Chapter 71. The Best Liar

Author's Note:

Merry Christmas! 🎄🎄🎄

Here is a Christmas present from me to you:

*****

Lucilline awoke to the glass ceiling of miniature crystals, as if an entire sky of gems were combined into the sheen of ice. He could hardly believe his eyes.

The black-haired nobleman laid in a tower, the surfaces of walls frozen over in frost.

By his side, an amused laugh sounded, "Welcome to my tower, the Castle of Isdis Kingdom!" Khione smiled, showing off a row of white teeth, more brilliant than any of the jewelry speckled upon her crystallized self. Two pair of deadpanned golden eyes stared at her. Lucilline needed some time to recover from the shock—he thrashed around, sitting up harshly then looked around.

There was only an empty room of ice... and Khione.

Where was everyone else? His frown couldn't have been anymore apparent.

"We are on the second floor of my tower," Khione explained shamelessly, "The rest of your buddies are relaxing downstairs like the fools they are."

There was no response from the black-haired nobleman.

Lucilline had no reaction.

"What a bummer," Khione rambled. "I was hoping for a better response than silence." She flaunted her white hair, her skin sprinkling like crystals bathing under the sun. "Anyways, since this Queen is such a kind-hearted person, I shall allow you and your team to recover from injuries. Afterwards, I will see you off from my kingdom."

To this, Lucilline silently nodded.

"Thank you for your kindness." It would be all too easy for Khione to order her "Sugarplum" and kill them all in an instant. Lucilline decided that the right approach would be to accept her offer.

Khione flashed him a weird expression, her brows contorting into puzzlement.

"I didn't think that a human would be so kind to their elders." The Queen of Isdis Kingdom hummed to herself. "In the past, humans used to call us ice people monsters. Even hunted us for fun. I didn't expect for my kingdom to be destroyed by not humans, but rather demons."

Upon hearing this, Lucilline's eyes softened.

He'd learned about the ice people's history. Their bodies were made of ice and could only live in the cold regions. However, soon enough, humans discovered the existence of ice people and hunted them for their crystalline skin.

Ice people naturally had a deep animosity towards humans. To their surprise, it wasn't the humans who destroyed their life. It was the demons—who colonized over territories—and intended to overtake theirs. The ice people became extinct due to the demons' colonization, and they were gradually forgotten by the rest of the world.

"I'm sorry." Lucilline softly spoke.

"Hah?" Khione looked at him as if he was the stranger creature out of the two. "What are you apologizing for? Don't you dare pity me! I am much stronger than—"

Instead, she found herself unable to continue her words.

A pair of auric eyes stared at her, sorrow melting into liquid gold. There was something in Lucilline's gaze that told her he shared the same grief as her. The black-haired nobleman did not need to say much. His lips pursed in a thin line, "You miss your family, don't you? I miss mine too."

Khione fell silent. Her expression became indecipherable.

Her hands shook for a second there, "Who doesn't."

The Queen's eyes blinked rapidly. Gradually, she regained her cool, "Hurry and go join your buddies. Your sadness is stinking up the air."

Lucilline: ??? Am I really ???

When he climbed down the stairs, he found the rest of the group.

Augustine have regained consciousness, and the butler was sitting upright on an ice couch, the cold permeating his thick suit.

Upon seeing the butler and his familiar cold face, Lucilline could finally let go of the heavy weight sitting atop his chest. He subconsciously relaxed, his jaw softening and his eyes thinning into curving crescents. By the butler's side was Layla, who didn't suffer from any wounds. The prince of Miriam Kingdom was polishing the blade of his sword, while wearing a nonchalant frown.

Jacques have recovered from his bleeding eye socket. A bandage was tied across his eye, making him look like a pirate. Azalea had taken off his iron armour, revealing his fatigued and yet taut body. The silver knight appeared tired, dark circles sunken beneath his amethyst eyes.

The two ordinary knights were bandaging their scrapes and injuries. Willow was patting dust off of her maid dress, her short silver hair messed into split-ends. Percival was warming himself up, his hands covered in mitts and a scarf wrapped around his slender neck.

Dimitri had long since sheathed his Sword of Gravity, stuffing it back in his suitcase. The Crown Prince always appeared indifferent, but for once, he looked fatigued.

In the most far corner was Farrah. Despite her disguise already being blown, she remained under the spell, and her brownish eyes faltered. Nobody dared to near her, and Farrah didn't dare to near anyone else either. The Demon Princess pressed her legs up to her chest, sitting on the ice floor with her back leaning against the wall.

Lucilline was stunned at everything he was seeing. We all survived.

His legs felt weak again.

"After tonight, I will see you all off," Khione piped up from behind him. "Just to tell you all, be prepared to leave tomorrow morning."

The group of adventurers didn't need to be told twice.

"Well then, I'll leave you all here to your own devices," Khione went back upstairs. "Tomorrow morning, I better see you all ready to leave." Her figure disappeared after climbing the staircase of dark ice, her crystalline body reflecting upon the shiny surface.

Silence emptied in the tower.

It was then one of the two ordinary knights spoke up. "How much longer will it take for us to arrive at Ubel Kingdom?"

Percival lightly said, "It should take about another two days—"

"Do we have to go?" All of a sudden, the other ordinary knight interrupted. His brows were furrowed, and his nose scrunched up in distaste. "We originally came here to escort a demon and help regain its memories. But to think that this demon was trying to trick us all along... it betrayed our trust! Why would it try to conceal it's appearance!?"

Instead of gaining any support, Dimitri shot a glare at the knight.

His cold gaze was more chilly than the temperature of Isdis Kingdom.

"Be quiet. Do not inquire any more than you're supposed to." The Crown Prince asserted control over the rampant knight. "We are here to run an errand—an adventure. There shall be no changes to our schedule. We will act according to Lucilline's plan."

His hazel brown eyes were more still than the dark ice.

It was like a boundless ocean, where the depth never ends.

"...yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince." The knight could only bow his head in defeat, suppressing all his puzzlement and rampant emotions.

The silence became ugly.

Farrah couldn't stay indifferent anymore, and she spoke up stiffly, "My appearance is inconvenient for adventuring. Thus, I made some changes. I did not mean to hide anything important." Except for the fact that I'm a Royal Demon that has once waged war with your kingdom.

Nobody said anything. The silence became even more stifling.

Alas, Farrah gave up on standing up for herself.

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep." She rolled over on the wall, then fell asleep instantly.

Augustine frowned at this. Again, she sleeps when she says she'll sleep.

The night at Isdis Kingdom was oddly uncomfortable. Perhaps it was from the attack of the black dragon, the fact that they'd barely survived, or the encounter with Khione... the group of adventurers no longer relaxed.

Layla did not care of this.

By his side, Noah had to help carry his polished sword.

The prince's locks of pink hair was blinding to the eye. Layla squatted by Lucilline's side, playing with the latter's strands of black hair. He hummed an old hymn to himself, his pink eyes wandering off to the distance.

"Say, Lucy." Layla whispered in a low voice. "After this adventure, could I follow you back to Lydia Kingdom?"

Lucilline gave him a puzzled look. Why?

A melancholic smile fell on the pink prince's lips. His eyes were downcast, as if to hide the droplets of rain festering within. "Hmm, I don't want to go back there." All of a sudden, Layla perked up with an upturned smile. "I want to stay with you forever."

Lucilline was taken aback. His ears burned hot at that comment.

To stay with someone forever... I thought that Layla was just playing around. But could it be that his feelings are that deep for me? The possibility haunted the black-haired nobleman.

That night, he could not fall asleep.

*****

"FUCK!" A scream tore across the skies. The tower made of ice almost collapsed from the loud noise, as if an avalanche were to occur immediately. Khione ran down the stairs, her crystalline figure heaving up and down. Even her beautiful face was ridden in stress. "I NEED EVERY FUCKING PERSON AWAKE RIGHT NOW!"

To her surprise, the group of adventurers were long awoken by her first cry.

"What is it? Is it urgent?" Dimitri frowned.

Khione focused her eyes upon the group of foreigners. "I can sense them coming." Her crystalline appearance only appeared more and more uncanny amongst the castle of ice. "Demons. Loads of them." She frowned excessively, with cracks splitting across her forehead. "I have never seen so many in my life—well, other than that one time my kingdom was destroyed."

The two ordinary knights perked up at the news.

"Demons again?" One of them seethed. "There must be a traitor! How else could the demons be tracking us down consecutively!?!"

Lucilline wondered to himself.

It was true. Ever since journeying on this adventure to Ubel Kingdom, they have encountered demons after demons. There was no end to the barrage of obstacles laid across their pathway. It couldn't be possible for there to be no traitor amongst them.

Otherwise, how did the demons know their exact location at every time?

Did they have someone who can contact the demons without alerting anyone else?

"This isn't the time to be worrying about such superfluous things." Dimitri frowned. The Crown Prince may have always been cool-headed, but this time, Lucilline could sense his temper going haywire. Beneath his gentle and domineering facade, the narcissist in him was practically itching to hammer every knight into oblivion.

"Your Royal Highness, do we fight the demons head on?" Jacques asked.

Khione added on from the side. "That's a bad idea. There are more demons out there than you guys can handle. If you were to set a foot outside my tower, they will swarm you in no time."

The skies were still plummeting dark—it was nighttime. The figures of the scavenging demons blended in with the dark ice and concrete horizon.

"Any plans?" Willow nudged Percival, who was biting on his nail while thinking.

"Plan?" Khione raised a brow. "I doubt any plan you conjure up could help you escape from this mess." She wore an ugly expression, her face cracking like the dark ice. "To be fair, this is the first time I've seen so many demons since the destruction of my kingdom. They must really be out for blood."

From the window, Lucilline could feel the muffled roars of demons.

Farrah's frown had deepened.

"Oh wow," Khione's eyebrows raised in exasperation. She exaggerated every expression she could make, "You guys are all so doomed. If only you didn't need to drag me into this mess. I've already been traumatized a lot, thank you very much."

All of a sudden, the tower began to shake.

It was hard to tell what was happening.

"The demons are trying to break in." Farrah confirmed, "It's best to climb to the second floor and escape from there."

"From where?" One of the knights scolded her. "You want us to escape from the second floor? How are we supposed to escape that way?"

Dimitri shot him a warning look.

"Enough, no more arguing. We are all on the same side, remember."

As agreed upon, the group began to climb up the stairs. Willow had blocked the front door with ice tables and any decorations she could find.

Having witnessed her tower getting trashed, Khione: (ノಠ益ಠ)

Everyone continued climbing until they reached the end of the tower—the rooftop. Harsh cold winds slapped across their cheeks, chills sundering down their spines. It was hard to ignore just how freezing the Kingdom was—not just from the temperature, but also from the smell of death.

Lucilline gasped for air.

He despised this scent—it was the smell of overwhelming rot. This was the leftover of a destroyed kingdom. "What to do now?" One of the knights frowned. "We are trapped now. There is nowhere else to go."

"Oh why yes, there is." An amused voice attracted everyone's attention. Khione wore a happy smile, as if it wasn't her tower getting destroyed by the demons again. She gave a small wave to get everyone's eyes on her.

A rapture of excitement blared from the group.

"Thank goodness," Percival heaved a low sigh.

Augustine supported himself against the railings of the rooftop. Willow passed him a concerned glance, which the butler shrugged off.

"You still have to go to Ubel Kingdom, according to what I've overheard." Khione discerned, her smile not wavering. "I'll lend you a hand." All of a sudden, she whistled between her crystalline teeth, "Sugarplum!" To her command, a strong gust of wind ripped across the skies.

A black dragon flew near the rooftop, bowing its head respectfully.

"Sugarplum will deliver you guys to Ubel Kingdom." Khione said. "Hop on."

Sceptical eyes flashed at her crystalline body. Azalea was the first to seat on top of the scaly dragon, his arms grabbing onto the dragon's nape carefully. Shortly afterwards, Dimitri, Jacques, Percival, the two knights, Willow, Farrah, and Augustine got on.

Lucilline was about to climb too, but then a hand patted on his shoulder.

He came to a stop, "What is it?"

Khione gave a loopy grin, "Would you believe me if I told you that I used to have a family?" The tower shook to the demons pounding at the door. Her face was surprisingly peaceful, with no cracks present in the crystals. "We were happy... well, not always. Occasionally, we had little disputes but nothing we couldn't fix."

"We were a family. Every month, I would bake these tiny cookies shaped into snowmen. My husband would help prepare icing, and then my daughter would decorate them. We ate them together... until that day." Khione's smile gradually faltered, as if she was awakening from a dream.

Her eyes went downcast, "You see, Lucilline, you remind me of my daughter."

"Whenever I feel down, you both seem to be able to sense my emotions... even though others don't notice. You and my daughter share the same kindred soul," the Queen had a motherly side to her. "I too—can notice your emotions. I know that you miss someone who isn't apart of your life anymore. You are lonely despite everyone else around you."

Khione's eyes softened, the crystal in her pupils liquifying. "I want you to live, Lucilline."

The black-haired nobleman was taken aback.

You want me... to live?

"You see, I am a very nice person. A super duper nice mother! I am the best mother! Sometimes I wish you were my son, just so you could know how it feels to have such an awesome mother." Khione added.

Lucilline: →_→ ...stop lying. You don't actually have a family.

"BWAHAHAH! You found out!" Khione laughed hysterically. "How'd you know that everything I said was made up?" She wiped her tears of laughter away. "You're quite good at reading lies, Lucilline. Yup, I in fact don't have a husband or daughter or family. Hmm... does that mean I'm no longer the best mother?"

She shrugged mercilessly, "Well, you better hurry off on your journey then."

The Queen helped lift Lucilline onto the back of the dragon. The black-haired nobleman hugged onto the closest person to him, wrapping his arms around Augustine's waist. "What about you?" He couldn't help but ask the ice queen.

Khione frowned at him, as if the answer was obvious.

"Why did you think I was able to survive in the first place?" She smirked.

Lucilline sighed. It seems like I don't need to worry after all.

"Have a nice trip!" Khione waved goodbye.

The black dragon carried the group of adventurers, setting into flight. Gusts of wind flown across the skies, spreading the clouds past mountains and flakes of snow. The dark ice was supposed to be like an endless void, but at that moment while the snow dotted past its still surface, a shine resembling the ice people's charisma had twirled in the night.

Khione watched the black dragon and the adventurers fly away.

In her eyes was a strong nostalgia. "Well, I seem to be quite the expert at lying."