Chapter 47
A delicious smell came from somewhere.
The smell of steamed wheat reminiscent of the meat and bean buns Yuki bought and ate on the way home from school stimulated her nasal cavity. Her stomach suddenly remembered its hunger and began contracting.
“…Nngh.”
Yuki had fallen asleep in the chair at the bloodied table. The realization she had lost consciousness yet again frightened her. The lasting effects of extreme drowsiness weighed on her eyelids and tempted her back into the folds of sleep.
“Oh no. Did I wake you?”
Something slipped from her shoulders and coldness came with its absence. Out of her partially cracked eyes, she saw a blanket slip and wrap around the chair’s armrest.
“Good time to wake up though. I brought your food.”
“…Selena.”
Selena sat opposite of Yuki. The servants must have cleaned up Rhad’s blood because it was gone and Selena didn’t act like she knew about it. When her eyes met Yuki’s she laughed.
“Silly, Yuki. There’s a red mark on your forehead from sleeping with your face pressed against the table!” Her light-purple hair tied in a high ponytail shook with her laughter. Yuki vacantly stared at her.
…She acts like nothing happened. Yuki rubbed her forehead and smiled derisively. No, Selena is acting as she always has. The one who changed was Yuki. She knew what she hadn’t before.
“I brought your food. Would you rather get in bed and sleep? Or eat in bed?” Selena asked, worriedly peering at Yuki’s tensed face.
Yuki forced her lips to move into an awkward smile. “Either way ends with me in bed.”
“It does. Because whether you’re talking to me or eating, you still fall asleep midway. Want me to help you to bed?”
Yuki shook her head. “I’m not going to sleep. I’ll eat at the table.”
“If that’s what you want,” Selena conceded and placed the food tray on the table in front of her. She picked up a steamed roll and offered it to Yuki.
“Thanks.” Yuki accepted the roll and bit into it.
Trust… Rhad’s words clung to her mind like tar. I shouldn’t trust her?
Selena watched her eat with an almost motherly smile. Yuki had been with her and Vigo for months now. The trip to the capital was about the only time she had been separated from them.
Why did they keep my power a secret? Why didn’t they tell me? We had plenty of time alone together. Yuki looked questioningly at Selena who tilted her head in return.
“What’s wrong, Yuki? Does it taste bad?”
Yuki gave her head a small shake.
What if I ask her and she tells me it was because I would be a more efficient tool by not knowing? What if once they know I’ve found out, they change their attitude toward me?
Things might not stay as they were should she confront them about their silence. Their attitude and kindness toward her could drastically change. If those were the options, she preferred not to know the answer. Ignorance was far more blissful when knowing might reveal they were using Yuki all along.
Why did he have to say that?
Rhad warned her about it after careful consideration of what the situation meant for Yuki. He interacted with her honestly, laying out where he stood and what he wanted from her. She should be grateful to him for telling her and not angry because she didn’t like what he had said. Rhad literally put his own flesh and blood on the line to give her undeniable proof she had powers. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him. But she wanted to believe in Selena and Vigo too.
Because if I don’t, everything until now will become a lie.
Yuki stuffed her mouth with the steamed roll. She tried to swallow a whole chunk without chewing and it got stuck in her throat. Tears misted her eyes as she choked it back. Selena rushed out of the room to get her a glass of water.
Everything they did for her until now had been for her valuable power.
The way they treasured and cared for her was all because they would be inconvenienced if their useful tool became unusable if she hurt herself. They yelled and got angry when she took action alone and started controlling and limiting how much she could go out. Out of concern? No, because they feared her learning she had power and value. They feared others learning of her power and using her instead.
Just as Selena came and made sure she properly ate and didn’t choke to death—it was all to make sure she could still be put to use. They were going to squeeze every last bit of energy out of her until she curled up and died. Isn’t that what Rhad said others would do if they found out?
If they were using her for those reasons, caring for her to use her, then….
I couldn’t bear it.
Tears ran down her cheeks and salted her roll.
✦ ✦ ✦
IS it supposed to be a happy occasion when you realize you have powers no one else does? Yuki wished she had lived out her life without ever knowing. She lay with her chest sprawled on the table and her butt firmly planted in the plush chair that had become her rotting place.
“Yuki, is it just me or are you extremely out of sorts today?”
The sound of china clattering against the table and the subtle fragrance of tea nudged at her to pry herself from the table. “You…think so?”
Selena was absolutely right. Yuki was aware of the truth of those words too—not that she would admit it. No longer could she interact with patients the same way she had until Rhad’s revelation. Were she capable of interacting with the patients the same way, it would have activated her powers in the most natural form. However, once made aware of the existence of her power, the natural way in which she interacted with the patients escaped her.
“Well, it’s a given you’d be feeling flustered,” Selena said, speaking of a different source than the one affecting Yuki. She stroked Yuki’s hair. “You still feel under the weather, don’t you? You should prioritize getting some good rest in.”
Selena’s long fingers ran through her hair, rousing the sleepiness in her.
“…Unfortunately, it looks like she won’t have time to rest,” came Rhad’s voice. Yuki lifted herself from the table. Rhad knocked on the door left open for fresh air.
“Why’s that?” Selena asked.
“Good news came.” Something squeezed Yuki’s heart. “You have been summoned to the castle, Lady Yuki.”
She jumped out of her chair. A terrifyingly amused expression lit Rhad’s face.