‘That went well.’
Musing to myself, I kept moving through the busy streets, my outward appearance still looking a bit ‘dull’ and ‘sad’.
With my words, I had set up the discord between Scarlet and Marlene. Knowing Scarlet, she would want to eliminate Marlene now, though that stands true for most of my lovers. Anyhow, the main thing is that, due to Marlene’s status, Scarlet won’t be able to act without a plan.
Moreover, due to the ancient pact, Scarlet, as a dragon, won’t be able to lay her hands on Marlene without great proof or reason that Marlene has done something to Scarlet that puts her pride down. And the reason for me forming a crush on Marlene isn’t enough reason for Scarlet to act. Hence she would have to try other methods to bring down Marlene, something that will keep Scarlet busy. Plus, the hint I gave her will place her in a position where she will be planning for an adventure between the two of us, something dangerous and heart-pumping, which I will be using to my advantage.
‘It should be about now…’
Just as I finished my thought, I somehow accidentally bumped into a figure, resulting in the figure falling onto her butt.
“Ow… watch where you’re going,” she said.
Just as she was about to finish her words, she paused and looked at me.
“Austin?” the girl asked.
“Miss. Mysterious?” I asked back in ‘surprise,’ as the figure that fell to the ground was Celestinia in her disguise – the very one she uses when the two of us meet at the library. Her face was average, and her brown hair and eyes still looked dull. Her expression filled with surprise as she looked at me from the ground.
‘Nice acting,’ I thought, complementing her, as I pulled my hands down to her.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I pulled her up. She gave me a dissatisfied look as she spoke.
“No, thanks to you,” she said, starting to dust her normal-looking body.
“Funny seeing you here,” I said as Celestinia replied.
“I could say the same…”
As such, the atmosphere between the two of us turned silent as we looked at each other with awkward looks, clearly not knowing how to speak as this was the first time we met outside of the library.
“Out for a secret walk?” I suddenly asked. Even with the two of us standing in the road, no one was detecting our presence.
“I was…” she said with a calm tone, and once again the atmosphere turned silent. Just as the atmosphere was getting more awkward, I asked, “Want to go for a drink?” This got her attention as she suddenly looked at me with an unnatural speed, her eyes seemingly twinkling.
“A drink?” she asked back in a calm tone as I nodded my head. “Yes, there is a place nearby that provides good coverage,” I spoke, and a brooding face took Celestinia’s face. It was only a few seconds later she spoke, shrugging her shoulders. “Sure, why not.”
Hence, the two of us went towards the cafe, which provided a private room for its customers. Placing a disguise on myself, the two of us entered the well-decorated and posh room, which gave comfort and peace, placed our orders, and asked for it to arrive 15 minutes later the door was closed by the waiter.
“Puff…I hate disguises,” I said as I took off my disguise, my face coming to light as I looked at the silent Celestinia who was looking at me with a ‘what now’ gaze.
“So, did you read the new paper published by the Archaeology association?” I asked, which quickly broke the ice between us.
“I did. It completely denied the self-replication theory that was held high for the past tribes of Azors,” Celestinia replied as she nodded her head.
“Yeah, who would have thought that the organized self-replication would be a by-product of mutual mutation?” I spoke once again to which she replied, the talk between the two of us getting heated up as time passed.
….
“That was fun,” I said as I took a sip of my drink. My expression was much more relaxed than before when I had screamed ‘sadness’ and ‘guilt,’ which Celestinia had taken advantage of.
You see, ever since her memory between the two of us had returned, she had been keeping a very close eye on me, stalking me more whenever I was with Scarlet, vying for a chance to strike and take back her dominance. But I had been keeping a tight leash on my meetings with Scarlet, making it hard for Celestinia to take action – that is, until today. What better chance to increase the favorability between the two of us than when I was having a problem with Scarlet? Celestinia had followed me until she was sure Scarlet was gone, before taking action.
“So did something happen? You look sad,” Celestinia asked.
‘So there’s the question.’ While maintaining my expression, I shook my head as I responded, “It’s nothing. It’s just a personal matter.”
Hearing my words, Celestinia shut up for a moment, but my expression turned ‘sour’ from the question. Seeing this, Celestinia bit her lips as she spoke to me in a light tone.
“You know I consider us as friends, so if anything is bothering you, you can talk to me.”
Hearing her words, my face ‘lightened’ for a moment as I asked her a question. “Hey… are you really a girl?”
My question caused Celestinia to frown as she spoke in a husky voice. “Why? Do you think I’m a pervert that uses magic to disguise as a girl and walk around the academy?”
“No… no… I was just asking!” I quickly responded while waving my hands at Celestinia. My hands were holding my cup as I looked at the swirling drink.
I didn’t respond to Celestinia’s words as I kept focusing on my drink. It was only a few minutes later did I start to tell her about my problem. I spoke about how I am having problems with my girlfriend as I have past unresolved feelings from another love. Yup, I was lying through my teeth.
While Celestinia knew about the fact that something happened between me and Scarlet, she doesn’t know the details. Even she hasn’t reached that level where she could completely fool Scarlet’s range of abilities, in the end, even Scarlet is taken as a genius in the Dragon realm.
So, I will be pulling at the thread of her waiting for a second chance to be with me, a thread I will pull to keep her in check. Because, unlike the rest, I can’t create friction between Celestinia and the other girls. My past experience of her killing all the girls and locking my character up is still fresh in my mind. My entire progress was killed by her after all.
“I don’t know what to do. I am starting to fall in love with Scarlet, but that past somehow still keeps clinging to me. Perhaps it’s because I never got to know why she betrayed me, leaving me to die,” I said in a low tone. Quickly making the atmosphere in the room darker, I caught a glimpse of Celestinia’s expression turning into one of pain after which it returned to normal.
“But hey, it’s all in the past, isn’t it?” I suddenly said, trying to put on a sunny smile as I waved my hands at Celestinia, who kept looking at me until she spoke.
“You know, I don’t have much information about love, but if the past is still confusing you, why don’t you confront it?” she suggested.
Hearing her words, I looked at her with my eyebrows raised, asking her to continue. Seeing so, she did, “Why don’t you meet with her one last time and seek out the answers? Perhaps then you might be able to move forward.”
Hearing this, my expression became thoughtful, one filled with ‘pain’ and ‘hesitation’, and as I kept thinking, I could see the hopeful light burning within Celestinia’s eyes.
“I-”
