"You all..." Vil sighed as he stepped into the lounge.
"Ah, Vil is here." Ace looked on curiously.
Vil nodded in greeting as he entered the lounge, "I wanted to speak with Lotus so I was late."
.....
"Lotus, you..."
Vil was on his way to the Ramshackle dorm, but he never expected to come across Lotus as he was passing by the Science club when he saw her.
"Since the dorm leader of Pomefiore called me out, there must be something important you wish to speak with me about." Lotus continued nonchalantly.
When Vil recalled memories of his overblot, he remembered a burning sensation and her glare as she stood over him. Despite being one with no magic, he slapped someone in overblot with her bare hands and threatened him. She was fearless and held great confidence in her stance with grace in her steps. However, over the week since that incident, he has not heard from her again and, according to Rook, he seems to be in a heavy mood. He was afraid that it would not be the best time to apologize to her. However, Rook strangely insisted that he should apologize whatever it was that he felt he did wrong to her. Perhaps, it was to make her calm down and lighten up again, but, to begin with, he doesn't even know how to apologize to her in the beginning!
"I wanted to know..." Vil began hesitantly, "About what you said regarding Niege... Is it true?"
Hearing this, Lotus huffed in dismay, "This is something that you should know yourself, isn't it? Why ask something so obviously before you?"
"This..."
Seeing Vil's hesitation, it finally dawned on Lotus as she chuckled, "Is this why you always see Niege so antagonistically for so long? Hehe!"
"Y-You..." Vil was at a loss for words for the first time in a really, really long time.
"Vil has always been in the entertainment industry. So, you must've seen your own fair share of corruption in business and lies. However, to think the great Vil is so concerned about the movement of others' mouths as well. Hehe... You really have amazing dedication, Vil-senpai."
"You..." Vil sighed in defeat. He wanted to snap at her, but he knew that it would be a problem since his goal here was to appease her with an apology. However, it turned into him being a laughingstock by her!
Lotus sighed in disappointment, "You have such great rivalry against him... Have you ever even noticed how much he turns to your Magicam account for reference? Not to mention, the time you began working is strangely close to when he began acting in plays."
"Ahem..." Vil cleared his throat, "So, how did you know?"
Lotus smirked, "Your vice-dorm leader told me once when talking about you. I had thought it was strange how he knows so much about Niege as well, despite being infatuated with your beauty, but it would seem that he is also infatuated with Niege's beauty of the heart. Beauty of the body and beauty of the heart. The beautiful queen had to lose her beauty to understand the beauty of their own heart. In your case, it seems that you were barely saved from completely losing yours. Seriously, if you fall, I wonder what would happen to all the world's budding idols... Not to mention, your father might start blaming himself if something happened to you or did you also forget that you are his only child."
"My parents have always allowed me to follow this path..." Vil responded, "Though, you speak logically. If he learned the reason for my overblot, he would be saddened regardless of the effect on his own business and reputation."
After all, this was the person that struggled to return home to raise his only child by himself. To think he would forget something so important. From beginning to end, the most supportive one had always been him. The second was the company he worked under. On the other end, Niege didn't have the support of his family and strove to succeed with his own strength from a young age. They had different upbringings, but the result was the same.
"The result of your upbringings was the same wasn't because of upbringings, but both of your dedications. Niege dedicated himself to become such a great actor and model because he, not only looked to you as his model, but also put in the same efforts that you have to improve yourselves. his parents weren't great models and he was fortunate to understand that. In exchange, your image was what pushed him all this way. You already have beauty, but you continued to build upon that. Niege is naive, but he isn't dumb. Just memorizing lines and moves accordingly takes a lot of effort. This is why Niege looks up to you. If he really had any underhanded means, then he would not be in the spotlight he is in today. Not to mention, the same is for you, right?"
"Me?"
"Your efforts also brought you to where you are today. If there was no you of today, there is no Niege le Blanc as well." Lotus sighed, "If you were to take stand, then Niege would be there as well. Hah... I'm literally talking in circles here. So tiring... Basically, if you want to bring down Niege, then you can go ahead and bring yourself down as well. The only reason the two of you are so popular isn't just both of your beauty and talent, but the rivalry between both of your fans. Did you really think that no one would notice the tie of popularity and talents the two of you had? Geez..."
Hearing her complain so much, he started to feel a tinge of regret in being present.
"Hmph! I just wanted to apologize, but it seems that you aren't in the mood for such trivial conversation!" Vil turned his head and left.
"It would seem that you are done as well... Hmph!"
With that, she turned around and left without looking back without realizing that Vil had.
Watching her leave casually, Vil unconsciously touched his cheek in deep contemplation and confusion. He had wanted to apologize, but why would he apologize to someone with that sort of attitude?!
He can acknowledge that he was in the wrong. However, that still doesn't give her the right to look down upon him and lecture him!
.....
Lotus was in the Greenhouse when Trey called out to her much to her confusion.
"Trey-senpai?" Lotus looked to him in confusion, "You called?"
"I thought that you were going to be at ramshackle dorm today? Rook told me that you would be absent." Trey said with a look of surprise.
"Really?" Lotus muttered, "I was never told about it... I guess I'll make my way back to the dorm, then."
Not long after leaving the greenhouse did she received a call from her phone. With a frown, she turned away from the main road and made her way to the trees before picking up her phone, "Hello. May I ask who this is?"
"Greetings... Princess Peony..."
"I see... Greetings... Lady Fates..." Peony responded calmly to the raspy voice.
The three lady Fates were a group of idols that perform despite their old age and wrinkly appearances. Even though they have such appearances, they are famous for their charismatic performances and staying true to themselves. However, under the surface, they are the ones capable of telling the fate of the souls. So much so, that they are akin to the three fates that claims the souls of the people with a snip of their life thread and serve under the King of the Underworld. As such, they have a reputation ricketing back and forth between good and bad as they can tell the time of death of those around them and earned them a role in politics of the Land of Woe, also known as the Land of Lament and Land of Dawning. However, it is for this role that Lotus must seek them out.
"You wish to break the ties of fate..."
Peony answered calmly, "That's correct. Naturally, there will be prices to be paid for this... However, the soul I want to break ties for is a special entity... The price will be immense..."
"Since you know, why must you break it? It's just not worth it."
Peony chuckled, "However, you would know better than I. When a soul touches another, the colors change. Their buds bloom into a color different from their heritage. The black thread once capable of changing colors have touched upon pure white. Whiter than that of cold snow. In time, that white thread would become that of many colors and it would tie the other thread throughout their growth. This color, however, is destined to part. Thus, my interest is piqued. However, whether it is worth it or not... Is that not for me for confirm this?"
"Your thread..." The voice responded with great hesitation.
Peony huffed a laugh, "My thread? Is that it?"
There was a pause of silence before the voice responded, "That is correct..."
Peony nodded with a smirk, "Take my gold thread, then. It doesn't matter how many strands you use or if you use all of it..."