Rita stared at By’s gentle face for a mont, then turned to Nivalis.
"See that? That’s a Vineborne. The prettier they are, the more careful you need to be."
Nivalis widened her eyes and stared at Rita’s Vine.
"Got it!"
Rita placed a hand over Nivalis’s face and pushed her off her shoulder.
"You’ve heard of , which ans Deceitful Bloom visits you often, right? Haven’t you asked her directly?"
"If you annoy her that often, then you must know her well," By replied. "Do you think, with her personality, that if she set sothing this firmly, she would explain the reason to ?"
Rita had no coback.
She took the Flower of Deceit from By.
"Fine, I’ll do it. How do I connect?"
"Just place your Vine on it."
As she spoke, the black, sand-like Vine drifted toward the flower. Just before it could land, Rita pulled the flower slightly aside and asked,
"Before that, can you tell what kind of gift you’re planning to give ?"
By tilted her head slightly and looked past Rita at the ship’s helm behind her. She nodded toward it with a smile.
"I can tell you where its owner is buried in ti. Not just the ti, but also the places where she most often appears.
"Knowing only the ti isn’t enough. Take for example. If you don’t enter the castle study during that period, you’ll never et ."
That was exactly what Rita needed.
She stopped hesitating and let the black sand settle onto the Flower of Deceit.
The gem-like flower began to glow, blinking softly.
Nivalis muttered, "Who ca up with this thing? It looks even dumber than Foolishness’s gas."
Rita replied, "Say that in front of them if you dare."
The mont the flower stopped blinking, By waved her sleeve. The army below vanished.
Even if they were only illusions, she had no intention of being watched during this conversation.
"Did sothing happen?"
Deceitful Bloom’s voice ca from the flower.
But it wasn’t quite the sa voice Rita knew.
From the white bear, to the temple, to Quiet Mountain, to the Flower Island in the clouds, no matter how their relationship had changed, the Deceitful Bloom Rita knew had never sounded like this.
What was different?
Tense? Cold? Sharp?
Empty.
The faint trace of amusent that always lingered in her voice was gone. What remained was sothing dangerous and cutting.
This was not the Deceitful Bloom Rita knew.
This was Deceitful Bloom from By’s era. Possibly the version of her who had buried By.
"By."
She spoke the na flatly, yet it carried a heavy pressure, like a command.
Rita kept it brief.
"Why do we have to invade Tingo? Withering and I discussed it. The success rate isn’t high. We’d rather wait until you return from the ga, then invade together."
"Of course, By. Go ahead. Go invade Tingo."
Deceitful Bloom answered imdiately.
At the end, her voice finally carried the faintest trace of a smile.
"Tingo By and Tingo Deceitful Bloom sound nice too."
"Wait, that’s not—"
Rita started to object, but the Flower of Deceit dimd in her hand.
Nivalis said, "Well, that’s bad. It’s an auto-reply."
By hadn’t heard that term before, but she understood the aning instantly. She froze for half a second, then laughed.
"Your dragon is funny."
Rita let out a helpless laugh.
"You don’t seem disappointed at all."
By shook her head.
"Sotis I feel that what was buried in this ti isn’t just . It’s her too."
She stepped down the stairs and walked toward the gate leading to Tingo.
"If she doesn’t want to tell the answer, then no matter how I search, it won’t matter."
Rita followed after her.
"Then why ask to find it?"
"You’re soone she’s ntioned recently. That’s rare. Maybe you’re different." By smiled lightly. "Her standards are high."
"No one else has visited you? Haven’t you asked them?"
"That leads to another problem," By said. "No one dares to tell anything she doesn’t want to know without her permission."
Before Rita could respond, she added,
"You’re different. You and I both don’t know anything. That’s why we can explore this together."
They stepped through the gate and entered Midsumr’s dungeon within Tingo.
The surroundings still looked like Midsumr.
Neither of them rushed to trigger the final descent. Instead, they walked slowly through the instance, analyzing possibilities.
Since Rita already knew she couldn’t leave for twenty four hours anyway, she wasn’t in a hurry.
More importantly, the gift she needed was here.
For now, Rita asked and By answered.
"Do you know what Deceitful Bloom’s divine talent is?"
"That has nothing to do with what we’re trying to find," By said. "Why are you prying into her privacy?"
Rita replied without hesitation, "Any clue could be the answer."
By shook her head.
"I can’t tell you. Divine talents are private."
Rita thought back to Divine Instruction, where she, Mistblade, Lightchaser, and Maple Syrup had openly discussed their talents like it was nothing.
"...Guess your generation isn’t as open as ours. In our era, it’s basically public knowledge."
By gave her a look like she was an idiot.
"Do you know how Deceitful Bloom evaluates you?"
Rita instantly straightened.
"What did she say about ?"
Nivalis added helpfully, "When Holy Cup asked about your strengths, I couldn’t think of anything nice either. But I still like you."
Rita glared.
"Whose side are you on?"
As Rita reached out again, Nivalis darted away and landed on By’s shoulder instead.
By didn’t mind. She even reached up and gently patted Nivalis’s head.
Rita fell silent.
That traitor.
By continued the earlier topic.
"She didn’t say anything bad. She just said that Flower Crown Murder is even more troubleso than Sir Callia."
"That’s not true. Sir Callia is worse. Flower Crown Murder doesn’t need constant attention."
"Maybe. But with just a little deception, Sir Callia will stay in the garden. And every Vineborne knows what Sir Callia wants.
"Flower Crown Murder is different. They move constantly. They’re the least flower-like of all flowers. Unless they encounter sothing they hate enough to strangle, they won’t stop."
"That sounds stronger than Sir Callia."
"Maybe. But for soone raising them, it’s troubleso. If you want Flower Crown Murder to follow you, you have to make it hate you.
"But once you’ve raised it, it becos difficult for that hatred to stay pure."
Nivalis asked sincerely, "Then why make things harder for yourself?"
Rita nodded.
"Exactly."
Nivalis added, "Retirent makes people bored."
Rita nodded again.
"Exactly."
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