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

Chapter 25: Memory Bound

 With the absence of Haru, who had trailed off to wherever, (Y/n) was left to her own devices. It was a rare treat when she was given some time to herself, and, thankfully, she was able to get some work done. Between her emailing the builders and forwarding the progress to Kazuya, she had finally felt as though she was doing something useful. The past week had regrettably been spent both humoring and trying to stop Haru from throwing a massive international fit.

For a while, she enjoyed the silence, but, shortly thereafter, it became tolling. There was only so much work she could do at one time. At some point, without Sona there, she found herself at a loss for what to do. Bored, she moved outside, relishing in the fresh air. Though Echal was somewhat mindful of keeping pollutants low, in the end, money was king. But there was nothing like Vethelan air. It was just fresh, clean, and, above all, natural. It made her wonder how she lived her life without its familiar touch.

The (h/c) haired girl flopped herself on the grass, doing nothing. She didn't think and she barely breathed. However, for some reason, she felt at peace. The sun was perfect. That was one of the things she loved about the country. No matter what, Vethela was perfectly warm all year round. Most Vethelans believed it was because they avidly worshipped the sun god, but, really, it was just perfectly on the equator. A bit further north, there was one territory that Vethela had where it snowed, but, even then, many argued it wasn't actually part of the country. After all, the area was only intended as a vacation spot for the Vethelan royalty and some nobles.

Either way, after an indeterminate amount of time, she noted she was being watched. It was a familiar feeling, but it was not so familiar to hear crying. Usually, she would pretend not to notice. However, the voice was recognizable as a young child, so she couldn't help but look up, sensitive to the sound because of Bastian. She wasn't used to regular children as the brunette, in particular, never cried. Perhaps it was because everything he wanted was perfectly catered to him or maybe it was because he had learned to read adults' emotions. Either way, he only cried when something really bad happened, so hearing a child cry put her on alert.

It wasn't terribly surprising to find Celith there. For a reason only they knew, he was incredibly attached to her. Though she hadn't caught a glimpse of him for a week, she knew he wouldn't have stayed away for too long. He was very torn up about her noticing him, but he didn't stay shivering behind a tree for long. Sooner or later, he came scampering up to her, keeping somewhat of a distance and placing his hands behind his back.

"Good morning," she sighed lazily, not bothering to get up from her restful position.

The white-haired boy tilted his head, not understanding her words. Granted, he didn't even know Vethelan, so him not having any recognition of Athainian didn't surprise her. She had heard from others that he barely said a word around them, and that, when he did, it was only to the royals or Cadmus. Even then, no one ever understood the language he spoke. Most just figured it was a form of the sun god sect's dialect, but she didn't think so.

The boy, flustered at his inability to understand her, began to wiggle a bit. With his hands behind his back, he looked like he was trying to hide something, albeit poorly. Granted, he was, but the boy still thought if she couldn't see it, she wouldn't know he was hiding something. As a result, he struggled to find the words in his own language to say, let alone hers. Though, after some time, it became painful to let him writhe around in nervousness. She sat up lazily, taking careful note of the way he avoided her stare.

"What are you here for?" she mumbled, the boy flinching at her cold tone despite the lack of understanding.

The boy once again fiddled with something behind his back, wondering whether to give it to her immediately or wait for the right time. In the midst of his confusion, he repeated the word "Aureolin", to which she glared at him. Though he didn't understand why, it became clear to him that she had some kind of disdain for the word. After all, she told him to call her by another name, not that she trusted him with her real name. That part, he understood. In his mind, the only one that should have been given that gift was Orion.