Chapter 102: Forever The Cutest
Lifeless eyes stared at the head of pale beige hair. Those clear, spotless green eyes glistened with life as she plopped dessert after dessert into her mouth.
She might be destined for an early death, but she wasn't going to let that put her down. If anything, the black-haired, lifeless lady standing by her side was the one in a worse condition.
Vanessa stood there mumbling Yulei's name under her breath repeatedly.
She no longer had to act, nor did she have to maintain a base facade of liveliness in front of the others.
Her black eyes lay eerily glossy; they stared at the lively girl with glazed eyes.
Tuck your ear close enough to her mouth-
"Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined. Yulei. Determined..."
Manic speech hissed from her moist lips.
And, oddly enough, Yulei didn't spare her a glance.
She treated the girl like air.
Sighing with a mouthful of fruity desserts, Yulei gazed at the clear skies.
Why, you might ask?
Because-
"It's already predetermined, why obsess..."
She seemed to be mumbling to herself, but whether it was aimed at Vanessa or not, perhaps only the Empyreans who long abandoned this dreadful world would know.
-----
The scent of oil, metal, and acidic undertones caressed a room's dismally dark surfaces. Scattered about the room were an assortment of products heavily resembling many day-to-day items, but each held a unique aspect installed within it.
No form of order could be spotted in the room.
Not even in the very location where a silver-haired young man sat with a metal-plated mask covering his face as he welded two items together.
Fiery sparks flew from the welder held in his hands, the noise clamouring and filling the room.
Hildekar's expression was almost dazed beneath the mask.
"Ship?"
"Why a ship?"
His lips mumbled.
Clicking the two items together properly, he released the welder in his hands and flipped the mask upwards. With sweat draining down his heated face, he swept his messy hair aside and gazed upon the new mast lying on his table.
"Why?"
A flicker of confusion bound his heart, but the solitary man bore it no heed.
It called to him; the mechanics of a ship, the beauty of the sails, the intricate weaving of ashen-
Of-
"...Of what again?"
Frowning, he tossed the hastily put-together mast aside and brought out two new pieces of material to mess with.
But, something deep within continued to call.
It continued to resonate.
...And, soon enough, he would fall to the calling.
-----
Leaning over his shoulder, a black-haired young man playfully twirled the strands of emerald green hair tousled on his friend's head.
"Hey~ Jill~ You still lagging behind? How long until you Ascend again?"
Tossing himself over Jill's back, Elden landed on the concrete beside him, while the green-haired man, Jill, calmly consumed a cup of tea. "...Noisy."
Lying with his back to the ground, "It won't take that long for you, right? Until the Third Step? Till you become a Cleansed? What form will your Manifestation take then? How about your body? Do you think your green hair will change? If so, I'll miss it."
Rumbling on and on, Elden spoke till the point of ticking off Jill.
And, rightfully so, Jill flicked his hand and swiped it down towards Elden-
Swish!
A burst of light shone by Elden's head.
Slowly creaking his head to the right, Elden gulped and gazed at the slash of molten concrete lying beside him, "...Don't you think that's a bit too close? You almost killed me."
"You won't die from that."
"It'll hurt, though!"
"Your problem."
"...Whatever."
After a brief moment of rare silence from Elden, his loose lips opened up again.
"Say, Jill, why do you think the Third Step? What are we missing? I don't get it. Esme told us she can't tell us until then, but the only thing I can think of is Authority; we lack Authority. But how? Esme should have the same Authority as us, so how does that work?"
Jill shook his head, "She's Curseless. Therefore, her Authority will be stronger."
"Fine, I get that, but what's missing? What's the thing that's so wrong? It feels right, everything was normal; we ended up at the endless snow fields, we found nothing, then Esme said to go back and she'd explain later."
Hopping up from his lying down position, Elden sighed and stretched his limbs, "But all she told us was to reach the Third Step. What the hell is it? Am I stupid, or is she stupid and sending us on a wild horse chase?"
Shrugging, Jill mumbled, "Dunno."
"Tch, what the hell is going on..."
-----
Tossing a vial mindlessly in the palm of her hand, Nemora basked in the sunlight. Overlooking the vast green lands of the palace grounds from her private terrace, she stared at the soaring vial with clear attention.
Many thoughts were swirling in her painfully scorning mind.
The words sitting at the tip of her tongue were more often than not the venomous kind.
These were things she understood.
She knew, objectively, that it was the consequence of her Curse.
But just because she understood that it was the result of her Curse, it didn't mean that the Curse didn't affect her.
This was just Nemora now.
And it always will be Nemora.
"Alora. Esme. The Ghost of The Palace and the Curseless One. Sisters of the same mother and father; the Mistress and His Majesty..."
She plainly analysed the information at hand.
"Sisters of the same age..."
Clack.
Swiping her hand, she gripped the soaring vial tight.
"One bears a mask, and the other doesn't. Their close relationship, Esme's boundless trust..."
Gazing upwards at the distant Aurora-
"...Sigh."
-she scratched her chin with her free hand, then commented:
"Twins."
-----
Meticulously braiding the trusses of snow-white hair into a half-up style, the grown-up Lily hummed a peculiar song with her soothing voice.
"In a good mood, Lily?" Esme glanced at Lily through the mirror. Her face was lit up with amusement; even her usually bunned, chestnut-brown hair was styled in waves this time around.
Not even the antique maid's outfit could dim her joy.
"Mhm, today is a great day, Lady Esme."
"May I mention the reason?"
Esme gave her permission.
"You have been smiling as of late, Lady Esme. The past few years have grown a subtle frown on your delicate face, yet these days, that is no longer the case."
"So, it's a cause for celebration!"
Lily's excitement was pure and innocent.
Her Lady's joy was her joy.
Her Lady's sorrow was her sorrow.
Her existence was for the Lady's sake, nothing more, and nothing less.
"Is it that obvious, Lily? I thought I kept it hidden well."
Lily tenderly shook her head side-to-side, "To others, it may be hidden. But, to me? Lady Esme, I've been by your side for 8 years; if I cannot tell the differences in your expressions over the years, then I wouldn't be fit to be your maid."
Neatly tucking Esme's hair into completion, "...May I ask about Lady Alora's health? Last I heard, it wasn't well."
The room fell into immediate silence.
Esme's breathing was cut off, and Lily almost immediately regretted overstepping her boundaries-
Parting her lips after a moment of silence, three frigid words peeled off her tongue, "She won't die."
She won't die.
She'll live.
To some, that may sound like good news.
But Lily understood her Lady Esme.
She was straightforward.
Esme didn't play word games when she was in her zone, nor did she lace her words with flattery and lies to glide through social situations smoothly.
Meaning:
'Lady Alora isn't dying, but her state isn't good. And Lady Esme is too scared to say those words aloud.'
Lady Esme wasn't hiding anything from Lily.
She simply didn't want to state the cruel truth out loud.
At least, not yet.
-----
"How are you feeling, little dummy?"
"Great. Never been better. Look at me, my skin is paler, my hands are daintier, and I feel like I'm going to die. Fantastic." Numbly stating my condition at Hilda's sparkly face, I grinned with what I believed was the most adorable smile I could muster.
"Mhm! You look even cuter!" Walking up to my bed, she sat sideways, to my left, by my sleeping side and lapped her left hand over mine.
Reaching out with her right, she neatly curled my messy hair over my ear, tucking it well.
"Even better like this~"
Hilda was smiling through her fluorescent, ruby-red eyes, but I couldn't tell whether it was genuine or not.
The girl was getting better over the years at hiding her emotions and repressing her wild side.
She's growing up.
Everyone is, even Esme.
...Everyone but me.
While I wasn't too sure how to feel about that, whether to be happy that this female body wasn't expanding wildly like a balloon or sad that I was practically just as tiny as I was four years ago-
I can at least be happy that I'm living now.
No more punishment.
Though I deserved-
Though I hated-
Though I-
Squish.
Two fingers pinched my cheek, kneading it gently, "Don't give me that grim look in your eyes, little dummy. It will make me sad too, okay?"
Rubbing my face, her buttery skin shone beneath the bright aurora light. She pressed her forehead onto mine and curled her eyes upwards.
"My little dummy is the cutest."
Her voice whispered into my ears.
"It'll forever be the cutest-"
And, tinged with a majestically brewing swirl of Blessings:
"-no matter the form you take."
Her words immediately shut me off, putting me back to sleep.