"High school?"

Lilly nodded at Gloxinia's questioning tone. She had a big smile on her face while Gloxinia looked like she didn't even understand what that word meant.

"Once I go to high school, I can learn a lot more things. I can hang out with friends, and maybe I can get involved in some romance!" Lilly gushed. She clasped her hands while looking upward dreamily.

Gloxinia tilted her head.

"I see," Gloxinia said.

Lilly squinted her eyes as she stared at her friend.

"Your reaction is so lukewarm. Be more curious! Ask about what I'm going to do and stuff," Lilly demanded while crossing her arms.

Seeing that, Gloxinia tried to rack her brains trying to come up with a question that would soothe Lilly's 'anger'. She didn't want to see her frown.

"Okay… What is 'school'?" Gloxinia finally asked.

Lilly blinked a few times before she burst into laughter, which took Gloxinia aback.

"I forgot we have to start from that. Okay! So a school is…"

As Gloxinia listened to Lilly ramble on and on about school while looking like she had the most fun all her life, she felt peace.

---

Gloxinia sat down on the sofa in her house with a big smile on her face. After smiling just once, she somehow couldn't help but to smile every time she thought back on it. It was as if a dam inside her was broken down and now she was flooded with the urge to smile.

She glanced at the photo of the elderly Lilly she kept in the living room.

"I had a great day," Gloxinia said, as if she was reporting to her. The framed photo, of course, was silent. Gloxinia kept staring at the photo and getting lost in her thoughts.

Lilly was smiling in it, the same bright smile that she showed Gloxinia the first time they met. But Gloxinia also knew that by the time Lilly took this photo, she was in pain.

Gloxinia felt a twinge on her chest. She placed her palm on her chest as she blinked in confusion.

What was that? Gloxinia wondered.

The pain only lasted less than a second. It just felt like being pricked by the thorns of a rose.

She would know. She got herself pricked once when she tried to pluck one.

Gloxinia decided to brush it off. It was just something that passed by, that was all. She stood up from her sofa and went to her bedroom, ready to rest for the night.

---

Being at school felt more fun to Gloxinia than ever before. When she met her classmates' eyes, she no longer felt like they were scorning her. She still had some ways to go until she befriends them, but she didn't mind. It was a good step forward.

It was recess time, but Gloxinia felt like she no longer needed to tag along with Vincent to the rooftop. She felt more comfortable in the class now.

She could just imagine herself being friends with everyone within a few days. She glanced at her face in the mirror of the school’s bathroom and grinned. She went to the bathroom earlier when the bell indicating recess rang.

Gloxinia exited the bathroom with light steps. She made her way back to the classroom, passing through several classes and rooms, including the teacher’s lounge.

"Excuse me, are you Gloxinia?" a voice surprised Gloxinia. She turned around to find the source and saw a girl standing in front of the teacher’s lounge.

Her breath almost stopped when she saw the girl’s face.

The girl had her dark brown hair up in a ponytail, with a few strands loose on the sides of her face. A pair of glasses sat on top of her nose, giving her a diligent and studious look.

She smiled at Gloxinia, but the latter just froze on her place.

It was because aside from her glasses and hairstyle, the girl was a spitting image of Lilly.

The girl blinked and tilted her head, wondering why Gloxinia wasn't responding to her.

"Lilly…" Gloxinia muttered as her gaze locked onto the girl.

"Huh?" the girl blinked in confusion. But a moment later, she made a face as if she realized something. "Ah, Great Aunt Lilly!"

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The girl offered her hand to Gloxinia before she could process what the girl just said.

"I'm Roselyn, Lillian's great niece," the girl said while smiling.

Gloxinia spaced out as she looked at Roselyn. Great niece? She didn't remember Lilly mentioning anything about that back then. Most of all, Gloxinia was dumbfounded at how much Roselyn looked like Lilly in her younger days.

It felt like she was meeting her again back in the lake.

"Uh…" Roselyn lowered her hand awkwardly since Gloxinia wouldn't take her hand, but Gloxinia noticed that and quickly grabbed her hand before she could retract it fully.

"Hello, I'm Gloxinia," she said, her eyes still fixed on Roselyn's face while shaking her hand.

Roselyn really did look like Lilly, especially the shape of her eyes. The corners of their eyes look sharp, making them look like a small fox. If Lilly looked like a baby fox with her kind and soft gaze, then Roselyn looked confident and more like a vixen than her great aunt ever was.

"Gloxinia?" Roselyn called out. Gloxinia blinked and focused her gaze back at her. Their hands were already separated from each other without her realizing.

"I'm sorry, you look really like Lilly," Gloxinia said as she lightly slapped her own cheek to get a grip.

"Oh? Did Great Aunt show you a photo of her younger self? Everyone did say I look like her in her youth," Roselyn chuckled.

To be more precise, Gloxinia saw Lilly during her youth herself. But she wouldn't tell her that since Lilly told her to never flaunt her immortality to others. She just nodded to agree.

"I was just here to hand over something to the teacher, but it's such a good coincidence that we met. I've been wanting to introduce myself to you for a while now," Roselyn said with a grin.

"My family talks a lot about you," Roselyn continued, locking her eyes with Gloxinia.

Gloxinia was taken aback at how forward Roselyn was with her. Even though she already knew that her classmates weren't afraid of her at all, they still hadn't tried to get closer to her. It was like most of them were satisfied just by seeing her from afar.

And most of all, she felt kind of happy because it was like Lilly came back to life.

Gloxinia couldn't help but grin thinking that way. She just felt the urge to hug Roselyn somehow, but she held it in because she knew she wasn't Lilly.

Roselyn blinked in confusion seeing Gloxinia's expression. Was she that happy to know that her family talked about her a lot? But that would just be weird.

Or maybe Gloxinia was weird, after all.

---

Standing on the edge of the roof as he always did, Vincent watched the boy on the bench with a bored look. Every day, it was just the same routine. Classes, observation, classes, going home. Maybe a sprinkle of Gloxinia here and there.

As if sensing that he was internally complaining, Vincent's phone rang. He took out his phone from his pocket and frowned when he saw the name plastered on the screen.

Dead Daddy.

He picked up the call and placed the phone on his ear.

[ HIIIIIIIIII, ] a cheerful voice of a man echoed from the other side of the call. It was so loud that Vincent had to pull the phone away from his ear.

"Good day, Sir," Vincent said as he pressed the phone onto his ear again.

[ Yes, good day, son. How are you doing? Everything's good? ] the man asked. His voice still sounded as chirpy, but at least he wasn't screaming anymore.

"Yes, everything is going well. You don't need to worry," Vincent answered.

[ Great! Keep up the good work, then, ] the man said.

"Oh, Sir."

[ Yeah? ]

"Can you please let me change your name in my contacts?" Vincent said in an indifferent tone, even though he was actually desperate inside.

[ Hmm. No, ] the man said, followed by a cackle.

Vincent sighed. He had tried to change the name so many times before, but it would always revert back to Dead Daddy. His superior seemed to really like messing with his phone.

[ But I'll consider it if you call me Father, ] the man continued.

"..."

Vincent stayed silent.

Right then, the school bell rang.

"Excuse me, I need to go," Vincent said.

[ Oh, come on! It's so simple to just-- ] CLICK. Vincent hung up before his superior could finish talking. He shoved his phone into his pocket as he turned around and headed back inside the school.

It was good to know that his superior was still the same as ever. Even though Vincent wouldn't give him any reaction no matter how much he teased him, for some reason, he still liked to do it. His superior was one of a kind, but Vincent was already used to it.

Thinking back, it was probably rude for a subordinate to do that to his superior, but both of them had already established that there was no need for such formality. In fact, his superior always pestered him to treat him like he would a father.

Vincent walked through the hallways to head to the classroom while being deep in thought. Although his superior could technically be considered his "father", Vincent never felt right calling him so.

When he entered the class, he spotted Gloxinia on her seat. She didn't notice him coming in as she was looking outside the window.

Vincent passed by her and took a seat on his chair. He took a glance outside, trying to see what she was looking at so intently. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find anything noteworthy. What could she possibly be looking at?

When Vincent turned his gaze back to his front, he jumped on his seat when he found a pair of purple eyes staring at him.

"What?" Vincent asked as he placed a hand on his chest to calm down out of habit, even though he had no beating heart.

Gloxinia grinned, her eyes obviously twinkling.

"What do you do on a school day off?" she asked.

"...Nothing?" Vincent answered.

He couldn't very well say that he would usually walk around the vicinity of the house of the male student he was watching over.

"Will you go out with me?" Gloxinia asked.

Vincent froze in his place, as did the rest of the class.