Character : Lilyanna Valkaria, Freedom
-----
"I will start seeing things in the long term from now on. I will get stronger, just like you wanted."
I said to my own sister, Frisena. The person who has always been in control of my life.
"Once I do that, I will obtain my own freedom through my own strength."
My mind remembered the day I first talked with him. How cheerful he was, and how bright he was every time I looked into his smile.
Just like him. I wanted to be just like him.
'Because I never wanted to be treated as a prince.'
Those words of his… while I do understand his reasoning for saying that, I felt much closer to that sentence than I imagined.
And now… I have decided.
"Then… I'll just quit being a princess." I said sternly at my sister, the crown princess of the water empire.
Ever since I was younger, my life has been controlled down to every detail of actions I do. A princess must look elegant. A woman must look beautiful and pretty. Our actions must not be unpleasant. Even our three meals a day are rarely tasty because of our diet.
And the person who made me do all of those rules… was none other than my sister. She was the perfect daughter to everyone, and she set the bar high for every noblewomen in the water empire. And as a sister, everyone expected the same out of me.
'If your sister can do it, then you can also do it!'
'Look at Frisena! She is a genius! Why can't you be the same!?'
Everyone is like that. Everyone is just selfish bastards who only wanted the best out of me.
And now, I realized. They have no right to like me if they can't accept the real me.
And this is… the real me.
"Lily… are you serious?" Frisena asked me with a shocked face, and I nodded firmly at her.
"Once I graduate from this academy… I will forge my own path." I told her my long term plans, and Frisena looked like she wanted to yell at me again.
But… apparently that was never what she wanted.
"Seriously. Took you long enough." Frisena said while closing her eyes, and I can see tears falling on her cheeks. I turned widely confused at her, and she only tilted her head while wearing a soft smile at me.
"I thought you're just going to be a goody girl all your life! Seriously, I was wondering if you're really my sister." Frisena said with the same smile at me, and my confusion was multiplied.
"H-Huh!?"
"You're right. You should forge your own path. Hell, I was actually more worried that you're going to do everything that I said. Because if you do, then there's no way you can enjoy your life.
But I did that… because that's how you've always liked it. You always listen to others, no matter what they say. You never question whether or not it was the right thing for you, and you only ever listen." Frisena explained to me how she has been seeing me all this time, and it really felt like the world as I know it has changed.
"Frisena…"
"I'm sorry, Lily. I've been such a bully sister to you, haven't I? I kept on telling you to be perfect, and yet I keep on breaking rules as if they were glass." She told me while laying her body down on the sofa, and I only started to understand what was happening.
"T-Then… I can stop being a princess?" I asked a little awkwardly, and Frisena just laughed while laying down on the sofa.
"You think anything I do fits being a crown princess? When I was in the academy, I got punished so many times for being a delinquent. I basically spent more time at class K than I did at class A. Lily, I slept with ten women."
"That's not a detail I wanted to hear…" I let out a sigh from hearing her talk so wildly, and she only chuckled.
"One thing for certain… is that you never have to follow anyone. Not me, not our parents. Just do what you want to do." Frisena said with a smile at me, and I can now understand the reasons behind all her actions.
She must've realized that I've been under pressure for so long. She wanted to save me from the people at the empire by pulling me out of there. It was her who got me into the academy, and she even acted as if she is the one taking care of me to pull away all the attention from the empire people.
And now, she is setting me free.
"Thank you… sister." I said to her softly, and she just took out an item from her storage bracelet. She threw it to me, and I realized what item it was.
"It's a necklace. It will help you with your problems." Frisena said after I received the necklace, and I was too mesmerized studying the beautiful blue gem in the middle.
"H-How will this beautiful necklace… Do you want me to sell it?"
"No! Don't ever sell it!" She quickly yelled while lifting her head, and I got really startled. "Look, Lily. Do you have problems catching up to everyone's talents at your age?"
Frisena suddenly talked about my issues, and I nodded awkwardly. "Yes… how did you know about it?"
"Because I have the same problem. For whatever reason, I can never catch up to those who are truly talented. My talent was nothing like theirs, and I got left in the dust all the time." Frisena shared with me the exact same experience that I'm currently going through, and I was really surprised at that.
"Then… how did you catch up?"
"I didn't. I stopped. Just like what you were about to do, I gave up." Frisena said with a really complex expression, and I can tell she hates herself for that. "I gave up chasing after my origin talent. Instead, I focused myself on my other talents. I always excel in academic stuff, so I focused my path there instead. I joined the origin science club and made a bunch of inventions that shook the world."
"T-Then, you were never good at your origin…?"
"I mean, my skills are above average. But, if you compare it to the geniuses at my age… it's like I don't exist." Frisena looked really saddened by that, and I can tell because I experienced the same thing.
"I also… feel like that. My roommate is the very definition of talent. And whenever I trained around her, or everyone else… I just feel really left out." I shared with her how I felt, and Frisena laughed.
"It's really painful, isn't it? But now, there are two options for you that you can freely choose. You can choose to leave everything about your origin talent behind and move away to the academic stuff, like what I did." Frisena then pointed her finger at the necklace in my hands. "Or, you can use that necklace to catch up with the others."
Hearing her words, I was really shocked. "W-What does the necklace do…?"
"Wear it, and you'll understand." Frisena said while laying her head down at the sofa again, and I turned curious. I followed her words and put the necklace on, and I could immediately feel the change.
"This is…"
"Different? Yeah, I know. I made that necklace specifically for you." Frisena said with pride, but I was too surprised to say a word.
After wearing this necklace, I feel… really strong. It feels like I can do anything with my origin powers. It feels like I can cast a tsunami very easily. It feels very-very… wrong.
"I can't wear this. This is unfair."
"What do you mean? It's the fairest item in the world! Think about it." Frisena turned her annoyed stare at me, and she lifted her hand to point at the wall.
"All those talented bastards who can melt titanium at the age of seven. Do you think it's fair that people like them exist? Hell no! That necklace is there to make things fair. Call it cheating, but those people are also cheating in life."
That's… one way to say talents are cheats…
But, she is right. If I want to catch up to people who are more talented than me, this is what I have to do.