"Leticia."
"..."
"Leticia. Open the door."
"Should I open it for you from the other side?" Nynim asked in a whipsher.
"Please."
Nynim's figure disappeared, there was a soft click, then the door opened. Nynim let Sequenccee in, while she herself walked out.
On the bed was a human burrito.
"Leticia."
Sequencee walked to her side and called out.
"It's not your fault."
"..."
"There was nothing about it we could do to begin with."
".."
"She was the one who decided this herself."
"."
"Don't blame yourself for this."
Sequencee repeated words to reassure her. And useless as it was, this was the only thing he could think of to bring her back to a functional state of mind. The self blame that you were yourself the cause of someone's death– Sequencee knew this feeling all too well.
"I'll protect you."
"I don't want to go back home," Leticia's meek voice resounded.
"What did they tell you?"
"That I have to go back home. I don't want to go back home. I'm scared of going back home.."
"Then you won't have to."
"But I must because.. otherwise.." Leticia's voice choked up in tears.
"Otherwise?"
"He'll tell everyone.. everyone will know about it.. and then.."
"Your brother will tell everyone?"
Leticia could be seen nodding.
'Spread rumors that Leticia killed her fiance, or something along those lines. Anything to reveal that someone had murdered and self-suicide thereafter..'
"What does that have to do with you? If he tells everyone, it's not like it'll affect us directly, right?"
"He will tell everyone that I'm his sister."
"..."
"What should I.. do.."
"You don't need to do anything."
If the people knew that Leticia was Lancet's sister, what would that entail? That her sister didn't attend the funeral? That the sister was a runaway? That the sister didn't care about family?
"I'll go talk to him."
"What are you going to do?"
"A duel."
".. A duel?"
"Yes. He asked for it once."
Sequencee knew that it didn't matter if Lancet spread the news far and wide, but, for Leticia's sake he'd..
Sequencee was about to walk off when he felt a tug. He turned around, Leticia sat up.
Her green hair messy from sleep, tears in her heterochromic eyes shimmered in the dark. She reached out and hugged him.
Sequencee responded by tightening his arms around her.
===
"Will he agree to this?" Her Highness Titania's eyes narrowed.
"I don't know. But it's worth a shot."
"That would make things much simpler however.. will you kill him is the question," Nearl asked in a sharp tone.
"I'll knock him out."
"I will warn you that he's not as easy of a person as you think he is. While he may not be the main representative, he is on par with many B-rank mercenaries that specialize in solo battles," Nearl said.
"Well, it just happens that I'm an A-rank. He should be a piece of cake."
"Pardon?"
"I am an A-rank mercenary. I'll be able to handle him. I simply need you to arrange the necessary plans."
"This.."
"Sequencee, can you really do this?"
"I have to," Sequencee swallowed his resolve.
"What is the likelihood of the count himself intervening?"
"No. We only need to keep things under until the end of the competition."
"That would be about a week.. the morale of the students have been affected. What if we considered pulling out instead?"
"That is a solution however.. I don't want them to miss this chance. Even if they would not perform to par, it would be an invaluable experience to them. Moreover, the investigator has asked that I find a solution to seize the information from leaking. This is a good opportunity."
"And, a fight should be good for him to vent," Sequencee added.
"Go. I'm in support of it," Titania said resolutely.
…
..
.
Sequence stopped before a door. Releasing that lock, he pushed it open. Light poured in the room, a chilly air drifted.
Standing in the darkness was the shadowy figure of a man he hardly recognized
"Lancet," he looked like torn rags, eyes harnessing a sinister glint.
"What are you here for? To pity me, asshole?" His growl echoed throughout.
From the looks of the furniture, it was clear to him that Lancet had been throwing a fit. None of his roomates were here, having moved out from this apartment.
"You're going to drag Leticia with you no matter what, right?"
"What are you going to do about it.. that's right. It's you isn't it? If only you didn't intervene everything would've gone as planned! Azaleas wouldn't have had to kill herself!" Lancet grabbed a chair and flung it at Sequencee.
It was caught mid air by an air cushion. Sequencee laid it down gently.
"I propose a duel."
"Propose a duel? At this sort of time? Are you fucking out of your mind?!!" Lancet screamed, flipping the table over.
The items on it scattered. None of it hit Sequencee.
"If you win, I'll stop trying to involve myself with Leticia. You can bring her to the county, whatever it is that you want."
"You think that's what I want? She fucking killed her! You think I want to bring home a killer?!"
"Then what? What do you want then?"
"Don't ask me that question. You came here proposing for a duel even without a good offer? You're out of your mind are you? You think you're a hero or something?!"
"So that's your decision? If that's the case then fine by me. Do what you want."
"We'll duel. We'll duel in the colosseum, a duel to the death. If you can let everyone come and watch your miserable self die in front of the stage, I'll consider."
"So you want to fight in front of a large audience?"
"I'll make sure you die," his eyes blazed.
"Settled. If you win, you can do whatever you want with Leticia, I'll stop bothering. If I win, you'll not speak a word about the incident until Her Highness Titania gives you the permission to do so. You'll also stop trying to associate Leticia with yourself. The duel will be in front of a large crowd. I'll discuss with Her Highness Titania about the matter."
"Go tell her you asshole. I'll be waiting for the good news."
Sequence left the room, shutting the door behind him. The crash of loud thrashing could be heard from the outside followed by a heart wrenching scream.
Sequencee gripped the key in hand tightly.
===
"For what purpose?"
"The victims of the case wish to duel as a manner of settling things. I require your permission to use the influence you hold to bring students as spectators," Titania said with a rare expression of seriousness.
"Hm.." Cabural leaned against his seat. "It would be much too complicated to arrange something at the scale of your request when the campus colosseum is being used by the students for practice. Could you consider another proposal of mine?"
"What would that be?"
"Would it be the same if we scheduled the duel into the itinerary of the New Dawn Series itself?"
Titania's eyes opened wide in surprise.
"Would that.. not affect the occasion?"
"I'm sure you are aware that the heroes will be dueling one another as a show of their potential, yes? Then we shall simply slot the duel either before or after this event."
"Would it not be suspicious?"
"I believe not," Cabural explained, "If we announce it as a specially requested duel between students, it should suffice as an excuse. Crudely I shall say, they will become the filler event to further create anticipation and curiosity. By the end of it however, it's unlikely they would remember it once the remainder of the event comes underway."
"That's good reasoning. However, I still have some reservations about it," Titania hesitated.
"Otherwise, to clear the colosseum for the mere sake of would be more suspicious to the students, no? If I may add cunningly Your Highness, I believe it's inevitable that information regarding the incident will reach the ears of the people eventually. It is but a matter of time."
Cabural weaved his hands together and supported his chin.
Titania bit her lips.
===
"A duel to the death during the tournament itself?"
"Yes," Titania said.
"You actually got permission for this?" Lancet looked up at Sequencee. He no longer had that crazy look, but that didn't mean his condition was great.
"Yes," Sequencee drawled.
"You're insane.. you're really insane.." Lancet read the terms over and over again.
Sequencee and Titania waited for him to complete. His eyes scanned the pages multiple times over.
'Will he sign it?'
He agreed to the duel in the heat of the moment. Seeing how much calmer he was now than when Sequencee met him last time, his mind might've changed. They can only hope that the additional terms included in the contract would be enough to entice him.
"In short, what you need is for me to shut up. Is that correct?" Lancet lowered the document and stared.
"For Leticia's sake, and for the sake of the other students."
Lancet clicked his tongue and read the terms again.
"Change this."
He slammed the paper on the desk and pointed to one of the clauses.
"Why should one party spare the other?"
"..."
"Did I not say I wanted a duel to the death?" Lancet declared. He glared at Sequencee with a shadow casted upon his face. "Then I'll duel."
Titania expression contorted.