"Ah."
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"
"No, milady. I was only resting my eyes for a moment."
"I see."
"You wanted to ask me something, milady?"
"What?"
"It's written all over your face, milady."
"Stop that 'milady' business. I fired you six months ago."
"And stripped me of the only status I held in this mansion, indeed reducing me to a mere human encroaching upon the hospitality of the mansion's august lady-"
"Wha- wait a minute!"
"I'm joking, of course."
. . .
"I'm sorry, did I tease you a bit too much?"
"You most definitely did. However, as I am this mansion's 'august lady,' I'll forgive you for that."
"Milady, you shouldn't rest against an old withered woman like this-"
"Remilia."
"Pardon?"
"Call me Remilia. And you can drop all that false formality. There's no one else here but us."
. . .
"Honestly, you and Patchy both. It took her two centuries to stop calling me 'Lady Scarlet' and another century and a half to call me 'Remi.'"
"Well, I'm afraid I don't have the luxury of time to work past my insufferable shyness to get used to addressing you as such."
. . .
"You know I'm not being serious."
. . .
"There. That should be more comfortable for your wings."
"You liar."
"What?"
"You said that as long as there is breath in your body your life is mine."
"I did."
"There's nothing in those terms of agreement that prevents me from adding some more breath into your body. God knows you need it now with the way you're wheezing."
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize how loud I was being. Shall I wheeze a bit more gently for you? I believe I also said that I will serve you as a human until the day I die."
"You insolent human."
. . .
"Ah hah! You said 'as a human until the day I die,' right?"
"Yes?"
"On the day you die, the first agreement of serving me as a human will be annulled! You will serve me as a demon from thereon after!"
"Right you are. But I highly doubt that finding loopholes in my verbal agreement with you will get me to change my mind."
. . .
"I'm dying, and I'm not going to let you change that, ah-"
"What? What is it?"
"It's fine, settle down. I just- I just forgot how to breathe for a second there. I'm fine."
"Really now. Ha ha, you humans and your frail deficiencies! No wonder you drop dead from any little thing. With such a short lifespan, is there anything you're good for? Well, food is an option, but there's only so much even the best chefs can do to flesh of such mediocrity."
. . .
"What's this? You were smart-mouthing so much earlier, but now you've gone quiet all of a sudden."
"I was just thinking."
"C-careful now. Don't want to exceed your human limits for higher thought."
"Heh. You're the same haughty, spoiled little princess now as you were when I first met you."
"Haughty, spoiled little pri-"
"So full of pride and overflowing with overconfidence, but secretly pouting and throwing tantrums and sulking when things don't go your way."
"What are you- I'm right here! Where are you looking off to? And sit up straight, it's unsightly to slump like tha- Look at me. Look at me!"
"I can't see you anymore. But it's okay, I can still hear your voice. And, you are very warm. That's strange, you've never been warm before. Or, maybe it is me that has gone cold."
"No! Stop your inane prattling. Listen to me- Maids! Maids! Meiling! Anyone! Get Patchouli!"
"Can I ask you to raise my head? It feels so heavy all of a sudden- Ah, that's better."
. . .
" You're close. And breathing rather heavily. You're not crying, are you?"
"Of course I'm not. You just sca- surprised me, what with the way you were talking like you were going to... leave."
. . .
"Can you see me?"
. . .
"Open your eyes."
. . .
"I said, open your eyes."
. . .
"Sakuya?"
"The moon is red tonight."
"What? But you can't-"
"It was red on the night we first met."
"...yes. Yes it was."
"Remilia."
"Yes?"
"It's beautiful."
"Yes."
. . .
"Good night, Sakuya."