Lilia's Tale

Chapter 90: Encounter

I could feel their gazes on me as they were confused and concerned.

"Why do you say that?" the teacher asked.

"It's too long to explain, but the one thing I can tell you is that these kinds of headaches will likely happen very often."

"Do you know why they happen?" Sayuri asked in her soft yet worried voice.

"Yeah, I do, but it's not something I can really do anything about."

I stood up and headed for the dormitory, now getting mentally exhausted from trying to figure out a way to not have this problem of mine grow out of control, let alone get known. I had already tried to find a solution, and learning to naturally give up control was the one solution we figured out with Father, but I knew I wouldn't be able to train it here. Especially if I get such massive headaches as this time.

Once arrived, I went up to my bed and laid down, hoping for my situation to calm down, even if only eventually.

"Lilia...?" I heard.

"Yes?"

"Are you really okay?"

"I'm really not, but I'll manage."

"Can I help...?"

I could tell from her voice that she was quite worried and genuinely wanted to help. This surprised me considering how she feared me previously. This only brought another problem of mine into my mind and grew my headache even further.

"N-No... It's fine. I just need to cool down."

Contrary to my expectations, she didn't say anything. She didn't insist or anything. However, I was too exhausted that I didn't have the energy to dwell upon it, and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest.

I ended up sleeping, waking up the next morning feeling sluggish. It was now the second night in a row where I skipped dinner due to exhaustion and I was getting worried about my health. I also ended up sleeping in my uniform, so I'd have to take a quick bath before changing. I stretched and headed for the bathroom, noticing it was closed. Just to be safe, I knocked and asked:

"Sayuri, are you in there?"

No response, but I could hear movement in the room. I waited for her to open the door, which took maybe a minute or two as she very slightly opened and looked through the slight opening. It was oddly cute, but obviously was due to shyness.

"I'm sorry, I need to take a quick bath. Can I have the spot?"

"Y-Yes."

She closed the door despite saying I could do what I had to do. I was a bit confused but thought that maybe she had to finish what she was doing or something along those lines. I took the opportunity to go get my clean uniform before waiting in front of the door again. It took a little longer, but she opened the door again later. Noticing she was wearing her uniform, I figured she was changing and that was why she closed the door.

I thanked her and entered, took a quick bath and changed. When I left the bathroom, I noticed Sayuri was waiting in front of it.

"Yes?"

I could tell from her demeanor she wanted to say something but couldn't dare. I didn't have any idea what it could have been, though it might be important. I waited a little longer for her to say it, but she never did, so I instead asked if we could go downstairs to get ready for breakfast. She seemed down but nodded.

As we headed downstairs, I couldn't help but feel like something was wrong with her. Maybe something I did that hurt her, or something about her that felt off. I didn't have any idea of what could have given me this impression, but I could definitely tell it was here. I decided to ask Alice as well, but she didn't answer. Maybe she was sleeping.