The journey beyond the Curtain Call

Chapter 2

Furina was on her way to Cafe Lucerne, deep in thought.

A lot of things were going on in her mind. One was the cakes Lyney brought her from time to time. As per him, it was part of an apology from Arlecchino for fake assaulting her to test if she did have Gnosis or not, and all the other times she was harsh towards her without knowing anything.

Lyney also said something about asking them, or her if she needed anything as a show of support.

Another thing that was going in her mind was Aether. He wouldn't forever be with her. He had to move on and go to other regions to find his sister. As much as she wanted him to, she couldn't ask, or expect him to stay in Fontaine.

She also had her own thing. Even though she was back in the world of acting and performing, she still wanted to learn more.

She wanted to expand her horizons, beyond what she knew, beyond what she could do, beyond Fontaine.

'Wait a minute... RIGHT!'

Her face brightened as she rushed to the cafe. After all, she had to contact Lyney after that. If the Knave had said that she could ask her for help or a favour, who was she to deny?

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Arlecchino was sitting in her office, going over the initial prep of Project Stuzha, when Lyney came knocking on the door.

"Father, may I come in?"

She closed the file and approved, as Lyney came in.

"Father, Lady Furina asked if you had some free time for a few days. She clarified that she wasn't asking for whole free days, but a few hours here and there," he said as she furrowed her eyebrows. Didn't she try to fake assassinate her? People didn't typically like to see their assaulters very often.

"I suppose I could find some time as long as it doesn't interfere with the matters of the House of Hearth. But why?" she asked as Lyney shrugged.

"she didn't specify. She just said that if we were willing to favour her, she'd like to meet you. So I should tell her that you agree?" he asked and she nodded.

'Hm... interesting. What is it that she wants so much that she is willingly asking me out of all the people?'

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Furina was standing in front of Arlecchino, staring at her with a little bit of nervousness, fear, and awkwardness, while Arlecchino was just awkward.

She was trained for many things, but being welcoming to a former adversary she traumatized was not included.

"Well..." she started as Furina flinched.

"Miss Furina, did you like the cakes the children of the House made for you?" she asked, trying to ease the tension, and Furina immediately nodded.

Arlecchino sighed as Furina gulped.

"Miss Furina, let me apologize for the things I said in our last meeting, or the time I tried to assassinate you. I assure you that there were no ill intentions behind the words spoken back then, nor was I actually trying to hurt you during the attack. I know you must realize that behind my actions, the only motive was to save Fontaine. However, it was also insensitive and scary, so please accept this apology," she said as Furina looked at her, surprised.

She then took a deep breath and composed herself.

"H-hello, Miss Knave. I g-guess it's fine, it's all in the past. Though it still gives me nightmares..." she muttered the last part nervously chuckling. The next moment she saw Arlecchino reaching into a bag and started panicking, readying herself to apologize.