"What is it?"
Julianne asked this of Roland while her eyebrows made a frown. Blaise and Roland were sitting on chairs opposite her.
"With the crown prince's position being vacant, there will surely be problems. We need to choose one of the prince's to support to succeed the throne."
Fwip
Roland threw a bundle of papers on the table in between them. Blaise sat with his hands folded.
The situation they were in currently due to certain two people was more dire than what one could think. Blaise spoke after looking closely at those papers.
"None of them are competent enough to handle the responsibilities."
Julianne nodded, tapping her index finger on the table. Blaise looked at Roland's face who hadn't said a word.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
That sudden voice of Rolandade Blaise flinch and sit properly. He seemed to have noticed the gazes he was getting from Blaise.
Blaise wasn't sure how to react. He moved his head sideways.
'Even an old man is a bit handsome...'
Roland might be in his fifties, but he was still handsome, even with a few wrinkles on his face. Not more than Dragon King Solas.
If Solas was a black opal, then Roland was a Tanzanite. Both were gems of their own kind.
"I've an idea."
Julianne said this while taking the papers in her hands. She turned the pages quickly. Pointing her finger at a name on the list, she spoke.
"We should support him."
Roland looked at the name on the paper and looked into her eyes with a serious look. For a while, Blaise thought that Roland was angry.
Was he now? Roland let out a sigh, seeing how Julianne ahad a serious expression.
"Fine. I can't win against you."
Julianne was soon smiling at him brightly. He was her senior and her teacher. It had been over a year since he had looked over Julianne's progress.
Julianne had managed to reach close to the rank of a swordmaster. The time she needed to do so was too short compared to Roland himself.
"I know, right."
Also, she was aware that Roland would support her decision. Blaise was just nodding to whatever they said.
They had nothing to lose since what was happening right now was something that other nobles should've been taking part in too. Those people were still asleep.
"True. You should support someone. But before that..."
Blaise finally opened his mouth as he walked to the window right beside them. He looked out, continuing to speak.
"You two must have a proper talk with them."
Blaise placed his hand on the windowpane. Aliana, Jaden, and Claire were outside in the garden at some distance.
They were having a talk. Not that anyone within the room knew what it was about.
"Hmm."
Julianne looked at the figures of three people with worried eyes. Roland kept sitting in his place silently.
He moved his hand and placed his two fingers on his smooth chin. His eyebrows furrowed with wrinkles on his forehead, showing his worry for them.
"I wonder what they are discussing now."
He said this while staring at his own reflection in the windowpane. No one spoke a word after that.
The individuals in front of them were deeply involved in their current crisis. They all had only one question on their minds.
'What are they planning to do now?'
Aliana and Jaden walked to the garden. Claire quietly followed them despite her vision getting heavy.
The nervousness was eating away at her mental strength. The tiny bits of what remained managed to keep her conscious.
-[Calm down. They would've killed you by now if they intended to.]
The voice in her mind said this to lighten up Claire's mood. But it was of no use.
Claire had been wary of Aliana since the voice told her to do so. Yet again the fear she felt was real when Aliana's steps slowly came to a stop.
"Jaden, can you let us have a personal talk?"
Aliana said this as her eyes glanced at Claire behind them. Jaden sighed.
'I will be patient for now.'
He was actually pissed off by everything that happened without having any idea about it. But he managed to settle his anger as he walked a bit further from the women.
"Take a sit."
Snap
Aliana said this while placing a small round table and two chairs in front of them using her magic. Claire gulped down her own saliva.
She sat on the chair with a pale face. Aliana was sitting opposite her now.
"I wonder where we should even begin..."
Aliana said this while lifting her shoulders slightly. Claire kept on looking at the table with her head down.
Snap
The sound of Aliana's finger snapping made her shudder a bit. The magic barrier formed around them let no sound out.
"But you surely have a peculiar body."
Claire could feel Aliana's gaze on her. She felt as if someone was seeing right through her.
Maybe it would've been better if she had run away before reaching there. She tightly held her hands together.
"No need to be so nervous."
Aliana said this while laughing softly. Claire who was still scared, bit her own lips.
"I'm just interested in having a talk with the other person."
Claire flinched upon listening to those words. For a moment, she doubted that Aliana meant the voice when she said other person.
She slowly looked at Aliana. Her eyes were as mysterious as ever when she continued to stare at her.
-[It can't be helped... I will take over. Don't worry...]
The voice in her mind said this while robbing Claire of her consciousness. Now someone else was speaking in place of Claire.
"What do you want from us?"
The demeanour Claire had was totally different than just a while ago. It wasn't the same person anymore.
"Two souls co-existing in the same body is quite an unusual thing to come across."
Claire flinched, and the mana began surround the perso she deemed to be her enemy. She was letting out killing intent directed towards Aliana.
"Just who the hell are you?"
Claire said this as she began preparing spells. She was ready to attack Aliana at any moment.
Aliana smiled upon seeing Claire's reaction. It was because of the huge amount of mana she had poured into the spelll she was casting.
Snap
"You think you are a match for me?"
Crack
The magic Claire was preparing broke apart and vanished. She could feel suffocation just by looking into Aliana's eyes.
"I'm not your enemy."
Aliana closed her eyes and let out a sigh. They both fell silent for a while before Claire opened her mouth.
"How much do you know...?"
She couldn't shake off the nervousness in her heart. Cold sweat formed on her forehead.
"Not everything..."
That meant she knew something. Claire listened to Aliana with uneasiness in her eyes.
She had expected Aliana to only know about Claire and the voice in her mind. But was that really the case?
"I know only that you aren't from our world."
Claire bit her own lips. This was bad news for her. Aliana knew her deepest of the secret.
As if that wasn't enough, Aliana continued speaking. Claire was getting a proper picture of what kind of person she was.
"I'm not interested in what you do... I was just curious about one or two things."
Aliana said this while looking at Claire with a smile. The chills that ran down her spine made her rub her arms roughly.
"W-what is it...?"
She asked with a cracking voice. The trauma she was receiving was being added to.
"Did you really have no hand in those illegal businesses?"
Claire could feel the cold air on her wet forehead. She smiled nervously while exposing her canines.
"Of course. 'I' had no hand in those."
Aliana looked at her smile and let out a laugh. That situation in itself was too amusing for her not to do so.
She understood what had happened when Dragon King Solas used his magic to detect lies. The reason it failed was because 'she' never lied.
"I see. I see."
The barrier around them vanished as Aliana stood up and turned her back to Claire. The voice within her mind let Claire take over the body.
She wasn't scared anymore. Before leaving, Aliana asked one last question.
"Did you truly have feelings for Lenon?"
Aliana continued walking while expecting an answer from Claire. Claire had inherited the memories of what had happened when her original self was asleep.
She spoke as Aliana reached near Jaden.
"Surely you jest, Lady Rosenstein!"
She wasn't nervous anymore after seeing Aliana laugh a moment ago. Jaden was listening to their conversation while standing dazed at the wide sky.
He wasn't interested in their talks. The only thing he wanted was the answers to his questions.
'Today's weather looks bad...'
The sky was cloudy. The moon was hiding behind a veil of clouds.
Rustle
Some sound fell on Claire's ears. She turned around, but nothing was there. She walked towards the exit while mumbling to herself.
"That must be my imagination."
----------------------------
Huff huff
The man was breathing heavily as he ran without caring about his body. He kept on running even after the bushes and tree branches scratched his body.
He could feel the pain in his body. But something else hurt more than his body.
'Why...'
He gritted his teeth as he made his way through the dense forest. He had left the kingdom just a while ago. With no destination in mind, the man ran like crazy.
'Why...'
He could feel a weird emotion within his heart. It wasn't the first time he felt it. Some monsters came in his way, but he kept on running amidst them.
The phsyical wounds he was suffering didn't hurt him anymore. As if his senses were being numbed, he continued sprinting.
'Why...'
The glow he had in his eyes before had faded away. Just where was he going? The white blazer he wore was no longer white. It was dyed red. The man didn't stop his sprint.
He wanted to shout loudly, but his voice didn't come out. He had a sword tied around his waist, which he didn't pull out. All the running kept him occupied.
'Why...'
It felt like something was crushing his heart. He could feel a piercing pain in his chest. Just why was he feeling that pain?
Rumbleeeee
The thunder struck a tree nearby. The man's run came to a stop. He stood in one place. The tree fell towards him.
He didn't move an inch. He simply stood in his place, waiting for the tree to crush him. Just how badly did he wished to die?
Thud
The tree touched the ground right next to him. He simply stared at the tree. He felt a cold sensation on his neck.
Drip drip drip
It was raining. The man stood in his place for a while. He could feel his wounds burning all over his body because of the water falling from the sky.
Thud
His legs gave out due to overwhelming exhaustion. He was kneeling on the ground with his hands on the ground.
BAM
The sound spread throughout the forest. The monsters around the area fled as fast as they could.
BAM BAM BAM
The sound kept echoing through the dense forest for as long as it could. Finally, the sound was no longer heard. There were huge dents in the ground. The man was still in his position, as he was a while ago.
"Puh-"
Laughter mixed with the sound of raindrops touching the ground. The drops of water that flowed down his hair made his sight blurry.
"Puhahahahahahahaha."
The man laughed as he looked at his own reflection in the water. His white clothes weren't white anymore. His violet eyes had no shine in them.
"Crown Prince? Youngest swordmaster? My a*s."
The water flowed down Lenon's cheeks. Maybe the rain was too heavy. The water on the ground around him had become red.
The blood from his hands that had mixed with the water on the ground made everything red. But it didn't change anything.
"Nothing changed... Be it now or back then..."
He laughed at himself like a madman and stood up while speaking.
"Just where did everything go wrong...?"
He wobbled as he tried to walk. The red colour dripped down his worn-out clothes. No matter what he did, he couldn't remove the words he had heard a few moments ago from his mind.
-Surely you jest, Lady Rosenstein!
He had followed Claire when she was having a talk with Aliana. Now he looked at his hands. They were bleeding with nothing else left in them.
Fwish
He slowly put his body across a tree nearby. His senses had become even duller dur to the blood loss.
The toll had began affecting on his wounded physique. The sound of his thoughts covered the pitter-patter of the rain.
'Everything was a lie... Next time, I won't trust anyone...'
He wasn't even trying to resist the cold spreading throughout his body. His heart was still in pain.
'What a life... It was the same back then...'
The familiar sensation he felt only made him think of it. This was the feeling he hated the most. His last bits of consciousness was fading away.
'Ah... so this is it...'
Smiling bitterly, he shut his eyes close by himself. He knew more than anyone else how the phenomenon called death looked like.
'I wasn't the protagonist in the end...'
He was now awaiting his death. His heart was still beating, but very lightly.
Filled with guilt and regret, he was thinking about something else. Wasn't it too late to think something like that?
'Did I ever apologise to Lady Rosenstein for my misbehavior?'
He was aware that his actions also played a part in the situation he was in. He couldn't open his eyes anymore. Some sounds fell on his ears.
Splash
"You have quite a handsome face."
He could hear someone talking along with a gentle touch on his cheeks. That voice was the last thing he could hear.
Woosh
The beating of his heart that was slightly audible amidst the rain faded away. The youngest swordmaster and the former Crown Prince of the Dragonaria Kingdom had disappeared without a trace.