Arcturus had recalled how Nova mentioned there were nine fake Loreseers who wrote nothing but lies back in Castle Lavender and that there were eight remaining because he had killed one of them. If Margaret had been conspiring with Mebsuta on writing fake information about Souhait’s lore on her niece’s behalf, he wondered if she was counted amongst the eight or if she was the ninth like her; he felt like she leaned towards the latter than the former.
Asteria raised an eyebrow. “Mislead? Co-conspirator? What are you talking about?”
He had to explain to Asteria about who the Loreseer was and how there were fake ones trying to write down lies to sully both Souhait and Nova’s reputation. Once he finished, she turned to Margaret.
“So, the reason you were often cooped up in your room a long time ago was that you were writing lies.” She then turned to Arcturus and Nova’s direction. “If you don’t mind me asking, what is the significance of you pointing this out? Why do these fake Loreseers bother you so much?”
“No one likes being fed lies, obviously. And how am I supposed to grant wishes if people misunderstand or misinterpret who I am? No wishes would definitely form from those.”
Nova placed a hand on Arcturus’s shoulder. “This is why I asked Arc to write an honest log about us in order to prove that we existed and that maybe it’ll be of use to motivate and influence people to develop wishes and seek me out to grant them.”
Arcturus could feel Nova’s grip tightening. “And…I am in a bind. I originally thought of wanting to dispose of all the fake Loreseers so they wouldn’t do that again, but here you are, a ghostwriter, but we’re allies. I can’t just kill you off.”
“Is that so? I’m glad then…” Arcturus noticed that while Margaret looked relieved, she didn’t sound like it.
“Are you really glad?” Realizing what he blurted out, Arcturus clammed up.
“He’s right. There seems to be more to you than me uncovering your secret as a ghostwriter. If we’re going to cooperate as allies, I want to know more about you.”
“You sure are curious,” Asteria remarked with a pout. “So, when will you grant my wish?”
Nova replied, “I’m not in the mood to grant wishes right now–not in this situation. I just woke up after three days. I just want to talk to people and get to know them; that’s how wishes are formed, after all.” Arcturus could hear a pinch of annoyance in his tone.
Asteria kept pouting as she slumped against the table. “Really? What a bummer…”
“When I am in the mood, I’ll let you be the first to know.”
This caused her to spring up. “Really?”
“Yes.”
Asteria, overjoyed, left her seat as she started skipping, which earned her a scolding from Hilbert. Arcturus did his best to hold back from laughing. He wanted to focus on Margaret who did not seem to leave her seat; it was as if she had something she wanted to say but couldn’t let it out.
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She then looked him straight in the eye. “Are you positive you’re writing down an honest log about him?”
“I am.”
“Good…I’ll gladly read it if it ever gets published…” She hung her head low. After letting out a few sighs, she stood up straight with her head up. “If it’s possible, may I issue an apology?”
Arcturus raised an eyebrow. “What for?”
“Everything bad that had happened to you during your time in the Outskirts was most likely my fault.”
He was even more confused. “What do you mean by everything bad that happened to us?”
“Well, for starters, you met Belinda Mathis, right? Both Belinda and her sister Cassandra used to be students of mine. I was originally the head of the Health Department before I stepped down twenty years ago. Belinda was the doctor at the Outskirts because she was ordered by Cassandra to keep an eye on the opposers and to find some way to keep them trapped there forever.”
“I sort of figured out she knew about Nova when I looked into her computer monitor…and a lady named Jennifer from the stationery store did mention that I shouldn’t trust someone in the Outskirts, so I put the pieces together…”
“Oh, you met Jennifer?”
“You know her?”
“Yes. She’s a shadow member of DUO, meaning she works behind the scenes as an informant.” Margaret pointed to Vanessa. “She’s Vanessa’s wife. Because of their work, they haven’t seen each other in the past three years.”
“That’s sad…”
“Indeed. The current state of this city can only make people unhappy. And that’s probably my fault too. I couldn’t do anything to stop the downward spiral. All I wanted was to help whether it be my family or the people around me.”
She hung her head low and clutched it. “I wanted to help Mebsuta because I couldn’t do so with Carina, but all I got was helping her write lies in order to divert people’s attention away from Nova in hopes that she’ll have him for herself.”
A loud sigh came out. “Everything bad that happened throughout these twenty years was definitely my fault. Families having to be separated, lovers having to part ways, people who opposed the circumstances being isolated…all of it is my fault. I’m a member of the Leonis family yet I’m just a powerless old lady.”
Arcturus could hear the guilt and despair from her voice. Seeing her anguished state made him wonder if he’d be like this if he continued to feel guilty over what happened to Kori. It was a miserable state that he was glad he didn’t succumb to.
Though, if she’s in DUO, it probably means she wants to right her wrongs. I think that’s admirable at her age.
Nova suddenly latched onto his arm with a worried expression. “What to do, Arc? The atmosphere is all tense now.”
“It sure is…”
“What should we do?”
“I don’t know…”
Margaret stood up. “I’ll go weep in the corner.”
Before Arcturus could stop her, she did just that. Since he knew she’s related to Asteria and Hilbert who also have their weird quirks, he wondered if everyone related to the Leonis family was eccentric.
Bootes approached them and sat down where Margaret had sat. “Sorry about that. My grandma does that a lot.”
Arcturus’s eyebrows furrowed. “Grandma? You’re her grandson?”
“Yes.”
Just how many people in this organization are related to Asteria?