EN | An encounter she will never forget | ᴄʜɪʟᴜᴍɪ

34 - Doubt

SUBTITLE: ... the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again. 

"I-I'm s-sorry, this is not what was supposed to happen..."

Lumine seriously started to fuss, moving in every direction after having said those few words. Ordinarily, Childe would have tried to calm her down in a warm manner, but the latter had frozen in place as he assimilated what she had just said.

The cogs in his mind had just cut short of their incessant turns, seizing up, as if the oil allowing them to interlock perfectly and continue to do their work had just escaped through a hole that this doubt had just dug.

Not what was supposed to happen...? So something had to happen...?

He watched her fuss around for another long moment before finally finding back the use of his muscles which became painful because of the growing tension he felt rising in him. He got up and faced the young woman who was turning in a circle around the sofa.

"What was supposed to happen? Ojou-chan, something was supposed to happen?"

She was looking at her feet as she walked back and forth, but Childe managed to catch her golden gaze for the time of a blink of an eye. At that moment, he knew that look would stay engraved in him for a really long time. So much was implied and readable in her eyes that Childe's heart skipped a beat.

Understanding her gaze had betrayed her, Lumine tried to move away from him, but Childe quickly closed the distance between them and grabbed her arm firmly to hold her back. But even this contact didn't force her to turn her attention back to him.

All his thoughts about the sincerity of their relationship were immediately questioned by this simple behavior the young woman was having at that moment.

The doubt.

That's what he was starting to feel. It was unpleasant, it was hateful, it was frustrating, but he knew there was something behind Lumine's behavior. Something that seemed like a lie.

Very aware of the wandering ears around the living room's table and in the kitchen, Childe tightened his grip around Lumine's arm and dragged her against her will upstairs to his room. Too obsessed by what she was hiding from him, the Harbinger forgot to put on or even get his shirt back.

Once their discussion was safe from unwanted ears, Childe turned to the young woman who was leaning against the door of his room.

"Ojou-chan, what's happening? Why were you out there?"

She didn't even answer his question, merely avoiding meeting his eyes by staring at a spot on the floor. Understanding very clearly that she wasn't going to tell him anything, Childe elaborated his deductions aloud.

"You wanted to get closer to the Abyss?"

Still no answer.

It was Childe's turn to pace the room to let out all the frustration of being put aside in everything Lumine wished to undertake. The intonation of his voice, usually calm and playful, gradually became sharp and its intensity rose to a crescendo.

"You're not going to answer me or face me?"

For her to lie to him or have secrets was one thing, but for her to refuse to face him was another. He had hoped that after all they had been through, Lumine would understand that she could tell him anything, and he thought she would have enough courage under any circumstances to face him with her head held high. But to see her avoiding his gaze at this very moment meant only one thing: she had lied to him knowingly and refused to face it.