Hoshimi Kiyohime looked at her daughter, cool and aloof yet utterly ignorant of matters of love, and sighed softly.
"Xiao Ya, what you just described was gratitude. It doesn't count as love at all."
She softened her tone and gently guided her daughter, putting the question as plainly as she could:
"Let me ask you another way. Have you ever secretly imagined it, ever quietly wished for it?
"One day in the future, you and the Dragon Emperor could cast aside your identities and all that binds you. You wouldn't have to shoulder your family's responsibilities, go to the battlefield, or protect New Eridu.
"Like ordinary people, you could stay together day and night, year after year, living a quiet, peaceful life?"
That simple question reached straight into Hoshimi Miyabi's heart, where no ripples had ever stirred.
Hoshimi Miyabi lowered her eyes in silence, her long lashes trembling as she fell into a long silence.
After pondering for a long time, the faintest trace of softness entered her cool voice, along with a hint of anticipation she didn't even notice herself.
"I'd never thought about it before. But after thinking about it just now... I suppose I really would look forward to it."
A hazy scene rose unbidden in her mind:
There was no strife or war, no struggles between factions, no need to tread carefully or guard against danger at every turn.
She didn't have to be the calm, restrained eldest daughter of the Hoshimi Family, or the decisive and ruthless captain of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.
She could simply stay by his side, together day and night, at peace year after year.
That tenderness stirred a faint longing in her long-silent heart for the first time.
A smile spread in Hoshimi Kiyohime's eyes, and she continued gently:
"Then suppose the Dragon Emperor were standing before you right now, safe and sound. Would you feel unable to resist rushing over to embrace him, to feel his warmth and make sure he was all right?"
This time, Hoshimi Miyabi could no longer keep her emotions in check.
Hoshimi Miyabi's fair face flushed instantly, crimson spreading from her ears to her cheeks, innocent and bewildered.
She pressed her lips together, the tips of her ears burning, and answered in a soft, delicate voice, with a trace of flustered hesitation. "Mm..."
Hoshimi Kiyohime's smile grew brighter, and she seized the moment to ask the most important question:
"Then, Xiao Ya, when Vivian and Alice used to cling to him, never leaving his side, acting spoiled and keeping him company, did you feel a sour tightness in your heart, an indescribable discomfort?"
Those words plunged Hoshimi Miyabi into utter silence.
The air fell still, and only the faint sound of wind remained in the tea room.
Whenever Hoshimi Miyabi saw the two of them at Lu Yingheng's side, a sour, stifling feeling rose in her heart. She couldn't explain it, but it was real and wouldn't go away.
She was silent for so long that Hoshimi Kiyohime thought she wouldn't answer. Then, a barely audible murmur sounded.
"Mm..."
Hoshimi Miyabi slowly raised her eyes and looked straight at her mother, her clear eyes full of pure bewilderment and doubt. Her voice was utterly puzzled:
"How did you guess, Mother?"
Looking at her daughter's innocent confusion, Hoshimi Kiyohime gave her a fond, knowing smile:
"Silly child, that's what love is. Love is longing with all your heart to be together day and night.
"Love is being unable to resist an embrace when you reunite after a long separation. Love is being unable to bear seeing someone else at his side.
"You can't help feeling jealous. You can't help minding it. Xiao Ya, you quietly fell in love with the Dragon Emperor a long time ago."
That gentle conclusion threw Hoshimi Miyabi's heart into turmoil.
She frowned slightly and pressed her mother in earnest, a hint of doubt in her voice:
"But Vivian also said she loved the Dragon Emperor. Her love makes her want to lock him up and imprison him, so that he belongs entirely to her and no one else can touch him. Is that... love too?"
At those words, the smile vanished from Hoshimi Kiyohime's face. She warned her solemnly:
"That's a sick, obsessive kind of love. It's wrong.
"Xiao Ya, true love is warm. It makes people feel happy and at ease. Only healthy feelings can keep people together for a long time."
"Sick possessiveness will only destroy both of you."
She stared intently at Hoshimi Kiyohime, her gaze earnest and her cool voice conflicted:
"But the Dragon Emperor is brilliant and powerful, gentle and pure. Of course countless people would love him and fight for him."
"If I really do love him, I don't want other girls to get close to him or have him either."
She lowered her eyes slightly, her fingertips tightening as she spoke each word:
"Does that mean I can only end up like Vivian? That I can only keep this love by locking him up and having him all to myself?"
The dangerous thought sent a jolt through Hoshimi Kiyohime, startling her.
She hadn't expected her daughter, always so rational and restrained, to harbor such an obsessive thought deep down.
Glancing aside, she saw [Jealousy] resting quietly beside the table.
It was a power belonging to the Dragon Emperor alone, yet now Hoshimi Miyabi alone held it.
Hoshimi Kiyohime suppressed her shock and quickly gathered her thoughts. Her voice was urgent but earnest:
"It's different. He has treated you as the most special to him from the very beginning. Of the Seven Deadly Sins that belong to him alone, you alone hold one now."
"When you truly love someone, you just have to fight for them with everything you've got!"
She rose and straightened her sleeves, giving her daughter a hurried instruction.
"I'm going to discuss the fact that our benefactor is alive with your father. Stay here and think carefully about what true love is and what obsessive possessiveness is.
"Remember, no one will like extreme, sick obsession and being bound."
With that, Hoshimi Kiyohime turned and hurried out of the tea room.
In an instant, Hoshimi Miyabi was alone in the spacious tea room.
The warm lamps glowed quietly, and all around her was silent.
She sat motionless at the table, her gaze fixed on [Jealousy] beside it.
It was a weapon the Dragon Emperor had left her, one she had used ever since and that had long since become one with her.
I should be different, shouldn't I?
I should be different in the Dragon Emperor's heart, shouldn't I?
That was what Hoshimi Miyabi thought.
So I fell in love with the Dragon Emperor a long time ago?
Vivian, then I have to tell you that your sick kind of love is wrong. The Dragon Emperor won't be happy with it.
Let me teach you what healthy love is.