On the seventh night of Phantasma, Ophelia spends the morning searching every accessible room in the wing for Blackwell’s key and finds nothing. Because time is running out, the failure forces her to confront the likely outcome: she will not free Blackwell, and even if she wins the competition and gets her debt forgiven, she and Genevieve will still lose Grimm Manor.

As Ophelia returns to her room in a numb, hopeless state, Sinclair appears and renews his offer. He argues that Blackwell survives by taking years from mortals and implies Ophelia should help end that cycle, but Ophelia refuses and unexpectedly defends Blackwell. When Sinclair points out that Ophelia cares for Blackwell and mocks her feelings, Ophelia denies being in love and insists Blackwell was only a distraction.

Sinclair challenges Ophelia to prove that claim by letting him distract her instead. Wanting to test herself, Ophelia asks Sinclair to kiss and touch her. Sinclair does so only after making Ophelia clearly acknowledge that she can stop him at any time and that he will obey. Although the physical acts produce some automatic bodily response, Ophelia feels no real heat, passion, or emotional pull, especially compared with what she feels with Blackwell.

The comparison makes the truth unavoidable. Ophelia stops Sinclair and says it feels wrong because he is not Blackwell. Rayea then appears, mocks Ophelia, and threatens to let Blackwell know what happened while hinting at her own history with Sinclair and her interest in Blackwell. After Rayea vanishes, Ophelia flees to her room, overwhelmed by dread, and finally realizes that her feelings for Blackwell have become deep, forbidden, and impossible to tear out without destroying herself.