"Are you two alright?"
Seeing that they were both safe, Jenkins finally let out a sigh of relief.
"We're fine."
Magic Miss replied, then hesitated for a mont.
"Be careful," she added. "She's... very powerful."
"I know."
Jenkins nodded.
Queen Windsor led Jenkins into the living room, where they all sat down together. After ordering the maids to bring fresh tea, she dismissed them for the ti being. In this version of Jenkins's house on St. George Street, there were at least a dozen maids in service—a stark contrast to reality.
"My apologies for bringing you here in such a fashion. Mr. Williams and I have sothing we need to discuss."
Queen Windsor's voice was identical to Miss Windsor's, but carried with it a more confident and composed tone. She had already mastered her emotions, no longer revealing the vulnerability she had shown when alone with Jenkins.
"He is very concerned about you, so I'm assuming you two are dear friends of his, not just acquaintances he t by chance."
Her words to Magic Miss and the other woman were direct, devoid of pleasantries. Seeing that neither of them contested her assumption, Queen Windsor pressed on.
"Then allow to make another assumption. Neither of you is his fiancée, I take it?"
Queen Windsor was unable to tell which of the won before her was the real Miss Windsor, so she addressed them both at once.
"Of course not."
It was Jenkins who answered.
"I'm sorry, but what do you an by that question?"
Magic Miss asked, her brow furrowed. She then shot a look at Jenkins, silently urging him to explain what was going on. She was still completely in the dark about the events that had transpired in this version of reality.
"It's complicated," Jenkins began. "To put it simply, this Queen Jessica Windsor has..."
"I am not your enemy, nor do I wish to beco one. I know you're not of this world, and I know you wish to leave. That's simple enough. I can grant you anything you need, but I have a request of my own."
Queen Windsor spoke, studying the two won's expressions, searching for her own reflection in one of them.
"She wants to leave with us."
Jenkins finished the sentence for her.
"What?"
Magic Miss looked utterly astonished.
"Wait a minute, this world is entirely an illusion. How could it be possible for matter or a soul to beco real and leave with us? If that were possible, we could just spend so ti plundering powerful numbered artifacts from Nolan, consequences be damned, and return to reality with a whole arsenal of unique weapons we created from nothing!"
Her reasoning was identical to Jenkins's own initial thoughts.
"It's not that simple," Jenkins explained. "For sothing illusory to beco real, it must anchor itself to sothing that is already real. Besides, we don't have ti to do anything else."
Jenkins explained, and was about to give a brief summary of the situation so everyone was on the sa page, but Queen Windsor cut him off again—a rather impolite habit of hers.
"I want to leave with him, but he refuses. He claims to respect the individuality of Jessica Windsor as a person."
Jenkins hadn't said those exact words, but it was precisely what he thought.
"I'm very fond of this man."
She reached out to touch Jenkins's face again, but he caught her by the wrist.
"My lady, let's maintain so decorum."
Queen Windsor smiled at Jenkins before turning back to the two won.
"You see? But he doesn't like . That's why I need to ask for your help. Help convince him to let leave with you. I know one of you is Jessica Windsor. Since he's refusing on her behalf, if the real Jessica Windsor gives her consent, he will no longer have any grounds to object."
Jenkins didn't voice any disagreent; he still hadn't figured out what she was planning.
"Which of you is Jessica?"
she asked.
"We want to know your story."
It was Magic Miss who spoke again.
"My story? There's nothing special about it. My family is all dead, and I was forced to shoulder responsibilities I never should have had. A world without Jenkins Williams is a strange place; everything seems to be spiraling toward the worst possible outco, as if the world is destroying itself. My parents were assassinated by agents of Queen Isabella..."
She paused, deliberately studying the expressions of the two won opposite her, but their faces were identical masks. She couldn't read their aning, but Jenkins could. It was sothing along the lines of, "Not this again."
"Last autumn, Isabella herself died during a Gizmo-related incident in Nolan involving vampires. I inherited the throne, was forced into a conflict with the machine beneath the city, and died as a result. The you see now is, for all intents and purposes, one of the living dead."
She shared her story frankly, then offered a small smile.
"It doesn't get much worse than that, does it?"
"At least you didn't end up with a terrible man."
Magic Miss pointed out.
"For a young woman, that's already a stroke of luck."
"Yes... lucky..."
She held her smile in place.
"I want to truly live. I want to beco real. I want to know what kind of life I'm supposed to have. Let leave with you, and I'll tell you everything I know."
Her gaze fell upon the real Miss Windsor, and she recognized herself in the other woman's face.
"So, do you agree?"
Miss Windsor looked back at her, at the face that was a perfect mirror of her own, and saw her own reflection in the queen's eyes.
"Does your chest hurt?"
Miss Windsor asked with great earnestness.
"Extrely painful."
Queen Windsor replied, her face still fixed in a smile.
"My heart was replaced, so of course it hurts. My family, everyone I loved, is gone, so of course I'm in pain. But it also reminds that I am, at least, real... Is your heart hurting too?"
"I can't imagine everything you've been through, but your story... it truly grieves ."
Both won pressed a hand to their left breast, and Jenkins quickly averted his gaze.
"I want to leave with you."
"Can you promise that you will always help Jenkins?"
Miss Windsor asked.
"I can swear it to the gods. I swear on my very soul."
"Then I..."
A look of determination settled on Miss Windsor's face, but Queen Windsor cut in once more.
"Actually, there's another reason Jenkins refused . I also offered a condition for my help, but he wouldn't agree to it."
"What condition?"
"I want you to beco his lover."
"Ahem!"
Magic Miss, who had just taken a sip of tea, began to cough violently. With considerable poise, she dabbed at her lips with a handkerchief and lowered her head, hiding the smile that was fighting to break free.
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