_Third Person's Point of View_
"Co-consciousness?" Lavalee asked and smiled
"Where'd you learn about that?" she asked and their youngest sister turned to look at Winter, the only sibling who didn't seem surprised to know that they are co-conscious
Lavalee knew there was only one person in the garden who could've helped Freia and Array learn how to be co-conscious and even know that such a thing was possible.
And that person had to be someone their youngest sister is with most of the time.
That is Winter Icey Hanazono.
"I didn't do much," Winter looked away
"I just read stuff, that's all." She added and Lavalee smiled
"Does that mean Akuma can front while one of you is fronting too?" Fuego asked and his twin shook her head
"Co-consciousness tires us more than switching does, it's like two phones are charging with the same power bank at the same time."
It was evident from the tone and way of speaking that it was Freia who replied.
"Frei wanted to express how much she loves nee-chama, I just want to help her," Array added and smiled
"That's so sweet, my loves," Lavalee said and hugged them
In the eyes of a spectator, Lavalee only hugged one little girl, but, Lavalee hugged and relayed her love to all three personalities; Samantha Akuma, Akiramenaide Array, and Summer Freia.
Her hug was tight and it was reciprocated, and for some reason, Lavalee felt like the hug she received is very tight, as if the one hugging her is very afraid of losing her.
In the kind of life, they are proceeding with, death is inevitable.
Everyone part of the underground knows that and they have steeled their hearts to prepare for their and their loved ones' untimely death because they can never know where or when their life will end.
"Sheesh, cut the drama,"
"You enjoyed the hug too, Akuma, don't deny it."
Lavalee decided to tease the young girl whose eyes are in a shade of red, far different from the enchanting greyish gold they once were earlier.
"I very much didn't, eonni, but I had to endure it because neither of the two was out of energy just yet." Samantha replied and rolled her eyes
Lavalee shook her head, still smiling, and released the young girl from her hug but not before she pinched Samantha's cheeks out of fondness.
In her mind, Samantha may be the dangerous alter and the one they have to always look out for because of her murderous tendencies, it was still Samantha who allowed their younger sister's personality to survive.
Although she very much doesn't appreciate the fact that Samantha won't bat an eye when she takes someone else's life, there was no denying that Samantha was only a product of the constant pain Freia had to endure.
"Alright, back to decorating!" Lavalee said and they resumed their tasks in decorating the area to look very festive and welcoming for the New Year
This is after all the very first New Year they'll be celebrating together after five years.
It just had to be the most memorable for all of them, and that's why even the decorating part in preparation for their first new year together as a family needs to be memorable as well.
It was already dark by the time they finished decorating the garden and the whole mansion, with the help of the butlers and maids who were assigned to decorate the mansion, of course.
Lavalee and Frost ordered them not to interfere in decorating the garden because that was the only place the two agreed that they can let their younger siblings decorate.
The two had experienced decorating the garden in preparation for the new year in the past, and they were pretty much the same age as their younger sister, Winter Icey, when they last did it and it was under the supervision of their mother, Lyrae Freezetin Ayazaki-Hanazono, whilst their father was busy with work.
And that's the reality that the oldest Hanazono – no rather – that's the reality that all the first-born and oldest children of their generation had to endure while growing up in their messed up underground society.
A parent or both were always busy, having threats to lives received for breakfast almost every morning, the constant lingering scent of death trailing behind, and the constant duty to keep their family legacy safe and sturdy, they were trained and groomed the moment they learned to speak of what they must know and uphold.
Death was the only exit ticket, and even that won't be easy because even one's death had to be meaningful or else your existence will be erased.
That was scarier than death because dying of something the underground will consider meaningless will bring shame to the bereaved and they will be given the choice of either living with the shame or cutting their ties to that person.
Cutting their ties meant erasing the dead person's existence, making it seem as if that person never really existed in the first place.
Legally and illegally.
A cruel reality and society that Lavalee and Frost had grown up in.
A society that Jace and every upright law enforcer would like to abolish but won't be able to do so in the next hundred millennia.
A society that Jace will have to enter and accept if he wishes to stay with Lavalee.
"Hey, what's that?"
Lavalee snuck up from behind Jace and looked at what he was reading on his phone
"It's nothing," Jace shook his head making Lavalee look at him suspiciously
"You're acting weird," Lavalee said and looked around
"Have you seen Icey? I haven't seen her since earlier, Fuego and Nii-sama too." Lavalee asked and turned to Jace who shook his head
"That's weird," Lavalee commented
"Maybe they're doing something they like," Jace said and placed his arms around Lavalee's waist
"Hmm, that's true, but…" Lavalee clicked her tongue and glanced at Jace
A lot of thoughts are running through Lavalee's mind right now, and one of those is correct.
She leaned in and felt the warmth radiating from Jace's body. She looked up at her man.
Her man…
Lavalee smiled at the thought of that.
At the same time, the reality they are in made her feel sad.
It's easy to fool themselves within their empire's domain but the moment they step foot in Seryphil, a country where no underground empire is dominant, the reality that Jace is a law enforcer and Lavalee is a mafia empire heiress will catch up to them like a ghost.
They may not be dating… or well, they never really went out on a date or went through courtship, Lavalee felt like she was waiting for Jace all along.
Love felt like a gamble and an illicit addiction.