My Life Is Your Undoing |WMMAP|

10. Truth Is A Bitter Pill To Swallow

Leaving...

I glance at the window soullessly. A breeze flits in from the half-open window, running waves through my sunshiney hair.

Even though my mind has been made up, acting on it is difficult. How do I convince Diana and Lily to leave with me? No, how do I convince them that we have to leave?

I can't just storm up to them and say that Claude will kill me in thirteen years' time, as that will make me sound like a raving madman. No, there is no telling that he will kill me when I'm eighteen.

I met him earlier than that, haven't I? Somehow, my reality has already begun to diverge from the novel. Events that I've read may no longer occur at all. I can't continue to rely on my knowledge of the novel to survive.

As such troubling thoughts run through my despairing mind, the hours tick by, and night descends.

"Athy? Are you awake?" a soft voice calls from the outside, as though afraid to be disturbing my sleep.

"Yes, Mama!" I answer.

Diana enters, a radiant smile on her face. "I've cooked porridge for you."

She watches me with the same tender smile as I eat the porridge.

"What's on your mind?" she asks. Of course she can tell straight away that there's something bothering me.

Well, let's start with something small.

"I was wondering about the maids who used to work in the Ruby Palace. Hannah, Ces, and the others?" I prompt. It's true that their predicament is something that has been at the back of my mind.

Diana giggles. "As expected, my Athy is kind and thoughtful."

Er. I was just inquiring about their new positions...

"They've been relocated to the Amethyst Palace," Diana continues. "The workload there is quite light, so they shouldn't have an issue in readjusting."

Ah, the Amethyst Palace. The residence of the empress dowager, which has been left empty for quite a long time since the previous empress passed away. Nonetheless, the palace needs to be maintained regularly, though without an owner the duties of the maids will be lessened considerably.

I have no doubt that Diana played a part in securing such a desirable position for the maids who were abruptly kicked out of the Ruby Palace.

It's unfortunate for me that my hard work in currying favor with the maids has gone to waste, but at least their current job is decent.

Diana observes me quietly. At times like this, it's hard to read her.

"Should we go take a walk in the garden? The night-blooming flowers are quite pretty. I have a few new ones to show you," she suggests.

"Yes!" I agree readily.

She wraps me in a small blanket so I won't be cold, and holds my hand as we walk to the garden together.

At night, the garden gives off an air of ethereal beauty. There are a mix of common and rare plants – the rarest of which includes the glowspider plants, which are resplendent as their bulbs are alight in numerous colors, with their petals resembling spider webs due to their spokes.

Diana leads me to the center of the garden.

Despite my current dilemma, I gasp as awe fills me.

"Wow!"

A cluster of star-shaped flowers waves lightly in the wind, but what is truly unique about them is the crystalline, shimmering liquid contained in each of their centers where their pistils should be.