May Soul Dissonance Bow Before Me

Chapter 39

TCF!Glenn was thinking about offering the position to TCF!Hannah, but then decided to stop – he abruptly realized that poaching the Holy Maiden of the Sun God from Cale was the equivalent of asking for a calamity to land upon his head.

Cale could hear Glenn mumbling. He didn't care as he continued to focus on Jopis. She was smiling elegantly, but her eyes had not smiled even once. In fact, her eyes had been coldly observing Glenn the whole time. Cale heard Alberu mumbling next to him.
"Someone like her was always pushed back by Elisneh other than that one time?"
'Actually, more importantly...'
Cale was focused on something else. Alberu mumbled about that as well.
"She doesn't have the eyes of someone who has to live her life imprisoned."
"I agree." Cale agreed with Alberu.

TBOAH!Jopis closed her eyes for a moment, reminiscing about her past, her failures, her shortcomings, and her ultimate demise at the end of it all. Her heart ached with a heaviness that she couldn't dare to deny. However, she fought back her tears, gritting her teeth and firmly maintaining her dignity.

Believing that crying right now would really mean admitting her defeat to Elisneh, and that was something she simply could not allow to happen. She clenched her fists and reminded herself that she had fought too, she had resisted and she'd tried – obviously without much success – but she'd still tried to save her people, but Elisneh was too strong and with the White Star backing Elisneh in their world, TBOAH!Jopis had failed.

Jopis's eyes did not look like someone who was in despair after losing or like someone who had lost all hope. They didn't look like the eyes of someone who was resigned to her fate either. She had the eyes of someone who was biding her time and waiting for her moment.

TBOAH!Jopis opened her eyes again, acknowledging that TCF!Alberu and Cale had noticed her strength and considered it noteworthy enough to be mentioned in these records. She felt her body relax, slowly the tension that had been suffocating her eased and she felt like she could breathe again.

TBOAH!Jopis took an almost desperate gulp of the warm tea in the Bone China teacup as it appeared in front of her. It helped her calm down even more. Returning her focus to the Palantír – TBOAH!Jopis softly sighed as she watched and listened as TCF!Jopis made her demands.

TCF!Jopis was only partially unaware of the true depth of her counterpart's feelings and her suffering. TCF!Jopis thought instead that TBOAH!Jopis, who was only a little older than herself, would be pleased to see how she had maintained her dignity even while in exile.

She started to speak.
– There's no reason the Mercenary King would suddenly come here wanting to know about the Molden royal family's secrets. In fact, he should not even know that the Molden Kingdom had any secrets. Sir, there must be someone behind you two.
Cale felt like he was looking and chatting with her even though he was watching a recording. The tea that she took a sip from was quickly getting cold. Jopis's eyes looked forward again.

– The person behind you is someone who has figured out a bit about the Molden royal family's secrets.
The person who was standing straight without leaving any openings continued to speak to Cale.
– I am speaking to you who is behind the Mercenary King.
She had not called to chat with Glenn. The person behind the Mercenary King. She was speaking to that unknown person.

Several members of the audience nodded in approval of TCF!Jopis' astute deduction. Her dignified disposition and her intelligence was something they definitely admired. If her opponent had been anyone else other than Cale – perhaps the people of the TCF!World would even have voiced support and cheered for her brilliance and her attitude – however in their eyes Cale was their priority and he took precedence in all aspects of their lives because that was how important Cale is to them.