In the pervious tiline,
Before Aqualina could fall into the enemies' hands, Aether had only a few seconds after the Prophetess's warning to act.
In that brief mont, he spoke to her. That's why he had believed she was safe—until she was suddenly abducted.
And just like before, even in this tiline, Aether had the sa fleeting mont of ti. That's why, right before she was taken... he telepathically sent her a ssage, though he could only get a few words in before the connection was severed.
/Don't panic. You're being kidnapped and... Just stay calm. I'll co and get y—/
"H-Huh?" Aqualina's eyes widened as she felt the connection abruptly cut off.
Thud!
The sharp sound of a door slamming echoed through the room as she was forcefully captured—along with Celestia, who had been trailing her closely.
.....
...
"It's been quite a while now… I think almost a full day," Celestia muttered, her voice calm, her expression eerily composed—completely devoid of fear or panic.
Aqualina let out a slow breath, her fingers tapping idly against the bed. "Well, we've been kidnapped, so obviously, it's going to take him so ti to track us down," she replied, matching Celestia's composed deanour as she crossed her legs and leaned back slightly. Then, without blinking, she continued staring at Celestia…
For hours!!
Celestia finally frowned, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of that unwavering gaze. "…Why are you looking at like that?"
Aqualina didn't answer imdiately. She was deep in thought, analyzing, observing.
Ever since Aether's warning, neither of them had felt much of a direct threat—it was almost as if they were just on so forced trip... except, of course, they were locked in a room and didn't have any other choice than to look at each other!
Thinking sothing....
Still, Aqualina had her reasons for staring... Three, in fact!
First—Celestia was showing emotions. Actual emotions. That alone was strange!
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Second—Celestia seed to be working under her older sister, which raised too many questions.
And third—Celestia was hiding sothing... That much was obvious.
Before regaining the mories of her past life, Aqualina had never paid much attention to Celestia. To her, this woman had been nothing more than a maid, a servant who lingered in the background. But now that she knew who Celestia truly was, she found herself surprised. Celestia had changed—a lot.... Especially after death.
And if there was one thing Aqualina knew for certain, it was that people didn't just change without reason.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
To make things worse, she had never particularly liked Celestia in the first place. Celestia's mother had always been insufferable, constantly bitching about how her precious daughter. So even though they had lived in the sa house, they had never been close.... There had always been a cold, distant tension between them.
"…Princess?" Celestia finally broke the silence, her tone soft, but there was an underlying discomfort there. "Do you need sothing?"
Aqualina blinked, snapping out of her thoughts. "Hm? Oh. No, not really. I was just thinking… Since we're stuck here together, we might as well chat a little, don't you think?" Her lips curled into a small, knowing smile. "You know… get to know each other better. Especially you—you're always following like a shadow, protecting without fail."
Celestia hesitated before giving a slow nod. "I suppose that makes sense."
Aqualina tilted her head slightly. "You work for my mother, right?"
"Yes, Princess."
"Hm…" Aqualina tapped her fingers against her knee. "Then why are you always so close to her? She has countless powerful servants, yet she only ever allows you to remain at her side. Why is that?"
Celestia tensed, ever so slightly. It was subtle, but Aqualina caught it.
"…I've been with her since childhood," Celestia finally answered, her voice carefully asured. "I assu that's why Her Majesty trusts more than anyone else."
Aqualina humd thoughtfully, her gaze sharpening. "Since childhood, huh… That long? Then, tell this—do you know who my father is?"
Celestia inhaled sharply, but her expression remained neutral. "I'm sorry, Princess… Even though I may be close to Her Majesty, I don't know."
Aqualina frowned. "You don't know?" She sounded genuinely surprised.
Celestia shook her head. "No." After a brief pause, she continued, "After taking the throne, the Empress vanished for nearly a year. No one knew where she had gone… And then, one day, she simply returned—holding an infant. That infant was you, Princess."
Aqualina's brows furrowed, a flicker of disbelief passing through her eyes. "Wait, so you're telling that my da—" She stopped herself. "Ahem—my mother disappeared after killing her own parents and then reappeared a year later with in her arms?"
Celestia gave a weak, almost apologetic smile. "That's exactly what happened, Princess. And that's all I know."
Aqualina stared at her, processing those words before nodding softly, though a lingering doubt remained in her mind, 'Does that an... I'm not really her child?' She pondered for a brief mont, her thoughts swirling with uncertainty.
Based on the story Celestia had just told her, it almost felt like Aqualina was soone else's child—soone Sandra had taken in during her year of disappearance. That possibility unsettled her, making her wonder if everything she had believed about her origins was a lie.
However…
'I look exactly like her…' Aqualina muttered inwardly, pressing her lips together. The resemblance between Sandra and herself was undeniable. Their features, their aura, even the way they carried themselves—it was too similar to be just a coincidence. That alone confird that she was, without a doubt, Sandra's daughter.
'Arrgh! Then who the hell is my father? Did Sandra really kill him because he was useless, or… was there sothing more to it?'
She pushed the troubling thoughts aside, unwilling to spiral into endless speculation. Instead, another question surfaced in her mind, one that had been bothering her for a while. Without thinking, she voiced it aloud,
"I heard from my mother… that you don't show much emotion?"
Celestia's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, her eyes narrowing for a fraction of a second before returning to their usual calm state. 'Strange… I didn't think Big Sister ever ntioned that to Aqualina… Hmm?' A small doubt crept into Celestia's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. 'No, Aqualina is her only daughter. Of course, she must have told her at so point.'
With a small, composed smile, Celestia nodded. "Yes. It's not just that I don't show emotions… I don't feel them."
Aqualina frowned and imdiately pointed at Celestia's lips. "Well, you're smiling right now—"
Before she could finish, Celestia calmly cut her off. "Because I learned to show emotions."
"Learned?" Aqualina repeated, her frown deepening.
Celestia nodded, her expression carrying a rare softness,
"Yes. I've learned many things over the years… and emotions are one of them. They are the only way people truly connect with each other. If emotions are not properly expressed, relationships will eventually fall apart… No, in truth, they wouldn't even work to begin with."
Her face darkened slightly as she added, "Even though I can't feel these emotions… I ca to understand their significance.
I only realized this after losing soone I know"
Aqualina's breath hitched. Her chest tightened, her fingers twitching slightly as if bracing herself for sothing unpleasant.
"You lost soone?" she asked cautiously, though she had a terrible feeling about where this was going.
Celestia smiled, but it was a distant, bitter smile. "Yes… If only, that day, I had shown even the smallest bit of emotion—any kind of emotion—to that person… Maybe they would have survived. Maybe things wouldn't have ended the way they did. I… I…"
Her voice faltered as if she were struggling to force the words out, her throat tightening with an emotion she herself claid not to feel.
Aqualina's hands clenched into fists and surprised by Celestia's words... She was expecting hurtful words but not this... I felt wrong!!
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to tell Celestia that it wasn't her fault. That Celestia hadn't done anything wrong.
Because the truth was—
It was all Aqualina's fault.
That day… she was the one who lost her emotions. She was the one who lost her dignity. She was the one who did sothing unforgivable... Sothing irreversible!!
She deserved to die that day.
After all, she had hurt her own daughter.... And for a brief, horrifying mont… No, not just briefly—Aqualina had killed her. Even if it was just for a few minutes, it had happened.
There was no one else to bla!!
No one except Aqualina.
She knew she should beg for her daughter's forgiveness. She knew she needed to atone for her sins.
But… this life belonged to this Aqualina... And this Aqualina didn't want to destroy the bond they had now.
No matter what, she wouldn't ruin their relationship.
She would carry this guilt and fear for the rest of her life.
And she was prepared to bear it—for the only mother/daughter she had left.
Celestia exhaled softly before continuing, "That's why I decided to create fake emotions… These false expressions helped understand why people treasure their emotions so much. They're the only way to communicate what's inside—the only way to show what we truly feel and think. But… no matter how much I understand it, I can never feel it."
Aqualina's eyes trembled, her teeth pressing together. "I-I… I just—" Her voice wavered. "I just wanted to say… I a-am sor—"
Before she could finish, the pristine white walls around them flickered violently—glitching like a broken illusion—before they suddenly collapsed down.
In the blink of an eye, the cube that holding them fell down,
Aqualina's breath caught in her throat as she stared in confusion.
"Where... are we?" she murmured, her gaze darting around the empty chamber that had now appeared before them.
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