We Meet Once More -- Sucrose x Albedo

Chapter 26

"Hm? What is that light in the ballroom?"
Said a fellow maid out of curiosity after she was done checking the east wing.

With the three of them...

As Sucrose cried into Albedo's shoulder, gasping for air. She tried to cry in silence but her methods of trying to do so didn't work. That was what she did altogether when Xingqiu said something.

"Guys, can you be quiet for a moment?"

Sucrose stopped sobbing and Albedo kept quiet, stopping himself from shushing her any longer. Xingqiu carefully walked closer to the ballroom entrance and stood still there. He listened closely and looked at the bottom. There, he saw a light overlapping the chandelier's light in terms of brightness; growing closer and closer. His eyes widened, realizing it was a servant. He ran up the stairs with haste and whisper-shouted:

"RUN!"

Sucrose and Albedo let go of each other and followed Xingqiu upstairs where they moved the tables, yet the tables were placed beside the wall. Sucrose and Albedo hid under one of the sheet-covered tables, as well as Xingqiu, but he was under a different table since there wasn't enough space. 

The maid patrolling at this hour slammed the door and opened it, roaming inside the ballroom. All three of them tried to control their breathing, trying not to make a sound. But every echoing footstep, the patrolling maid made, increased their panic level by one bar. Sucrose wiped her tears and nose then hugged the jar tightly in her arms, not letting any of the bioluminescent leaves' illumination spoil their cover.

After the maid had investigated the ballroom, she walked away. With every footstep she took, the three listened very closely as the stomp of her thick heel distanced its sound before fading completely, along with the sound of the lights coming to a close, the door closing shut and locking altogether. The three of them wait for a few seconds before bursting under the white sheet tables.

"That was too close!"
Exclaimed Xingqiu who released a strong breath he knew he was holding.

"Why didn't you close the lights?"
Said Sucrose, wiping her face.

"If I did, the patrolling maid would've known we were here."

"O-oh... I see... sorry, I wasn't thinking logically."

"I think it's about time we head to our rooms. If we stay up any longer, we'll certainly be caught."
Said Albedo, getting up and dusting himself.

Sucrose stayed silent, sniffing. She wiped her face and eyes once more just to get rid of the stickiness of the dried tears on her face.

"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"
Albedo offered, blushing a bit.

Sucrose looked up at him with surprise before glancing away, nodding in approval. Xingqiu couldn't help but smile. Then he remembered: he was third-wheeling. That thought just ruined his beautiful, warm smile.

A little while later...

Xingqiu had split up from the two to stay in a vacant guest room to sleep in. Both of the boys planned that they'd wake up early and go back to their respective rooms before any servant or maid gets up early to start cleaning the castle. Sucrose had to go through the trouble explaining why Albedo couldn't just simply stay with her in her room, since, well, because of Xingqiu. If you can't recall, he stayed with Sucrose every night.

Sucrose and Albedo enter the room. She felt tired, yawning at once the moment she stepped inside. Since she was too tired to go back to her alchemy workshop to return the jar of bioluminescent leaves, she just stored it on top of her drawer. Sucrose closed the balcony door and curtains and walked toward the bathroom to wash her face. While she was in the bathroom, Albedo hesitantly walked to her bed and sat on the edge before uncomfortably shifting on the bed to lie down.