Chapter 182: Shattered Illusions
Ray was momentarily speechless, silently observing the Carlotta before him. She certainly looked like Carlotta, both in appearance and mannerisms, but certain indescribable details made her feel entirely unlike the Second Miss he knew.
What exactly was strange, he couldn't put into words. Perhaps it was the unnatural seductiveness, or the too-alluring gleam in her eyes. In short, something just felt off.
"Who are you really?" Ray demanded, his voice wary.
At this, "Carlotta" pressed her lips together and blossomed into a subtle, meaningful smile. She extended her slender fingers and slowly traced them across Ray's cheek, her cool touch sending a chill down his spine.
"As you can see, I am Carlotta, your beloved Second Miss."
Unmoved by this blatant flirtation, Ray suddenly reached out, precisely clasping her wrist. With a swift movement, he reversed their positions, pinning her beneath him.
"Though you look exactly like her, I would never mistake you." He leaned close to her face, his voice low and dangerous. "I'll ask one last time. Who are you?"
"Carlotta" didn't resist. If anything, she showed surprising compliance. She even voluntarily tilted her head up, letting their breaths mingle, a sly glint in her eyes.
"Hmm? Can't wait to… take me here, right here?"
"Sorry, but after 'fighting' with the Second Miss all day yesterday, I have no interest in that kind of thing right now." Ray stared into her eyes. "More importantly, who are you? Fractsidus?"
He still remembered his encounter with that madman from the Fractsidus in the Septimont. Though he had claimed that someone from the organisation was lurking close to him, Ray had never found any solid evidence.
"Carlotta" maintained that faint smile, studying him with interest, her tone carrying an almost imperceptible seduction. "Really? I can give you experiences that 'she' can't. Whatever you want, I can satisfy."
She murmured softly, her warm breath close to his ear. "Every part of my body is open to you. Whatever kind of play you like, I'll agree to it."
The young woman's breath was fragrant, but Ray was unmoved. He only frowned slightly. "That 'she'? You're definitely not the Second Miss."
The moment the words fell, the young woman beneath him suddenly dissolved like mist. Ray lost his balance and stumbled.
"Where did she go?" He quickly steadied himself, looking around warily, muttering to himself.
Just then, a pair of slender arms gently wrapped around him from behind, pulling him into a soft embrace.
"What's the point of getting caught up in these trivial details? Unlike that reserved Montelli heiress, I am your Carlotta Montelli. And after all, I am Carlotta, am I not?"
Ray stiffened, having no idea when she had appeared behind him. He instinctively turned, but in that instant, her figure vanished again.
"Since we're both Carlotta, what difference does it make to you?"
"Carlotta's" voice echoed throughout the room, her form flickering in and out of sight. "The same face, the same touch. I know everything about her, and everything between you."
"So why not stay here with me?"
Ray let out a soft snort. "Spare me the boring rhetoric. Tell me, where is this place, and where is the Second Miss?"
"Carlotta" was now sitting sideways on the edge of a table, her slender legs gently swinging in the air. She propped her chin on her hand, a playful gleam in her eyes. "So eager to know? Fine, I'll tell you. This is a domain born from Carlotta's memories, and I am its master."
The moment she finished speaking, her figure blurred, and in the next instant, she was right in front of him. She reached out, grabbed his collar, and pulled him close, forcing him to look down at her.
"So, I am indeed Carlotta. Only, unlike that evasive version of her, I am more in touch with my own desires."
"So." Her voice suddenly lightened, taking on a sweetly seductive tone. "Now that we're alone, let's do something… that makes us both happy. The things she won't agree to, I will."
She was right about one thing. This Carlotta was certainly more in touch with her own heart. Such straightforward words… The always elegant and restrained Second Miss would never say them. Though this bold and daring version of the Second Miss was certainly alluring, Ray was never one to act on impulse.
But if he agreed, would that count as cheating? Not that he hadn't already done so. Looks like Carlotta, sounds like Carlotta, acts like Carlotta, then she is Carlotta. In that case, it wouldn't be cheating.
"Carlotta" leaned even closer, her warm breath nearly melting the last sliver of distance between them. Just as her lips were about to touch his—
Crack—
An extremely faint sound came from behind, so soft it might have been an illusion. At first, it was just a web of fine cracks, barely visible in the air. The next moment, the entire space shattered. Countless glittering fragments rained down, refracting myriad lights in the void.
And beyond that shattered void, came a voice as cold as ice.
"What… are you doing?"
The real Carlotta stood there, her gaze like a knife.
"Carlotta's" movement stopped abruptly. Her gaze passed over Ray's shoulder to the figure behind him, mirroring her own.
"Oh dear, caught. I didn't expect you to really overcome your past."
Carlotta stared coldly at this mirrored version of herself. "The past and present have nothing to do with each other. Don't think you can use the shadows of the past to break me. Not then, and certainly not now!"
The moment the last word fell, Carlotta pulled the trigger without hesitation. The blazing bullet traced a crimson arc through the air, flying straight at her mirror self.
"Carlotta" calmly raised her own gun and returned fire. The two bullets collided precisely in midair, producing a crisp ring, then shattered into countless glittering gems, scattering dreamlike points of light in the dim space.
In the midst of this dazzling rain of light, Carlotta rushed forward. Her mirror image, meanwhile, floated back lightly, her figure slowly dissolving into the twisted air.
"Sigh, such a brief encounter. I hope that one day, we really can finish that happy thing."
"Damn it. Let her get away."
Carlotta let out a frustrated snort, then turned to Ray. The moment she looked at him, her gaze and voice instinctively softened. "But why are you here?"
Ray paused briefly, then handed her the gun Francesco had given him. "I learned the truth from the old man. I was worried about you, so I came… and he asked me to give this to you."