“Good thing that curse affix appeared,” the Black Butler remarked. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to wrap this up.”
“It’s just a delay,” the White Queen replied. “Eventually, we have to face the problem.”
The mont the curse affix information flowed into her mind, Deya found herself transported to an unfamiliar room.
Compared to the sword Princess and Ashe, she was the most grateful for the curse affix.
Because she wasn’t ntally prepared at all.
She really thought the “lover without benefits” status could continue indefinitely and felt it was quite nice. Although she liked Ashe, she didn’t dislike the sword Princess. After all, for Deya, friends were far too few.
In a way, she was similar to Ashe, trapped in the Tower for over a decade, eager to cling to anyone who could protect her. Yet, after finally escaping the Tower, she found herself confined in an even larger Royal Palace.
She willingly bore the responsibilities of a ruler, which also ant she had to endure the loneliness of one.
Her relationships were ultimately cented during those two months of wandering.
She hadn’t truly considered how their relationship should develop. Though she was a bit older than Sonya, she was still the princess in the Tower: innocent and naive.
She had her favorite person and her favorite color.
As long as she could be with Ashe, as long as everyone was happy, that was enough.
However, it seed everyone but her was in pain. If she had anticipated the sword Princess’s anguish, Ashe’s guilt was sothing she couldn’t comprehend.
“I thought he’d be happy…” Deya murmured. “After all, having two super cute girls like us who like him…”
The White Queen said, “He was happy at first, but then it beca painful.”
Deya asked, “Why? We haven’t even argued.”
The Scarlet Dead Apostle replied, “Because he sensed your sadness.”
Deya questioned, “Am I sad?”
“You and the sword Princess are both good at hiding your true feelings,” the Black Butler explained. “She deceives others by pretending she can endure; you deceive yourself by pretending not to care.”
“You like to act spoiled because you sense you’ll be favored; you act sensible because you’re afraid of being abandoned.”
“Even without warmth or scent, the connection between hearts is the hardest to conceal,” the White Queen added. “I’ve noticed several tis that when Ashe interacts with the sword Princess, he’s consciously observing your emotions.”
Deya asked, “Why didn’t you tell
sooner? I actually… I an, I care a little, but it’s not unbearable.”
“Impossible,” the White Queen stated firmly. “The essence of love is giving, possessiveness, sensitivity, and irrationality. Its side effects are clinginess, jealousy, suspicion, and inexplicable behavior. You can endure now because you know you’re at a disadvantage, so you only hope to get closer; but when you’re at an advantage, you won’t be more generous than the sword Princess.”
Deya weakly replied, “You can’t be so sure…”
The Black Butler continued, “And like the Secret Princess, Ashe is soone who finds joy in others’ happiness and sorrow in their sadness… The more you suppress yourselves to be good to him, the more he feels guilty and upset. If the sword Princess wants more and interrupts this ambiguous ga, he just hopes you all lose less and end this emotional tornt.”
“Yet, because of his psychological issues, he can’t be harsh to those who love him, which is why things have reached this point.”
“If he could be ruthless, we wouldn’t have had a chance from the start. No matter how much better, more beautiful, or stronger we are than the sword Princess, the order of arrival is the rule of emotions.”
The Scarlet Dead Apostle remarked, “It’s funny, and it’s sad.”
Yes, it’s funny and sad.
If Ashe didn’t have these issues, Deya wouldn’t have been able to break through the boundaries of being just a teammate and occupy a place in his heart, forcing him to care about her feelings. But because he has these issues, he only has the courage to hand them the blade, unable to make the decision himself.
Bang!
The laboratory door suddenly opened, and Deya looked up to see ‘Ashe’ entering.
“I equipped you with the ‘Colorful Collection: Night Cot,’ which makes every directional Miracle unleash a cot riptide, enough to instantly kill any normal enemy when combined with your dense threads.” ‘Ashe’ began by proving himself, then asked, “Witch, I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long ti… Why do you like ?”
Deya was taken aback and shook her head. “I can’t tell you, but I genuinely like you.”
“Is that so…” ‘Ashe’ smiled. “Thank you.”
“So, should we go find the sword Princess, or wait here?” He chuckled bitterly. “But if we et the real sword Princess, she might just attack
on sight.”
“Have you thought about how to resolve this, Observer?” Deya asked.
“I’m just taking it one step at a ti,” ‘Ashe’ sighed, observing the laboratory environnt and slowly approaching the Witch. “I’ve already prepared myself for the possibility that neither of you will accept .”
“That won’t happen,” Deya shook her head. “No matter what you beco, I’ll always like you.”
“Even like this?”
“Even like this,” Deya said softly. “Even if you like more than just , it’s okay, as long as I can always be with you.”
‘Ashe,’ feeling downcast, sighed softly. “How can I ever repay your feelings?”
“What about the sword Princess?” Deya asked. “She’s not like ; she puts her feelings on par with yours.”
“I don’t know,” ‘Ashe’ murmured. “But if she can’t accept
no matter what, I’m prepared to cut ties with her. We’ll go back to being the most familiar teammates, the most distant friends-“
Boom!
As ‘Ashe’ drew his sword, Deya had already activated the Miracle “Empress’s Gaze,” with threads erging from ‘Ashe,’ each accompanied by a cot riptide capable of piercing a Sanctuary, instantly reducing ‘Ashe’ to foam.
“Ashe would never give up on the sword Princess,” Deya said softly. “Because that would cause the deepest hurt to her.”
The Witch composed herself, no longer lingering, and opened the door to explore other areas. Soon, she opened a door to find ‘sword Princess’ waiting inside.
The ‘sword Princess’ silently summoned the “Ice Crystal Shoes,” and Deya summoned the “Night Cot.”
But they both knew this gesture wasn’t enough to convince each other.
“Sword Princess, before we were separated,” Deya asked, “had you already made a decision?”
The ‘sword Princess’ nodded. “I intended to force the Observer to choose tonight, or rather, to choose
and abandon you.”
“Just didn’t expect he had similar plans,” the ‘sword Princess’ said, her hand on her sword hilt, her face full of bitterness. “Even more unexpected, he didn’t choose .”
“But he didn’t abandon you either.”
“But how is that different from abandoning ?” the ‘sword Princess’ said with a bitter smile. “I can’t keep playing this jealous, ambiguous ga with you… If this continues, I’ll end up resenting both of you. Whether it’s you, who intruded, or the Observer, who can’t refuse you.”
“I don’t want to spend the rest of my life soaked in resentnt, even sacrificing everything to take revenge on you two,” the ‘sword Princess’ murmured. “I read sowhere, ‘Anything that harms you is a relationship you need to let go of.’”
Deya asked, “Sword Princess, are you saying…”
“You two lovebirds can stay locked together; I won’t disturb you anymore,” the ‘sword Princess’ said coldly. “Without love, I’m still a sanctuary sorcerer. Without the Observer, do you think I can’t find soone who likes ?”
This was the best outco Deya could imagine.
The sword Princess steps back, and she has Ashe all to herself-at least temporarily in the Virtual Realm-until Ashe returns to the Gospel, and they can move towards a happy ending.
And this fits the sword Princess’s character; she’s always been the jealous and decisive type, trying every way to speak ill of the Observer in front of Deya on the Ti Continent, afraid Deya would develop any affection for him, just to have the Observer all to herself.
Now that she knows she can’t have a unique love, giving up is only natural. Besides, she’s accomplished in her Kingdom and a young female sanctuary sorcerer; would she lack admirers?
But…
Boom!
With the cot’s bombardnt, Deya withdrew her threads, not even glancing at the ‘sword Princess’ who had turned to foam, and pushed open the door to leave the laboratory.
“The sword Princess wouldn’t give up on the Observer,” the Witch said. “Nor would she admit defeat to .”
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