Carbuncle sighed as she sat by the small bed of their new room. They had searched the [Rig] for a bigger room for her and her family, but unfortunately, nothing seemed to fit their needs. As such, they simply settled for one of the numerous nondescript rooms found among the vessel's living quarters.
It wasn't ideal for a family of three to share such a small room, but it was better than them splitting themselves up into three different rooms away from one another. Even if they'd still be in close proximity with only a single layer of metal separating them, they just couldn't risk it, especially when they were still in unfamiliar territory.
Besides, Gem would probably take offense to sleeping alone again.
"Look, Mom!~ There's a window~"
The former Vestygian diplomat smiled at Gem's usual optimism. With Alcian seemingly asleep, it fell to her to distract their daughter long enough for her to bleed off her excess energy. Thankfully, Gem was taking to being in a new [Rig] well, it seemed. Barring a few... issues earlier from back when they were on the bridge, the girl has adjusted surprisingly well. Then again, their constant movement from place to place must've taught her that more than her or her husband's lackluster parenting.
"That's nice, Gem," she cooed, placing a hand on Gem's head and rubbing her affectionately. "I'm glad you're liking this room."
"It's open and cool~" Gem giggled. "And the bed's soft and bouncy!~"
Carbuncle chuckled alongside her adopted daughter. Truly, it was well worth the effort of staying incognito if it meant that Gem would have a normal life away from all of the war and suffering that staying in Vestyge would've caused her. It was a hard decision for both her and Alcian, but it was truly worth it to see this girl's innocent face beaming like this.
"You should go to sleep," Carbuncle coaxed, soothingly giving her daughter a rub on her back.. "We still have a long day tomorrow."
"But I don't wanna~"
"Look, even Daddy is sleeping," Carbuncle gently pointed out, aiming a thumb over at her sleeping husband's form. "I'm going to sleep as well, you know."
Gem pouted, and for a second, the former spy thought that she caught a scent of something sweet seeping into the room itself. Thankfully, Gem quickly smiled and nodded her head.
"Alright~" the young girl beamed. "I'll go and sleep with Mommy and Daddy~"
With a smile, Carbuncle went ahead and pulled Gem up with her onto the one bed in the room. Making sure that the girl would be sandwiched in between her and Alcian, she gave her daughter one last kiss on the forehead before closing her eyes and going to sleep...
At least, that's what Gem was going to think.
In truth, she knew that Alcian was simply biding his time for Gem to sleep, and he did his job admirably by even posing like he was already asleep to help the former spy to get their daughter to turn in for the night.
"You're awake, yes?" Carbuncle asked with a hushed whisper, cracking one eye open to see if her husband was awake.
"That, I am," Alcian replied with a subdued tone, his eyes fully open to greet hers with a small twinkle of a smile. "We need to talk."
Carbuncle nodded, and the two Vestygian fugitives went ahead to remove themselves from their bed. Alcian first got out of bed, then Carbuncle followed as they made sure to not wake their sleeping daughter. After which, they carefully got out of their room, closing the door behind them as they took their conversation to the silent hallway.
"So, what's the plan?" Alcian immediately asked, his tone taking on a cold professionalism that Carbuncle only heard when he was about to assassinate someone. "We can't solely rely on Dryer's word alone."
"I know," Carbuncle sighed. "But we have no other choice. If not for Gem's sake, then what are we supposed to do?"
And just like that, the former spy felt the tension between them freeze over as they were reminded of why they were even on that Imperial [Rig] in the first place. They were both fugitives; both being former high-ranking operatives of Vestyge's formidable network of spies and assassins. Of course, that meant that they never really had a parent figure to look up to beyond their own handlers, which also meant that they had no idea how to raise a child in the first place.
Their jobs were their whole lives. Carbuncle thrived in mingling and negotiating in the great game being played throughout the Shallow Deep's political landscape. She relished taking state secrets from the unsuspecting idiots that thought she was just another bumbling rookie lost in the sea of diplomacy. Of course, that was far from the truth, but that didn't take away from the joy that was seducing and tricking these fools into giving her information that could ruin them and their small countries.
Alcian, meanwhile, had been the top assassin that Vestyge would send out to destabilize military groups and rebel forces alike. He had been the one to assassinate the fleeing Vestygian Royal Family back when the revolution was in full swing, and he made sure to leave no survivors alive. Even the young princess wasn't spared, though thinking about it now, she felt her heart ache for the poor girl that just got her life ruined by their own citizens.
That was what they lived for, and that was taken from them by force when Dryer suddenly blasted them with his [Manifest]'s full abilities. Ultimately, they ended up caring for their capture target and decided to flee before the state could get its hands on the poor girl they'd taken in as their daughter.
Now, that was their purpose. Their only reason for going on.
"You're right," Alcian sighed. "Still, we must be ready to abandon ship in such a case that Katleynna rejects us."
"I doubt it," Carbuncle soundly retorted. "After the thorough sweep that we've done throughout the [Rig], I can safely say that we are currently under the Empire's protection. Their princess is a bleeding heart. And based on my conversation with Moriya, I can say that we can trust them for now."
Not that they even had a choice unless they wanted to fend for themselves in the middle of the Deep. Being in a [Rig] provided a massive amount of protection to them, not to mention the Imperial flag now vouching for them. If they played their cards right, they could just reach what they've been trying to achieve for over a year now.
"Do you suggest that I still come up with plans to dispose of the princess should the need arise for it?" Alcian asked.
"You can do it lightly," Carbuncle nodded. "But I'm pretty sure that I can get us into the negotiating table for a more permanent residence inside Kotosa's Yagokoro District. This of course, also means that we must befriend our new allies."
Which also meant going ahead and selling Vestygian secrets to them in order to sweeten the deal. Not that they were both against it anymore, seeing as they did almost do such a thing with Marquee right before the deal fell through.
"That would mean fully forsaking Vestyge," Alcian hesitantly mumbled. "We'll never be able to go back."
"As if we even had the chance to do so after everything that we've done," Carbuncle scoffed. "The moment we turned and left the Agency, we were as good as dead to our handlers. We can't take that back no matter how hard we want to."
"Living with savages though... Would this be the right environment for Gem to grow up in?" Alcian dubiously asked.
"We've lived through worse. And we don't have any right to judge, what with us growing up in the arms of the Agency," Carbuncle pointed out. "At the very least, Gem wouldn't need to learn how to fight. We can just continue to guide her in controlling her [Manifest]. Make sure that she wouldn't kill herself with her own power."
It was the least they could do after almost handing the kid over to the tender mercies of the Vestygian state. Sure, they appreciate everything that the Agency had done to teach them the skills they now had, but Dryer's power had given them a conscience, and with it, the sight to see that while the Agency was all they'd known, it also wasn't the best in handling children.
"I agree. Let's just hope that she won't be too agitated while we're here," Alcian nodded. "It's going to be a considerable voyage as we make our way to Kattleyna."
"Agreed," Carbuncle sighed. "Gem's safety is our number one priority."
They both gave each other a nod before closing in and giving each other a loving kiss. This was their life now. Their one mission... If Gem ever died, they wouldn't be far behind.
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