The journey to Solfin went by far quicker than normal thanks to carriage hopping, and the towering walls soon dwarfed themselves over the group as they finally reached the city. Aside from being a coastal city, Solfin didn't have much description in the game so Olivia was seeing the city for the first time. Farm fields were receiving their last-minute sewing before the summer growth season hit while a bright atmosphere surrounded the workers. There were a handful of cobbled-together shanty houses along the outside of the wall, but they looked completely abandoned and there were workers doing their best to safely tear them down. Despite her unease, Olivia couldn't help but marvel at how much the city she'd read about in reports and Lucina's letters had changed, especially once they passed the gates and entered the city proper. Roads with freshly paved stones snaked through the city with the main street being packed with people going about their afternoons. Shops were bustling, restaurants were filled with lunch crowds, and quite a few citizens gave a friendly wave or other gesture to the Hellhounds as the carriage rode past. Thanks to Solfin's natural incline, Olivia was able to stare out her window at the endless ocean that lay beyond with ships dotting the horizon that made their way to and from the city. Olivia couldn't help but whisper to herself, "It's so peaceful."
"It took a few years, but it's finally getting there," Lucina replied. "There are still a few issues that need sorting, but otherwise, Solfin is a jewel of a city." She opened her window and a warm breeze danced into the carriage carrying with it the smell of lunch and the sounds of a city filled with life. For a brief moment, Olivia forgot about the collar around her neck and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere. The carriage eventually made its way to the dense wall of trees that marked the beginning of the hill that would take them to Lucina's mansion and gate guards gave a salute as the carriage approached before opening the black iron gate. Rolling green grass stretched out before them toward the mansion and garden that surrounded it with its flowers still in full bloom. It was a cozy mansion tucked away in the trees atop its solitary hill. "We should head inside before speaking further," Lucina said as the carriage trotted up to the front door. "His Highness' shadows are in the trees surrounding us."
"…" Olivia was brought back to the weight of her collar and she gave a meek nod.
As they exited the carriage, a maid with long, curly brown hair and dark brown eyes greeted them, "Welcome back, Madam."
"Is everything ready, Tress?" Lucina asked as she led Olivia and Mary into the mansion with Tress falling in line next to Lucina.
"All the laundry was freshly done, everything is dusted, and lunch will be ready in roughly ten minutes," Tress replied before giving a nod to another maid who quickly rushed to the kitchen to check on lunch.
"Good," Lucina breathed a small sigh of relief as she led the group up the stairs all the way to the third floor. She mumbled to herself, "At least we can start the first day without issue."
Tress ruined Lucina's mood by reporting, "We did catch another 'burglar' before your arrival. The knights were able to stop them before they reached the vault."
"Let me guess, he's dead?" Lucina annoyedly asked while rolling her eyes.
"He bit off his own tongue, like the others," Tress reported as the group reached the door to the vault-turned-safe room on the third floor.
"Great," Lucina sarcastically remarked while standing in front of the door. "Once lunch is ready, bring it up. I'll be eating with Olivia today to put on an act for those leaches to give them something to report back on the first day." While there wasn't a window directly in front of the safe room's door, there were others on the third floor that someone hidden in the tree line could, potentially, see a little bit inside from. They couldn't see into the safe room, but they could see who entered and exited.
"Got it," Tress replied before giving a bow and heading back down the stairs.
"Tress is my lady-in-waiting," Lucina turned to Olivia and Mary to explain, "If you need anything, ask her, and she'll do her best to help. While Olivia will have to stay in the safe room, Mary, you can wander the mansion's grounds but I wouldn't suggest going into the city."
Mary was openly hostile toward Lucina as she asked, "Is that an order?"
"…Mary?" Olivia was still unsure how to act around Lucina, but she figured open hostility wasn't the way to go.
"I'm saying this for your safety." Lucina didn't let Mary's tone bother her since she knew it was out of concern for Olivia, so she explained, "We need to lay low which means I can only deal with His Highness' shadows if they enter my estate as I'll have undeniable cause. I won't protect you if you get snatched away in the city's streets. Olivia comes first."
"…" Mary lowered her gaze and fidgeted uncomfortably as she couldn't deny her helplessness in this situation.
"If you need anything, talk to Tress, whether it's extra clothes, a specific kind of food you'd like prepared, or even a letter sent."
Olivia perked up and she asked, "I can send letters?"
"So long as you make sure to tell the recipient to burn them after reading, then we can try," Lucina replied. "We can't let His Highness know I'm letting you send them, so give any letters to Tress and I'll make sure they get delivered without notice."
"But, aren't James' shadows surrounding the estate?" Olivia asked. "How will you trick them?"
"I have a way," Lucina replied but didn't elaborate further. "We've delayed in the hall long enough, if you want to talk more we should head inside your room."
"My room…" Olivia hesitantly stepped toward the door. She knew the safe room was originally a vault that Lucina had converted, but other than that Olivia had no idea what to expect. Lucina unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow Olivia to open it and enter first. And when she did, Olivia was bewildered at what was inside. "…My room?" Olivia had to blink and rub her eyes a few times because the safe room was a near-perfect one-to-one replica of her room back in Wortrest. Every piece of furniture that was custom-made for her, the carpet that was partially under the bed at a slightly off angle, and even the curtains that hung from the walls were the exact same. The only thing that broke the perfection was a bath that was installed in the far corner with a divider, that was currently folded, to block the view from the doorway. There were also no windows with the curtains being hung up against solid walls, and the only other source of light aside from the open door was a replica chandelier that used the same enchantment as the streetlights to light up the room in a soft orange light. It was eerie how close yet off it felt to be in the room.
Lucina stood back in the doorway while Olivia and Mary slowly entered the room, and said, "I wanted to give a sense of familiarity to help you during the next year, so I made sure to get everything as close as possible. We can always change it to something else if you'd like, but it will take time to hide the renovations from the shadows."
"It's…" Olivia opened the wardrobe to find it filled with dresses of various colors and designs that Olivia liked, and the jewelry on the dresser all complemented the dresses and matched Olivia's taste. If she wasn't being weighed down by the slave collar, Olivia would have found the room charming even if the preparation that went into this room was frightening. "It's all-!?!" Anxiety gripped Olivia as her eyes went to the bed and were drawn to the pillows. Silently sitting against the pillows were the two dolls Olivia and Lucina had made when they were kids; dolls that should still be back in Wortrest. She rushed over and picked up the dolls that had the same worn stitching, the same awkwardly made clothing, and the same wear from being hugged to sleep over the years. "How…did you get these?"
"I stopped by Wortrest to pick them up beforehand," Lucina replied without going into any detail. Her eyes watched Olivia with an intensity that didn't match her slightly awkward body language.
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"Did you…" Olivia hesitated, but not asking questions or pressing for answers was what led her to her misunderstandings, so she pushed forward, "Use your portals to get them without anyone knowing?"
(Unique Traits: Gravity Magic Specialization [Portal Master])
"…Portals?" Lucina visibly flinched and her smile slowly faded into a frown. Her eyes drilled into Olivia as Lucina asked, "What portals?"
"…" Olivia was feeling afraid but also conflicted since Lucina wasn't using an order to force Olivia to answer. Perhaps the unease and hints of anger Olivia felt from Lucina weren't being directed at her, but at someone else? "I learned about it from one of my skills, like Status," she explained to test Lucina.
"Your skill?" Lucina repeated and cautiously asked, "Not something someone said to you?"
"No." There it was. "I saw you had the ability to make portals thanks to another skill I have, so I assumed that's how you got them." Lucina wasn't upset that Olivia knew her ability, Lucina was worried that someone else knew about it and was leaking it around. To further alleviate Lucina's worry since it seemed like she wanted her portals to remain a secret, Olivia turned to Mary and ordered, "Not a word of what we're saying gets out, even to Father."
"…I shall keep my silence, my Lady." Mary had no idea what they were talking about with 'skill' or 'Status' but could tell by the tense atmosphere it was something she shouldn't delve into. Her priority was Olivia's immediate safety, not prying into secrets between her and Lucina.
"…Your soul reflection really is unique." Lucina relaxed her shoulders and took a deep breath to calm down, and she remained in the doorway as if fearful of entering the room. Awkwardly, she asked, "Do you…have any questions about it?"
"A few, but I don't want to have a conversation across the room with you." Olivia put down the dolls and motioned to a table with chairs that were against the far wall, which was supposed to be a window, and said, "Let's sit down." Her fear of Lucina was still there, but she accepted that Lucina wouldn't hurt her which got one of the many weights off her shoulders.
"Okay!" Lucina's whole demeanor brightened when she was allowed inside, despite this being her mansion, and she closed the door before quickly crossing the room to sit down in one of the chairs.
"Mary," Olivia asked as she sat across from Lucina, "Can you wait outside for lunch to arrive?"
Mary was taken aback and tried to refute leaving Olivia alone with Lucina, "But, my La-"
"It's fine, Mary." Olivia did her best to give Mary a confident smile to ease her maid's heart. "Nothing will happen, I just don't want you getting dragged into more than you already are."
"With all due respect, my Lady…" Mary began and didn't budge from her spot while putting a hand on her chest over her heart. "I will be ignoring that order, and will remain by your side."
"Mary, I-"
"I refuse!" Mary's voice cracked as she fought to control her emotions. Her hands trembled as they gripped her maid uniform and she said, "I was with you from the moment of your birth and, while it may be unbecoming of me as a mere maid to think this, I see you as my own daughter, at times. The Duchess entrusted you to me when we entered the palace and I did what I could to help you be comfortable with what little sway I had with the imperial servants…but…" Her eyes were fixed on the metal collar around Olivia's neck. "No matter what is said or done, I will take it all to my grave, for you." Mary got down on one knee and bowed her head low to Olivia.
"Mary…" The staunchness of Mary's resolve and the steadfastness in her voice touched Olivia to the point she couldn't refuse. "Please, continue to look after me."
"Of course, my Lady," Mary replied, stood up, and took her place standing just behind Olivia.
Lucina gave a disgruntled sigh and reasoned, "If that is Olivia's wish, then I'll accept it." She sat up straight in her chair and asked, "What would you like to know?"
Olivia was determined to get answers and started broadly with, "While I can see that you can make portals, I don't know the specifics. What can your portals do and what are their limits?"
Lucina paused for a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking, "From what I understand, I'm able to use gravity magic to…pull two places together."
"You're pulling places?"
"Yes. I got the idea to try it when I was looking at a map with two holes in it." Lucina pulled out an old, blood-stained handkerchief from a hidden pocket in her dress' sleeve and folded it in half. "If I set the points of gravity for two 'places' and bring them together then the two holes overlap and become one, connecting the two places on the map. In practice, pulling the two places together makes a hole to allow the connection. I accidentally did this during the final battle of the war, at Toldrin, and opened a portal all the way back to the capital."
"…Huh." Olivia immediately recognized the handkerchief as the one she gave Lucina back when she first went off to war. Lucina still kept it all this time. "…" Something stirred in her heart but now wasn't the time for that so she brushed the feeling aside and asked, "Can you make a portal to anywhere?"
"No. I've done some testing and found I can only make portals to places I've been to before or have at least seen in real life. I tried going somewhere just from a picture I saw in a book, but wasn't able to do it." Lucina gently folded the handkerchief and put it back in her sleeve pocket. "The portal also needs a lot of material to use since I need to create a ball of metal out of various objects to open one."
"Like the eye that appeared in the capital," Olivia muttered as she thought back to the day the massive eye opened over Gorinville. She had wondered what the pupil of that eye had been, and Lucina's explanation gave Olivia a few morbid ideas. "Then, with your portals, I can secretly go-"
"No," Lucina abruptly cut Olivia off with a friendly, yet stern tone of voice.
"B-But since no one knows about your portals we can keep it a secret," Olivia tried to reason.
"Until they find out," Lucina was being firm. "I know I can't keep my ability a secret forever, but I'll keep it as long as I can. All it takes is one person to gossip for a rumor to spread. Plus, I can't guarantee your safety if you leave this room." The replica room was feeling less and less charming.
"…Not even my family?" Olivia's hands tightly gripped her dress under the table as she worked to keep her composure under Lucina's oppressive gaze.
"Not even them," Lucina flatly answered. The rot behind her eyes was on full display as she stared into Olivia's eyes.
"…" Olivia wanted to keep pushing for it but felt that it was pointless. This was probably what her system meant when it said Lucina would act in ways that were counterintuitive to what Olivia wanted out of 'love'. Olivia being 'safe' was more important than her freedom. She dropped the topic and went back to her other line of questions, "Does the amount of material change the portal?"
Lucina seemed happy that they had moved on and answered, "The more metal I use, the larger the portal becomes and the longer it lasts. I can make one fairly easily that's large enough for a person to walk through and it lasts for roughly two seconds."
"Does it have to be metal?" A compacted ball of metal must be cumbersome to use because of the weight which limits the feasibility of using the portals as you would need enough metal on hand to make a large enough portal to travel through.
"Metal's the only material I've found that can withstand the pressure and heat my magic creates to do it." Lucina fell silent as she thought about alternative materials but had her thoughts interrupted by a knock from the door.
"It's Tress, Madam," Tress called from beyond the closed door. "I've brought lunch."
"Enter." Lucina turned her attention back to Olivia and said, "We can continue our conversation after lunch, and after we both change." Both Olivia and Lucina were still wearing their dresses from the graduation ball despite it already being two days later. The journey to Solfin was considerably shortened by always being on the move, constantly changing carriages to have fresh horses, and keeping the horses at a gallop or fast trot.
"A-Ah, right." Now that she was allowing herself to start to relax, Olivia realized she was wearing the same clothes and that she hadn't bathed for two days straight; thankfully, at least, Mary had removed her makeup in the carriage their first night. They had only eaten light food that wouldn't force them to stop so the thought of a proper bath and meal made Olivia's stomach growl. "What's for-!" Once Tress entered the room, a distinct smell of fresh fish filled Olivia's nose along with another scent that tickled her nostalgia despite her not being able to put her finger on why. Once Mary helped Tress set the table and present the food, though, Olivia felt herself freeze.
Lucina explained, "Since you always complained about the taste back in the capital, I had the chefs prepare sushi for the first meal we'd have here so you can get a taste of what Solfin has to offer over the capital." Between Olivia and Lucina sat a large platter that was filled with a variety of sushi types topped with different fish, and a set of silverware was put next to her plate along with traditional Peltairan chopsticks. Small silver bowls containing various sauces were also placed down on the table with one in particular that contained a green paste that looked a little rough and Olivia immediately realized what was tickling her nostalgia. "I don't know what your favorite might be, so I had them prepare a variety to start off. I also brought all the most popular condiments that people have been using…so…" Lucina nervously looked at Olivia who was silently staring at the platter with an unreadable expression on her face.
"…Let's eat," Olivia unconsciously mumbled before picking up the chopsticks and effortlessly using them to grab a nigirizushi. Lucina, who was terrible at using chopsticks, picked up some sushi with her fork while keeping a watchful eye on Olivia. With her free hand, Olivia reached over and grabbed the bowl of green paste to dab her sushi in before putting the whole thing in her mouth.
***
"I'm home~!" A memory buried beneath a thick layer of time.
"Welcome back, Ayaka." A person stolen too soon.
"What's for dinner?" A time of innocence.
"Oh!? Don't run in the house, and take your shoes off at the door, you're not in kindergarten anymore."
"Ok~."
"There was a sale so I bought some fish and even found fresh wasabi. I'll be making sushi with the leftover rice."
"Yay!"
"Would you like to help mom prepare it?"
"Yes!"
"Then, go wash your hands and I'll bring out the grater."
"Is Dad joining us, today?"
"Your father…is working overtime. The company called him last-minute so he won't be back until late tonight. But Sato-chan and her parents will be coming over, so I'll need your help to get everything ready by then. Okay?"
"You can count on me!"
"That's my girl~."
***
"…" Olivia started to cry.
"O-Olivia!?" Lucina shot up from her seat as soon as she saw the tears and started fearing that something was wrong with the food. Did James manage to poison the fish while it was being transported to the mansion? Would she need to crack down on every piece of food that came in, now? Tress and Mary also immediately started reaching for the food to take it away, fearing the worst. "Are you-?" Olivia swallowed, grabbed another piece of nigirizushi, dipped it in the green paste, and stuffed her mouth once again. "…Olivia?"
"…" The stickiness of the white rice, the freshness of the fish, and the clean spiciness of the gritty paste that nearly perfectly mimicked wasabi cascaded Olivia with nostalgia. This long-forgotten taste and texture in her mouth, with every chew, pulled at her heartstrings to the point her tears refused to relent. Her time spent filled with worry, fear, and anxiety seemed to melt away as the feeling of a long-lost home filled Olivia's soul. "It's… It's really…really good," Olivia managed to speak through her tears as she stuffed another piece of sushi into her mouth.
"…I'm glad," Lucina said with a relieved smile and fell back into her chair as her racing heart calmed down. Using her fork to help guide her terrible chopstick technique, Lucina joined Olivia in enjoying their meal together, and even though not a word was said, a gentle calm filled the air. For the moment, the two girls found peace in each other's company.