Hope looked at Mercy in distress.

He wished to be comforted, to see some compassion for the first time, but he realized too late that he let his emotions get the better of him.

"Hope, you're not just jealous, you're selfish. I wanted to cheer ya up, but now you're really pissing me off."

"Wait... I didn't mean to..."

"Did you once think about what the others were thinking from time to time? Dora this, Dora that, tell me why do you act like he owes ya somethin'? Did he force ya to not join Shinin' Sword? Did he forbid ya from being friends with Marie? Yer talking like if he did somethin' unforgivable... but the only one who keep crying over everything, the cause of all yer problems, is ya."

She stood up, looking down on him.

"Ya don't want people to see ya as Elizabeth's brother? Then why do you keep hidin' behind this excuse of a name? Every time ya need to prove somethin' yer saying stuff like you're her brother, every time we meet someone, you're the first one bringing it up! Of course, people will always forget yer name!"

She clenched her fist, her anger so strong that she couldn't control her dialect.

"Ya wanted to become part of Shining' Sword? Why didn't ya just ask? You think you're the center of the world, what's wrong in yer head? Dora asked to join Leon, that's how they started, who do you think you are to ask for people to just beg you?"

"I didn't..."

"You're just egocentric!"

Hope stood up angrily.

"If you're just going to insult me, then I'd prefer to leave!"

"Ya stay here, yer space punk! Get some balls for once!"

She grabbed his arms, showing a display of abnormal power on her part.

"I shouldn't try to join Dora? I would be a bad bitch if I did so? Oi, have you forgotten why I chose you as my knight? Are ya playing dumb or is it natural for ya?"

She pulled him by the collar and found herself facing him.

"That day, at Saint Nova, everyone wanted to get a strong knight, everyone has their reason... I specifically needed a strong knight for... my family... but every good one was already taken, Thomas, Iris, Lisa, Cid, every powerful knight I heard of was already taken... Then you showed up, no one was interested in ya, no one wanted an E-rank, you asked left and right, of course picking only gals because yer like this, then ya came to me... Remember how you introduced yourself to me?"

Hope trembled with rage and looked away, but Mercy gripped his chin and turned it towards her.

"Ya told me that ya were Hope Balder, brother of the legend Elizabeth, and ya were a hero too, ya said that no one was stronger than you and you were personally trained by yer sister, ring a bell? And I warned you, that if ya really wanted to become my knight, I needed ya to become stronger than my brother as quickly as possible, I told ya that I wasn't interested in chivalry stuff, all I wanted was a powerful fighter to be able to defeat Peters!"

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She let go of him, starting to calm down a little bit.

"You think you're being played? Think about how I felt when I realized that you lied to me... But even so, I didn't want to give ya up, I wanted to help ya as much as I could because I put my faith in ya, ya were the one doing all the work, I couldn't ignore ya... but I swear, yer so dumb and annoying..."

"... enough..."

"Hope, please I suffered a long time because of you, so bear with it. I told ya how important it is for me... But you're so self-centered... Do you even remember what I told ya about my family?"

Hope looked at her, a faint smile on his lips, and lowered his head.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. You never care about others, me, me, and only me, this is you... how do you think I felt after sharing my secrets with ya? You always try to take me out of fights, don't ya understand how important it is for me to get stronger? I am a noble, I am not allowed to fight, I should behave like a cute girl... That's what they always say, I hoped you would be different... but all you see in me is this picture."

She turned her back and walked toward the window, looking at the magnificent view.

"That's why I appreciate Dora, he never cared about who I am, he sent me to fight without hesitation because he knew I could do it, he trusted me... I've improved more than ever in just a month thanks to him... this is what I want, what I need, and now... now it can even be better than I've ever expected..."

She felt her heart beating rapidly and a warm feeling invaded her veins.

She looked at Hope, and under the young man's eyes, Mercy radiated like a goddess of beauty.

"Hope, I know I put too much pressure on you, but now you don't have to force yourself anymore. I've finally found a way to save my family by myself."

Hope felt his heart tighten.

"No..."

"No, for once, for the last time, please, listen to me, I don't want to abandon you now that I've finally got a chance to get better. I will train with Dora and everyone else, I can't explain everything to you yet, but I will get stronger than ever in no time. All thanks to Dora."

"Please, stop."

She looked at him with a sad smile and leaned against the window.

"See? That's why you can't be right in this story, Hope, Dora never did anything to you, no matter how much you deserve it. Ya think he should do your game because you envy him? This isn't how it works."

She walked toward him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dora doesn't care, not because he is used to it, but because he is Dora, not you. Stop wishing others to do what you want, everyone has their own story. I want to protect my family, Zuri wants to enjoy life with her knight, Freya has her own business, and Dora has a greater mission. We are all living our story, this should be your way to live too."

She walked towards the door and stopped right in front.

"Dora isn't the person you think, if you could look at him with less jealousy, you'd see what I mean. You will hate it, but for the sake of his relationship with Elizabeth, I would appreciate it if you could apologize to him... But, well, I'm not used to seeing you listen to me."

She opened the door and left Hope in his misery.

He fixed the door for a few seconds before bursting into tears, it was all he could do at this point.

Mercy leaned against the door and took a few breaths. She opened her eyes and noticed a shadow in the dark hallway.

With a slight smile, she greeted Elizabeth.

"Lady Elizabeth?… Would you like to speak to him?"

Elizabeth looked away, a similar expression on her face.

"Hm, girl, you're too young to smile like that, come with me, we just decided on something good."

She turned her back on her, leading the way. Mercy followed her hesitantly.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to him? Maybe he really needs to."

Elizabeth smiled and stretched her arms.

"There's nothing I can say that will help him more than what you said... It also makes me realize my mistakes but... Let him get over this first, okay?"

"... Sorry."

"Please, you heard him, I'm a disaster as a sister, maybe I'm just running away so as not to face my responsibilities."

She laughed loudly and joyfully, as she walked out of a shadowy and seemingly endless corridor.