The request obviously took everyone by surprise.
Everyone looked at me as though I was a complete fool, including the Head Elder.
“So you’re saying that it was all a show?”
It took a while to explain everything to her. Sitting in her office, she leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the table.
Sitting on the chair opposite her, I nodded my head.
“Yes, basically.”
Looking at her, she didn’t seem very pleased with my stunt.
It couldn’t be helped. I had to make sure everyone saw it. I was sure news of my actions was going to make its way into the ears of everyone in the Empire.
“…Our household can’t afford to take on the deal openly. Given that we’ve just emerged from a large conflict, we had no choice but to resort to such a tactic.”
“I see.”
Rosanna Astrid seemed more understanding when I explained to her a small part of our circumstances.
Eventually, she sighed.
“Alright, this is also possible. You said you will be working with the Verlice family?”
“…Yes.”
She nodded slightly before standing up.
“I understand, I’ll make sure to do as you’ve requested. Considering your contributions to our region, it is only right that we do this. In fact, even this doesn’t cover everything that you’ve done for us. If you do need anything else, please let us know.”
“Will do.”
I thought about asking them for resources, but I actually didn’t need them.
What I needed right now was time to grow and consolidate all of my skills. I planned on keeping this favor for the near future when I needed it.
“Alright, you may go.”
Without speaking, I nodded quietly and stood up.
Just as I stood, I saw her open her mouth as she tried to say something, but she eventually stopped herself and shook her head.
‘What’s that about?’
Although I was confused, since she chose not to finish her sentence, I could only retreat silently and leave the room.
I didn’t want her to change her mind all of a sudden.
***
Clank—!
Watching the door close and Julien’s figure disappear, Rosanna stood in place for several seconds before letting out a gentle sigh.
Turning around, she gazed out the window, letting the gentle afterglow of the sun wash over her.
Lifting her head, she stared at the distant blue sky.
Several days had passed since the sky had turned blue, and everything felt different. The heavy gloom that once seeped into the very bones of the city had lifted. In its place, an air of hope blanketed the streets and its people.
From the smiles to the looks.
Everything about the people had changed.
“…It’s a nice parting gift.”
She gently pressed her hand against the glass window.
Staring towards the sky, her lips gently pulled upwards as she thought of a certain figure.
She, like most of the other elders, understood the kind of cage the former head had been forced to live in. They had been told all about it from the master of the former head. They knew he didn’t have much time, and they’ve witnessed his rapid aging with time.
And yet, they could do nothing about it.
He was the sole reason the Astrid family could live at the top of the other households.
In their own selfish way, they were the reason for his suffering.
To Tok—
A gentle knock suddenly echoed through the room, prompting Rosanna to turn her head.
“Come in…”
A figure with long, wavy brown hair and delicate features stepped in shortly after her words faded, carrying a small box in her hand. It was none other than Kora, one of the Seven Spears of the Astrid family.
Noticing the box immediately, Rosanna raised her brow.
“That is…?”
“…I am not too sure, Head Elder.”
She placed the box on the table while taking a peek at the window behind the Head Elder.
“I chanced upon it right before coming here. It was given to me by Julien, who told me to pass it to you, saying something about forgetting to return it.”
“This?”
Rosanna glanced at the box on the table.
She felt that the box was vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she had seen it before.
“Is there anything else?”
“No.”
Kora shook her head.
“I wasn’t planning on disturbing you. I only came in here to hand in the box.”
“Then you may go.”
“…Understood.”
Bowing once, Kora quietly left the room, leaving the Head Elder alone with her thoughts. As a strange silence filled the room, Rosanna glanced at the box on the desk before pressing on it.
Da—!
A note suddenly played.
Da, Da—
One note followed by another, and then another, slowly coming together to form a familiar tune.
Overhearing the tune, Rosanna froze in place before…
Da, Da, Da—
Bursting into a bright smile.
***
“Is everyone present? We will be leaving shortly.”
Announcing our departure was none other than Delilah. Finally deciding to show up, she startled those from the Kasha, but once they realized she was with us, they greeted her warmly.
‘Given the fact that she’s here, I presume that the situation within the Academy has calmed down?’
Now that I thought about it, what could have caused such a phenomenon to occur?
Was it just naturally occurring, or was it artificial?
A part of me hoped for the former to be true, but deep down, I knew that wasn’t the case. This was certainly a man-made event.
But what exactly was the reason for this?
Why did they do this?
“If there’s anything that you want to do before leaving do it now. You have approximately one hour left.”
As Delilah’s voice reached my ears again, I raised my head to see her calmly observing us with her usual indifferent expression. Standing where I was, she looked different somehow.
Everything about her felt different.
She felt like an existence that stood above all of us. Especially that detached expression of hers… She really didn’t feel like the Delilah I knew.
Of course, I knew this was merely a front.
‘She’s probably thinking about chocolate deep down.’
I reached for my pocket where I felt a chocolate bar and slowly pulled it out.
Flick.
As if her head were a magnet, her gaze flicked in my direction. I stood calmly while opening the wrapper.
Her face showed signs of change, but she just managed to keep herself composed.
Barely…
I took a bite of the chocolate.
‘So damn sweet.’
I hated it.
But I didn’t dislike the repercussions of my actions.
With a subtle tremble in her expression, barely perceptible to those around us, Delilah’s eyes narrowed. I felt my body freeze at the sight of her eyes, almost as though invisible dark hands were reaching out for me from beneath me, trying to grasp me and pull me down into an endless abyss of despair.
‘How scary…’
I took another bite.
“…!?”
Delilah’s face showed even more cracks.
Lately, I felt like she had been teasing me a little bit too much.
“Hmm.”
I took another bite. It was my third bite, and looking at the bar, I was surprised to see that it was almost fully eaten.
‘I’m such a pig.’
I brought the chocolate bar next to my mouth again.
…Or at least, tried to.
“Why?”
A certain voice reached my ears.
The feeling came from right in front of me, and when I looked up, I found a pair of black eyes staring deeply into mine.
“Oh, it’s you.”
I nodded before bringing the bar close to my mouth.
But just as the bar was about to reach my lips, a hand clamped against my forearm.
“Why?”
I licked my lips and looked around me.
As expected, time was frozen again.
‘What a broken ability…’
Surely there had to be some sort of limit.
“Why what?”
“You, this…”
Delilah alternated her gaze between the chocolate bar and me. I frowned and pretended to be in deep thought before coming to an understanding.
“Ah, so you want it too?”
“Yes.”
Delilah nodded her head, her face stern while her eyes seemed to scream, ‘Give it.’
“I see, how silly of me.”
“…Yes, so give.”
“Alright, just let me go.”
It was only then that Delilah let go of my hand. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak again, I hastily shoved the chocolate bar into my mouth, much to her utter shock and dismay.
“You…!”
Delilah took a step back, her face pale.
Holding onto her chest, her lips quivered as she looked at me. From her expression, it almost felt like I had just committed an unforgivable crime—like I had killed her entire family.
I didn’t care and just savored the taste.
‘Taste like shit.’
But the spectacle before me made the taste worth it.
“Ah, this…”
Biting her lips, Delilah leaned against one of the pillars.
Right now, she was the embodiment of despair, as if the closest person to her had betrayed her—driving a knife deep into her back.
It was a good thing that time had stopped, otherwise everyone would’ve looked at the scene in utter shock. Was this the same Chancellor who looked so imposing and mighty moments prior?
“Kaka—Oops.”
I covered my mouth when I noticed that I was suddenly about to laugh like Kiera.
‘This isn’t good. She’s already corrupted Aoife and Evelyn. I can’t let her behavior corrupt me as well.’
It was right when I thought about Kiera when I found myself looking at her.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘Right, shouldn’t I ask her about the mirror?’
If there was ever a time to ask, it was now. Before, I had hesitated to bring it up while we were in the Empire. If what she possessed was a relic similar to the sword I had, I feared it might draw the attention of Sithrus.
However, things were different now.
If she pulled the relic here, would Sithrus notice?
Maybe…
But by the time he arrived, we could very well have left the place.
‘Of course, that’s granted the fact that she has it…’
I also needed to find a way to approach her with regard to the topic. I thought about telling her about my situation with the other ‘Julien’, or more like, a ‘parasitic’ entity trying to devour me from within.
However, what I struggled to answer was how I knew she had the mirror.
I didn’t want her to be suspicious about the fact that I was from the Inverted Sky.
‘That’ll be challenging, but I think I can—’
“Uh?!”
I felt a cool touch beneath my jaw, gently pulling my head away from Kiera and toward a pair of deep black eyes that bore into me with an unsettling intensity.
“Stop looking.”
A cold voice followed.
“Eh?”
“You’ve already betrayed me once. I can’t forgive two.”
I blinked my eyes for a brief moment, processing her words.
Then…
“Ah?”
***