That Works as a Scene Transition
Xingsu began cramming the basic knowledge an Akademiya student ought to have.
Amurta's "Illustrated Guide to Rainforest Life";
Amurta's "Advanced Elemental Theory";
Haravatat's "Logical Concepts in Runic Languages";
Vahumana's "A General History of Sumeru";
Rtawahist's "Astrology and Fate";
Kshahrewar's "Classical Mechanisms-From Beginner to Master," and so on.
Xingsu spent an afternoon studying the introductory explanations for each Darshan. After dinner, Katayoun told him that the Akademiya had arranged accommodations for him.
It seemed Alhaitham had helped.
Could I finally stop sleeping in the House of Daena?
Filled with excitement, Xingsu pushed open the door to his room.
Creak!
Peruere looked up at the person who pushed the door open and entered.
Rosalyne stood in the dim cabin doorway, her black-and-gold gown enveloping almost her entire body without looking cumbersome in the slightest.
She was tall and stood straight, a heavy black fur stole draped over her shoulders. Deep crimson ribbons hung from its edges, like congealed streaks of blood sliding down the hem.
Her face was strikingly beautiful, the outer corners of her eyes slightly upturned, her red makeup vivid and sharp. Her gray-gold eyes swept over with indifference, as though appraising a piece of merchandise, or judging a sinner. Her nose was delicately shaped, her lips a rich wine red, yet there was not a trace of warmth at their corners.
Gorgeous, regal, elegant, dangerous.
Unfortunately, someone like her only reminded Peruere of the "Mother" she had killed not long ago-Crucabena.
Click, click, click.
Rosalyne walked slowly inside in dark high heels, leaving the accompanying soldiers to guard the door. Only the two of them remained in the room.
"You were the one who killed Crucabena?"
Rosalyne slowly came to a stop before Peruere, lowering her eyes to the girl, exhausted from head to toe, with endless wounds hidden in her gaze. There was no interrogation, nor any condescending reproach.
Peruere raised her eyes and remained silent, seemingly already prepared to face judgment.
"No need to be on your guard." Rosalyne raised a hand slightly, much of her chilling presence dissipating. "I have never liked Crucabena's methods of running the House of the Hearth. Using helpless children as tools to fulfill her own twisted wishes, forcing them to turn their blades on one another, and wantonly stripping the young of the childhood they should have had was truly far too absurd and cruel."
Looking at the resilience that had never faded from Peruere's eyes, she felt a rare sense of admiration and fondness.
"To think that among all the children in the House of the Hearth, one could personally put an end to that hell steeped year-round in blood and tears.
Child, you did well. If not for our orders, we would not be hostile toward each other like this."
"..."
Seeing that the hostility in the girl's eyes had not diminished at all, along with an expression that practically spelled out "not one of you Fatui is any good," Rosalyne felt quite helpless too.
"Ah." She raised a hand clad in a long black silk glove, a faint wisp of icy mist gathering at her fingertips. With two sharp clicks, the metal shackles restraining Peruere snapped apart and fell onto the wooden floor with dull thuds.
"Come with me." Her voice was elegant and even as she stepped aside to clear the cabin doorway, her wide scarlet hem brushing the floor with the movement. "This ship has bedrooms reserved for the Harbingers to rest in. They are far more comfortable than a prison cabin."
Peruere froze for a moment, unconsciously rubbing her numb, reddened wrists, her eyes filled with bewildered disbelief.
Rosalyne offered no further explanation, simply walking outside with an indifferent air. Her long legs showed through the high slit of her gown, her black high heels making steady, soft sounds against the wooden deck. The sea breeze swept across the deck with icy moisture, stirring her loose strands of hair and the red cape fluttering behind her.
"Come along, little one."
Seeing this, a nearby Fatui soldier wanted to say that releasing a prisoner without authorization was against the rules.
But the rules themselves were standing on the deck right now, so he wisely shut his mouth. His left eye stood guard, his right kept watch, and between them, he saw absolutely nothing.
Peruere moved her stiff limbs, hesitated for a moment, and finally followed her.
After passing through several corridors lined with guards, Rosalyne stopped before a carved wooden door and gently pushed it open, revealing a tidy, warm bedroom before them.
A soft wool carpet covered the floor, and a large bed stood by the window, its bedding clean and soft. There were even warm flower tea and soft cushions beside the table, making it a rare peaceful, comfortable lodging aboard this seagoing ship.
The chill of the sea breeze was kept outside the bedroom, leaving the interior warm, quiet, and gentle. The heavy wooden door closed softly, shutting out the noise and cold of the cabins beyond.
Some of Rosalyne's sharpness as a Harbinger faded as she sat sideways at the table. With long, slender fingers, she slowly poured warm flower tea into delicate cups. Wisps of steam rose, spreading a faint, sweet fragrance.
She gently pushed the hot tea toward Peruere, then leaned against the table herself, watching her quietly.
"I visited the House of the Hearth long ago."
Rosalyne raised her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on the rolling blue sea beyond the window, as though looking back on a long, cold past.
"The Fatui need fighting strength. They need sharp blades. I have never objected to tempering or cruelty, but Crucabena's cruelty was meaningless."
"A training ground should temper character and hone the will, yet she took pleasure in tormenting children. She forced a group of homeless children to suspect and slaughter one another, severing tenderness, crushing their true selves, and grinding away the finest innocence and carefree joy of childhood."
"I must say, you were very brave. You dared to resist your fate and single-handedly put an end to that man-eating cage."
Peruere held the warm teacup, her palms finally touching a little warmth. In her long-frozen eyes, a faint, damp tremor stirred.
"...It wasn't just me."
"Oh?" Rosalyne grew a little interested. At least the little one was willing to speak to her now. "Could you tell me more?"
The room fell briefly silent, with only the faint rise and fall of the waves outside the window.
Only then did Peruere slowly raise her eyes. Neither joy nor anger could be seen in those unusual eyes, only a heavy, deathly desolation.
"He died."
There were no tearful complaints, no sobs, not even the slightest unnecessary fluctuation of emotion. She was merely stating, calmly, a fact that was already settled.
Rosalyne's heart suddenly trembled, her fingers tightening almost imperceptibly around her teacup.
She knew that look all too well.
It had been so long, so long that she had long since grown accustomed to disguising herself with a shell of arrogance, indifference, and sharpness, accustomed to burying all her grief deep in her heart.
In Peruere's young yet devastated eyes, she saw her former self with perfect clarity-
She saw herself watching her beloved fall into eternal sleep, her world overturned, with nothing left for the rest of her life but to walk alone.
Rosalyne remained silent for a long time, her cool, beautiful voice taking on an almost imperceptible hoarseness:
"...So you, too, survived alone, carrying the spirit of someone departed."
"Heh, I won't live much longer." Peruere gave a self-mocking smile, picked up the teacup from the table, and brought it to her lips for a small sip, moistening their dry corners.
Since few people read the author's notes, I'm asking for opinions here.
What does everyone think of "La Signora," Rosalyne?
1. That slash from the Raiden Shogun felt so good.
2. I dunno.
3. A well-written villain.
4. Goddamn miHoYo! Give me back Rosalyne!
5. Huh? Clouds?