Wreath of Lilies, Cauldron of Poison

Chapter 86

Tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow

Illumca dreamed.

She dreamed of the time before there was fester on her skin and rot on her flesh.

She dreamed of the day when she lost everything. When she first felt hate burned inside her. Hate that far outstripped the burn she felt in her lung when the poison ravaged her body. When she was betrayed by the person she thought loved her.

It was a secret that she held within her heart. A secret that even she would not easily reveal. Not even to the one she loved.

For it was her hate. And hers alone.

In her dream, she saw her old self. Caged like an animal. And people who she once trusted bore false witness. Their gilded tongues revealed themselves to be laced with poison.

Their words of kindness became disgust. Their words of encouragement became revulsion.

And so my love became hate.

She could remember the smile on the betrayer’s face when she succumbed. When the people who once laughed with her gazed at her with pity. When her childhood friend turned her eyes away.

And so my hope became despair.

Hate was the only thing that kept her going. Even as the pain ravaged her every day, even when her own smell revulsed her. She refused to die. She refused to forget.

But she was powerless. And she was weak.

NO! NO! NO!! I’m no longer weak! I’m no longer hideous!!

But you are. That’s why you fall so easily to his charm.

NO! I tried to fight back!

And still…you fell.

She could hear the whispers, making her doubt herself. Making her feel small. Small and vulnerable.

But she doesn’t love you like that. Her love does not reflect yours. But if you let go, you can be loved. Let yourself be loved. Just let go.

The voice in her dream was hers. It tried to meld itself into her mind, usurping her will. Crushing her Dao. That was how strong it was.

But that last urge to resign instead made her angry.

Let go?! Never! Do you think my love is so weak that I would buckle under things like hardship?! No! My Dao is Twoflower! I will love as fiery as my hate!! And right now, I hate you as much as I love her!!

AAAAAH!!!

She pictured herself balling her hand into a fist and punching at the miserable scene of her past.

At the moment of contact, hairline cracks appeared, starting from where her knuckles were. And moment later, it broke like brittle glass.

CRACK!

Illumca opened her eyes and saw her balled fist raised into the sky.

“Oof. Now that’s a good punch.”

She found herself lying on a bed in a room smelling thickly of incense. Yao – er and Chen was playing at the side while Martell was standing with a towel to the side. And sprawled on the ground was Connie, struck dumb by her sudden punch.

“Good to see you so lively, Illumca,” Connie said as she duster herself up.

“C-Connie?! I’m sorry! How long have I been asleep?”

“2 days. It’s evening now,” Martell said as she dumped the water inside a bucket onto Chen, who absorbed it instantly.

Connie sat by her side and checked her pulse. “How do you feel now? Anything strange?”

“No. I just feel a bit…hungry. And tired,” she said, a bit dazed. “Where are we?”

“We are in the Red Prince’s compound. You are safe here.”

The word safe reminded Illumca of what had transpired in the Palace, and she jolted. “Connie! The Hero of Vorzenny!! He - !”

Connie put a reassuring hand on her head and put her forehead against her. “I know. I know. I know what he did. Rest assured. He will pay for hurting you. He will pay. But that doesn’t matter right now. What matters to me now is that you are fine.”

“Yeah. We are going to hurt him back soon!” Martell added helpfully. Not knowing what to say in such a situation.

“His eyes…Connie. He had such power in his eyes. It violated my head. Filled me with want and desires that tried to erase my thoughts of you! I’m really sorry.”

“No. It’s me who should be sorry,” Connie caressed her cheek and wiped her tears. “I am an insensitive, foolish ma – person. I have been alone for a very long time. So, there are times when I am not aware of delicate things.”

“Do you remember what I said to you, back before I transformed you?” Connie continued. “I don’t need empty bravado. Only facts. If you don’t tell me the truth, then I cannot help you. Or do you think you showing me your pain or weakness would make me care for you any less?”

“No…no you won’t,” she replied.

“That’s right. Then you understand. That’s a good girl. Now, do you still need to sleep?”

“Y-yes…I feel tired. Still…very…tired,” after saying what she needed to say, she felt so relieved and her hear felt much lighter. Giving way to tiredness.

“Yes. You’ve fought well. The body is not tired, but the mind is.”

“C-Connie…” the Dark Elf called for her as she was about to leave.

“Hmm?”

“Will you hold my hand as I sleep?”

Connie gave her a warm smile and replied.

“Sure.”

During the time Connie was living under the Red Prince’s roof, she learned much from her discussion with Kim. In the process learning more about the otherworldly knowledge of bacterias, viruses, and the concepts. The shy young woman turned into a chatterbox when she explained about the medical knowledge of her world. She also discussed deeply of the ways of medicines that differed from the common sense of Grea.

“So, in short…living…disease?” She asked one afternoon. “Disease caused by little living creatures too small for normal eyes?”

“Ooh…oooh…good…that’s very good. No…that’s brilliant!”

Connie went wide eyed. It was as if her view on the world was turned upside down. She had had revelations about new poisons. But this? This opened a new vista. Far beyond the horizon. A new path had been opened. A new world.

The Hero of Al-Khemiya, in return was very happy to find someone who had the same interest as hers. Normal Healers from Al-Khemiya usually gave up after an hour and chalked it up to be one of the Hero’s blessings.

After her awakening, Illumca joined them. In the morning she trained with Kasheem and his warriors while at night she joined Connie and Martell for dinner with the Red Prince and his wife, who were more than happy to have a talk about their passions to clear up the day’s unpleasant talk with the 2 Kings.

The Red Prince especially had developed a fondness of the clever and mischievous Beastfolk boy. He made quick friends with his son and often gave him snacks. He even allowed him to learn from the tutor he found in Calendia whom he intended to bring to their country for their son.

One night, the Red Prince took out another of his pipe and bestowed on him a precious wooden box he used to store it when he asked him for it in jest.

Outside that compound, the news about the Demonbane Cannon was released and the city was abuzz with that news. Excitement and the hopes that the Alliance would put their support behind King Gerard’s plan became the main sentiment. And the sentiment grew with each day.

The days passed like this, with Connie being suddenly and strangely engrossed with gathering trash and mold that brought some complaints from the maids, until one afternoon an unexpected guest arrived.

His arrival surprised Illumca. And it was not to her delight.

“You?! What are you doing here?!”

“Gosh. I am really hated, aren’t I?” Nick said, still dirty from the travel. He snorted at the expected reaction of the Dark Elf.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” Connie gestured for Illumca to retract her hostility. “I sent for him by Mail Coach to come here so that he can help me with Kurosaki Yuuji.”

“Is it because of that Charm Skill?” Martell asked.

“Exactly. Come, we will meet with Kasheem and Kim. Apologies, Nick. But lunch will have to wait. You will need to settle for tea instead.”

“Who am I but your slave, Milady?” Nick shrugged with a fake smile.

She then led them towards a pavilion where Kim was having her afternoon tea. When she saw them, Kim stood up immediately.

“Connie!” she called out.

Kasheem who was standing by, gave them a quick bow. He eyed the new person with a bit of suspicion.

“Umm…who is this?” Kim asked, aware of the unknown stranger.

“You don’t know him? Not even from that ‘thing’ in your old world?” Connie asked.

“No. I don’t think so,” Kim said. “I would have remembered someone like this. That ‘thing’ only had beautiful men and women in it.”

“…are they talking bad about me?” Nick whispered to Martell, who was standing next to him

“Most definitely.”

After a short introduction of Nick, they all sat under the pavilion and discussed what they were going to do. Kasheem went first.

“As we all know, it had been 6 days since the revelation of the Demonbane Cannon,” he began. “And the people that I have employed through my connections reported that Hero of Vorzenny has been waiting in the Guild with his entourage. Just sitting there watching the door,” Kasheem reported. “He didn’t even take any quests. He just sat there. But he has been getting very irritable the last 2 days. He is reported to have been violent towards…the Tonsulde.”

“I - I see. So he really is waiting for the ‘Event’,” the girl remarked, her heart pained at hearing how her friend was treated by the Kurosaki Yuuji. However, she also had responsibilities to Abbas. “So what are we going to do now, Connie?”

Connie played with her red hair, eyes gazing towards the sky. She closed her eyes as she finally made her decision.

“Before we begin, I need to know. Do you really not know this man?”

“No. Not in the slightest.”

“Good. Good. You not knowing is all that I need to know. In that case, I will tell you how we will go about this.”

Connie then explained what she planned to do. The plan earned her a few raised eyebrows and gasps. After she was finished, Kim asked her a question.

“A-are you sure about this?”

“Yes. This is the easiest way to make sure that we manage to get what we want out of him. You want Akula safe, and I want to make him suffer. There are also 3 reasons why I’ve been waiting for Nick to do this,” Connie replied. “First. Because we need the Hero of Vorzenny to be impatient. When you are impatient and irritated, your viewpoint becomes narrow, decision making flawed. Second. Because of his Skill.”

“The Charm Skill, eh?” Nick said as he scratched his head. “It’s not exactly useful, you know. Most people could only use them to make themselves more favorable in the eyes of the opposite sex. But to be able to actually make them slaves to him? That’s…that’s just nasty.”

"And not just that. He was strong. Stronger than Illumca even," Martell offered. "He is not someone to be trifled with. Especially not when there is a country backing him."

"How do you know that?" Illumca asked.

"Because...I saw the King of Vorzenny's entourage when I was looking for the kitchen in the Palace. They are all men. He didn't even bring a maid. The King knows."

“Exactly. And we don’t know much about his Skill except for the effect. I cannot guarantee that his power will not be able to control me,” Connie said. She gave it a thought and shuddered. “However, this Charm Gaze power is not infallible. Case in point, the effect on Illumca and Kim’s. And that is why I needed him to come with me. To pull me out if I made a mistake With Martell and Chen as backup.”

“…I don’t agree with this, Connie,” Illumca interrupted. Cheeks puffing in anger. “Why does he get to do this with you?! And you are even going to allow…” she held her breath as if she was about to talk about something heinous. “…to allow him to touch you?! I haven’t even gotten to touch you yet!”

“This is for the plan, Illumca. Also, that is the 3rd reason. Because Nick is - as you can see - a very sleazy-looking man. Can you imagine Kasheem here doing that? People are not going to buy it.”

Everyone but the angry Illumca nodded as an affirmation, making Nick feel slighted.

“Ugh. I protest with this kind of treatment!”

Martell gave him a sympathetic smile, which by those who knew him well, knew that it was empty of actual sympathy.

And then Connie made a groan as she proceeded to the next item of business. “Now, let’s talk about…urgh, how Cornelia dresses.”