Danika Turned Dark

Rosinante's eyes, behind his reading glasses, slowly widened, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to stretch out further.

"Nephew, what... what did you just say?"

Danika stood beside Rosinante, her delicate face visibly draining of color.

Carlotta was also shocked.

No.

She was stunned.

The next second.

She jumped up from behind Kexi and kicked him in the knee.

"Are you fucking serious?!"

Disbelief was written all over Carlotta's delicate face.

"I thought you were acting just now outside the door!"

"Second sister, I just told you the truth outside the door." Kexi clutched her shin, wincing in pain.

"I thought you were clowning! Who knew you were reciting lines!" Carlotta's face flushed red with anger, and she jumped up to kick him, but Kexi nimbly dodged her.

Rosinante took off his reading glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, then put them back on, his gaze passing over Kexi and landing on Carlotta.

"Second daughter of the Montelli Family, is your grandfather's invitation to visit today?"

Carlotta straightened her skirt and regained her dignified posture, though the blush on her forehead from when she jumped up to hit someone still lingered.

She took a deep breath and bowed to Rosinante: "Grandpa Dasvi, it is indeed my grandfather's intention. He said that this matter need not be delayed any longer."

Rosinante remained silent for a long while.

He turned to look at Danika —his granddaughter stood beside him, her hands clasped together, her knuckles white, but a faint smile graced her face.

That smile was very light and thin, like a layer of ice that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

"Grandpa, I'm fine," Danika said first.

Her voice was soft and steady, so calm that it made Rosinante frown even more. "Since Brother Kexi already has someone he loves, forcing a marriage to continue... is not good for anyone."

Kexi was stunned.

He had prepared for the worst.

Crying, blaming, throwing things, the saying "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," and the three-year agreement at the summit of Mount Hua.

He had even thought of his lines.

But he never expected Danika's reaction to be like this.

Calm, dignified, and even paved the way for him.

"Danika, um... I'm sorry." Kexi scratched the back of his head, racking his brains for something to say to ease the tension, but all that came out was a dry, "You're a good girl, it's just that I—"

"Brother Kexi, there's no need to explain." Danika smiled slightly, a smile just as sweet as when she greeted him at the door, only slightly less sweet. "Then let's leave it at that. The engagement is dissolved."

Carlotta stood to the side, arms crossed, brows furrowed.

Her gaze darted back and forth between the three people.

Rosinante's silence, Danika's calmness, Kexi's relief.

Her brow twitched.

But she didn't say much. The Montelli Family was in the wrong, and further discussion would be pointless.

"Since both children have said so, this old man can't insist any further." Rosinante sighed, his tone tinged with weariness and helplessness. "The engagement is off. As for those—"

He glanced at the gifts piled up by the door, then waved his hand, "Take them back."

"Grandpa Darth Vader, please accept the gift," Carlotta interjected. "Grandfather said that Montelli was in the wrong, and this small gift is nothing more than a token of our appreciation for Danika's dowry."

Rosinante declined twice, but finally nodded.

He stood up, walked over to Kexi, looked him up and down, then patted him on the shoulder. "You little rascal, you used to pester Danika when you were a kid, saying you'd marry her when you grew up. Now you've really made something of yourself."

Kexi could only manage a dry laugh, not daring to respond, nor knowing how to respond.

Rosinante took a step back, about to say some polite words to end the conversation, when Kexi suddenly seemed to remember something, took out a red invitation from her pocket, and handed it over with both hands.

"Grandpa Darth Vader, this is my wedding invitation for tomorrow. Although the engagement is off, the friendship between our families remains. If you and Danika would like to attend—"

Before he could finish speaking, Carlotta's eyes widened, and she jumped up and kicked him again.

The general meaning of this kick is:

"What's on your mind"

Are you crazy?

Rosinante did not refuse.

He took the invitation, glanced at it, his gaze lingering for a moment between the names "Kexi" and "Aemeath," then closed the invitation and nodded.

"Very well. The Daswei House will prepare a gift and attend."

Kexi breathed a sigh of relief, nodded to Danika, and then followed Carlotta out the door.

As he reached the door, he couldn't help but look back.

Danika stood beside Rosinante, her hands clasped in front of her, her smile unchanged.

But those pink pupils were empty, as hollow as two dried-up wells.

Kexi paused for a moment, but then turned and walked away.

The doors to the hall closed slowly, shutting out the sunlight and footsteps from outside.

Danika helped Rosinante back to her room, chatting and laughing all the way, her voice light and soft, just like any other dutiful and obedient granddaughter.

She made tea for Rosinante, told him to rest early, then left the room and gently closed the door behind her.

The smile remained on her face as the door closed, but the light in her eyes had been completely extinguished.

She walked through the corridor, across the courtyard, opened the door to her room, and then closed it again.

The curtains were drawn, and the room was dark.

She walked to the bedside, sat down, placed her hands on her knees, and sat quietly for a long time.

Then she lowered her head, looked at her intertwined fingers, and let out a very soft laugh.

The laughter sounded like crying, like laughing, and like nothing at all, just a sound coming out of the throat.

He's getting married. And I'm not the bride.

She read the sentence aloud, her tone flat, as if she were reading a line from a diary that had nothing to do with her.

She looked up and her gaze fell on the cabinet in the corner.

At the deepest part of the cabinet lay a faded rag doll, its stitches crooked and uneven; it was sewn by her when she was a child.

The rag doll is called "Brother Kexi".

She walked over, opened the cabinet door, and pulled the rag doll out from under a pile of old clothes.

A thin layer of dust clung to the doll's face. She gently wiped it off with her fingertips, doing so very carefully, as if she were polishing a precious work of art.

She held the doll in her arms, looked down at its two eyes sewn out with black thread, and the smile on her lips slowly deepened.

"It's okay. You'll come back."

Her voice was very soft and gentle, like a mother soothing a child to sleep.

"Aemeath... that's her name, isn't it?"

It's okay.

You will disappear.

You shouldn't exist.

Those who take away my love should all disappear.

"After you disappear, Brother Kexi will come back."

As she spoke these words, a visible blackish-purple mist swirled around her.

She rubbed the doll against her cheek, and her pupils shone with a faint light in the dim room.

Then she stood up, walked to the table, picked up the invitation, and opened it, her eyes landing on the three words "Aemeath".

Her fingers traced the strokes of the three characters, her fingernails leaving extremely fine marks on the paper.

"See you tomorrow," she said.