As she spoke, Varesa actually got into bed and lay down next to Bai You.
She carefully pulled the person into her arms, one hand still loosely resting on Bai You's back.
Bai You hummed in agreement, snuggled closer to her neck like a little animal that had finally found a warm nest, and soon drifted off to sleep.
Bai You fell asleep very quickly.
One moment she was talking in a whiny, mushy way, and the next her breathing became long and even. She buried her little head in Varesa's neck and fell completely asleep.
Varesa stroked her back gently, listening intently to her breathing for a very long time.
As she listened, her eyes welled up again, and she quickly blinked to force back the tears.
"Sleep well," she whispered softly, snuggling close to Bai You. "I'm here with you."
Not long after, she also fell into a deep sleep.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Odette was cooking porridge with red eyes.
She deliberately cooked the porridge for a longer time, simmering it for almost half an hour.
Remembering that Bai You loves sweets, I chopped some dried fruit and added it in, and then drizzled a big spoonful of honey on top.
About an hour later...
When she quietly pushed open the door with the porridge in her hand, she saw the two fish sleeping in each other's arms on the bed.
Varesa held Bai You protectively in her arms, resting her chin on the top of her head, their breathing both long and steady.
Bai You's face, which had been frighteningly pale during the day, now showed a faint hint of color.
Odette stood at the door with a bowl of porridge, her nose tingling again, but she smiled and shook her head, walking very quietly, afraid of disturbing them.
Columbina followed behind her to the bedside, closed her eyes, and sent out another Kuuvahki. That energy flowed through Bai You's body, helping her recover.
Columbina opened her eyes and said very softly, "I'm fine now, I just need to rest."
Odette nodded and placed the bowl of porridge on the small stove by her bedside to keep it warm.
"Let them sleep," Columbina said, closing the door behind them and lowering her voice.
"Varesa is almost completely drained today too."
Columbina sent a Kuuvahki to Varesa, helping her recover.
Then the two of them tiptoed out and closed the door behind them.
After going downstairs, Columbina didn't rest. She thought of Capitano.
Now that he's awake, she felt she should give him an explanation. So she wrote a very short letter.
Then she left the theater, called a patrol squad the Captain, and urgently sent her to the Snezhnaya Palace.
The Captain accepted the order and turned to rush into the deepening twilight.
Meanwhile, Odette was talking to the theater staff, temporarily postponing her and Varesa's performance tomorrow...
Deep within the Snezhnaya Palace, the palace was lit, casting a cold, eerie blue glow.
The Tsaritsa sat high on her throne, her snow-white robes trailing down the steps, and she remained silent.
Capitano stood in the hall, head slightly bowed, reporting on the events surrounding the Bai You.
"... Dottore violated the basic principles of the Harbinger's conduct by setting up an ambush in the suburbs, intending to forcibly use the Twelfth Seat for experiments."
The Captain's voice was low and steady; she seemed to be facing a desperate situation, unleashing a final, powerful attack.
That single strike obliterated the fragment of Dottore that was present.
He paused, then looked up from beneath his helmet at the throne.
" The False Sky were likely torn open by this attack, creating a rift."
On her throne, the Tsaritsa, whose eyes had been lowered the most, finally lifted them very slightly.
"You mean," her voice was icy, revealing no emotion, "That it was she who broke through the barrier."
"Yes," Capitano said without the slightest hesitation, "I swear on my honor that what I saw was true."
A moment of silence fell over the hall. The Empress didn't ask anything further about the attack, only saying calmly, " Dottore."
"Heh." The Empress chuckled very softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes at all, and the temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees.
"I remember giving him a direct order not to harm his own people."
"He crossed the line."
"Continue," the Queen said. "And her?"
This "she" naturally refers to Bai You.
Capitano paused for a moment before speaking again, and this time, even he, usually so composed, carried a rare hint of seriousness in his voice.
According to Columbina: "Before Dottore's body was annihilated, it gathered its last remaining power into a single strike and hit another Water Nymph beside her."
She took the blow for the Water Nymph.
"When I arrived, she was no longer breathing, showed no signs of life, and was indistinguishable from a truly dead person."
He spoke slowly and deliberately:
"Strangely, I only detected a wisp of Dottore's shattered soul."
Her soul was neither within her body, nor around her, nor dissipated; it simply... vanished into thin air.
The Queen tapped her fingertips very lightly on the armrest of the throne.
"You mean..."
"His fate is unknown." Capitano uttered these four words in a heavy voice.
He looked up.
"Perhaps at the moment of her death, some force concealed or sealed away her soul."
"That power's attainment at the soul level far surpasses mine."
The Queen sat regally on her throne, and for the first time, a faint ripple of emotion flickered in her icy blue eyes.
A person who can manipulate the Light Realm Power, shake the False Sky, and whose soul even Capitano cannot detect.
This newly appointed twelfth seat holder possesses far more depth than she had imagined.
"I will handle Dottore's matter myself," the Empress said slowly, her voice icy cold.
"Tell the Jester to go to Dottore's laboratory and let Dottore erase all the other slices himself."
"Since he likes to be cut into so many pieces, I'll clean them all up, piece by piece, for him."
"If he disobeys this order, I will personally erase it for him."
"Yes." Capitano accepted the order in a deep voice.
As for the Bai You--
The Empress's tone finally shifted to the twelfth seat, whose fate remained a mystery.
"Knock, knock, knock."
At that very moment, the palace gates were knocked on urgently yet with great deliberation from the outside.
The Queen's unfinished sentence came to an abrupt end.
Capitano frowned slightly—no subordinate dared to disturb the audience chamber at this time unless it was an extremely urgent matter.
"Go in." The Empress's voice returned to its calm tone, devoid of emotion.
The heavy palace doors were pushed open a crack, and a servant knelt on one knee outside, holding a sealed letter high in his hands. His voice was very low, but it couldn't hide his urgency.
"Your Majesty, I must report to the Captain- level official—the ' The Damselette ' has sent an urgent message."
The " The Damselette " said it was extremely urgent and must be presented to the " The Captain " immediately; there was no time to lose.
Urgent dispatch from Columbina.
Capitano frowned even more. He knew her temperament best—she always had that leisurely air about her.
It's absolutely unheard of for her to use phrases like "express delivery over 800 li" or "extremely urgent."
"Present it here," the Empress said.
The attendant hurried in, presented the letter with both hands, bowed, and withdrew.
Capitano took the letter, glanced at the " The Damselette " emblem on the sealing wax to confirm it was genuine, then opened it and looked down at the letter.
The letter was very short, only a few lines long.
He looked at each line, and for the first time, the face beneath the helmet, usually as still as a mountain, clearly showed a look of shock.
--The Bai You has awakened at this moment.
--No immediate danger to life.
"How..." The Queen, sitting on her throne, looked at his suddenly changed expression and spoke calmly.
Capitano was silent for a moment, then presented the text message with both hands, his usually steady voice wavering slightly for the first time.
"Your Majesty, the letter says... the twelfth seat has awakened."
"Just as I was telling you that 'it's impossible to determine whether she's alive or dead,' she awoke."
The Empress took the letter, her icy blue eyes sweeping over the few lines of text. Silence filled the hall for a long time.
"It seems..." On her throne, the Queen gently placed the letter on the armrest.
A fleeting ripple appeared in her icy blue eyes, and she said calmly:
"This new twelfth seat will be one of the biggest trump cards of the Snezhnaya."
She raised her eyes and looked out at the heavy, perpetually snow-covered sky outside the palace. Her voice returned to calm, yet every word was clear and distinct.
"Don't disturb Bai You's side. Columbina is there too; let's wait until she recovers..."
The Queen paused.
"I want to see her in person again."