Chapter 59: A Beautiful Farewell

Looking at Xueli’s expression…

“How about we take a photo?” Flora proposed.

“Take a photo…?”

“Yeah, let’s take a photo as a souvenir to remember this time. After all… if we meet again, we’ll be able to recognize each other,” Flora explained warmly.

“A souvenir…” Xueli lowered her head further, her teeth lightly biting her lower lip while her hands clenched slightly, as if she were wrestling with something.

Flora stood beside her, watching quietly without saying a word.

After a moment…

“…Okay,” Xueli’s voice was still small, but it held a hint of determination.

“Then where should we take it?”

“Um, how about the riverside?”

“Sure, the wind and the scenery at the riverside will be beautiful.”

With that, the two walked together toward the riverside.

Along the way, Flora bought a disposable memory stone, which could print a recorded scene onto a single piece of paper.

As for why she bought a disposable one, it was because they were cheap, fitting her image of an “ordinary demon girl,” and once was enough.

After a while, they found a good spot.

“The breeze is so warm here.”

“Yeah, let’s do it here.”

Flora found a random passerby.

“Excuse me, could you take a photo of us?”

“Oh, certainly.”

Flora ran back to stand beside Xueli. Flora stood on the left, while Xueli stood on the right.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes.”

Flora reached her left hand around Xueli’s right arm and gently grasped Xueli’s right hand. Their ten fingers interlocked, pressed close, and gripped tight.

A cool breeze blew, gently brushing through Flora’s hair.

“Oh, my bangs are a mess.” Flora quickly used her free right hand to smooth her bangs before the wind could ruin them, waiting for the gust to pass before neatly rearranging them.

“Hee-hee.” Xueli turned her head to look at her and let out a small laugh.

“There, all better,” Flora said teasingly as she finished tidying her hair.

Flora stood still, and the two of them struck their planned pose.

The corners of Xueli’s mouth curved up almost imperceptibly — something she didn’t even seem to notice herself. Flora still gave off that familiar feeling.

The river breeze blew again, but this time it didn’t mess up her bangs; instead, it gently lifted the long hair trailing down her back.

“It feels so good.”

“Yes, it really does.”

The warm sunlight shone down on the two girls’ fair faces. Their bright smiles, drifting long hair, linked hands, and slender figures — the scene froze at that moment.

“You two girls look very lovely.” The passerby handed the memory stone back to Flora and walked away.

Flora took the stone and retrieved the printed paper photo. The beauty of the two young girls was captured and etched into this wonderful photo along with their memories.

“It’s so pretty. Look at the atmosphere.”

“Yeah, your expression is very nice, too.”

As they both appraised the photo, Xueli suddenly turned to look at Flora.

“Fufu, what should we do with this photo?” Xueli asked an important question.

“How about this? Let’s tear the photo in half. Each of us will take one half — the half with the other person on it — to remember each other. If we meet again, we can bring them out and put them back together.”

Flora looked at Xueli with a smile.

Xueli looked down at the photo, remaining silent.

“Do you think we really will meet again…?” Xueli finally couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, we’ve already shared so much fate. I think… we will definitely meet again in the future. This fate will bring us back together.”

“Yeah.” Xueli laughed with a sense of relief and let out a sigh.

Flora tore the photo into two halves and handed the one with her image to Xueli.

“Here, for you.”

Xueli took the photo, her delicate right index finger gently brushing over the slightly rough paper.

“Here, take these.” Xueli gave half of the gummy bears to Flora, and Flora accepted them.

“Well, I’m going now.” Xueli looked into Flora’s eyes once more.

“Okay. And thank you.”

Xueli turned and began to walk away, the distance between them growing. Halfway there, she glanced back.

Her voice was very quiet, and Flora didn’t hear her.

Flora returned to the stone railing and leaned against it.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this interesting. I might even say… it was a bit sentimental?’

Flora sighed, her lips curling into a playful smile as she looked in the direction Xueli had come from. She tidied her hair and set off again.

She returned to the plaza, the place where she had agreed to meet Lena. After an unknown amount of time, Lena walked over.

“Fufu! Eh? Where’s Xiao Xue?” Lena came running toward Flora.

“Xiao Xue? She said she wanted to go on her own and couldn’t follow us anymore. After we parted, I came here to wait for you.”

“Oh, I see. Xiao Xue left? I originally wanted to show her a little something.”

“Xiao Xue was only supposed to follow us for a short time anyway.”

“Well, that’s true. So, what should we do next?”

“Hmm… let’s just wander around. Or if we get tired, we can sit for a bit and then go get dinner once it’s night.”

“Okay.”

***

By evening, they arrived at a shop selling grilled skewers. They had discussed what to eat for a long time, so they arrived quite late. It had been dark for a while, but the shop was still quite crowded.

Lights flashed, and the sounds of laughter and conversation blended together. Amidst the clinking of glasses, the place was full of life.

“That said, does Your Highness really want to eat skewers? I don’t recall Your Highness ever eating them before.”

“Don’t be silly. I stay in the castle every day, so where would I go to eat skewers? They don’t make things like this in the castle.” A hint of exasperation could be heard in Flora’s tone.

“Actually, Your Highness, you could have asked if you wanted to eat them. Even though they’re a bit… greasy or whatever, we could have made some once in a while.”

“Well, you never told me that.”

“I thought Your Highness knew and would say something voluntarily,” Lena said, sounding a bit aggrieved.

“True, but Mother did say I should eat ‘healthily’ — or rather, a bit less ‘simply’.”

“Requirements are just requirements, after all. There’s usually some room for leniency in practice.”

The two found a spot and sat across from each other.

“I have to say, it’s quite lively.” Lena looked around.

“Yeah. What do you want to eat?” Flora asked Lena.

“Ah… Your Highness should choose first, and then I’ll decide.”

“Then let’s have some skewers and order two drinks,” Flora said after a quick glance at the menu.

“Let’s do that, then.”

Flora called the server over and ordered some lamb skewers and grilled wings. Of course, it wasn’t just meat; they also ordered grilled mushrooms and eggplant.

“Would you like those spicy?” the server asked as usual.

“Hmm…” Flora thought for a moment. “No spice. Just add extra cumin.”

The skewers were served quickly.

Lena picked one up and brought it straight to her mouth, tearing two pieces of meat away with her teeth and chewing vigorously. Looking at Flora, she seemed much more refined — or at least, less uninhibited.

Looking at Lena, Flora couldn’t help but want to laugh.

‘I once ate skewers like this with others, too… but not anymore.’

Because of Mother’s indoctrination regarding etiquette and refinement, she now had to eat this way.

She had grown accustomed to that training, so it felt natural to do so. And it seemed there was nothing wrong with that, either.