Coach wanted me to give it to my older teammate—he was too chicken to do it himself.

Twenty crisp twenties—four hundred bucks. For a swordfighter, that’s a gold mine.

Our lives are cheap—nothing but fighting and scraping by. The pharmacists and techies rake in steady cash, but the team’s prize money barely covers blade maintenance.

The Heartless Pill was a treasure for both me and Coach.

My older teammate was obsessed with being emotionless, and Coach feared he was slipping.

Otherwise, Coach would never be this generous.

I held the Heartless Pill, practically drooling.

Four hundred bucks could fix my car. But teammates—well, you can’t buy new ones on Craigslist.

I really wanted to keep it for myself.

The comments saw right through me:

[Why not just hand him a lifetime subscription to singlehood?]

[That’s true purity—cutting off all distractions.]

[Who still remembers that her older teammate is the main guy?]

My hand, halfway to swapping the pill, froze. Wait—he’s also the chosen one?

For once, the chat was actually useful.

This is a tragic romance, fantasy edition. The Silver Hollow Coven’s golden girl and a swordfighter who’s sworn off feelings—just from their pairing, you knew it would end messy.

The guy’s stone-cold; the girl, hopelessly in love. After endless drama and twists, they finally end up together.

The story was a rollercoaster—my heart in my throat every step.

My teammate had chosen the path of zero emotion, chasing his goals solo; the neuter pill just sealed the deal.

The Coven’s golden girl wouldn’t get killed by him just to prove his resolve.

And I, with tears in my eyes, pocketed four hundred bucks.

Everyone wins.

The neuter pill probably tasted like regret.

My teammate popped it in his mouth, gagged, then made a face like he’d just bitten into a lemon warhead.

"Did you get this from a gas station? Tastes weird."

I kept my poker face: "Cheap medicine tastes bad, but it works. Good medicine is always bitter. Just eat up."

How would I know what a neuter pill tastes like? That’s for dog trainers.

My teammate’s doing great now—he can take the same pills as kennel dogs.

He chased it down with a slug of grape soda from the vending machine, grimacing like he’d just licked a battery. "I better not start barking," he muttered, and I almost lost it.