Chapter 105: Partners In Crime~
Neither could respond.
Because neither of them had been willing to state the facts out loud.
But Vanessa didn't care, certainly not when all that could flicker through her mind at this point was-
'Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei. Yulei... Alora.'
She spoke to them.
She was mad with them.
Her tongue was venomous, and the slightest touch would draw out the poison in her veins.
Yet, in the end, only one thing mattered to her at this point.
'Yulei- Alora...'
-----
"Not much time is left."
Resting in the bathtub, Hilda's hands scrubbed my skin. She carefully washed my fragile body with no hints of lust in her eyes; she's changed a lot over the years.
"Are you ready, Hilda?"
"Always, little dummy."
I scoffed inwardly; sure, say that, but I can't wait for your tantrum once we drown in endless Darkness.
Once all that is left is the eternal night.
"In two years, we'll be Ascending, and Hildekar will be done. We'll be leaving then. Are you ready? Have you prepared yourself to part ways with your parents?"
"Um... Maybe?"
"Pft- Maybe?!" I stared at her with wide eyes, "The hell do you mean by 'maybe'? You have to sort that out, or else you'll regret it in the future. We might not get to return for a long, long time. Maybe even never."
The warm fingers caressing my body paused. They pressed slightly into my skin, but not with force; instead, it was a firm, tender touch.
"Little dummy." Her ruby-red eyes blazed with fiery emotion.
"Yeah?"
"I live for you. For the dumb little girl that I stupidly fell in love with. I don't even know why I fell in love with you; maybe it's that dumb smirk you have. Or maybe it's the warmth I get when I'm with you-"
Biting her lips:
"-but I've long prepared myself to stick with you for life."
"So, that 'maybe' is because I don't know. I don't know how to feel. I don't know if I'm even sad that I won't get to see them again."
Pulling my wet body into her arms, she nuzzled her cheek onto mine, "But as long as I get to stay with you, I won't be sad. I never will."
"Fine. Fine. I get it. Just clean me up already."
"Yes~"
-----
Lamenting over my incapability at smoking, I quickly dashed the crimson pill into my mouth and swallowed it.
The Book of Heresy fluttered shut with minor repercussions. I only instilled an order for about 5 seconds of movement, so I had no reason to worry about a detrimental backlash that would send me all the way to the dark ages of Hilda crying and Esme breaking into my room with wrath written all over her face.
Relaxing with the immediate effect of the potent drug, I allowed my mind to drift with the crimson waves of hallucinogens; anything to numb it.
Well, not 'anything'.
I still had my boundaries.
I couldn't let Hilda discover it; otherwise, she'd permanently ban me. Worst-case scenario, she'd be angry with me.
And I'd rather not deal with that.
So, secrecy is key.
"We done yet? Fuck-face?"
Hearing her crude voice, the waves floating through my mind parted momentarily, "Yeah~ We're done, Vanessa~"
Disgustingly clicking her tongue, Vanessa packed up my box of drugs, wrapped it in Blessings, and stood up.
She didn't bother waving me goodbye before taking her leave.
And, yes, I'm using Vanessa as my drug supplier now. She already knows, after all.
Well, so does Nemora, but I don't necessarily trust her, certainly not after our odd meeting yesterday.
Nonetheless, with Vanessa now out of the way, I returned to the dreamy, floating sensations.
I had approximately 30 minutes to appreciate the vibrant hues of crimson that filled the canvas of my mind. By then, Hilda would return from her break, pick me up, and feed me her handmade lunch.
...Anyways.
"Hehe..."
It feels good~
-----
A sleek, silver sword adorned with intricate, runic carvings of red glimmered beneath the peals of the Aurora's awe-flooding light.
Gripping her Manifestation, Hilda, still dressed in her combat-ready antique maid's outfit, slowly lifted the sword into the sky.
Digging her right foot backwards and into the ground, her left foot shuffled forwards slightly. The uneven distribution of weight rushing from her arms, through her fingers, and into her sword abruptly pushed forward as-
"Hap!"
-a shimmer of majestic Blessings slithering with a plethora of unkempt, golden and emerald Curses split the air in front of her.
Then, taking a step back, she repeated the process.
Digging her feet into the ground, adjusting the distribution of weight to make up for the hefty Manifestation, and embedding the habit of cutting.
This was her training process.
Nothing fancy was necessary anymore; all the important aspects had already been drilled into her by the fanatical Commander of the Sanctified Knights.
He may not be a swordsman, but he is a masterful instructor.
Now, she had to adjust to her Curses.
Each swing brought them forth to her eyes; each swing drenched her veins with a fleeting, yet simultaneously maddening sensation of Curses.
It was horrible.
It was disgusting.
She hated it.
But-
'The little dummy can handle it.'
Swish!
'So can I.'
Her ruby eyes blazed with concentration.
She paid no heed to the sweat filling her pores and oozing from her body. Hilda didn't care, nor will she care in the future.
For training;
For the sake of the little dummy;
For the ones she loves;
"I have to try harder!"
Tightening her grip on the sword's handle, her fingers dug into the crevices of the leather. Blessings poured from her fingers and into her Manifestation, sending flickers of green, gold, and a fiery red spewing all over her sword.
Two came from her Curses, but the red...
The majestic, almost divine application of the red...
It came from her holy Manifestation; from a source of power that could be deemed divine.
Not that Hilda herself cared. If it helped the little dummy, then good; if it didn't help the little dummy, then useless.
That was her thought process.
And as of now...
"Useless!"
Swish!
Cut after cut, she sliced through the air with the agony of Curses running wild through her body, but till the last minute-
"Still not enough!"
-even with sweat pouring like a broken faucet from her body, she wasn't satisfied.
She was going to remain in the training grounds till the very last minute; she planned on training until the moment the little dummy needed her again.
-----
Dressed in a sleek, fluffy black dress that hid the growing shape of her body, Esme playfully puffed her wavy, shoulder-length hair upwards with a grin.
"Does it suit me~?"
"It looks lovely, Lady Esme." Placing the curler aside in a drawer, Lily smiled at her beautiful young lady with warmth.
"Alora, that stupid girl, should like it." Rubbing her chin, Esme leaned forward and stared at the nigh picture-perfect reflection in the mirror.
Even her smirks, playful poses, and grumpy looks would reflect a gorgeous young lady. She wasn't clueless; she knew precisely how pretty she was.
"Milady Esme, calling your sister 'stupid' is inappropriate." Chuckling, Lily walked behind the marginally shorter Esme and tidied her dress.
"Hmph. She's stupid."
So she said, but Esme was undeniably grinning at that moment.
She meant what she said; it's true, she considered her dear sister stupid. But she loved her as a sister all the same, the mad pounding of her heart whenever she imagined that sunflower of golden hair proved it.
Resting her right hand over her heart, she pressed into her chest with a giggle, "This is proof, you dummy."
"Are you calling me or the Lady Alora a 'dummy'? Have you picked up Hilda's bad habits? If so-"
"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Esme swivelled and smacked her open palms over Lily's mouth, "Hold up, relax right there, Lily. I haven't picked up anything from that clueless Hilda, that was just me being affectionate, understood?"
Holding back her smile, Lily nodded, "Mmf! Mmf!" And muffled out her understanding.
Reluctantly pulling her hands away, "Since when did you get so cheeky?" Esme asked Lily with a dull face.
"Uh..." Tilting her head to the side, "Ever since you put 90% of your attention on Lady Alora? It's quite adorable, seeing you smile at yourself in the mirror, or the moments where you put more effort into your studies for the sake of doing your sister proud..."
Reaching out, Lily slid her fingers into Esme's hair. Tenderly combing the snow-white strands, "I didn't change, Lady Esme, you did."
"...How so?"
"That straightforward self of yours, I haven't seen it pointed towards your sister in full force. Towards the other Ladies and Sirs, you do not hold back, but against Alora? Against Alora, all I see is warmth. And I'm happy!"
"Hm..." Pondering over it for a minute, Esme eventually stepped back from Lily's touch, faced the mirror again, and, with her head facing down;
With her face hidden from herself and from LIily;
'...Is that the case?'
She smiled bitterly.
'Or is it because I'm so helpless that all I can do is smile?'
'That all I can do is laugh and toss my worries aside?'