Leanne sat across from Ayako and I in a dimly lit cafe, its walls adorned with flickering neon signs casting an ethereal glow. The fragrance of freshly brewed coffee mixed with the gentle hum of electrical devices, making many marvels. The tables were sleek and austere, with surfaces that reflected the soft glow of the vivid silhouettes above. Despite the bustling activity of the city outside, the cafe rendered a haven of peace, a place where secrets could be exchanged despite the chaos of this era.

Now, faint fidgets clung to Leanne’s hands whilst holding a cup. Weights within already pulled her head down, bearing some regret inside her mind. As silence between us waxed, so, too, was our unease and unsureness.

Yet, Ayako and I kept our warm eyes before hers, bringing no cause to malice.

“There’s no need to shoulder the weight,” said Ayako. “I’m sure you have a reason to do so.”

“I agree,” I added. “I’m sure such an Order can grant you ways to solace.”

“Order? Wha…. What do you mean?” asked Leanne.

“Whatever way you define it,” replied Ayako, shrugging. “Unless it’s a mere fallacy. we beg your saying.”

Leanne returned to her fidgets, growing more pronounced as tears welled in her eyes and her gaze darted across her side. A tremor danced across her lips, her tongue tasting the bitter tang of sweat as it trickled down her skin, each braid amplifying the unease swirling within her as she struggled to find the right words.

“They… they’ve… how?”

Stutters began to escape her lips, yet clarity was still nothing, yet almost coming to defeat her thoughts.

Our lips remained sealed; nothing to pester, but her gathering grief.

“They’ve… ordered me. Ordonne… Ils m’ont ordonné… à cet homme…. They’ve ordered me to marry that man.”

“Who?”

“Libertian… John Stone.”

“I see,” said Ayako. “So you were coerced by his… gang.”

“Non, not just them,” Leanne shook her head, slight tears dripping out of her eyes. “Even my papa agreed to the deal… that I was to marry him, his best friend.”

“Nani?!”

“Your papa, father… agreeing to marry… his best friend,” I reiterated with a firm and clarifying tone, then asked. “Were your souls once touched across the heart?”

“Not a single touch, I have. Yet, a fool, I was….,” Leanne rubbed her eyes and wiped the tears away, a faint groan beginning to escape her lips. In a trice, silence, again, loomed. Then she shook her head and held her heavy head with a pair of indolent hands. “Fool… for falling in love with his tender money and costing solely his arm and leg for my… needless fancy.”

Frankly though, I felt no surprise. As her Wallic blood flowed throughout the veins, so did her way of life across the spirit. Fancy was their habit amongst them, such as trading lush goods and enthralling us with their smooth words. Even their tender tongue was its feather on the cap.

“When did you get married?” asked Ayako.

“Three years ago… when my papa had invited them, including John, to a party inside our chateau. It was during his vacation after years of being an ambassador in Libertia, so seeing him home made me happy at first… until…”

“Until John had flirted with you?”

“Non, until… my papa had proposed such… terrible joke of an idea. As he must please his gang, he let me introduce myself to them. Among them, only one had his endearing eyes on me.”

“And that is John Stone, giving his way, right?”

“Oui, and his gentle quality endeared me to many. Not even a leer on my bust and groyne, but on my face was found. Love at a first sight, indeed, yet I was a mere fool, nonetheless. Fool who married another fool.”

“What makes him a fool?”

“Love for money and me, but only money when he chose to act a fool more than thrice.”

“In other words,” said Ayako. “He chose not to pay bills.”

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“Debts, rather.”

“So what made you think of… becoming a stripper digging some gold inside the mines of Club Mia?” asked Ayako. “Have you cut ties with him beforehand?”

“Oui. Around five months ago… when I met a Weian man handing me a letter and the receipts about the debt… his debt… in the hotel on Mahar. Then I sent it to him… and lo and behold, he had gone insane—his killer face arose.”

“And that’s when you escape.”

Leanne nodded with a faint smile, “Good thing I ran away as fast as I could, with only my savings account behind my back after I lied about spending my free time at a cafe and spa.”

“That’s a not-so-fool move for you,” chuckled Ayako.

“Oui, it’s all thanks to my everyday doubts.”

Leanne sipped a coffee and heaved a sigh, shaking the thoughts of her ‘foolish’ past away. Her eyes began to lose its weight, no longer bowing her head. Instead she peered through the glass, watching the people crossing the pavement and vivid silhouettes dancing over the bustling streets.

Thrice, a silence loomed. Only the warm air and astir throng could save her peace.

Meanwhile, Ayako slightly leaned near my ear and whispered, “Do you have any suggestions, Your Majesty?”

“How am I supposed to know and solve her problem? Did you not say her husband was murdered just yesterday?”

“Uh… I don’t know. There’s still an essence of threat bothering her. Maybe like those Weian loansharks?”

“Weian loansharks… what do you mean?”

“Basically some shady tax collectors. Has she mentioned about a ‘Weian man handing her letter and the receipts’, neh?”

“Yes, and perhaps you should press a question about it.”

“Right,” Ayako nodded, then faced Leanne, asking. “Leanne, one more question, if I may ask.”

“Oui,” Leanne returned her focus.

“Do you know the Weian man you had mentioned before? The one who sends you the letter and receipts.”

“Zut,” Leanne gasped. “I almost forgot—Non, all I can recall is a nameless, but a young Weian man wearing shades, and both the letter and receipts were probably torn by John.”

“Well, that’s quite a bummer.”

“However…,” Leanne grabbed her smartphone out of the pocket and gave it a couple of flicks. Then she smiled and revealed her screen, its picture appearing to be a three brush-stroke runes on a white paper. “I do have a picture of some characters that I badly want to know what this means. D'ailleurs, this is in the same letter. ”

Together, our eyes squinted on it, yet only Ayako could grasp the meaning of it.

“Yoiku-sha,” she read. “Fosterer.”

“Uhh…,” Leanne moaned, her nose and forehead scrunched up. “If I’m not mistaken, that sounds… Taijinese., n'est-ce pas?”

“Right… You’re right. But since the characters can be Weian, of course, it must bear quite a different term from them.”

“Fosterer… Raiser.” I murmured, reiterating from doubts. “Raising a child?”

“Wait,” interrupted Ayako. “What did you just say?”

“Well, foster means the same as the word ‘raise’… as in the one who raises a child.”

“Raise. Raiser… Uso, that must be it.”

No mistake, such a word totally rang a bell.

Meanwhile, Leanne tilted her head, bewildered as she couldn’t grasp what we were talking about. Only curiosity left spiralling around her mind.

“What do you mean?” asked Leanne.

“Okay, hear me out first,” Ayako then leaned her bust closer to Leanne, her watchful eyes darting across every side before saying her. “I want you to stay in your room as long as possible if you want to live… because they’ll be coming after you as a wife possessing a portion of John’s account. Unless you’ve heard my further instructions, you may go back doing whatever you want.”

“Oui.”

“Also, don’t believe in the guy named Liu Sheng. Though he may be a LEA agent, he’ll pursue you for… an outside business. He’s just using his authority to do whatever he wants.”

“Oui oui, I’ve got your word.”

“Then it’s all settled,” Ayako looked at me and smiled. “Let’s continue our shopping spree, neh?”

“Yes.”

Ayako looked back at Leanne, “Come along or waste your life amid nowhere.”