Chapter 92

Sep 05, 2023

I’m still not sure what Cassis had actually been thinking in regards to what I had said, but seeing as he didn’t contradict me, my mission had been satisfactorily fulfilled.

“Ehe-hem...”

Judging by Pandora’s sudden need to clear her throat after being forced to listen to our exchange, I supposed she had heard all she could take.

“Good afternoon. I see you’re the other guest I’ve heard so much about. You arrived before us, correct?”

I suppose she made a habit of asking questions she knew the answers to, so I smiled as though I had only just noticed her. “Yes, hello. As I recall, we already met briefly in the corridor the other day.”

As I spoke she simply stared at me in a slight daze. Perhaps the Fipellions as a whole were more susceptible to my beauty than most people. But since we had already met once before, she seemed to recover more quickly this time as her expression returned to normal far more quickly.

“Oh, right! My name is Pandora Fipellion, by the way. May I ask yours?”

“It’s Roxana.” I didn’t feel the need to share my surname, which I could tell was causing her minor consternation as she was clearly attempting to place me. It was obvious that she had her suspicions but was aching for proof.

Cassis was also staring at me, but he didn’t comment any further.

“I don’t see the other person in your party. I would really appreciate it if I could get my ribbon back.” I spoke casually while allowing Pandora to mull over my words, but I drew Cassis’ attention first.

“A ribbon?” he asked.

“Yes, the one Sylvia used to tie my hair. It flew away while I was out on the terrace the other night.”

“I see... Then I’ll just have it returned to her directly.”

I noticed Pandora’s face change each time Cassis and I switched off, then work mightily to regain her composure before speaking again.

“Miss Roxana, if it isn’t too much trouble, would you care to walk around the garden with me?”

She was smiling, but it was a smile with traces of venom at its edges. Her behavior really didn’t add up. She was indeed an odd person to glower at me as if I had stolen her meal.

Whether she liked it or not, Cassis had been mine from the start. I suddenly knew exactly why I had felt so uneasy about the way she looked at him during their small banquet. It was likely that even as far back as three years ago I had thought of him as mine. The link we had forged between us never broke even when we were apart.

“I’m just so happy to have run into you like this. I would love to chat so we might get to know each other.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yes.”

She spoke kindly enough, but her eyes almost seemed to be egging me on. What choice did I have but to accept? “All right. Sounds fun.”

However, when I made to move toward her, Cassis grabbed my arm. “I don’t advise you walking for too long in your state. It could compromise your health.”

“I think I can handle it. After all, it’s just a light stroll.”

“Then I shall come along just in case,” he said.

“No, no. You’re far too busy.” I spoke more brusquely than usual. I could see him scowl at my dismissal but pretended not to see him.

Then with smiling eyes, I turned to Pandora. “Let’s go, Miss Fipellion.”

* * *

Roxana’s beauty was such that “Is she even real?” was an almost universal refrain. She was of course made of bone and flesh just like any other human, but there was simply no one in this world comparable to her looks. Her beauty was so unique it caused most to quite literally sit or stand at attention, then do a double take. So it was no wonder that as she walked through the Pedelian’s garden, she could be mistaken for a personification of the most beautiful spring day. Even the sun seemed to serve as a halo to complement her radiance.

But why am I so taken by another woman’s beauty? Pandora wondered as she caught herself once again staring openly at the ethereal beauty before her. She felt an urge to slap herself out of her stupor. After all, she had already been stricken stiff when they first met in the corridor. The very memory of how she had spewed all that nonsense about demons, sirens, and nymphs mortified her to her core.

Ugh! Why’d I ever listen to that idiot Orka?! When the guards had apprehended and dragged him back down to the dungeons, he had appeared totally flummoxed. She might have believed him if he had said he’d seen a ghost, but he just went on and on blabbering about some woman who he was certain was a demon. Thus, Pandora blamed her cousin’s idiotic rambling for filling her head with so much nonsense that she couldn’t help making a fool of herself when she first beheld Roxana. Indeed, she was certain that had that moron Orka not brainwashed her, she never would have behaved so ridiculously.

“What were you and Cassis discussing earlier?” Roxana asked.

Damn. Even her voice is enchanting. It’s as clear as dew on a beautiful morning.

“I was thanking him for freeing and returning my demon.”

“Ah... You mean the one used to fly over the fortress wall?”

Pandora once again found herself lost in thought thinking that if someone claimed the great creator had gone days without rest or sustenance in order to mold Roxana, she would believe them. Yet she also felt herself becoming both as angry as a den of wasps and jealous of how close Roxana and Cassis had been together. She sensed the conversation had offered her the opportunity to ask one of her more burning questions. “How long have you known the Blue Heir?”

“Over three years now,” Roxana said.

Pandora knew Cassis was too excellent of a catch for her to simply give up on without at least trying. According to Turobe, the woman Cassis had brought back with him to the Blue castle had to be an Agrece. What she couldn’t understand was how such a woman and the Blue Heir could be so intimate.

The one thing the Fipellion did find to be in her favor was that Roxana seemed awfully fragile, so she imagined the delicate flower likely wouldn’t be able to withstand any sort of physical attack. Despite the likelihood that she was an Agrece, Pandora imagined she was the sort of person who would run away crying at the first sign of a bully. But this thought somehow made the blue-haired woman feel almost protective of her rival. It reminded her of how gingerly Cassis had carried Roxana away when she had first seen the blond. Even earlier that day, he had been so concerned about her health.

“I only needed so much sleep because you kept me up so late last night.”

Pandora suddenly found it difficult to control her expression as she recalled the two’s previous exchange. When she considered all the information she had gathered so far, she concluded that this Roxana Agrece woman was definitely a fragile and helpless being.

If that’s the case, then could a small dose of something frightful scare her off? It was apparent that the Pedelian’s young master was quite taken with her, but from her experience, all relationships strictly adhered to the principle of “out of sight, out of mind.”

“So you two have been close for three years?”

Roxana’s eyes quivered slightly before she answered. “Yes, he was mine from the very moment we met.”

The answer essentially made up Pandora’s mind for her. It was an arrogant statement, but it lacked the weight of a threat. She did find it odd, however, that the declaration did not come across as strange to her in itself. She abruptly stopped walking to which the Agrece did the same.

“Listen, Miss Roxana... I don’t have anything personal against you, but once I set my mind on something, I’m the type who simply must have it.”

Oh, dear... I’m the same way, Roxana thought to herself while gazing innocently at Pandora.

“Which is why it honestly annoys the hell out of me to see you so close to Cassis, my chosen one, all the time.”

Ditto on that count as well.

“So I’d really appreciate it if you would disappear.” As Pandora finished her speech, she summoned her demon by rattling her bejeweled bracelet which was necessary for creating the beckoning sound.

Whoosh.

In a flurry of wind, a huge, black monster appeared before them. Like an ominous black flame, a durectus appeared and opened its huge maw as if ready to swallow Roxana.

The Fipellion watched as the frail Agrece appeared duly shocked. The blond was staring at the demon monster with saucer-like eyes, but the very next moment Pandora found herself choked with shock.

“Haa... What a shame.” Roxana breathed a short sigh as she whispered. It was a sort of sigh that was more akin to an overly sweet, venomous smile. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but you should know I’ve never been one to back down from a fight.”

The Agrece woman then smiled wryly as if she truly did regret the situation in her own way. Meanwhile, the demon tamer was struggling to decipher the meaning behind Roxana’s smile, but it vanished before she could. A look as cold as ice seemed to freeze over the sun-like grin.

Flutter.

A flash storm of crimson suddenly cloaked everything around them including Roxana. Then the next thing Pandora heard was Roxana’s chilling voice whispering in her ear.

“Thank you for this gift. It will make the perfect snack for my babies.”

Try as she might, the Fipellion couldn’t help feeling that the sun had suddenly gone out.