The Fairest of Them All

XXII. Free

Kanato giggled. "You were probably chosen because of your blood. Or that you'll too weak to escape."

"...I would also like to know more of what happened to this place in the past..." Yui continued. "...because lately everything is so weird..."

Kanato narrowed his eyes. "Watch your mouth, you filthy worm."

"Weird?" Ayato perked. "How?"

Yui averted her eyes and slowly placed her hand over her chest. "I saw this woman again...and my chest started hurting..."

"Oh?" said Laito. "What woman? And when was this?"

Ayato clicked his tongue. "Probably those human emotions...what was it again?"

"Fear?" Kanato suggested. "Submission?"

Yui gave him a look. "No...and is submission even an emotion?"

"Mmm...love-struck?" Laito said.

"Yes!" Ayato pointed. "That's it! Chichi-nashi, you're experiencing love-struck! But with a woman...?"

"N-no! It's different!" Yui immediately denied. "And I don't go that way!"

Laito smirked. "Nothing to be ashamed of, though~"

"Teddy. Teddy, wake up!" Kanato was shaking his stuffed toy. He gave the others a grave expression. "He fainted in shock."

"I'm telling you guys, that's not it!" She waited until the three fell silent before she released a sigh. "I saw her a while ago. She was...standing outside the balcony in my room. She then turned around and...I remembered her eyes..."

Yui shivered, hugging herself. "...They were green and cold and full of conceit...She looked at me...and my chest started hurting. I ran out of the room before she could grab me. Before I knew it, I was in here...so I decided to search through these books in attempt to find an answer to all this..."

"Green eyes?" Ayato repeated. His voice was strained.

"Y-yes." Yui failed to read his expression. "She had long purple hair and wore a black, floor-length gown..."

To her surprise, the temperature in the room plummeted even further.

"...Liar." Kanato's voice started off barely audible. "Liar, liar, liar!"

"Kanato—"

"LIES!" Kanato screamed. "How dare you tell lies like that?! You disgraceful—"

"So I was right..." Yui stated quietly. "It was your mother."

Kanato stopped. He retracted his hand, wrapping it around his stuffed toy. Brows scrunched and eyes filled with disgust, he buried his face behind Teddy's head.

Laito appeared to be staring at the spot beside him with a chilling expression. "...Ah. You knew this because of that dream of yours, correct?" he finally said.

Yui managed a small nod. "...What happened to her?"

Ayato locked his eyes with her. His loathing jolted her body.

A pitiful scream rang through the tranquil night, underneath the light of a full, blood red moon. Cordelia was standing on the elegant staircase, a hand on her bleeding stomach. She slowly, staggeringly backed away, her wide eyes fixed on her son below stairs coated with her own blood.

"A-Ayato," she wheezed. Every gasp racketed more pain thorough her body.

Ayato stood there, his mother's blood splattered over his white shirt. He nonchalantly looked at the warm, red liquid on his arm.