"Demetri?" Vesta shook him by his shoulder. Cytheria inhaled deeply before speaking, "My Queen, he won't be of any use to us anymore."
Vesta did not respond, so Cytheria continued, "Who could have done this?"
"I'm not sure," Vesta said, turning to Cytheria with an unfathomable expression. Cytheria glanced at Demetri's still corpse, and a small white parchment attracted her eye. It was pinned onto Demetri's cloak. Cytheria boldly pushed Vesta aside and picked up the small letter, disturbing the silence with the crunching of the parchment.
Cornelia never existed within that sword.
She exists, but within another vessel.
She has been re-incarnated within a girl.
- Yours Truly
Cytheria frantically turned the page over, trying to find some sort of clue to the identity of Demetri's killer. Vesta glanced over Cytheria's shoulder, and laughed quietly.
"My suspicions have been confirmed," Vesta sounded relieved.
"What do you mean?" Cytheria did not bother addressing her as 'my Queen'. "You've figured out who killed him?"
"No," Vesta shook her head. "But I've figured out where Cornelia really is. She was a clever woman."
"You mean..." Cytheria stifled a gasp, catching on.
"Cornelia deliberately chose the possessor of the devil's tear as her re-incarnation. She was aware that the devil was going to trick her one way or another, so she never sealed herself away," Vesta explained briefly.
"Cornelia chose?" Cytheria repeated sceptically. Vesta nodded quickly.
"How can one choose their re-incarnation?" Cytheria smirked.
"This is Cornelia we're discussing," Vesta said sternly. Cytheria shrugged in response.
"What do we do?" Cytheria asked after a moment.
"We must get rid of Cornelia," Vesta concluded. "If we kill Euphrosyne Rains, then we'll be hitting three birds with one stone."
"Three?"
"We shall get rid of Cornelia, my goal exactly. Then we shall kill the devil's vessel, leaving him to search for a new 'pure' soul to rest in, and lastly, we shall encounter Alexei Isaura," Vesta counted on her long, pointed fingers. "See, that's three, isn't it?"
Cytheria smiled at her queen. "What shall we do with Demetri? And his killer?"
"Leave them be for the time being," Vesta waved her hand dismissively. Cytheria and Vesta exited the dungeon.
A cool breeze blew Cytheria's straight hair back, and caused her to shiver. The breeze had been unnatural.
"A breeze inside the building?" Cytheria thought to herself in alarm, as she dashed back into the prison. She saw exactly what she had expected.
"What is it?" Vesta followed in annoyance. Cytheria pointed to where Demetri's corpse had been.
It was no longer there.
-
"All my pieces are in place," Rosy traced the air with her fingers. "Irma, Alexei, you will help me, won't you?"
Alexei and Irma glanced at each other in alarm and fell down on their knees in front of Rosy, who had currently revealed herself to be Cornelia.
"Of course, my Queen," Irma and Alexei responded in unison. Rosy grunted in response. "Please treat me normally."
"Y-yes, Your- Cornelia," Alexei stuttered.
"What are YOU afraid of?" Cornelia demanded, pointing at Alexei. "You could overpower me in a twinkle of my eye!"
Alexei raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"Lady Cornelia," Alexei smiled warmly. "What I have accomplished will never compare to your achievements."
"You slightly resemble your father," Rosy narrowed her eyes, "but you seem nobler than he ever was."
"T-thank you," Alexei stared in admiration at Rosy. Rosy smiled back, her purple eyes sparkling. She glanced briefly at Irma, simply winking at her.
"Where is your older sister?" Rosy questioned Irma.
"Oh, Driela... I do not know," Irma replied regretfully. Rosy snorted in response, and began to inspect the two closely. Alexei and Irma stood very still as Rosy scrutinized them with narrowed eyes.
"I'm getting a bit tired," Rosy admitted. "Euphrosyne's willpower is surprisingly strong. I cannot hold her against her will any longer. She shall be returned to you for the time being."
Rosy blinked, revealing her true, warm hazel eyes. She glared at Alexei and Irma with her jaw set. Alexei felt pity for the little girl: she could never again live her life in peace and harmony. Her true soul could be stained with the devil's, or purified with Cornelia's. Whatever the outcome, Alexei would surely stay by Rosy's side.
"This is enough!" Rosy cried out in agony, her little girl voice returning as a shock to Alexei. "I can't take this."
Alexei and Irma both stayed quiet, not knowing how to console the poor girl. Rosy stomped her right foot on the ground, causing dust to rise. Her eyes were filled with fury, and pure hatred. Then suddenly, they were drowned in tears which rolled down one after another down her cheeks.
"I-I want to be myself!" Rosy cried. "I d-don't want this! I would rather d-die than to deal with this!"
Her sobbing continued. "I want to be me, Euphrosyne. I d-don'r care about Tytania's well-being! I don't care about the devil, or that heroic Cornelia! They've ruined my life, and ended Artemis'!"
"Rosy, please calm down," Irma soothed, embracing the weeping girl.
"Kill me," Rosy whispered against Irma's chest. "Please. End this. I want to be reunited with Artemis. She was everything to me now!"
"You're going to give up now?" Alexei spoke loudly. Rosy's sobs stopped abruptly. "I will, because I don't have Artemis. She was the only thing that kept me on my feet!"
"Didn't you promise her that you would endure all the pain you had to, but would never give up till the very end?" Alexei continued angrily, "That day, when Artemis saved you from Demetri!"
"H-how do you know?" Rosy untangled herself from Irma's arms, and stared in bewilderment into Alexei's mismatched eyes.
"I know everything of your life, Euphrosyne Rains. I've always been with you," Alexei's voice softened. "I've never left you."
"But why?"
"Have you heard of the 'Isaura' clan?" Alexei inquired with a small laugh.
"Y-yes," Rosy replied. "They're gone, aren't they?"
"Euphrosyne Rains," Alexei bowed down respectfully. "I am Alexei Isaura."
Rosy's mouth fell open, and Irma simply held her steady by her shoulders. Alexei Isaura was such a well-known and feared name, Alexei thought with malice. Alexei swore under his breath as he pulled Irma and Rosy into his arms. At that very moment, a small dagger flew through the open window, and pierced the wooden wall. Rosy screamed, and Alexei dashed to the window. He looked around frantically, but not a leaf was out of its place. All he saw A normal, quiet town in the middle of the night.
"Alexei," Irma called anxiously. "A note..."
Queen Vesta has made her decision.
She plans to kill the girl.
Be on your guard!
-Yours truly
Alexei grunted at the brevity of the note, and his anger rose even more as he noticed it wasn't signed.
Someone was playing tricks on them. But the note's contents were something to ponder about. The words seemed genuine, and very probable. If Queen Vesta was aware that Rosy was the reincarnation of Cornelia and the Devil's vessel, then she would surely come.
-
"What are you doing now?" Ariadne demanded. The young boy in front of her stared into the open window where he'd thrown his most precious dagger.
"You find this amusing?" Ariadne demanded again, more loudly and sternly. The young boy looked over his shoulder, and shot a menacing look at his older sister.
"I do, in fact, find this amusing," he replied. "Very amusing."
A choking sound followed, and the boy whirled around in alarm.
"So you're the cause for all this," the new female figure in front of him smiled, holding Ariadne in her arms with a frown. Ariadne's neck was twisted, and her once angelic face was twisted and ugly to look at. This woman had broken his sister's neck.
"Do you have a death wish, stranger?" The boy questioned, his aura rising. The nerve of the person to kill his sister! The woman laughed heartily. The boy then noticed her unnatural pale skin, and empty black eyes.
"I would say no, of course," the woman smirked. Her next words sent the boy's heart racing.
"If I wasn't already dead," the woman smiled with her glossy black lips.