“Ugh. Ahhahahaaaaaaaaa!”
Strange. I didn’t want it to turn out like this. Sharon counted to twenty after Al and Luna walked away from her door, buried her face in her pillow, and began to bawl her eyes out. Where did I go wrong?
A wild torrent of thoughts was swirling inside her head while she was crying.
Why is this happening to me? I could completely close off my feelings and ignore the pain when I was a slave, but now... What are these feelings? I’m happy when Al pampers me, but just thinking about him makes my chest tighten up. Seeing him with another girl feels like getting stabbed through the heart. I want to be by his side, and yet I don’t want to see him.
Just as those conflicting feelings began to overtake her, she heard a knock on the door.
“Who’s there?”
She shuffled through potential visitors, but couldn’t figure out who it could be. It obviously wasn’t Al, given their recent fallout, and she had nothing else to discuss with Ranbolg. Lilicia was a feasible option, though; she may have come to clean up the remains of the cake. Either way, Sharon frantically wiped her eyes and hurried to the door.
“Umm... It’s me, Luna!”
It was the person she wanted to see least of all.
“Why are you here?” She opened the door ever so slightly and peeked out. Luna was standing next to the remains of the cake.
“Umm, you didn’t get to taste it before, so...” Luna displayed a plate with two slices of cake, clearly signaling that she wanted to eat together with Sharon.
“Come in.”
Why am I doing this? She couldn’t wrap her head around her own actions. Did she invite Luna in because she didn’t want to wrestle with her inexplicable feelings all alone? Was it because Luna’s carefree smile eased her pain, or because she simply didn’t want to seem pitiful? Whatever the reason, she let Luna in.
“Take a seat.”
“Thank you.”
They sat down on the sofa and ate in complete silence. Halfway through, Sharon broke under the awkward silence.
“Argh, come on! You came here to talk, didn’t you!? Then talk!”
“Huh? Ah, yes, I did! I was lost in how delicious this cake is! I’d like to apologize for offending you earlier.” Luna bowed before the thoroughly confused Sharon. Her beautiful, silky hair flowed down her head, right into the cake.
“Your hair will get all frosting-y!”
“Huh? Ah! Handkerchief, handkerchi—! Ah, I left it in my room!”
Sharon, unable to bear watching Luna losing her head, shuffled through her pocket and handed her a handkerchief.
“Phew! Thank you! Ah, no! Not again!” Just as she finished wiping it clean, her hair once again landed on top of the cake. Watching her helplessly panic and fiddle around with the handkerchief cheered Sharon up. That’s when she realized something.
Hah, no wonder Al fell in love with such a clumsy ball of happiness. Compared to her, all we do is argue. Even today, I didn’t listen to what he had to say and lashed out. I’m sure he’s mad at me... Whatever. I shouldn’t compare myself to her.
“Say, what would you do if someone important in your life was in danger?” Instead, Sharon decided to ask the question that was weighing her down. For Luna, it was nothing more than a random question, so she looked straight into Sharon’s eyes and answered without hesitation.
“I would help them smile again, no matter what it takes! It doesn’t matter how dirty my hands get, how many hits I take, or who I have to fool. I’d put everything on the line in order to save them!”
There was something strange—almost ghastly—in Luna’s eyes, but they gave Sharon enough power to make up her mind.
“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks! I’ll hit the sack now!” Sharon suddenly stood up and signaled to Luna that it was time to go.
“Goodnight.” Luna left the room.
Did she really come here to apologize, or did she have some other goal in mind? Whatever, it’s not like there’s any point in mulling it over.
“I have to fulfill this duty. No one else can shoulder this burden,” Sharon whispered to herself in the empty room.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I can’t believe this...”
The next morning, Al was sitting in his office. He was still preoccupied with his fight with Sharon, but a new issue had arisen as well. Kotton, who had admitted to being guilty less than twenty-four hours ago, was now claiming to be innocent.
“I’m just as confused as you are. He was acting strange yesterday, but now he’s back to normal.” Jamka tilted his head in confusion. Besides them, Feena and Kanon were also present. Sharon, as expected, didn’t come, and Cecilia said she had something important to look into. “Maybe he got brainwashed.”
Al found Jamka’s theory feasible after hearing his report. Feena was completely out of the loop, as she’d stayed behind to fulfill her duty as Al’s wife and Al didn’t yet have the time to tell her about it after his fight with Sharon.
“Haah... Why didn’t I tell you earlier?” he said in a disappointed tone.
“Don’t worry. There might still be traces of magic lingering around. We should go check.” Feena was even more attentive than usual. Maybe she’d heard about his fallout with Sharon and was looking out for him.
“Then let me show you there.” Jamka left for the door, followed by Feena, who stopped for a second to think.
“Kanon, come with us.” It was rare for her to willingly invite Kanon along, but she had her reasons.
“I won’t let you stay alone with Al!” she whispered so Kanon wouldn’t hear it. Al didn’t want to interject, because frankly, it seemed like a pain.
“Ah! You finally said my name! Sure, of course I’ll go! I’d follow you to the depths of hell!” Completely oblivious to Feena’s ulterior motives, Kanon excitedly jumped up from the sofa and trotted after Feena. At last, Al had some quiet time to—
“Alnoaaa! This is terrible!”
Deal with even more unforeseen events.
“What is it, Brusch? Why are you so frazzled?”
Something was off. Usually, Brusch would jump right into Al’s arms, but this time, she stopped in front of him. She looked pale, which put Al on guard.
Unfortunately for him, his premonition was on point.
“It’s Sharon! She went back home with that other guest from Freiya!”
When it rains, it pours, he thought. All he wanted to do now was curl up in an empty corner and bawl his eyes out, but he didn’t have time for that.
“Bring me my horse! I’m going after Sharon!” Despite his light dizziness, he stormed out of the room.