Tears fell freely from her beautiful eyes as the weight of everything consud her. The righteous road she thought she had walked had been a lie, a facade built on the shadows of betrayal.
The humans she had vowed to lead were far from innocent, and the realization broke sothing deep inside her.
For several monts, Lilla stood there in silence, her head bowed, her tears pooling at her feet. It wasn't anger or defiance that filled the room now; it was sorrow, raw and unrelenting, a pain that Cleo could see clearly.
But Cleo didn't stop. She crossed her arms, her voice cold and unyielding. "This is the empire you're trying to defend, saintess. A crumbling system that would betray even its allies for profit. So tell , is this the righteousness you spoke of?" Read latest stories on empire
Lilla didn't answer. She couldn't. The weight of it all crushed her voice into silence, and all she could do was cry.
"Okay, everyone, let's stop here. There's no need to keep pushing this now that it's co to this. How about we take a breather and continue later?"
Ys said while rising gracefully from her seat and walking toward Lilla. Her voice, though calm, carried a weight that silenced the room for a mont.
"This isn't over yet, Ys. Not just because she—" Cleo said, her cold tone unwavering, but Ys cut her off before she could finish.
"I said we will take a break!" Ys shouted, her usual gentle deanor cracking. Her sharp eyes narrowed, and in an instant, they shifted, becoming slit-like, like those of a snake. The intensity of her stare locked Cleo in place, filling the room with an undeniable tension.
Cleo raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the display, but before she could retaliate, Rex placed a hand firmly on her shoulder. "Okay, let's go with what Ys suggested. We do need a breather," he said calmly, his tone more of an order than a suggestion.
Though Cleo wasn't afraid of Ys, Rex's intervention was enough to cool her temper. The last thing he wanted was a clash between the two of them, especially now, with relations with the humans already strained to the breaking point. A confrontation here could tip the scales into a three-sided war, sothing he couldn't allow.
Ys gave Rex a warm smile, her mood instantly shifting. "I knew you were on my side, darling～" she said with a playful lilt, wrapping an arm around Lilla and gently helping her to her feet. Lilla's legs felt weak beneath her, but she didn't resist as Ys guided her toward a hidden exit at the back of the room.
Ys spoke softly to Lilla as they walked. "Co on, let's get you out of here. No one needs to see you like this, not even your escorts." The hidden door closed behind them with a quiet hiss, leaving the room in a heavy silence.
Only Rex and Cleo remained now, the air still thick with unspoken tension since the twins had left at the sa ti as Lilla's escorts, leaving Rex and Cleo to face the aftermath of the eting alone.
Rex leaned back in his chair, resting his head against its back as he closed his eyes. "So, Cleo," he began, his voice quieter now, "what are your thoughts on all of this? About the humans, from your race's point of view?"
Cleo crossed her arms, her gaze sharp as ever. "If it were up to my people, an alliance like this would never have happened," she said bluntly, her icy tone cutting through the quiet room.
"They are weak. Compared to us, they'd never be considered equals. My people would have made them subordinates, not allies. And if they dared to pull sothing like this—"
She gestured vaguely toward the remnants of the conversation, her expression cold, "they would be exterminated, their natal world destroyed from orbit. Simple as that."
Rex opened one eye and glanced at her, his lips curling slightly at her response. "Well, I'd prefer it if you didn't destroy their natal world," he said, his tone half-joking, half-serious.
"Even if I don't look at it now, I was human once, too. So, technically, their natal world is my natal world as well. Kind of a sentintal thing, you know?"
He paused for a mont, a distant expression crossing his face. "Though, now that I think about it... I don't even know where humanity's natal planet is. Lost to ti, I suppose."
Cleo tilted her head slightly, watching him with curiosity as his expression shifted.
"But," Rex said after a beat, his interest rekindled, "I have to admit, making them our subordinates doesn't sound like a bad idea. So… how do we go about that?"
His golden eyes glead with intrigue as he waited for her answer, his voice carrying a strange mix of humor and genuine curiosity.
anwhile, Ys had taken Lilla to the greenhouse Cleo had built, a sanctuary on the Cleopatra ant for the exotic birds Cleo had acquired from the black market.
The space was massive, absurdly so, and likely consud at least 20% of the ship's monthly water supply. The air inside was humid and filled with the soft chirping of vibrant, alien birds, their songs echoing among the lush greenery.
Lilla sat beside Ys on a curved bench near a small artificial waterfall, quietly wiping her tear-streaked face. Sha tore at her, knowing she had broken down in front of the others like a child. She hated that she'd let herself appear so weak.
Ys, however, watched her with a calm, protective gaze. There was a reason she had been shielding Lilla all this ti, even when others might have found it foolish. From the mont Ys first t Lilla as a child, sothing in her had stirred, a deep maternal instinct she didn't entirely understand.
It was a phenonon common to Ys's race, whose queens would instinctively adopt the children of fallen princesses as their own. Perhaps that was why she couldn't help but see Lilla as soone worth protecting.
"Stop crying, Lilla," Ys said gently as she touched Lilla's face, her long, slender fingers brushing away the lingering tears. "I know things aren't looking good for you right now, but you have to be strong, especially when dealing with people like Cleo. She's nasty and loves to strike where it hurts the most."
"But... but everything she said was true, Ys," Lilla whispered, her voice breaking as fresh tears welled up in her gray eyes. "Tell , Ys... everything I've done... was it all wrong?" Her trembling gaze locked onto Ys's green eyes, searching desperately for reassurance.
Ys tilted her head slightly, her erald gaze warm and steady. Instead of answering, she reached for Lilla's hands and gave them a gentle squeeze. "First, tell what it is that you wanted to do," she asked with her voice soft and full of maternal care.
Lilla hesitated, her tears falling freely now, each word a struggle to say. "I wanted my people, the human race, to rise again," she began, her voice quivering.
"I wanted us to stop being slaves, to regain our pride and dignity. And I thought... I thought we could repay Rex and Cleo for helping us reach that goal by showing them the sa light I saw when I was a child."
Her voice cracked, and her breathing hitched as she spoke. "But it's like... it's like everyone's forgotten what we're supposed to be fighting for. They've taken their own path, driven by greed and ambition, and they've abandoned the purpose of our rise."
"I don't know what else to do, Ys. I'm so tired!" She broke down completely, burying her face in her hands as her sobs grew louder. "I'm not as strong or collected as they think I am! I'm not a leader; I'm just a crybaby!"
The confession spilled out of her like a torrent, raw and unfiltered. It was the truth she had hidden from everyone, the truth she had been too afraid to admit, even to herself. But in Ys's presence, it felt natural to let it all out, as though she had returned to being the little girl who had once clung to Ys for comfort.
Ys watched her cry, her expression softening as a sense of understanding washed over her. mories of Lilla as a child flashed through her mind, and as those emotions swelled, sothing within her began to shift.
Her body started to change, almost imperceptibly at first. Her childlike features faded away, replaced by those of a mature, charming woman.
Her delicate fra grew taller, her presence more commanding, but her movents remained gentle and soothing. She wrapped her arms around Lilla, pulling her into a warm embrace.
"You're not a crybaby," Ys whispered as she stroked Lilla's hair, letting the girl bury her face in her chest. "You're just carrying too much on your shoulders. Let it out, Lilla. Let it all out."
The greenhouse fell quiet, save for the soft rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds. Lilla clung to Ys, her sobs gradually subsiding as she felt Ys warmth envelop her.
In that mont, it didn't matter that she was a leader or a symbol for her people. She was just Lilla, a girl who needed soone to tell her it was okay to feel weak.
While Ys held Lilla tightly in her arms, offering comfort through her warmth and steady presence, the door to the greenhouse hissed open.
The faint hum of its chanism cut through the soft chirping of the exotic birds, and the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps echoed across the lush space. Soone had entered and was walking directly toward them.
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