In Sickness And In Health (Yandere M. Genius x F. Reader x Yandere M. Prince)

Chapter 23: Escalation

Being alone was a new experience for Haru. He'd never been alone. Even when he was asleep, there was always someone right outside his room should he have needed something. Every day, he would wake up and see his family, and even when he had gone to school, he had some friends to keep him company. So, being by himself was really strange for him. He found himself thinking about as much as he did when he was working with technology. Though, the level of enjoyment didn't seem to match.

Really, it was his anger that made the whole experience unbearable. He was frustrated, still taking it out on the pillow. Though, somewhere along the way, he had started hugging the thing, forgetting entirely that he had likened it to the thief. The more time he spent alone, the more he wanted to leave the room. Still, he supposed it was good that he was understanding his emotions a little more, even if it was a hassle. That being said, he lasted about an hour. He later rejoined his family before the day ended and, at that point, he had called Sona.

Though the android gave him an annoying look, he nonetheless came. The teal-haired male always had an attitude when it came to leaving the (h/c) haired girl's side. Still, it wasn't like he would ever tell Haru "no", unless he genuinely thought his actions would harm him or the girl he was supposed to protect. So, despite his grumpy demeanor, Sona went to deliver the information the brunette clearly wanted. Though, the moment he stepped in the room, he then stared at the torn up pillow the male was still hugging.

"Do you think she was lying to you?" the teal-haired male hummed, pulling up video recording from the start of their interaction.

"She doesn't lie. I just don't know about him."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she only went to see him in the first place because she was trying to protect Kazuya. And before you get mad and storm off to commit regicide, it wasn't a physical threat."

"No one should threaten my family and get away with it."

"Right, but believe it or not, your family does not have the most power in the world. Though that's just because the Vethelan royal family has a lot more people at their disposal. Stop making that face. I'll show you the recording."

Haru did his best to retain as much information as possible. It was true that the younger girl had not gone out of interest in the prince. Rather, as she was seated with the regent, she seemed completely distant from the entire thing. He wondered if she was thinking of him. That made him proud, even if there was no way to prove it. Of course, a whole 'nother slew of emotions ravaged him during the rest of it, particularly when the mention of the Lindre flower came into play. She looked like a completely different person.

"I don't understand. It's just a flower."

"I'm not so sure it's 'just a flower'. I picked up a lot of emotional turbulence between when the flower was mentioned and when she came face to face with it. It's just speculation, but it might remind her of something."

Telling the android to rewind the video back to when it was introduced in conversation, the brunette tried to pick up on her cues. Of course, doing that was much, much easier said than done, particularly because Haru had never been talented in that area. Thinking of other people was relatively new for him. Though, perhaps because he had more motivation to try to figure (Y/n) out, he had a slightly higher success rate. He ended up focusing on the one word she had said before she began crying. After all, she didn't cry easily.

"What does 'Ichor' mean?" he questioned to himself, typing away on his tablet, "Just blood? I don't get it."

"Is it possible it was something traumatic for her? Or perhaps a name? Maybe a place?"

"No clue."

The brunette frowned. If he didn't know why she wanted the flower, he couldn't understand her the way he wanted to. Really, Haru just wanted to give her something better than the flower, if only to prove in turn that he was better than the Vethelan prince. Still, he supposed, as long as he knew she treasured the flower, he could always just get it for her. Sighing, he stood up, not liking what he had to do.