Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 169 - No More Lies

"You have returned sooner than expected, O Child of Eventide."

Viviane's head throbbed. Her eyelids fluttered before they opened, revealing the colorless expanse of the Lake. Gingerly, she pushed herself up to a sitting position, her palm casting liquid-like ripples across the otherwise solid surface beneath her.

"Ugh... Miss Emrys?" Viviane held a hand to her head, glancing up at Emrys. The silver-haired faux-child had an eyebrow raised, staring down at Viviane with an almost imperious look of disappointment.

"It is I. It seems you have failed to heed my warning despite only a night having passed."

"M-Maybe..." Viviane glanced away from Emrys, her cheeks reddening from embarrassment. "But it's not my fault! Everything we spoke about was so hazy, and I could barely remember your words or the conversations we had here!"

"So now you are foisting the blame onto me?" Emrys scoffed. "I had thought better of you, Child of Eventide, but I digress. Let us return you to the waking world posthaste."

Viviane frowned, realizing that there was something rather strange even as Emrys spoke her latest words. She had no idea why she hadn't realized sooner, but now that she had brought up the complaint, she found she could remember her conversations with Emrys perfectly. It was glaringly bizarre, especially considering how those memories had been so faint and distant when she had been speaking with Medrauta.

"No, miss Emrys, but... It's strange. Though my memories are clear now, they were undoubtedly foggy before I returned to the Lake. It's a strange choice of words, but I remember they were distinctly muddled, as if there were some sort of film wrapped around my thoughts. They were there, but just inches away from my fingertips."

Emrys refrained from responding, confirming Viviane's suspicions. There was no doubt that the faux-child's earlier admonishment had been an effort to deflect the subject as quickly as possible.

"...Did you mess with my memories, miss Emrys?" Viviane pressed.

Again, Emrys remained silent, refusing to answer. Like a sword being averted from its intended trajectory, she looked away from Viviane, her blue eyes glimmering in the intrinsic light that the Lake emanated.

"What did you do, miss Emrys? Why did you—"

"It was for your own good, Child of Eventide. You are more than aware of your knight's... mental peculiarities, are you not? There are things she must not know yet until the time is right."

"I did not give you permission to mess with my memories, Emrys." Viviane's eyes narrowed, thoroughly disturbed at the fact that her mind could be toyed with so easily. "I agreed to become your heir so you could teach me to better control the power of the Lake, not to manipulate whatever goes on in my head. In fact, I—"

Viviane stopped, her eyes widening as she stared at Emrys, a sudden epiphany striking her like a bolt from on high. As she came to a conclusion, Emrys' childlike form warped and twisted, spiraling upwards like a pillar of silver fluid defying gravity before finally settling into the shape of a young woman.

Long locks of dark blue cascaded down her head to the small of her waist, framing her shoulders elegantly like the leather wrapping of a sword's hilt. Her eyes were the razor sharp silver of steel, piercing into Viviane's without hesitation. Emrys' fair skin was beautiful, but shone in the effulgent light of the Lake as if a blade placed on display, never to be touched nor wielded. Even the black robe that cloaked her body seemed to cut the air with each curve and thread woven into it.

Viviane peered at Emrys' new form, inspecting it with a measure of surprise. Although she did not recognize it, she found it somewhat familiar for whatever reason. Perhaps it was something she'd seen amongst the shield tower's books, but she couldn't place it at the moment. Despite that, she wasted no time in voicing her accusation.