Hope (2)
"We are going to the academy. All of us together."
A bombshell dropped casually.
Elize wore a dazed look before her quivering pupils turned to me.
It seemed she had finally caught on.
Her returning voice was laced with clear panic.
"Wait... What are you saying?"
"Exactly what you heard."
"But the academy... Forget suddenness, this is impossible."
"Why so certain?"
I deliberately asked back with a straight face.
A rose with a bewildered expression.
As I stroked the red hair cascading over the bed, a gaze filled with incomprehension continued to prod my cheek.
I smiled serenely.
My whispering voice dispersed gently.
"You have nothing to worry about. Everything is already part of the plan."
"······."
A slyly slithering tongue.
I leaned in closer.
As the distance between us narrowed, the indelible breaths of two mingled in the air.
In time with this, I lightly stroked the rose's belly.
"Your Highness."
Swoosh-.
As I slid my hand beneath her nightgown, the sensation of pure white skin spread across my fingertips.
I pressed down, relishing the subtle body heat.
Press-.
"Ah...!"
Her pink lips added a plaintive moan.
A momentary disarray of breath.
Perhaps due to the treatment received over the past few days, now even the mere placement of my hand elicited a reflexive response.
The blatant contact kneaded a specific area stickily.
"Wai, t..."
Press-.
Press-.
The red petals crumbled prettily.
Her lips bit down as if to suppress a sound.
Upon them glistened the illicit dew of the pistil she couldn't quite hide.
The cool air melted away with her heated breaths, and her previously clear eyes gradually lost focus.
The subtle heat painted a fatal scene.
"Haa... Haah, ah..."
Her breathing had turned ragged.
Noticing the girl's dazed state, I whispered as if casting a suggestion into her ear.
A phrase to establish the relationship that would follow.
"Your Highness need only trust in me."
The snake's tail coiled around her slender neck.
The petals scattered endlessly, eventually stepping into a shadow they could not escape.
Not even realizing they were being devoured.
"······Alright."
Elize nodded.
I patted her head as a sign of approval.
The gaze that had been filled with murderous intent just days ago now held a gentle brightness, as if it had been significantly tamed.
Though, of course, the uniquely fierce atmosphere remained.
"Hehe."
This was enough.
The distance I desired from the rose was a gap just wide enough to fully intervene in her life.
Just enough to prevent her suicide.
I smiled with a slight sense of relief.
It felt as if I had finally taken the first step in changing the tragedy.
"Everything will be fine."
"I got it... Don't make me repeat myself."
Elize pouted her lips unnecessarily.
We shared a few words, spending the coldest night of autumn together.
On the cusp of upheaval.
***
The next day.
As soon as morning broke, I discussed the matter with Charlotte.
Unlike Elize, who had been more informed than consulted, this conversation progressed quickly thanks to a prior heads-up.
Of course, she didn't nod in agreement immediately.
Just like her sister, she too reacted skeptically to my proposal.
Her blue eyes held a hint of doubt.
"Will it really be possible?"
"Your Highness need only follow the instructions I provide. It's all for the sake of Her Highness Elize."
"In that case... alright."
Her usual sleepy demeanor.
The girl responded.
She seemed hesitant right after hearing the plan, but nodded upon hearing that it was for her sister's sake.
She left the room, saying she would petition the emperor herself.
Of course.
Valkaros did not meet us.
A single word of being busy was his reason.
Instead, he sent a secretary to us.
A close aide who served the emperor, and one of the few who knew the secret about the rose.
The man conveyed his master's will in a stiff tone.
"His Majesty expressed no particular interest, only saying to do as you wish."
Just as expected.
Valkaros did not stop us.
He seemed to have no lingering attachment whatsoever.
Upon mentioning Elize's recovered state and the need to go outside for further treatment, the permission was granted in less than half a day.
Apparently, he would also assist in her enrollment at the academy.
Despite his attitude that seemed like throwing away trash, there was also a resemblance to a father letting go of his daughter.
I slightly adjusted my mixed assessment of him.
'Indeed.'
The cold-hearted Valkaros.
The fact that he was the worst father remained unchanged.
He was the scum who pushed his own daughters into hell.
But if my hypothesis was correct... perhaps there was room for some leniency.
I postponed the thought with a fleeting bitterness.
"Well... In that case, the plan can proceed without a hitch."
I said with a grin.
"······."
Perhaps it was due to the completely unexpected permission.
Charlotte wore a somewhat complicated expression.
The girl seemed to hesitate before posing a few barely audible questions.
Beyond her transparent pupils, only a slight tremor shone.
"······Will it really be okay?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm a little worried."
She was referring to Elize. Although her condition had improved over the past fortnight, she still needed to spend the entire day in bed.
It seemed she was asking if it wasn't too early to go outside.
It wasn't exactly wrong.
Given that even a light stroll was impossible without a wheelchair, heading out of the cage rashly wasn't the best choice.
This was also why the rose's enrollment had been indefinitely postponed in the original story.
'But.'
This time was different.
I was here.
To survive the upcoming torrent, it was wiser to stay by the snake's side rather than anywhere else.
Being cooped up like this would only worsen her depression.
"Oh... Your Highness."
I understood the elder sister's concern, but at this point, I needed to be a bit firm.
It was necessary to firmly plant in her mind to rely on me.
To ensure she wouldn't waver again in the face of numerous hardships to come.
I erased the smile from my lips.
And looked down with cold eyes.
"It's troubling if you keep having doubts like this."
"······."
"I'm doing my best to help, but if Your Highness doesn't have the will to follow, it's quite discouraging."
"That's not what I meant..."
"If this continues, I might have to withdraw my support."
"Please... I don't want that."
Charlotte clutched my sleeve.
Her clear pupils trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
The desperation of not wanting to lose this hard-won opportunity, after repeated despair, shone brightly.
I casually reached out and stroked her platinum blonde hair.
"I don't ask for much. Just that you obediently follow my words."
"I'm sorry..."
"Do you remember what I told you last time?"
"You said only Judas could help me."
"Exactly. Ignore the voices of others. Only my voice will not betray your hope."
"Judas won't betray me... Only Judas."
Charlotte mumbled, repeating my words.
Only then did I drop my cold facade.
A refreshing smile soon returned to my lips, as if nothing had happened.
I spoke.
"I'm glad you seem to have broadened your perspective. Anyway, I will proceed with the matter of the cage as I see fit."
"Yes... I don't really understand. Please take care of it, Judas..."
"Gladly."
The conversation submerged deeply and concluded.
Even as the shadow tightened around her neck, the girl remained in my arms, being stroked.
As if slowly melting to the sweet whispers.
"I am here by your side."
The plan proceeded as scheduled.
***
Two days later.
Having completed the minimal procedures, we were now preparing to leave the cage.
Outside, a carriage awaited the passengers.
It appeared to be the same vehicle we had arrived in.
"It's time to depart."
A voice briefly informed.
The rose, who had been sitting in her wheelchair, came to her senses.
"Ah."
"The others have already boarded."
"We should get going too."
"Hehe... I will escort you respectfully."
I gently began to push the wheelchair that had been leaning against the window.
Such a means of transport was essential when going outside.
It wasn't that she couldn't stand on her own, but standing for long periods was taxing on her body.
Her frail condition required the care of her physician.
As the wheels rolled quietly, the faintly murmuring voice of the girl was heard.
A faint soliloquy.
"I never thought... I'd leave this place in my lifetime."
It was true.
Originally, the rose's fate was to never leave this lonely cage for the rest of her life.
Until the moment she hanged herself.
A CG cut of her lifeless figure flashes before my eyes.
Realizing anew how much had changed, I responded in a low voice.
Like a gentle wave.
"From now on, only good things will fill your days."
"If only that were true."
"The world will be full of things you've never experienced. Full of things to see, hear, smell, feel, and touch... It would be good to have more anticipation than fear towards life."
"······It's not like I was ever scared, you know?"
A slight flick in response.
But seeing her eyes sparkle, it seemed she didn't dislike it.
It was, after all, her first time spreading her wings.
Having been confined to the cage all this time.
How much she must have longed for the blue sky.
It was something I couldn't know.
The only thing I could do was.
To let the bird with broken wings fly in the sky again.
To add freshness to the petals that had lost their vitality, to once again let the fragrance of their redness spread throughout the world.
We walked through the fluttering flower garden.
"I don't get it."
"Pardon?"
"You. You're too nice to me and my sister. No matter how much I think about it, I can't figure out why."
"Didn't I tell you last time?"
I wore a gentle smile.
My lips spoke.
That I wished.
For your happiness.
"It's just that."
The gloomy tale.
To overturn all its endings and gift a new world.
Perhaps a testament to myself.
A realization of a long-lost self.
A desire to achieve what was left as regret.
Various expressions mixed in my mouth, but what came out was, again, the simplest words.
I swallowed the remaining words and let out a laugh.
"Hehe... I believe you're showing an expression of being too moved."
"I-I'm not...!"
The girl turned her head away.
The weather that lingered for a moment.
If emotions were a Polaroid, it would have been a picture of a distinct season.
The wheelchair moved forward, cutting through the autumn wind.
And so.
Out of the cage.
Towards the world.
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