"…." : Speech
[…..] : Thoughts
ºº
As far as Sandrone was aware, Fontaine had always been fond of their constructs.
Inventing them, building them, pushing model after model of creatures of steel and circuit instead of blood and flesh into more aspects of the nation until each and every facet of life that one could ever think of held one.
For life.
For law and order.
For construction.
And even death….
So many shapes, so many tasks...yet it took one just a mere glance to know why such a decision had been taken in the first place.
They were cold
Practical
Orderly
Methodical
And with all the commitment of an individual to a task, yet lacking the very flaws that the flesh brought with it.
..
..
She too was like that….
In fact, as the seventh of the Fatui Harbingers she was the one that seemed to represent such aspect to its finest point. In her eyes her "coworkers" were ridden with weakness, with unnecessary notions of honor and chivalry like the Captain or Pride like the Eight.
Even with all their powers, all their bluster...they all were still lesser than her.
Weak
Ignorant
Willfully pathetic..
After all, if they were so easily swayed by such radical and nonsensical notions and sentimentalism, how could they hope to become what they pretended to be as Harbingers of the world to come..?
It was a particular detail that Sandrone had taken pleasure and pride from for a long, long time...
Few were capable of understanding the song coming from chiming gears and clockwork running within the cold, smooth metal frames of said inventions like she did.
So, it was not a wonder that the Institute of Fontaine, the birthmark of its scientific progress was by far one of her most "chosen" places to visit in the Nation if not the entirety of Tevat.
It was perfect
Perfect
To its smallest, minute detail
Until that woman sullied it with her presence...
A shadow crept over Sandrone's doll like appearance as that particular memory started to overlap over her previous thoughts, making the already thin line that was her lips grow crooked and twisted.
Ugly..
Distasteful..
Filthy commoner blood...
That woman's mere existence disturbing the gentle chiming of gears and conduits with her annoyingly loud high heels echoing through the corridors.
Walking by with that sardonic, pretentious smile on her lips and those fake looks of surprise in her eyes at the sight of the buildings interior as if she ever had any interest about any of it in the first place.
Putting on an act of politeness in front of those around her, feigning weakness, behaving like a fool of a girl that did not who she was dealing with.
Trying to be nice
Kind
Even...gentle
..
..
Such spectacle sickened her.
The sour taste in her mouth poking at her like a thorn stuck in her side, twisting the once flawless expression of the Seventh with a deep frown and a murderous glare in her eyes.
She loathed the likes of her. Wasting time in theatrics and games against their betters when they should be groveling at her feet.
But the worst of all….
Was how the Knave had ignored her.
Sandrone bit her lip, frustration eating her whole as her mind ran thousands of scenarios trying to explain the reason behind such an insult.
How..?
How in Tevats name was even possible for someone to miss her while been carried by an almost three meter tall machine? Inconceivable..!
Even if she had been standing on the second floor of the Atrium when that woman came in with her faithful lapdog tailing right behind she should have been aware of her presence right away as she ventured inside the building. The old cretin surely had taken notice of her even though his master had not.
And in the process missed her own attempt to smugly look down on the harlot from her advantage point from above to showcase her own superiority to that of the unenlightened lump of flesh that dared trespass into these walls of order and logic.
Had she missed her out of bad luck..?
No
That could not be for luck did not exist in the first place.
No, the answer she sought was far more crueler and simpler than just mere happenstance getting in the way of her showing her superiority to that woman with her parlot tricks and flesh market industry.
Her small hands clenched tightly against the arms of the chair she was occupying now, cracking the feeble wooden surface with ease.
The Knave knew
The Knave had known all along that she was going to be there, that she was up there….her not noticing was merely a ploy to show how much the Fourth disregarded her as a threat.
Not even worth her attention.
Loud would have been her wrath right there and then...had she not been aware of the presence of a third party about to come by and stoop their noses too close for comfort.
A faint idea came across her mind then, that perhaps the Ludex would do her work for her. Especially given that he was first and foremost a conniving individual under that mask of politeness he wore to the public. Because in her mind, for someone to "partially" rule Fontaine for centuries unopposed would take a level of shrewdness to match it.
And so she make sure the Chief Justice met the Knave in the most problematic way possible. Surely with Crucabenas foul temper the mask she wore would fall and the Chief Justice would grow suspicious of the woman's black heartened soul.
And if not, then a little more of attention on her from the Gardes would at least keep her in check for a while.
It was a plan with no flaws and with minimal effort from her
..
..
But that…
Did not happen.
Instead the two had started playing doll house or something
And with the area overcrowded with gardes...it would have been extremely difficult for most to try slip through unnoticed under the vigilance of the Gardes and their mecha servants.
However even the Ludex himself could not plan in advance or even conceive that there were several ways to pry on a conversation without even been in the very same room it was taking place.
A terrible mistake….however could it be even called that when you didn't know who you were facing against? The Institute was her playground after all, so it was obvious that she would know all of its layouts.
Those that were free to the knowledge of the public..
And those that were not.
Yet this time not even that had been necessary to do so when the Ludex himself had given her the tool to spy on them so readily and without second thought in the form of each and every mecha that had accompanied the Chief Justice in his retinue to the Institute.
The world that was visible through the lenses of the machines having different shades and hues than those the living would perceive.
Cold.
Sterile..
Almost disjointed from the very air their creators breathed….but clean enough to get a good visual and audio reception to do their tasks.
And so they did.
Silently.
Their bodies of steel and gears standing at attention like they always did after given the right orders. Now they were only doing one more task.
The ghost of a small smile started to warp around her lips at how easy she had managed to peep through what should have been a closed area, a gesture that was not common sight on her but this time she allowed it to happen.
Sometimes she wondered what kind of expression would warp on the face of the ever so stoic elusive Ludex Neuvillete if each and every machine under the Gardes were to go out in a murderous rampage through the entire nation.
Sorrow?
Surprise?
Confusion..?
Or perhaps...just more apathy?
It was an enticing future, one that was as close to happen as long as she pressed a small little bottom on the side of the table in-front of her. However she had never gone through such decision given that it would have been a waste of time and resources for no gain whatsoever.
Though as time went by...such a concern did not seem to weigh as heavily as it first did.
Why? It was rather simple. The conversation between the Ludex and Crucabena was..
It was…
..
..
So fucking weird..!
Why were they talking about friendship..?
Hair..?
Apologies..?
Stripper..?
Body attributes..?
It made no sense, surely it had to be some sort of secret code that only the three of them knew about...but would not that mean that the three of them were working together..!?
It hurt to even consider that..
It was then that she came to the conclusion that she doubted she would ever find much information if she continued peeking, it was clear that the Knave had taken into consideration that she would try to try something like this and acted accordingly.
Mocking her with each and every senseless word and act she put on display, not really to disguise her true nature and misled the Ludex and his attack dog, but to her. The thought made her stomach church in anger.
Such blatant disrespect...would be punished.
One day.
º
….Back to the Cafeteria….
º
..
…
Well... shit
Crucabena didn't know if she was predestined to make a fool of herself by some unseen hand in the shadows... or if it was that damn blow in her head that was making her stumble at every step of the way like some kind of one time comic relief character, but she doubted she could do it worse than she was doing already.
It just couldn't be factually possible to stir the pot any further.
Oh wait..
She better cross her fingers in case she jinxed herself with such line of thought.
After all, speaking the name of the Lord out loud, in a world he did not exist, in the presence of clearly named characters who could only stare back in clear confusion was definitely not her proudest moment.
[Y-yeah...that...is the understatement of the century]
She thought with a bead of sweat sliding down her scalp at that particular line of thought, imaginary dark clouds of depression and shame hovering above her head at that very moment.
Still…
This wasn't fair.
This entire fiasco thrown at her shoulders was not fair in the slightest.
She had been caught wholly unprepared for such an ordeal like this, first with Petronilas antics, her own bodies stupid urges and then dear Neuvillete coming from behind silent like a cat while she was dying of embarrassment with Petronilla was like punching a dead horse.
It wasn't funny.
Just down right cruel.
With a sigh she rose a frail looking hand, slowly pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to swallow down her annoyance at this mess of her own making.
[Curse you R.O.B, I will have my vengeance one day…] She silently swore.
Who knew...perhaps who ever sent her here was listening.
The only highlights of the entire fiasco was that she somehow was spared any sort of scrutiny from the two after such clear slip of her tongue. How you ask..?
Well, that's the neat thing….
She didn't know.
What..!? That is not an explanation good enough for you? You want the real meat? Well buddie, you are shit out of luck because that its exactly what happened...
After her blunder they just looked at each other for a brief moment, the amount of tension she had felt built inside her lungs in what few seconds the silence that stewed between them becoming unbearable….only for it all to vanish in the most absurd of ways with Petronilla shrugging at the Ludex piercing eyes and Neuvillete seemed to...take that as his cue that it wasn't worth questioning her about..?
Yeah, great talkers these two were.., Socrates would have died a third time if he caught wind of these two block heads. Back home her friends would have teased her endlessly about it.
But not these two
Nop
She was not really sure yet whether she was happy about that or not, yet again they did not seem to be the kind of people that go out in Halloween and throw eggs at police cars so perhaps they were more mature and nothing else
Yeah, that was probably it..
Slowly, she sighed, feeling vexed both at the relief at knowing she was not going to be dealing with any pesky questions...and at the migraine throbbing in her skull from the still lingering sting of embarrassment from before.
[I never thought I would be happy to be surrounded by two more completely socially inept people than I…]
Kinda of a low bar to top over all things considered, but one nonetheless..
At least some apologies were offered.
That was something.
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes finding once again
To her credit the Chief Justice had been true to his word, the meeting with that...whoever it was guy he had talked about had been a rather brief affair, and now that he was back, the three were once again where they had left it.
Oh dear..
Oh gorgeous…
But hey, at least she had now a nice looking cup of iced tea.
Though it was that... or water.
I kid you not, but chugging hot leaf juice with all the grace she could muster felt safer than trying to pretend she had any idea how water from Fontaine tasted different than water from Inazuma.
Was that a reptile thing?
Had to be a reptile thing
Now….., speaking of men out of the water.
"I must admit that I held some reservations taking the context of things, but from what I could hear by the time I arrived I am pleasantly surprised to see that the two of you have become rather well acquainted with each other.."
Came the cool, yet gentle voice of the Ludex, breaking the proverbial ice between each other at last.
She felt her ears flared up of embarrassment when those sharp, intense eyes of his gazed at hers.
[Gods, why did he had to be so good looking?] It wasn't fair…though..., this time the effect felt a little more dull than before.
Perhaps she was acclimatizing herself to his gentleman allure and stud aura..
Wait, was that even a thing?
She shook her head inwardly because palming her cheeks would have been too much of a give away.
[Focus girl, focus….get your head out of the gutter for once...those thoughts are for the pillow to know and it alone]
Yeah...right now she had to tackle this conversation like one did a boss when your Estus Flack was empty. Slow and steady.
"Oh, that? It was nothing, Chief justice..."
"Please, madam Ena….just call me Neuvillete. Away from the matters of the court and all its duties I am just another citizen of Fontaine.." He said calmly, placing a hand over his chest.
Well, that was nice of him, kinda on point with his character back in the game.
Still…
Really?
Just another citizen? He who was the most important and relevant person of Fontaine, just below Furina?
[Yeah, keep telling yourself that stud...] She thought with an inward chuckle.
Still, such particular class of humbleness was rather endearing and perhaps attractive. Not like she would tell him that now.
Pretty men were dangerous.
Self aware pretty men even more so….
"Of course, of course Messier Neuvillete...though only if you do the same, all that madam business makes me feel older and I am just a gal on her prime..." She muttered softly as she rubbed the back of her head.
Also.., now that she thought about it, how old was she in this body? Uncle Hoyo had never said.
Well, it did not matter much right now.
As those thoughts were around her mind he studied her gesture for what felt an eternity….and yet his lips seemed to quirk upwards for only a moment.
A gentle thing
"I find it to be a rather agreeable request...Miss Ena"
She blinked. "Wait..really?"
He gave her a weak nod, the sharpness of his eyes seemingly becoming softer in her opinion for some reason.
Warmer even..
"Yes, I too think it would make things easier and far more amenable between us to converse like that..."
"Ah, that's..I-"
"Of course, if you still find yourself worried or unease because of me then I would apologize again for that..."
Apologize?
Him?
"N-no! There is no need for that..you are been too kind to me, there is no way in the world I-I would ever demand something like that from you!"
The words slipped out of her lips before she realized as she wailed her arms in a panic. Even though he was at fault for slamming a door in her face the more this conversation went, the more it felt she was the bad guy here.
It was all so distressing and confusing...that perhaps that was why she did not took on the way he glared deeply once more into her eyes.
And the thoughtful expression behind them.
"That is good to hear Ms Ena.., but please, if you do feel bothered, you don't have to pretend to the contrary.."
[But I am not pretending to be happy dammit!] She groaned inwardly, comical tears sliding down her face. Still.., it was hard to be mad at him when he was been so polite. As if fearful she would take flight if he dared raise his voice.
Which...she probably would.
One must watch out for the quiet ones...
Anyway, it wasn't that much of a bother really if the only thing she would have to suffer for a while longer would be harmless misunderstandings then she was not mad with the cards she had been given today either
There would still be time to fix things down the line.
"Thanks for the kind offer..., though I believe it wont be necessary. Apart from how abrupt our meeting started to be….I have no qualms about it"
[The bumps in my skull hurt like a bitch though...]
He nodded "I see...I am grateful to hear that"
"It..it was nothing, besides it was just an accident.."
It was like bumping into someone in a crowded office. It happened and it wasn't serious at all, so why worry about it? Its not like she would use that to blackmail him into-Bad girl, bad girl, don't you remember he can fold a space whale..!?
"Anyway, I must admit that when I first met Ms Petronilla I was a little nervous, but she soon proved to be a…" She started to say, yet end up biting her lip.
A hard ass..?
Sexy femme fatale..?
Complete humorless gal that had too much chest yet not enough lip service..?
The options poked at the edge of her tongue like the incessant need one felt to tell a really bad dad joke during a family outing. A jab that could only be found funny in the right place.
This wasn't it...
"Rather interesting character to speak with..."
She found herself saying in the end, her voice still weak yet slowly finding some strength to back herself up, perhaps given some comfort at the fact that it was not really a lie.
Still….she prayed he bought it.
At least Petronilla seemed to be conveniently ignoring them, her eyes set on the table, perhaps finding its cheap surface far more entertaining than the conversation at hand.
[Well, that is a bit rude]
The Ludex nodded approvingly though, placing the cup in his grasp gently on the smooth surface of the table.
"A rather fair assumption...and not necessarily away from the truth taking into consideration the peculiar nature of her character.."
She fought down the urge to chuckle when she heard a peculiar Tsk come from the Huntress at the way her boss described her eccentric nature.
It was kinda cute.
With a pleased smile she leaned a little bit forward, brushing away some stray locks of hair from her eyes while she brought up the cup of tea to her lips. It was not as hot as before, but the citric taste still remained just as strong.
For someone that had never liked it, it now tasted delightful. Was that an Isekai thing or just that Crucabena was more of a tea person..? If it was the latter then she admitted to be surprised since she had pegged the woman to be of the wine kind of evil mastermind. Tea felt a little too tame...and British.
Well, whatever it was...it surely was coming in handy now, it also helped that it was actually good and not those cheap leaf-juices that one could get at a cafeteria.
She took another sip and it almost send her to heaven.
Yeah, definitely better.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. The simplicity of this scene, of how mundane it was.
It was...so soothing….
It almost made her forget who were the people sharing the table with her for a moment. Almost been the key word.
"So...what drove you here Neuvillete..?"
The words come out softly, pushing a certain question that had been hovering in her mind for a while now as she placed the cup down once more. Earning her a soft look from the man, with one of his brows seemingly rising just barely as he tilted his head ever so slightly, a curious semblance on his pretty looking face.
Faint..
But still there.
It somehow seemed to make him cuter in her opinion.
"Hm? Myself you ask..?"
[Gosh...why is your voice making me shiver..?]
Last she checked it was not that cold inside the cafeteria. She clenched her hands before letting them lean over the table's surface.
"Yeah, if I am honest with you... I was not quite expecting to meet you here in public of all places. You are after all...quite a busy man.." [Specially when Furina seems to throw all the work at your lap..]
A bit harsh of a judgment…however she had the nagging feeling that her little droplet was eating cake at this hour.
She just didn't know how right she was…
"So...surely its understandable that the thought of you leaving the court to come by here was certainly not in my mind.."
[Let alone that we would meet like some sort of anime gag scene..]
The Ludex nodded sagely.
"Of course...you would be mostly right miss Ena. The demands of the court and the ever pressing amount of charges and trials that are thrown out and asked to be held would take most of one's time.."
She nodded. So far, nothing wrong with that…
The fact that he did not sound displeased at all by been overworked was...weird to hear, but it surely was just a character trait.
Against popular belief...there were those who actually loved working.
..
Yeah.., workaholics were scary.
"Still, regular visits to the Institute are one of my duties as Chief Justice…take it as some sort of inspection"
She tilted her head to the side, a few stray fingers rubbing her chin in deep thought.
"Oh, that….makes sense.., w-wait..if you are here who presides the trials in your absence then..?"
Inspections took time
A whole crapload of time when bureaucracy got in the way of things..
And if there were so damn many trials it was unlikely that today of all places was vacant from any of the theatrics that the people of Fontaine loved to see as entertainment. Surely Neuvillete had not just left all things mid way to attend to this place, right.? Right..?
The idea was too strange and character rbeaking to consider to be true...still, she had to admit that the thought of Furina sitting on that oversize chair of the Ludex, trying to push forward a trial by herself instead of falling into hysterics was kind of funny
"Other judges of course.." Was his simple and kind reply as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Sadly, the feeling was not mutual as she stared at him as if he had grown another head.
..
..
..
..
..
"Eh..?"
º
º….Council of Crubabenas….º
Serious C: "Wait…, there are more judges than him.? When was that a thing...!?"
Tired C: "I mean..isn't that a given..? Why would he be the only one..?"
Serious C: "Because there was nothing like that in the game perhaps ..!?"
Flirty C: Oh my~, don't dell me that you thought that the Nation of Justice was only held together by one man alone? I mean..he surely could bench us with one hand but common on...just him? Really?"
Serious C: "…"
Funny C: "Oh my...YOU really thought that was the case...!?"
Serious C: "Shut it..!"
º
To say that she was surprised of what she had just heard would not do it enough justice.
It shouldn't have been so ground breaking…
In fact there was no way in hell that only he existed as the sole judge of the nation, such notion was so stupid that if it was true it would cripple somehow the nation in one way or another...like what would Fontaine do if the Ludex had to go to another nation for a few days or weeks for political matters..?
Yeah…
It was kinda self-explanatory..
Still, it seemed that even with that she could not help herself be caught by surprise by it anyway.
[So there are more guys working at the courts? Huh…, I was not expecting that] Thinking about it now she was feeling a bit dumb from not coming to that idea far sooner.
"By the look in your eyes….I take... that you were not expecting that..?"
She felt her cheeks flare up in embarrassment, her hands clenching yet her fingers fidgeting against one another as the polite, almost careful words of the Ludex brought her back to reality.
Shit, was she so easy to read..?
It would be bad news if she was...
[Come on, get a grip of yourself Crucabena...it was just happenstance for making such a peculiar question, nothing more…]
"Uh, n-o..not at all. Its just that when I hear about an ongoing trial the only man I think been capable to fill the role of the judge is...yourself.."
She wasn't lying to be honest.
Tall..
Well dressed.
With a cheekbones literally sculpted by a god and that gentle yet imposing aura that only a daddy could bring and make everyone listen to him while he seats in a god mode couch.
Trying to fix a nation of idiots who loved drama with patience. Even...when he did not understood himself fully.
He had earned the tittle of Chief Justice
And so, with that thought she rose her gaze, meeting his eyes to let him know that...which she was yet too shy to say.
And Neuvillete..
Neuvillete merely smiled..
A small thing...
Timid..
Pained..
A mirage perhaps induced by repeated brain injury…, but it felt real. And that was enough for her hear to flutter as he slowly stood up from his seat.
"You hold me in too much regard Ms Ena.."
No
She really didn't…
But she could not bear herself to say it…, not yet.
"And what about you, miss Ena?"
"M-me..?"
"I take that you came here to ask or look for something of the Institute.."
It was not a question, but rather a statement
Though one not hard to make given that no one came here to buy vegetables...yet
"Well..yes, but... no?" She muttered, fidgeting with her fingers.
He looked at her a bit puzzled, his face furrowing with a frown..only to soften when he realized that she was not been evasive.
Yeah, her wording needed some work.
"How strange, its the first time someone admits and denies something outside of the court in less than a minute..." She heard Petronilas voice from the side, the Huntress now leaning forward against the table instead of been willfully ignorant of their conversation.
The tone of the readhead deadpan as ever...yet the mocking undertone seemed to ring in Crucabenas ears for some reason.
Her expression became strained just as her left eye started to twitch.
Now she was been dissed by the red head? Now..!?
[Not cool girl, not cool..]
"I concur...what a strange chain of events have unfolded in such small amount of time.." Spoke Neuvillete this time, the poor man not really picking up on the sarcasm in the air
As usual...
Crucabena could only look at the man betrayed.
[Oi! I felt that!]
With an inward sigh she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Quiet you two..what I meant was that I did came here to get something of the Institute, just not for yourself..
"Not for yourself..?"
"Of course, after all it was a gift for my daughter..." She made sure to put a special emphasis on the last word. Though to be honest it was a gift from her to herself than anything else.
A white lie of sorts, no need to explain everything to everyone, right?
"You... have a child..?"
There was something cute to be found in the look of mild, numbed surprise plastered on the Ludex face.
She nodded. "A couple actually…rapscallions all, but a lovable bunch"
The fact that they were child soldiers went unsaid of course.
It would do her no good anyway.
"Poor things…" Muttered Petronila from the side with a deadpan tone.
"Quiet you Nila! Stop ruining my immersion..!"
"That..is not my name.."
"Tomato potato.." She muttered with exasperation, raising her hands with a shrug.
The huntress looked at her with a raised eyebrow "Why are we talking about foo now..?"
Crucabena almost groaned herself to tears.
[Gods, why did her skull have to be just as thick as her thighs..?]
The sound of a fake cough draw her attention back to the silver haired chief Justice
"Ehem.., I believe that we have gone out of course from the conversation at hand.."
"Right...sorry"
Neuvillete shook his head...amused?
Nah, that could not be right.
"There was no need, still...congratulations are in order miss Ena.
"Congratulations..?"
"Indeed, though I must admit that I was not expecting someone as young as yourself to be already married and with children is no less cause for celebration.."
Married..?
Young?
She..?
The words rang weird in her ears for a while.
She knew she looked hot as fuck...but did she look that young..? It was something strange for the Ludex to remark on like he had.
[Well, compared with him I must be a child so perhaps its just lizard brain doing his thing]
Though...now that she thought about it, how old was she anyway? Not her old self mind you, that she at least was aware of, but how old was Crucabena itself? Thirty? Forty? Fifty..?
She did not know
Not like character design helped much thanks to Hoyo's shenanigans, Ningguang was meant to be in her fifties like Cocolia and those two blondes were as pretty as a picture.
"Well, you know how life goes...one moment you think you have everything figured out and the next...boom, you have a family and children pop up all over the place,." She said, wailing her arms all over the place in order to explain things easier.
He gave her a weak nod. "I cant say I know what you mean...Ms Ena, however by the sounds of it you have found meaning on it..you are truly lucky.."
His voice dropped for a moment, his gaze becoming lost in he-no, in a point behind her she realized. His shoulders barely becoming a little sagged with...a heavy weigh that only he could see. Making him look vulnerable...the song of a certain crying dragon starting to echo in her mind.
She bit her lips..
It did not last long though as he returned to his old self a few seconds later.
Gently extending a gloved hand at her direction, open…, waiting..
She took it.
"I have heard that parenthood is a rather serious...yet beautiful aspect of life, I hope that you do your best for them..."
The words echoed practiced in her ears, yet she smiled back nonetheless. Even if it had become more brittle than before. Why? Because her heart was happy to hear his words..even...if her mind punished her with the reality that she kept behind closed lips.
He had meant well…
She knew that.
But it was hard not to flinch inwardly at the real Crucabena had done until then to all those children, to even her own flesh and blood...
Of the nature of the Hearth…
Of what the Fatui wanted and needed of the orphans….and what they would do to them to get what they wanted
Torture..
Experiments..
Social Darwinism at its extremes.
And so much more fuck up shit she was not aware of and was waiting a cross the corner to be found.
..
..
She was innocent of all those things.
She had done nothing like this….this woman whose body she now lived in had done.
Her hands...were clean.
And yet, somehow she felt dirty to be given such trust..
[I hope so too...Neuvillete, I hope so too..]
"Thanks, those words….mean a lot Neuvillete.."
"I am glad I could help...if only a little.."
She wanted to hug him
Gods she really did wish she could….
No longer for some deviant desire to feel that body up close...but just to shake off the mood-swing from such self deprecating thoughts from dragging her down. Yet between how bold such an idea would be...and how awkward it could result afterwards it was dropped much to her displeasure.
Instead a different idea took root inside of her…
Playful
Foolish
Bold
And one that was eerily related to the camera that had been left unattended on the side of the table for a long while with everything that had been going on.
If she could not act on her desires...perhaps she could get a memory to remember fonder times when these thoughts came by instead. And who knew...perhaps he would look at this moment much later in time with some fondness as-well
[Fingers crossed I dont get blown up into the sky like Team Rocket] She sighed, her shoulders slumping down before she straightened herself back.
A dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Yeah, I guess that not many people have given me the talk or even the simplest of courtesies about it so its nice to hear it once in a while.."
She said, pausing for a moment before taking a step forward, placing a hand over his shoulder. The fabric of his cloth shifting under the gentle pressure of her grip.
"Still.. thank you.."
"It was nothing.."
"Sure was, still...you don't have to be so modest with yourself.."
"Modest?"
The way the words echoed from his lips, how his once listless eyes now frowned with the ghost of confusion, how regal semblance tried to understand whether she was joking...or not yet unable to understand or settle for either.
It was amusing.
She wanted to see more, to poke at him, to tease if ever so slightly and see more.
Even though she shouldn't..
Oh dear she shouldn't...but since when had she known restraint?
And besides, for some reason she felt….confident. Something else inside of her pushing her forward to delight herself with this game.
And she was not in any haste to worry about what would that be...
"I mean... I am sure that as a father yourself you would know a thing or two about it.."
Neuvillete frowned, his body becoming a little more rigid yet the grip on her hand remained as gentle as ever.
"My apologies...Ms Ena, but I am not a father…"
"That is not what I have heard.." She said a bit more cheerfully, jabbing a finger on his impeccable chest, her heart finding a bit of glee at his reaction...or at the way she felt her finger was literally poking a wall of muscle underneath the proper cloth.
The frown in Neuvillete only seemed grow bigger at that yet he put no objections, a series of micro emotions raging inside those eyes of his.
She felt him put hand on her back, strong, wide..yet careful.
Not careful enough though when instead of pushing her away it only managed to get pressed a little more harder against each other.
"Ms Ena...I assure you that no matter what kind of gossip or rumors have been made around on the circles of Fontaine, I am not a father...nor I think I would k-have the time to be such thing.."
She tilted the head to the side, leaning a little bit closer.
Her blood running hot inside of her veins.
Her heart beating louder by now
"Are you sure~..?" She whispered as she drew herself closer to him, the warmth of her body feeling the coolness of his, lips still warped in a fond smile.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, sometimes he tried to look away, but in the end he sighed.
"Yes.."
"My..so serious, it sounds as if you were judging me for some crime.."
"Madam Ena-…"
"Tsk, I thought we agreed on not calling me that.., that's hurtful.." She said with fake sadness before she gently pushed herself away from his touch.
"Still, you should never say never..times changes us all after all.."
A raised eyebrow was his answer.
It was better than nothing.
She cocked a smile "What? It wasn't really that bad.."
Petronila facepalmed.
"Ms Ena...would you happen to know who made such...baseless rumors?"
"Moi?"
"Ms Ena..please, slander, even if something as simple and perhaps harmless as such can still be held to account.."
"Well, that could prove a bit problematic, even for you…"
"And why would that be.?" His voice was curt, but not harsh.
She bit her lip. He really felt more manly when he was serious. [Gods...how you managed to be single for centuries you fool..!?]
"I mean...would you sent to prison all Melussines in Fontaine for such a harmless thing…?"
He blinked, not really expecting such a reply
"The... Melussines..?"
"Of course, who else..?"
"No, there must be a mistake, they are...wonderful creatures, but to consider me their father is a bit too much.."
She shrugged. "I mean..yeah, you are right...but you were the one that integrated to Fontaine society.."
"Oh? That…? It was just the best way to avoid clashes and hysteria from the people of Fontaine when more and more cases of people spotting the Melussines swimming on the sea came around.."
A fair explanation..
But she was not gonna give up just like that..
"You also help them find a meaning to their existence and find happiness among the people of the nation.."
He slowly pulled his hand away from hers, readjusting his tie.
His eyes trying to avoid her gaze.
"Like myself..., they were once new to Fontaine and its customs, many had doubts and dreams..I...merely gave them a helping hand..anyone would have done the same"
[Now that's a lie and you know it..]
Carol would be alive if that had been the case back then..
She shook that memory from her thoughts.
It did not suit the mood right now.
"You advice people on the daily to treat them with respect and love, watching over them from time to time and even going as far as to ask how their days have gone.."
He..took a step back.
He was not...sweating right?
"They…. are kind creatures, deserving of love and respect..."
She rose an eyebrow. "You made a law in which no one should ever address the Melusines as its..bur rather refer to them as properly as possible"
"It was...the right thing to do.."
..
..
..
"Did I say that you also go and visit them at their village from time to time, bringing gifts along the way…?"
The Ludex tried to open his mouth once more. To deny it again….yet this time nothing came out from his lips. His mind clearly wanting to say anything at all, yet his body refusing to say a lie.
The smile on her lips only seemed to grow wider.
It seemed that the all knowing Ludex did not know the answer to that particular part.
He then stared at his hands...confused, as if the answer would be found there. It took a long time before he rose his head once more and stared at hers. His stoic nature dulling the emotions he could express.
..
..
"They...consider me...their father?"
The look in his eyes would have been the funniest thing she had ever seem in her life.
Had she not taken a photo just right then and there.
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When that hooligan of a scientist bothered his master he had felt worried.
When Gerard had seem The Ludex Neuvillete burst through that door he had felt dread.
When that very door had smacked his masters fair face he almost had a heart attack.
Why?
Why something like that had to happen during his vigilance?
There had been a million things that could have gone terribly wrong in that moment that he knew he would have been faster counting what would not happen to list them all.
Even if these last few days had shown a peaceful face of his master, he was well aware of the Knave's true temper. One that was as wrathful as she was a master of lies.
To be knock down on the ground in such a poorly manner by a man who never had the intention to cause such a scene in the first place was...well, bad to say the least. In fact he had almost thought he would see blood spilled on what had been a rather...peaceful day.
And yet...that didn't happen.
Somehow a miracle had occur before his own tired old eyes, because instead of lashing out, the madam had taken the Chief Justice's hand and walked alongside him like nothing bad had just happened.
Then they had gone to a secluded space to have a small chat and talked about so many mundane things that their meaning defied comprehension. So much that Gerard almost thought he really had died and the next thing he would see would be buildings made of cotton candy and rivers filled with wine.
After all...what other thing could explain the what he had seen let alone hear?
The knave acting flustered around the Ludex and his bodyguard like some sort of a school girl..?
The Knave sharing small talk between the two most prominent individuals of Fontaine like they were old friends..?
The stammering and the flirting..?
The jokes..?
It made no sense.
It was like looking at a complete different person all together from who he had come to know so well for so many years.
No sign of the malice..
Of the threatening aura of the madam..
Not even a veiled threat or insult laid out in the entire conversation.
And so, in Gerards mind, at the sight of these outlandish, yet never ending amount of evidence there could only be one reasonable explanation to what he was a witness of.
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
The Knave was truly the greatest actress to ever live...!
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A/N
Sorry, sorry for been so late, there has been so many things that I had to do and I just wanted to give it the same if not better quality than the other chapter that it got stuck on my throat for awhile...but hey, here is another chapter, no need to bring up the torches and pitchforks.
Anyway,Ihope you enjoy it and have a fun time. Review or share your ideas if you like, the more the merrier.
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Light Rain Storm : Dont worry, the story wont stop and leave anyone dissapointe watching a good story sink like many others have, the reason behind me been late of any updates came because of problems in real life
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DDDXXX : Writting Furina and Crucabenas scenes are gonna be a blast, (pun not intended…..or is it?).
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Grifman275 : Our poor girl sometimes can not control her impulses though who cant blame her with such exotic specimens infront of her? Simping is universal after all. Still, with some help she can act more controlled, too bad the characters of the story are not gonna make it easy for her with their own series of antics and misunderstandings.
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Also, I knew someone would get the Jesus reference, I am so glad :)
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Lastly, I put this question on watpad, but I wanted to know what your opinion would be of this idea that I came across. Nothing is definiteve yet though, but it would help me know where the preference of my readers would be situated.
A) : Do you want the story to develop until the story comes full close with the archon quest with the traveller? This will take a lot more time to pull through and it may become quite long in lenght.
B) : Do you want this one to end before the awakening of the traveller? In that case there would be two stories with one picking a few years after the first one though wether it takes place when the Fontaine archon quest starts...or a year or two earlier (Traveller awakening) is still up in the air.