Chapter 3: Lovebirds of Wanderland.

“St-stabbed?” Yusciel repeated, widening her eyes unconsciously.

Stabbed… But I’m alive…

As thoughts raced through her mind, a blurry image flashed before her eyes. Unconsciously, she reached for her neck, where she felt she had been stabbed. Tracing her neck, feeling the soft skin of her body, the wound seemed to have healed without a trace. “I… I think so? I don’t quite remember to be honest.” she muttered.

Suddenly, something caught her eye—a glass of water in Celton’s outstretched hand. “Drink this,” Celton whispered.

She tried accepting his offer but the glass immediately slipped from her weak grip. Quick to react, Celton caught it before any spillage. “Let me. Open your mouth,” he said reassuringly.

Accepting his rare gesture, Yusciel tilted her head back and drank from the cold water offered near her lips. Hearing Yusciel’s soft gulp, Celton continued, “Do you recall who did this to you? Any details about their appearance, colors, blood—anything.”

As Yusciel drank, she noticed a flicker in Celton’s eyes. His usual nonchalant and effortlessly cool style was still present, yet there was an underlying change in him, with his brown irises seeming deeper than usual. A shiver ran down her spine as she forced herself to finish the last of the water in the cup.

Before she could respond, Celton gently wiped the last remnants of wetness from her lips with a towel. She harrumphed, “I can’t quite remember… It was a girl who did it. Her hair was a bright color, maybe pink, orange, or yellow? I am not quite sure… But it was vivid.” She grumbled, closing her eyes as she tried to recall, feeling a throbbing pain creeping into her temples as she massaged them. “I can’t be certain—she wasn’t taller than me so she must have been around 15 or 16? Perhaps she was of a different race, in human skin. Sorry, I can’t recall anything else.”

Yusciel felt a twinge of guilt, knowing she might not be of help. She cautiously shifted her gaze to Celton, wary of deepening his disappointment. She noticed the Wanderland lovers, Kaine and Lexine, already seated at the foot of the bed, their expressions unreadable except their furrowed brow. Turning her attention back to Celton, she saw him sitting next to her bedside, absentmindedly rubbing his chin as his eyes drifted to the white bed covers covering Yusciel’s body. After a moment of silence, he remarked nonchalantly, “Don’t push yourself. Just focus on getting some rest instead.”

“Kaine,” he called out, rising from his chair as he turned to face him, “I entrust her protection to you.” With those words, he started approaching the door of the room with heavy steps.

“Sure, sure,” Kaine replied in a casual manner, waving towards Celton’s departing figure. However, he quickly snapped his fingers at the sight of something unusual—a pattern caught his eye as he noticed Celton’s hand hidden within his coat. “Oh, right. Brother, brother, look at me for a second.”

Celton stopped in his tracks, responding to Kaine’s lazy call from behind, and looked over his shoulder. “Be quick,” he urged.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your head up, and your eyes—you're doing the thing with your eyes again. You look like you’re about to murder someone the moment you step outside. Not very good in places with a lot of surveillance.”

‘That is true,’ Yusciel wanted to comment, but she held it deep inside as she felt it wasn’t the right time to be fooling around like Kaine. Regardless, his words were right. Looking at the standing figure of the director—a tall, slender man clearly built for his passion for fashion and clothing. With his wavy brown hair and short ponytail trailing from behind, extending to his broad shoulders, Yusciel couldn’t help but think, ‘But man, Mr. Celton is as hot as always—always a feast to the eyes.’

“I know.” Celton said, turning to leave.

“Brother, brother. Are you coming for dinner later?” Kaine called out Celton as he opened the door, but Celton left silently without a word. “Stingy mood,” Kaine commented in a whisper.

‘And just like that, the Director was as busy as ever,’ Yusciel thought. If her thoughts could sigh, her mind would have filled by now. Instead, an urge to move and take action tugged at her, as she felt restless watching others busy while she remained idle.

Yusciel sighed softly in irritation, muttering, “Well, aren’t you the best contributors to his mood?”

He turned, a wide grin replaced his smile as he mocked, “The source of his mood speaks.”

Smirking, Yusciel felt her cheek twitch, scowling, “You know, I must say, you’re quite talented at finding ways to get under people’s skin.”

Out of nowhere, a sudden loud clap echoed, interrupting the staring contest between Yusciel and Kaine. They turned their attention to the source, where Lexine was kneeling on bed with her hands clasped. “Alright, let’s put a stop to this bickering—things could easily escalate from here,” she remarked, fixing them with a pointed stare “Hmm, aren’t you two being a bit too carefree around the director?”

“Nah, it’s the usual tuggie. It might have been better if he got angry and shouted at us instead of taking it out on someone innocent,” Kaine explained.

Lexine nodded, lunging herself at Kaine with a hug and rolling around the foot of the bed. As they did, she patted Kaine’s head and pulled it closer to her ample chest. “My, my. I didn’t know you were such a kind brother.”

“Of course, of course. My brother gets easily annoyed, and it’s usually me who has to fix that,” Kaine announced proudly, a haughty grin appearing on his lips.

‘Absolutely not.’ Yusciel retorted in her mind. She fixed her glare on the back of Kaine’s head, contemplating whether to end the misery of the arrogant, smirky bastard with a swift kick.

They rolled another joint, with Lexine’s long silver hair mingling with Kaine’s closely cropped brown hair as reclined side by side on the bed, their feet dangling off the edge and occasionally intertwining. Kaine, much thinner than Lexine, followed her lead effortlessly, whispering flirtatious words that caused Lexine’s face to flush red, their voices just barely audible to Yusciel’s ear. Annoyed by their overt affection, a flush of annoyance crept up Yusciel’s cheek, her lips cringing in disapproval.

Yusciel’s eyes brimming with disgust, she glared from the background, thinking, ‘Great, of all the people in the Wanderland, the two lovebirds are the ones here.’

“Could you perhaps continue your flirtation outside of this room? Yusciel scowled, her gaze strongly fixed on them, attempting to bore a hole into their heads.

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Kaine lifted his head, propping up his chin with a smug smirk, as he peered over Lexine’s. “What, are you jealous?” He taunted before Lexine playfully pinched his cheeks from below. ”Stop that,” Kaine whispered.

“Get out.” Yusciel urged, her hands gripping the white sheets tightly.

Lexine turned towards Yusciel, and suggested, “Why don’t you get one too? There are plenty of single people in the troupe. I’m sure you’ll find someone you feel comfortable with.” Before receiving Kaine’s silent retaliation as he pokes her cheeks.

“Yeah, no. No thanks. I’m not interested in that—and probably never will be,” Yusciel replied, rolling her eyes and adding an exaggerated, dismissive wave.

“Why not?” Kaine asked, raising a brow. He snapped his fingers once more before adding, “Oh, I get it. Your daddy Celton will erase their existence once you do.”

“Da—!? Daddy!?” shock registered on Yusciel’s face, beet in red as she heard Lexine’s suppressed laughter. “For your information, no. That’s not the reason why I don’t want to find a lover, and additionally, Mr. Celton won’t do that.”

“Pfft,” Kaine chuckled, widening his lips and exaggerating a shrug. “Oh, reaaally now?”

She turned away, uttering softly, “Well, he is very protective at times… So maybe… just maybe?”

Lexine burst into laughter below, kicking her legs as Kaine asked, “Why don’t you go for him instead?”

“Mr. Celton is my benefactor, and I respect him. I can’t imagine him in any other light, but I do hope he finds a wife soon, a good wife that can support him.”

“Yes. Yes, I've heard that excuse many times before.”

“Shut it, Skinny-dimwit.” Yusciel pursed a pout.

“Hahh? That’s uncalled for.”

“It is,” Lexine added.

Out of nowhere, a loud rumble echoed from Yusciel’s stomach, prompting Kaine to quip, “Oh, right,” as he snapped his fingers and crawled out of the bed towards the table nearby. Yusciel watched him take a seat, picking up a knife and apple from the basket. Meanwhile, Lexine found herself creeping closer to Yusciel’s right.

“Hey,” Yusciel called out. “Where are we exactly? I don’t remember this room being on the ship.”

Yusciel’s gaze swept around the lavishly decorated room, where rich brown adorned the walls with darker intricate patterns. To the right of the bed stood a grand circular table, surrounded by four ornate gold chairs, each dressed in regal luxury.

Above, billowing drapes framed the bed, while below, a blue carpet covered the floor. The sheer vastness of the room was unlike anything she had seen before, with a magnificent chandelier casting a warm, golden glow. Sprawling potted plants nestled in the corners, their wide, tall leaves adding green to the room.

A stately grandfather clock stood further ahead the table, towering beside the crackling fireplace adorned with captivating painting of a floating island with water flowing at the edge.

“This place?” Kaine repeated, his knife defly slicing the apples onto plate. “Ah… This place you mean… That reminds me, we never filled in the details of what happened after you got stabbed.”

“Mhm,” Yusciel nodded.

“Well, our Tally friends were the ones who found you in the elevator with a stab wound in your neck. Luckily, your regenerative abilities are insane as ever, and you had already healed before we did anything—unfortunately though, you still didn’t wake up. And after a week, the ship landed on the Isle of Hallow, where we hired an excellent healer skilled in ancient healing techniques for further treatment. It turned out fantastically, and here we are.”

After his explanation, Kaine passed a plate of apple slices to the ladies. She couldn’t help but think to herself, ‘No check-up after waking up? The healthcare in this world is terrible as always.’

“And this place is the hospital?” Yusciel asked, taking a slice of apples to her mouth.

“Yep.”

While Kaine responded to her question, a sudden sharp knock echoed through the room, drawing his attention towards the door. He hummed in wonder before snapping his fingers. “That must be the food we ordered from the airship. Lexine, could you prep the plates?” He said, rising from his to answer the knock at the door.

Upon hearing his request, Lexine stood up from the bed, prompting Yusciel to follow silently. She started stretching her body that had been inactive for many days, relishing the satisfying sounds of cracking bones. She consecutively cracked her fingers, twisted her neck gently, and then proceeded to move her shoulders and waist.

The voice from the door filtered in the room, but Yusciel paid little attention until it gradually gained familiarity and called out in a yell, “Hey, Yusciel!”

Yusciel turned towards the voice at the door to see Kaine returning with food in his hands, leaving the door open to reveal a familiar figure—a well-toned, bulky man, taller than most of the members of Wanderland. Joseph, dressed in his casual white sleeveless shirt and black pants under a black robe, waved from the doorway

“Oh! Hello, Joseph.” Yusciel greeted, beginning her approach as she added, “Why don’t you come in?”

“Nah, that’s fine. I’m meeting with an old friend in a few. Just wanted to check in on how you’re doing.” he said, his dark brown eyes scanning her from head to toe.

“I am absolutely doing fantastic—except for the two lovebirds who seem to have taken over my room as their nest. Truly, I wish you were here instead,” Yusciel exaggerated, gesturing the scene behind without looking.

“Oh!” Kaine’s voice rang out from behind, whispering as he snapped his fingers multiple times. “So, you’re into the sturdy types.”

She twisted her body, her anger seeping through her forced calm voice as she called out to him, ”Kaine, Kaine…My dear friend… There is a limit to my patience, and today—today that limit seemed to be lower than usual. So, if you could please, shut the fuck up while I talk?”

Yusciel's gaze caught Kaine’s haughty smirk, as though he believed he was correct in his words—a wave of heat flushed through her body. In that instant, she turned away before a sudden, blinding light flashed from behind.

Groaning voices echoed from behind, “My eyes!” and “Why me too!? What did I do?” but she paid them little attention, her focus on Joseph. “I truly wish you could discipline your younger brother more—he is still quite young—for a 20 year-old, don’t you think, Joseph?”

“Well, Kaine is a lost cause… My sincerest apologies for the trouble he has caused onward of his birth,” Joseph snickered, a hint of remorse acting in his expression.

“So, are you entering or not?”

Yusciel wondered when a sudden loud vibrating sound reached her ears as Joseph raised his hand, revealing a black thin bracelet with a bulkier part resembling a watch. His wrist terminal repeatedly blinked in pale green and vibrated. He replied, “Unfortunately, it seems I don’t have much free time at the moment. I must go—I’ll catch up with you later. Take care. Later.” With a wave of his hand, he turned on his heel and walked away.

And just like that, among the trio of famous men in the Wanderland, two were occupied while the one at the back remained free. “Later,” Yusciel uttered before shutting the door and turning around.

The sight of lovebirds came into view as Yusciel found them sitting side by side on chairs at the round table, with Lexine inviting Yusciel to join her by gesturing towards a vacant seat. The once nearly empty table now filled with a variety of appetizing dishes, including chicken simmering in rich brown sauce and garnished with an array of ingredients that tantalized Yusciel’s senses as she approached.

In addition to the delicious chicken, there were vegetable salads and fruit plates, although the lack of beverage options was evident—only water filled their cups. Not that it bothered Yusciel too much.

Yusciel took a seat and the group started eating. Time passed with mundane exchanges about what had happened while she was out, but nothing of significance happened in between as they continued to eat. Finally, Lexine nudged her partner with food, pulling him out of his distracted state.

Kaine furrowed his brow in confusion before receiving a barely audible whisper, “Do the thing.”

Realizing what she meant, Kaine muttered with a widened eye, “Oh, right!” Snapping his fingers in front of the absentminded Yusciel to grab her attention. “I have something important to tell you, Yusciel…” His voice turned serious as he gulped down his food. “What do you think about entering Flusterwald Academy?”