Chapter 545: Divine Ascension (6)
“Why did he have to put it like that?” Ciel grumbled as she walked down the mansion’s hallways.
It was now dawn on the day following the banquet. For him to invite her to his room at such an early hour of the morning, she couldn’t help but wonder if there might be some misunderstandings going on.
If a relatively sane and ordinary man had said those words to her last night, Ciel might just have felt some strong hope that the outcome of these supposed misunderstandings was exactly what she desired.
However, the one who had said them was Eugene.
Ciel was very familiar with Eugene in various aspects, and he had even once rejected her so harshly that she had felt like her body wouldn’t be able to withstand it. Therefore, she definitely wouldn’t have any such misunderstandings, nor would she harbor any hopes.
‘Until that bastard slays all the Demon Kings, he’s sure to live his life like a eunuch,’ Ciel cursed to herself.
It wasn’t like she could directly ask him if he meant something else by his invitation and receive a clear answer, but Ciel was certain that Eugene hadn’t meant anything more than what he said.
But why was Eugene so averse to that? Was it because of the possibility that he might die during his battles? In that case, wouldn’t it be better for him to let his desires burn all the more passionately? Let the flames of passion burn so brightly that even if he did die, he would die without regrets...?
Ciel was silent for a few moments, caught in her unending thoughts.
In any case, if Eugene died, the world would end, whether it be at the hands of the Demon King of Incarceration or the Demon King of Destruction. No matter what measures the survivors took, it would be impossible for them to stop those Demon Kings.
But wasn’t that enough reason, no, even more of a reason why they should make sure to burn so brightly that no regrets remain should everything end in vain?
“Ahem,” Ciel cleared her throat as she forced herself to stop this seemingly endless train of fatalistic thoughts.
Of course, Ciel knew all too well that Eugene would never be tempted by such distractions. Even if the world were to end tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to down even a single glass of wine before leaving to avert the end of the world.
Instead, he would just... even if he knew that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop the impending destruction, Eugene would still just sharpen his sword before setting off to stop the end of the world.
That was just the kind of guy he was.
‘...In the first place, if Eugene had invited me to his room for such personal reasons, he would have made sure to call only me,’ Ciel admitted to herself reluctantly.
But, in that case, would it even be her that he would call? Such a depressing question suddenly crossed her mind, but Ciel desperately attempted to ignore that line of thought.
‘In any case, he didn’t invite me alone. Since he also invited big sis Kristina, I guess... it must be something truly important,’ Ciel realized.
But what on earth was so important that it could only be done in his room rather than anywhere else? For now, Ciel brushed away all possibility of a misunderstanding. She also gave up even the smallest of hopes.
Yet even so, just in case, shouldn’t she still prepare so that she was ready if maybe, just maybe, things turned out that way? So Ciel had made sure to take a bath as soon as the banquet was over, change into a new set of clothes, and she had also sprayed on some light perfume.
Ciel suddenly came to a halt and stood silently for a few moments.
She was only a few steps away from the tightly shut door to Eugene’s room. The reason for Ciel’s halt was that she had just seen Kristina acting strangely in front of the door, doing things like stamping her feet, pinching her own cheeks, and tearing at her hair.
So why was Kristina acting like this? Ciel didn’t even need to ask her directly to know the answer. The breeze flowing from Kristina’s direction wasn’t carrying even the slightest trace of alcohol. Instead, there was a subtle yet refreshing soapy scent. There was no doubt that she had also decided to prepare for the slight chance of a ‘what if?’ scenario by taking a bath beforehand, and now it seemed like both of the Saint’s personalities were fighting over who would be the one to open the door and enter Eugene’s room.
“Ahem-hem.”
The fight was getting so intense that it seemed like it would soon lead to self-harm. Ciel couldn’t bear to watch this continue any longer, so she pointedly cleared her throat a few times. At this sound, the Saint quietly released her fistfuls of hair, then used her fingers as a comb to brush through the tangled mess of her hair a few times.
“What’s this? You’ve changed into a fresh set of clothes and even sprayed on some perfume. Just what kind of cheeky expectations are rising within you?” the Saint teased as she shot Ciel a sharp look.
This personality had to be Anise.
With a calm expression, Ciel shrugged and said, “The banquet ran for quite some time, didn’t it? So it’s not so strange that I took the chance to wash up and put on some fresh clothes.”
Anise narrowed her eyes, saying, “It seems that, despite your young age, you’ve sprayed on quite the mature scent. Is that really your preference? Or could it be that you were in such a rush that you had no choice but to use that scent?”
“This sort of scent is actually quite trendy nowadays. As for you, oh Lady Saintess, it might be because you’re someone from the distant past, or perhaps it’s just because you’re a priest, but do you know that the scent you are currently using is quite old-fashioned? If I had to be polite about it, I guess I could at least call it quite the refreshing odor,” Ciel commented, refusing to back down despite Anise’s piercing words.
For a few moments, their gazes clashed in midair.
“Hmph,” Anise snorted as she turned around. “Little girl, it’s obvious what kind of foolish hope you might be harboring in your chest, but it won’t turn out the way you wish. In the first place, if he wanted to do something like that, there is no way that Hamel would call both you and me together.”
“Hmm? But I didn’t come here bearing any expectations, though? So I’m not sure what exactly you might be implying,” Ciel said, strolling closer while pretending ignorance.
Anise glanced at Ciel with a skeptical look, but she didn’t fire off any more shots. Because in the end, no matter what she tried to say at this moment, Anise would just be spitting into the wind.
Of course, in Anise’s case, she could be excused to a certain extent.
It was Kristina who had washed up while feeling a mixture of anticipation and excitement, put on a fresh set of clothes, and then hurried over at a frenzied pace to stand in front of Eugene’s door. It was also Kristina who had screamed at Anise and yanked her back by the hair when the latter had tried to take advantage of her seniority and be the one to first step into Eugene’s room....
So as far as Anise was concerned, Kristina should be the one to feel troubled by this behavior.
“For now, let’s just go in,” Anise calmly proposed.
Ignoring the sad wails that were echoing inside her head, Anise reached out to turn the doorknob, showing not a trace of expectation on her face.
But Anise suddenly paused and questioned, “Should we really head in together?”
“He called for the both of us,” Ciel argued.
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