After bidding goodbye to the Leeway brothers, I began walking towards my room. I enjoyed the castle's old textured walls and the unique scriptures drawn on them, with pictures of their ancestors along with their numerous achievements.
As I continued walking, I heard a murmur coming from a bit ahead and I saw two shadows whispering to each other. Getting closer to them, I found a familiar face, along with an unfamiliar one.
Bernette was talking with a green-haired girl, who's most probably Irene Leeway. There was another girl behind Bernette, whom I saw clearly as I went a bit closer to them. The blonde-haired girl, Linda Brown, glanced towards me first and as if she had seen a ghost…
-eek!!
….began shrieking as she took a few steps behind Irene. Irene, on the other hand, looked at me with pure curiosity in her eyes and began walking towards me. Watching Irene walk towards me, Linda tried her best to stop her, but her efforts were in vain as Irene ignored her completely before arriving right in front of me.
Green eyes, green long hairs that reach her waist, along with those circular glasses that gave her a cute look like a child rather than an adult. She was a little bit taller than me and she looked at me with a curious look as she spoke.
"Irene Leeway, 3rd daughter of Elric Leeway, cousin of Bernette Leeway," she introduced herself in a calm and composed manner and I looked at her with a small smile shaping on my lips as I spoke,"Zero. The person who is going to cure Bernette Leeway's curse."
Hearing my words, Irene nods before speaking,"well… not a man of many words, I guess. Not really something I like to take fancy, but since you are the one who is going to treat my cousin, I think I can make an exception and not trouble you."
"I am delighted to hear that," I say with a bright smile and she nods in return and speaks dominatingly,"you should be."
Linda observed us with slight fear on her face while Bernette was really amazed at the exchange that just happened. The reason for Bernette's reaction was because Irene didn't really talk to anyone other than the people in this castle with Linda being the sole exception, that too because she had once saved Irene's life on a fateful occasion. Though this information was only revealed to me later on after I got to know Irene better.
"May I know what you are talking about with my sister-in-law?" A voice coming from a distance made all of us turn in its direction and I saw Rheo moving towards us with a slightly odd expression.
"Sister-in law?" I questioned Rheo and this made Rheo a bit surprised as he spoke,"there is something you do not know?" and something changed in him as he observed me…
"Well… I have my limitations too, plus I don't generally look into things that aren't to my benefits in one way or the other," I clarified his doubt, and he gazed at me with wide eyes as he spoke,
"That is surprising… I really thought you knew everything…"
"Are you sure you should be telling that to me? The fact that you treated me like someone who's invincible.. I could very well use that against you?" I spoke again, and a voice came from my front as Irene took off her glasses to wipe them as she spoke,"the fact his opinion about you has changed from the initial one, means you can't act invincible in front of him anymore. Rheo isn't the kind of person who surrounds himself with people whom he can't read or understand… the fact you are 'readable' to him now, means he finally has started feeling safe around you. Congratulations, you are one of the few people that have the potential of being Rheo's friend."
Confused at her words, I looked at Rheo first then at Irene but before I could question anything, Bernette answered,"Rheo doesn't trust people weaker than him. Neither does he consider himself to be worthy of being with people who are much stronger than him. He has an extremely thin line of people with whom he walks along. You are the 3rd person whom he has considered being within that thin line."
I looked at Rheo for a few moments before asking again,"and what does it all have to do with me?" I was confused as to why they were talking as if I was jumping at the opportunity to be his friend and should feel proud of it. I did question him about using him but how did it drift to being friends and… that tone is… quite irking to say the least.
"Even if I were to say anything, you won't understand and I guess some things are better left to the future," spoke Irene before walking towards Rheo and then grabbing his hand as she took him away.
"It's not time and my sister and I still don't trust him," she said as she took one last peek at me before moving away from there. I kept observing them until they were out of sight as I wondered what that was all about.
I turned around to see Linda gone from there and I smiled a bit before observing Bernette, who was standing there with a curious look as she spoke,"you are expert in curses, aren't you?"
I was already confused with the thing about Rheo and stuff, and now this question made me even more confused than before.' Just how many curses have converged in this family?' I thought as I looked at her before speaking,"more or less."
While I am not an expert in all the curses, I guess I can handle most of the curses of this era.
Nodding at me, she then spoke as her expression turned a bit more serious than before,"would you like to come with me somewhere?"
I observed her serious face for a few moments before speaking in a mischievous tone,"your father would kill me if we do something like that-"
-Bang!!
She slapped my face hard with an annoyed expression as she spoke,"it's not that, you worm!" she glared at me before sighing as she spoke,"all right. I guess I am too tired for today. You may go now."
As I rubbed my cheek, I smiled at her before speaking,"Well... that piqued my curiosity… so lead the way."
Though she shook her head as she spoke,"No, I don't trust you after that statement. We can discuss this later if and only if you have gained my trust," before annoyingly stomping away from there.
I observed her for a few moments and decided to just sleep for now but then…
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is that thing?" I asked just for the heck of it.
She turned around as she stopped before speaking,"I don't know. Depending on the situation, it could be 0 or maybe… 20?"
Her words made me look at her curiously before I pondered over something as I sigh once again before taking out a mana contract and then throwing it towards her.
She catches the mana contract and looks at it for a few moments before she smiles and then pours a drop of her blood on it. The mana contract had one simple and fair statement.
[Both parties won't harm each other without their genuine permission, unless there is a life or death situation]
After that, Bernette walked closer to me and smiled as she spoke,"for a pervert, you are quite smart, aren't you?" and then I looked at her with slight seriousness before I said,"show me the way."
Bernette nodded before she began walking in the opposite direction and I began to follow her slowly and slowly.
"Can't we run?" I asked as I saw her walk slowly and she shook her head as she spoke,"the curse will hurt." I thought of something and then sighed before moving towards her and then carrying her into my arms.
"Wh-wha- what are you doing?!!" Surprised, she stuttered, over me carrying her in my arms and I kept walking as I spoke,"Just tell me the way."
Her eyes were fixated on me asking,'why is the mana contract not working?' and I sighed before speaking,"I am not harming you and even you know that. As long as both of us confirm that we are not harming each other, the mana contract won't bind."
She looked at me with a slightly surprised expression before she sighed as she spoke,"you don't really need to do this; you know? I can bear some pain and walk faster, if that's what you want. It's…kind of embarrassing… this position…" she spoke in a hushed voice and I ignored her words as I kept walking.
'It will be more embarrassing for me to put you down after you said that…' I thought as I kept walking before we reached a certain room.
"Put me down. We are almost there," Bernette spoke before I put her down. Then slowly she opened the gate, and we both entered into a pinkish red room. From the looks of it, it looked more or less like Bernette's room and I wondered why I was here?
Though not long after, she walked towards the other side of the almeera and then pointed at it as she spoke,"push this a bit to the left."
Hearing her words, I couldn't help but walk a bit faster, since I was really curious about what was there behind that and then I mumble in a low voice,'Blood Sacrifice: Zeroth Moon' and push that almeera.
Then I take a step back as my eyes turn back to green from the previous red. What came in front of me was something that I haven't seen in a while, even if I include my previous timeline.
"Do you know what this is?" Bernette inquired cautiously and I couldn't help but wonder if my luck was really good or bad at this moment. After all, the thing in front of me was…. one of the gates to Heaven, Avalon.
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