Chapter 2: Envy
In Furina's room in Palais Mermonia, Fontaine.
After a long conversation, Furina finally, though reluctantly, accepted Liu Yuan's existence… at least she no longer thought Liu Yuan was just a hallucination.
Our clever Furina had already summarized a few things about "Liu Yuan."
Liu Yuan had her own consciousness, could think independently, and could speak— almost no different from a normal human being. The only difference was that others couldn't see her, and she couldn't touch anything.
She wasn't under Furina's control, but her presence was bound to Furina's side. She couldn't leave, only remain nearby.
Secondly, Liu Yuan was very clean… yes, very clean!
That was the only word Furina felt truly described her.
Liu Yuan had no memories. Aside from knowing her own name and some common sense, she knew nothing. That was why she was endlessly curious, always asking questions and observing everything around her.
Like… a child?
But then Furina thought about Liu Yuan's height— taller than her own— and the calm aura she carried. She quickly rejected that idea.
She looked more like someone who had genuinely lost her memory and, by some accident, ended up bound to her side as a "spirit."
…Suspicious.
With doubt lingering in her heart, the exhausted Furina wrapped herself tightly in her quilt, burying her head and curling up into a ball.
In that small, self-made space, she finally relaxed. The fatigue she had been suppressing all day slipped free. Her gaze grew vacant, and even though the darkness enclosed her, she felt like she finally had a moment that belonged only to herself.
Closing her eyes, she cupped her cheeks and gently rubbed them, allowing her face— so often caught in performance— to soften. After a long while, she opened her eyes again and whispered to herself in a voice only she could hear:
"Furina… keep going. For… for all of Fontaine… keep going…"
After cheering herself up, she stretched out a hand, pulled her pillow into the quilt, and hugged it tightly, ready to sleep and regain her strength for tomorrow.
But then she remembered something. With a jolt, she poked her head out from under the covers and eyed Liu Yuan suspiciously.
"…Don't you sleep?"
Liu Yuan shook her head. "I'm not sleepy. I can't sleep."
"Then what were you doing the past few nights? Just… staring into space?"
"…Pretty much."
"Pretty much?"
"I was waiting for you to wake up."
Her words were calm, her deep blue eyes unflinching, her tone matter-of-fact.
"..."
Furina froze. Her voice trembled a little as she asked:
"So… after I fall asleep, you just… watch me? All night? Until I wake up?"
"…Mm."
It should have sounded perverted— watching a girl sleep every night. But somehow, when it came from Liu Yuan's lips, it didn't feel perverted at all. Still! What else was it, if not perverted?
And that tone— so calm, so casual! Furina wanted to lash out, but when she saw Liu Yuan's dazed, almost innocent expression, she found she couldn't muster any anger.
Seeing her silence, Liu Yuan tilted her head slightly and asked softly:
"Did I make you uncomfortable?"
"…No. No."
Furina ducked back under her quilt without another word.
Liu Yuan gazed at the lump beneath the covers, then turned her eyes away. She really was bored. Too bored. Bound to Furina's side, she could neither leave nor touch anything.
The first day, she had tried to touch a book on the shelf, only for her hand to pass straight through. She seemed more like a projection— an invisible shadow tethered to Furina. She could only observe, never interact.
And so, she had watched Furina. Night after night, wondering why she was tied to her, searching for an answer in the Damselette's sleeping profile. But with no memories, she had no clues.
Now…
Furina must hate being watched, right? I should apologize.
Liu Yuan didn't look at her again. Instead, she quietly moved to the edge of her range— one or two meters from the window. She sat down on the carpet and gazed through the slight gap in the curtains, out into the night.
What is the world outside like?
———
Early morning.
Furina stirred awake, though her rest had been fitful.
The thought of a spirit standing beside her bed, watching her, had left her restless all night.
Groggy, she opened her eyes and glanced at the nearby clock. Seeing it was still early, she flopped back down, intent on a refreshing nap.
But then she stiffened, sat up sharply, and turned toward the side of the bed.
No Liu Yuan?
Strange. After days of waking up under that quiet, unnerving gaze, her absence now felt… odd.
Furina's eyes darted around until at last she spotted her— not gone, but sitting quietly on the carpet, near the window.
A sliver of sunlight pierced the curtains, falling across Liu Yuan's body. Her silver-white hair shimmered with threads of gold. One slender hand shielded her eyes from the light as her deep blue gaze shone, bright with wonder— like a child beholding something precious for the first time.
And Furina… froze.
She simply stared. At the quiet, ethereal beauty of that moment. At the serenity radiating from Liu Yuan's figure as sunlight embraced her.
For the first time, Furina felt it— an unfamiliar pang.
She envied her.