The sunlight came into my room shining through the curtains. It was harsh. Woke me up from a sleep that felt like I was buried alive. I moved, feeling stiff and my missing arm hurt with a pain that never went away.
I didn't even activate my profound skill, pain manipulation as I went to sleep. Meaning that i felt the burning sensation all night, the pain sucks, but it is all worth it. I activated my pain manipulation once again, numbing the pain from my non-existent left arm. It was gruesome but it is worth the risk.
I tidy my room as usual. I changed the sheets like a fine woman and changed dresses as well. I glanced over the curtains and saw the garden at full view. I breathed a sigh of relief, looking at paradise once again.
I sat up. I looked around. My eyes adjusted to the light. I saw dust floating in the sunbeams. I looked over at Maine, who was slumped over his workbench in the corner of the room. He had not gone back to bed after his walk in the garden the night before. There were lots of things around him. Old books, drawings of magic symbols and broken flasks that still had some energy left in them. Seeing him like that so tired and weak made me feel guilty. I remembered how I had yelled at him and the servants and how I had taken out my fears on them.
I noticed the book I gave to Maine last week and still gripping its arms. It contained all the viable information from the plague virus that spreads through Castle Libra. I normally got it when I killed the bad and evil researchers inside the Castle. The researchers felt no remorse upon killing these helpless peasants during their experiments. It was traumatic, but still worth the weight.
I got out of bed. I walked over to Maine. The air around him smelled like electricity and old paper. I took a blanket from my bed and put it over his shoulders. He did not move, let out a soft sigh that made my heart skip a beat. For a moment I stood there watching him breathe. I leaned down. I almost kissed him but I did not have the courage to do it.
"Rest you fool " I said quietly and then I left the room.
My stomach was empty and growling, reminding me that I needed to eat. I walked down the hallway. My footsteps echoed off the walls. As I turned a corner I almost ran into someone standing in the doorway.
It was Cassius, he was sitting at the chairs in the dining room.
Seeing him brought back memories of the battle on the plains of Rebelbub. The smoke, the screams, the chaos. It felt strange to see him alive and okay. He looked pale. His eyes were bright and locked onto mine.
He looked at my shoulder at the sleeve and I saw a flash of sadness in his eyes. I did not give him a chance to say anything. I noticed and said in a calm tone.
"Dont worry, It's just my arm, Cassius. Don't worry about it."
We went into the dining room. Sat down at the table. The food smelled like pancakes with syrup and berries. I took a bite and the sweet and sour tastes filled my head. It was a nice moment.
I sliced into the stack, the golden-brown edges giving way with a soft, satisfying sigh. I lifted a piece, heavy with the golden amber of maple syrup and a few crushed berries. As I took the first bite, I let out a low, involuntary sound of pure bliss. The pancake was heavenly impossibly light and airy, yet with a rich, creamy texture that felt like velvet melting against my tongue. The sweetness was perfectly cut by the tart burst of the berries, a simple, perfect contrast that made me forget, for a split second, the cold void where my left arm used to be.
I deeply respect Sinel's cooking about these pancakes of hers, first, the braised pork she'd made yesterday, then these pancakes, Man… this is heaven.
"Better late than never, Roxy?" Plasma anticipated my thoughts
I noticed Plasma was awfully quiet after my time in the manor, I'm just worried that he had spoken to me ever since.
"What Plasma, jealous?. You can't taste the pancakes I've been eating right now."
"Even though I can't taste it, I can also feel it. Didn't you forget that I was living inside your head you dum-dum. Even worse, your arm is useless for wielding your bow. You can't even pull your bowstring in this condition. Haahahahahhahahaha"
"Stop laughing, Plasma, or I'll tell you to shut up!"
I ignored Plasma's bartering as I closed my eyes, truly savoring the moment of reprieve.
"This… It's incredible. It's so soft and creamy, it's almost like eating a cloud. I haven't tasted anything like this..."
"Hey," a voice snapped, jarring me out of my culinary reverie.
My eyes flew open to see Cassius leaning across the table, his expression tight with frustration. He had clearly been in the middle of a sentence I hadn't been listening to.
"I'm talking to you, Roxy! I'm trying to discuss your retirement, and you're treating this breakfast like it's the most important event of your life. Can you focus for one second?"
I set my fork down, the clatter echoing too loudly against the fine china. The creaminess of the pancake that had just been warming my soul suddenly turned into a bitter lump in my throat. I looked at him, my gaze narrowing into the cold, jagged edge I was so famous for, and the momentary peace I'd felt vanished, replaced by the familiar, suffocating pressure of being trapped in a life I no longer wanted.
Cassius spoke up in a vengeful spirit. Not common you see everyday.
"I heard the rumors, Roxy. You resigned as an adventurer. The bureau is upset. How can the savior of the town end something like that? How did the girl I knew who slain a thousand monsters quit? How did the girl save me just… stop."
I put down my fork. Said in a calm tone
"I did not stop for the drama, Cassius. I just couldn't do it anymore. My body is. I'm tired of living a life that's slowly killing me. I realized that being an adventurer is like writing your death sentence, one piece at a time. I was tired of writing mine."
Before Cassius could say anything the doors to the dining hall opened and two men walked in. They were Calix and Constantine, Cassius's brothers. They were big. Wore armor and they seemed to suck the air out of the room.
The heavy doors of the dining hall swung open with a resounding thud, cutting through the tense silence between Cassius and me. Calix strode in, his polished boots clicking rhythmically against the stone floor. He stopped dead in his tracks, his gaze flicking from Cassius's earnest, leaning posture to my flustered expression.
A slow, knowing grin spread across Calix's face. He let out a soft, mocking whistle, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? I step away for a moment and return to find the great adventurer Roxy playing house with my little brother? I didn't realize the savior of Town Allure had such a taste for the younger generation."
My face felt like it had been plunged into a furnace. The heat roared up my neck, turning my cheeks a violent shade of crimson.
"Don't be absurd, Calix! We are discussing business, not engaging in some adolescent fantasy. Wipe that look off your face before I wipe it off for you!"
I snapped, my voice cracking with a mix of genuine mortification and pure, unadulterated fury. I slammed my fork onto the table, the metallic clatter serving as a sharp punctuation to my words
Cassius opened his mouth to defend himself, his own face turning a shade of pink, but the doors swung open again before he could speak.
Constantine entered, his presence looming and cold. He paused, looking at the scene: Calix's mocking smirk, my burning face, and Cassius's stuttering attempt to maintain his composure. A dark, amused glint entered Constantine's eyes as he took in the sight.
"Ah! It seems I've walked in on a private affair. I apologize for the interruption, lovebirds—I didn't realize the morning meal here was intended to be quite so... romantic."
Constantine purred, his voice smooth and heavy with irony as he stepped toward the table.
He placed a hand on the back of the chair next to me, leaning in just enough to invade my space. The combination of their combined scrutiny was too much. The calm composure I had been clinging to all morning shattered completely. I couldn't even formulate a comeback; I just sat there, my face flaming in an agony of embarrassment, looking down at the half-eaten pancakes as if they held the secrets of the universe, desperately wishing for the floor to swallow me whole.
The air in the dining hall felt suddenly stagnant, heavy with the weight of their combined presence. I could feel the heat radiating from my face, a scarlet mask of pure humiliation that I couldn't suppress no matter how hard I tried.
"We are not a couple, Calix!"
I finally bit out, my voice tight and trembling with irritation. I gripped my fork so hard my knuckles turned white. Then I continued.
"And I would appreciate it if you stopped projecting your ridiculous fantasies onto my breakfast. Is there a reason you've invaded my manor, or did you just come here to annoy me?"
Calix merely chuckled, his grin deepening, completely unfazed by my hostility. He leaned back, his gaze flickering between Cassius and me with that same infuriating, knowing glint.
"Always so defensive, Roxy. But we aren't here for leisure. The situation at Caria has turned disastrous. The battle was deafening, a complete rout, and the front lines were buckling under the pressure. The Bureau has ordered us to take shelter…and tactical command…here at the manor for the foreseeable future. We'll be staying until the smoke clears." Calix remarked, his tone light and mocking.
I felt my stomach churn, though not from the pancakes this time. The news of Caria meant the war was inching closer, turning our sanctuary into a staging ground. I looked at the three of them…Constantine with his cold, calculating eyes, Cassius looking between us with bewildered hurt, and Calix, still wearing that mocking smirk.
"Fine! Stay in this manor. But keep your so-called "tactical command" out of my personal quarters, and keep your ridiculous theories about my private life to yourselves."
Calix laughed again, standing up and smoothing out his cloak.
"Of course, of course. We wouldn't want to get in the way of your... morning bliss."
He shot one last look at Cassius and me, a look that practically shouted "young lovebirds", before he turned toward the door.
As he walked away, he paused, looking over his shoulder one last time.
"Try to enjoy your breakfast, you two. Don't let us dampen the mood."
The doors swung shut behind him, leaving us in the sudden, ringing silence of the room. I let out a jagged, frustrated breath, my face still burning, my hands shaking. I looked down at my plate, the beautiful, cloud-like pancakes now cold and unappetizing. The day had barely begun, and already, it felt like the walls of my life were closing in.