Seeing Floxi was a bit dazed,
Luwei twirled a finger around her hair, but her words
were relentless as she continued to add fuel to the fire:
“You should be happy you get to join the Church.”
“You won’t have to be disliked by me, or be forced to take alchemy lessons anymore.”
“Go learn your magic and swordsmanship… Everything I said before, it can be voided now.”
But, for some reason, Floxi still had no reaction.
“Why… do you have to lie…?”
Only a faint murmur reached Luwei’s ears.
“Floxi?”
Luwei wasn’t sure she heard right.
But looking at Floxi’s dazed expression,
she suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Had she gone too far?
“Joining the Church doesn’t mean we can never see each other again…”
Luwei tried to comfort her,
“As long as you want, the Caris family will always be your home.”
There was a hint of regret and self-mockery in her tone.
“I’m starting to think, once you become an Archbishop in the future, you might look down on me, a mere Lord from this little mountain valley.”
Cecilia was silent.
Luwei keenly caught the slight tremble in her hands.
Luwei leaned in to check on Cecilia’s condition, but Cecilia subtly evaded her.
Under her veil, Cecilia’s eyes flickered.
And after a moment,
she actually bowed deeply to Floxi.
“I… I obey your will.”
“But… I will not give up trying to persuade you…”
For some reason, Cecilia’s voice was no longer calm and composed.
Instead, it carried a hint of… reverence?
Having said that, she stepped back a few times and nodded slightly, like a silent observer.
Floxi blinked.
She looked around in confusion, seemingly trying to find the reason for Cecilia’s sudden change in attitude.
Then, Luwei’s peripheral vision caught sight of a few pure white feathers.
This was…
“Floxi?”
Luwei called out softly, but no familiar reply came to her ears.
Only a slender, fair arm wrapped around her waist.
Gone was the usual carefulness and gentle touch… it had become a bit rough.
Now, even if Luwei were dense, she would have noticed!
Floxi, was she angry?
“Wait, you… don’t be angry…”
Panic surfaced on Luwei’s face.
Floxi… she’s actually angry about this kind of thing?
It doesn’t make sense… why is it like this?
Getting away from her critical self, shouldn’t that make her feel relieved?
Luwei turned her head and secretly looked at Floxi’s face.
She had never seen Floxi angry before.
Her small face was dark, her brown eyes were dull and lifeless, staring at her without a trace of emotion.
Luwei’s heart was in chaos.
“F-Floxi…?”
She only managed to utter this one question.
The next second, she felt the world spin before her eyes.
The world flipped and fractured before her, like a page of a book being sharply turned over.
Wind howled into her ears and nose, the sky seemed to flow downward.
The scenery around her was stretched into lines,
converging above her head into an endless, starry river.
“Judgment… Court…?”
Luwei murmured the name of this realm.
This was a concept art piece the project team had prepared for the game’s endgame—a skill for a super big boss.
If she remembered correctly… that boss was an Angel with a Divinity.
Why… was his skill being used by Floxi?
Suddenly, Cecilia’s strange behavior earlier surfaced in Luwei’s mind…
Luwei hadn’t felt so flustered in a long time.
Right now, the only thing she could be sure of was that the Plot had undergone an unforeseeable change.
[Punishment] and [Guardianship] could no longer explain the Power Floxi had displayed!
Why didn’t Floxi have a drastic personality change like in the Plot and become an emotionless Angel?
Why could Floxi hide her Power so freely?
Luwei had completely overlooked these questions before.
And now, she was already reaping the bitter fruit of her carelessness.
The Holy Light around her was so intense it almost blinded her.
Would…
I be killed here?
‘Would… I be killed here?’
Floxi heard Luwei’s heart.
But even without Mind Reading, she could still feel the fragility and unease the silver-haired girl in her arms was showing.
It was enough to drive Floxi’s mood into the depths.
“…Why won’t you accept me?”
Floxi had promised her over and over again.
‘I will never hurt you… I love you!’
But Luwei, underneath her seemingly trusting attitude,
had merely hidden her wariness deep within her heart.
Her heart was always filled with conflict, torn by anxiety, just waiting for a moment like this to all explode.
So, Floxi decided to tear away all her lies and disguises.
What was hidden in her Highness’s heart that made her feel so insecure?
To the point where she couldn’t, and wouldn’t, believe that she was truly loved or truly protected.
She was always equally wary of everyone around her, even—
Floxi, who had crushed her heart open and laid it bare before her eyes.
Luwei experienced the feeling of being enveloped by Holy Light again.
But this time, there was a subtle difference…
This Holy Light was no longer warm and comforting, but carried an unparalleled penetrating force—
It wanted to illuminate every inch of her heart.
Even the most unsightly, the worst corners, would be filled by this all-pervasive Holy Light.
Floxi… is she seeing through me?
This thought rose in her mind, and Luwei suddenly felt a surge of intense panic.
“No—don’t look!”
Luwei reached out, trying to cover Floxi’s eyes…
Would she discover the existence of the Plot?
She would find out that she saved her, cherished her…
All to fight against the Plot.
Even that first line, “Fall in love with me,” was just for the Quest.
“…Miss?”
“Do you… truly understand what ‘like’ is?”
A small hand rested on Luwei’s head, clumsily trying to comfort her.
“‘Like’—is when someone sees your worst, ugliest side, yet still loves you in the same way.”
“‘Like’—is when you can’t do something, someone is willing to help you carry that burden.”
“‘Like’—is when your eyes are full of your own shortcomings, and someone explains to you, one by one, how great you are.”
“There are many people around you who like you.”
“Don’t ever think you shouldn’t be liked because of reasons like that.”
“Okay?”
The Holy Light around them seemed to return to its former warmth.
Listening to the comforting words in her ear, Luwei was momentarily stunned.
Liked… taken care of… pitied…
And her deepest secret… had been seen through as well?
But it seemed—
Luwei secretly shifted her gaze, studying the expression on Floxi’s face.
As always, gentle as the wind and warm as the sun.
“Now…”
“Can you entrust your sense of security to me?”
Her voice lifted with a hint of playful finality.