Chapter 32: Stones and Rivers
Class ended when Duralianne left without saying goodbye.
Lianza walked toward the exit. I followed. One step behind, as always.
"Accompany me to the library," she said without looking at me.
"Yes, my lady."
We walked in silence. The west wing hallway was full of nobles who, as always, stepped aside when they saw her. Her garnet Empero still pulsed dense after the ice ballerina demonstration. Even her stride was prouder than usual. Though her mask didn't betray it, I could notice.
Arriving at the library, Lianza entered. She sat at our table. Opened a book.
I was already used to accompanying her to the library every day, since Lianza couldn't go a single day without her daily reading ritual.
Staying by the door, I took my post.
[Hi. 😏]
I furrowed my brow.
What now? I asked the System.
[We both know, Romeo.]
I spared the words. However annoying it was, and however much its missions repulsed me, the help the Harem System provided in this unfair mission of saving Lianza couldn't be denied.
[Available Mission: Durania Sandahll has gone to the rainbow river and is very sad. Go comfort her. 🤭]
[Penalty for refusal: Lianza will faint in the middle of one of her classes. I won't tell you which or when. I'll only tell you that the consequences will be irreversible. 😊]
Fainting. Fateful events passed through my mind. What if she fainted in the middle of training and her opponent seriously injured her? What would happen if she did it in etiquette class? Wilda would certainly never forgive any mistake after what she did to defend me.
Looking at Lianza, the noon sun filtering through the window illuminated her hair and her eyes. It made her look radiant, and her face of concentration while reading gave her that touch of solemnity.
Approaching her, I spoke.
"Lian... my lady. I need to step away."
"Go."
The east wing hallway was deserted at this hour. Nobles were in class or at the dining hall.
Who is Durania Sandahll? I asked the System.
[A student from House Sandahll. Second row in Wilda's class. Silver hair. Gray eyes. Violet Empero. Do you remember her?]
No.
[I figured. Nobody remembers her. It's like she's invisible. That's why she's sad. 🥺]
The rainbow river was in the back garden, by the east wing. Crossing the central courtyard, the noon sun hit my face; the sudden brightness made my eyes hurt.
I found her sitting on the riverbank. Knees against her chest. Silver hair. Her fingers playing with small river stones that came in the seven colors of the rainbow.
Her Empero was violet; it trembled around her. Thin. Fragile. Just like her.
Why hadn't I noticed her before?
"Lady Sandahll."
She looked up. Gray eyes. Wet.
"E-Elcronne, right?"
"Dariel Elcronne, yes."
"You don't know me, and I don't know you either."
"I understand. But you're alone and someone told me you needed comfort."
"Who?"
"An interdimensional entity that enjoys my suffering," I said as a joke.
It was something completely absurd.
Durania blinked. I could see a small laugh behind her lips, but she hid it with discretion.
Sitting a meter away from her, I watched the rainbow river flow before us. The water was crystal clear, but the stones made it look every color of the rainbow.
"Why are you sad?"
"My Empero is weak. Professor Duralianne told me today. 'Insufficient.' In front of everyone." Her voice broke. "My mother is a Rank A Empero Lady. My father, a Rank S Knight. And I... I'm insufficient."
"What's your Empero?"
"Violet." Durania thought about it before saying it. "Physical."
Durania picked up a small stone and covered it with her Empero. Then released it.
The little stone fell like a feather.
Then she picked up another and covered it with her Empero again.
This time it fell as if made of lead.
"I can alter the weight of things... for a second."
"A second?"
"One second. And only small objects. A cup. A book. Nothing useful."
[Comfort her, Romeo. Tell her she's special. That her Empero has potential. That a flower's beauty doesn't depend on its size. 🌸]
Partly true, but...
"Lady Sandahll."
"Yes?"
"Your Empero isn't weak."
"You only say that to make me feel better."
"No. I say it because Emperos grow stronger if you know how to train them. What might be one second, Durania, could become five. What might be a rock weighing as much as lead could come to weigh as much as a whale. Can you imagine throwing a projectile with that weight at someone? You're far from weak. You're... dangerous."
Durania looked at me. Her gray eyes widened.
"Do you really think so?" And for the first time in our entire conversation, and probably in her entire life, Durania smiled. "Me, dangerous?"
And my compliment was genuine. Compared to the world I came from, her Empero would be as lethal as or more than a sniper bullet.
"Yes, you're a small, tender walking calamity," I said with a smile.
Durania let out a little laugh. Her tears had evaporated.
"You're weird, Elcronne."
"I get that a lot."
[Mission: Hug Durania. In front of the group of nobles approaching. 😏]
But I just completed the mission you sent me...
[A mission without making you suffer publicly, Romeo? We don't do that here. 😊]
Looking toward the garden, I spotted a group of six nobles walking toward the river. I recognized two of them: Sir Aldric and Lady Bethany. The rest were from minor houses.
If I hugged Durania in front of them, by tomorrow all of Mayorka would know that the Dog at Her Heels was hugging girls by the rainbow river.
Everything spun at the mere thought of Lianza finding out about the news.
"Lady Sandahll."
"Yes?"
"Do you trust me?"
"I don't know you."
"Perfect. Trust is overrated."
Standing up, I offered my hand. She took it. I lifted her.
"Close your eyes."
"Why?"
"Because your Empero can make things weigh less. What if you tried it with the air?"
"With the air?"
"Air weighs. Little, but it weighs. If you make the air in front of you lighter, your movements will be faster. Your breathing will be deeper. Your mind, clearer."
Durania looked at me with doubt, but closed her eyes. She concentrated her violet Empero. Trembling. Thin.
Her fingers moved. A violet flash covered the air in front of her. Brief. One second.
But in that second, her chest expanded. Her shoulders relaxed. Her jaw loosened.
She opened her eyes.
"It was..."
"One second. But a second where you could breathe." Turning toward the group of approaching nobles, I continued. "Now do it again. But this time, don't close your eyes. Do it in front of them."
Durania looked at the group. She tensed up.
"I can't. They'll see me fail."
"You won't fail. You're going to make the air weigh less. One second. And when you do, they'll feel like they can't breathe while you breathe better."
Sometimes, a man must lie to protect the woman he loves. This was one of those times.
Stepping in front of Durania, I hugged her. If the nobles only saw a romantic scandal, they wouldn't pay attention to a girl practicing her Empero in the background... Or so I hoped.
Her eyes opened immediately. Eyebrows raised and cheeks flushed.
However, she didn't pull away.
On the other hand, I was dying inside.
What would Lianza think when she found out about this?
[🤭]