At the café, Schwarz and Ceylon sat facing each other.
Yet the atmosphere between them was somewhat strange. They sat there without saying a single word.
The coffee on the table had already gone slightly cold.
Ceylon held her cup, feeling its temperature slowly drop. At last, she made up her mind and looked up.
"Um..."
"Um."
By coincidence, Schwarz across from her had also looked up.
"..."
"..."
"Miss, you go first..."
"Schwarz, you go first..."
"Mm..."
"Mm..."
"Pfft—" Ceylon could not help laughing.
Schwarz, too, found herself barely able to hold back a smile.
In truth, Schwarz was not someone who hesitated and wavered like this. She had simply wanted to wait for Miss Ceylon to speak first.
And so the two of them had ended up stuck like this...
"It's been a long time since we sat like this and talked..." Ceylon finally spoke first.
"It has, Miss." Schwarz nodded.
"The last time we sat together was six years ago..." Ceylon murmured as she looked at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar figure before her.
"..." Schwarz said nothing. After a moment, she spoke softly.
"Miss, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Ceylon asked, looking at Schwarz.
"Because... I hid many things from you." Schwarz gave a bitter smile. "You must have noticed too, Miss. That Lupo saw through my identity at once..."
Ceylon shook her head.
"That's not it."
As she spoke, Ceylon raised her head and stared into Schwarz's eyes.
"Schwarz... why? Why did you distance yourself from me?"
"..." Schwarz shook her head. "Miss received a fine education in Victoria. You should go somewhere better, not stay in this city struggling alongside people like us."
"No, that's not right..."
Ceylon's hand beneath the table gradually clenched the hem of her skirt. Slowly, it tightened. Schwarz's