Chapter 167: Facade
Sofia and Riven walked through the forest. He looked around while they walked, just watching the different trees, birds, and others, but he also paid attention to the surroundings to know if something was coming their way.
Sofia, on the other hand, followed behind, and she couldn’t put off the thing that he had said a few minutes back. No matter how hard she tried, it simply didn’t make sense to her.
Not being able to hold it back anymore, she decided to ask.
"Riven, you said you respect me for keeping a strong resolve in hiding my true feelings from people. Isn’t doing that dishonest, hiding your real self from people?" she spoke up.
Riven paused for a moment. He placed his hand on his chin as if thinking, then he snapped his finger.
"Ahh!" he exclaimed like he had made a discovery.
He started walking again and began speaking.
"You see, a diamond is kept in a vault, not in the open. Just like a jeweler hides their most precious gems behind layers of protection, we wear a facade—not out of deceit, but to guard what’s important. The world doesn’t always deserve to see the raw shine of who we truly are. Only those who earn our trust, who prove they cherish us and not just our sparkle or your cracks, are given the key to that vault.
The real you is not for the eyes of just anyone, and you should protect the real you, because those that see you might never understand you for who you really are. They’ll judge you, attack you, antagonize you, and despise you.
And even if you don’t really care about that, sometimes it’s better to care about image than to act nonchalant and allow people to build a perspective around you that spits on you.
Sure, a facade might fail one day and the world will see the true you, but when you get there, you’ll get across. For now, we are kids, Nobles, and the weight that hangs above our heads is not light—specifically the daughter of a Duke—so hide yourself from those outside, but not from those that you consider dear," Riven said. He looked back at her with a soft smile.