"Well then... Can I ask you three questions?" asked Ophelia, wondering if it was too many questions.
But Cleopatra didn't think so. She was having fun.
"Sure."
Meanwhile, Bere (very) and Naeva (a little) were interested in what Ophelia would ask and Cleopatra's answer.
Although she seemed hesitant, Ophelia tried to open her mouth. This first question was the one she wanted to know the most and was most worried about the answer.
"Will I... be able to reunite with Liao Yu Jie Cece in the future?"
Bere tilted her head.
"Liao Yu Jie Cece? Who is that?"
"Ophelia's childhood friend," Naeva replied.
"Hee... Lia's childhood friend huh..."
Cleopatra thought for a moment. She tried to recall everything she knew about the Clio family's lady. After getting the answer, Cleopatra nodded her head.
"Yes, you can meet her again. Although there were some problems before that, there is no mistaking it."
Ophelia's face immediately looked radiant.
"Thank goodness..."
"Are you guys that close that you're so relieved?" asked Bere.
"It's not like that. I was already worried that she was in danger because of all the news I've heard so far. I just... didn't want our reunion after all this time to be over her dead body," Ophelia replied.
"Yo-your thoughts are extreme too..." said Bere.
Cleopatra shared Ophelia's warmth.
"Fufufu... I'm glad you're happy, Lady Ophelia. What about the next question?"
This time Ophelia's hesitation was a little different.
"Ah that... What-- Are we... still be together in the future?"
Instantly, Bere and Naeva's eyes rounded slightly.
"We are... You mean, me and Naeva?" asked Bere in response to Ophelia's nod that was red in the ears.
"Pfftt... What did I think you were going to ask? It turned out to be that huh. Lia, do you miss me when we're not together anymore? Do you want to continue being together with me and Naeva? Are you that fond of us?" Bere giggled.
Ophelia didn't answer. Just asking a question like that made her face hot. It felt like answering it would only make her even hotter.
"Shut up."
Bere nudged Ophelia's arm with the tip of her index finger.
"Heh... Young Lady... Are you embarrassed?"
Ophelia, "💢"
"Never mind, there's no need to answer!"
"Ehh... Don't! I'm sorry, ok?" laughed Bere.
Seeing their simple interaction made Cleopatra feel at ease.
"Stop teasing her, Aneue."
"I'm not teasing her."
"Yes, yes. Just stop talking first. I want to answer Lady Ophelia's question," Cleopatra said.
"Cih, okok..."
Cleopatra gave a small sigh, then turned to look at Ophelia who was still blushing with a grateful expression.
"Don't worry. The three of you will still be together in the future."
"That's why, Aneue... You have to be nice to them. Because they are Aneue's colleagues and friends in climbing the Tower. Finding loyal colleagues is much more difficult than finding piles of treasure in the Tower."
Bere smiled warmly, she understood that too. Although their meeting had not been too long. Bere realized how precious her friends were. Those who would not brandish weapons at her and could be relied upon to guard her back were her true treasures.
"Take it easy. I know that."
Ophelia felt the same way. Although somewhat annoying, Bere was a good partner and would not betray her. Naeva was the same, although the girl was sometimes creepy and hard to understand, Ophelia knew that Naeva was not the type who would betray others.
And at the same time as Bere and Ophelia felt warmed by Cleopatra's answer, Naeva herself felt tired and wanted to run away.
"It's fine if it's just the five of us. Why do we have to add seven more!?"
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****OOO****
Characters Information
Name: Naeva WinterNova: X PlatinumRace: Ice PrincessAge: 30 [https://img.wattpad.com/76d02718f7c3dfb8c4d30add15cd2a8808bf3914/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7436324a7531566e6d34664e37413d3d2d313333363532343931302e313739306565396134613163376264323337363430313435303037392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Naeva Winter
Nova: X Platinum
Race: Ice Princess
Age: 30.000+
Status: Irregular
Affiliation: None
-------------------------------------------------
Name: Ophelia CalliopeNova: II OrangeRace: UnknownAge: 17Status: Lady of Calliope FamilyAffiliation: Calliope Familiy [https://img.wattpad.com/3b7d0eec7b3f6564002bb99349d78e31a4d9f1b5/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f474f7953493048575868455f5f773d3d2d313333363532343931302e313739306565393834376266616239373232363132363030323034362e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Ophelia Calliope
Nova: II Orange
Race: Unknown
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Age: 17
Status: Lady of Calliope Family
Affiliation: Calliope Familiy
-------------------------------------------------
Name: Berenice Ptolemaios Auletes Nova: VII RedRace: Anubis Age: 16Status: First PrincessAffiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate [https://img.wattpad.com/c1500c08f7f59da5623e537ae37a7278c6d1decb/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f65345652504462775758705934413d3d2d313333363532343931302e313739306565393634653436353561623736363633323831353238382e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Berenice Ptolemaios Auletes
Nova: VII Red
Race: Anubis
Age: 16
Status: First Princess
Affiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate
-------------------------------------------------
Name: Cleopatra Ptolemaios AuletesNova: Unable to Access Nova Race: Anubis Age: 16Status: Second PrincessSun PriestessAffiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate [https://img.wattpad.com/38203196f1b6d2914b33b2a1420c1c257c4361bc/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4a4e7366314846476136444542673d3d2d313333363532343931302e313739306565386164373837386439633738363938393535303231302e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Name: Cleopatra Ptolemaios Auletes
Nova: Unable to Access Nova
Race: Anubis
Age: 16
Status: Second Princess
Sun Priestess
Affiliation: Ptolemaios Sultanate
****OOO****
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Hearing Ophelia's previous two questions that were more concerned with friendship, Cleopatra was curious about her last question.
"Lady Ophelia, what about the last one?"
Ophelia realized, "Oh that..."
"Etto..."
Cleopatra, Bere, Naeva, "?"
"That..."
Before she could ask, Ophelia's ears began to turn red.
Ophelia, "Re-Relationship...!"
"?"
Holding back her embarrassment, Ophelia asked a question like any other teenage girl.
"What about my future romantic relationship!?"
"!"
Suddenly, it surprised everyone. They didn't expect Ophelia to ask such a question.
Cleopatra, "Ro-Romantic relationship, huh...?"
Naeva, "Ophelia... You..."
Bere grinned annoyingly.
"Buahahahahaha... What the hell? It turns out that this Young Lady Calliope is also a teenage girl huh? Especially a Shoujo girl... Hahahaha!"
"Shut up, Bere! What's wrong with asking that!?" embarrassed Ophelia. Without realizing it, she had been speaking non-formally. She and Naeva had been speaking formally as much as possible in case someone suddenly came.
"No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just... It just doesn't seem right that you, who are always so serious, would suddenly ask something like that..."
Bere's stomach hurt from laughing so hard.
Right now, Ophelia wanted to hit Bere. To be honest, she was also reluctant to ask that question. But curiosity kept bothering her. If she had known that their reaction would be like that, Ophelia would never have asked.
Realizing that Ophelia could explode if she let it go any longer, Cleopatra twisted Bere's skin rather hard.
"AAARGH! It hurts!"
"A-ne-u-e!" she smiled creepily.
Bere shivered, it was rare to see Cleopatra angry.
"So-Sorry... I... I'll just stay in the corner..." she said while moving to the corner next to Naeva.
After calming down, Cleopatra sighed.
"It's natural to ask such questions, Aneue. Stop mocking her. Aneue herself will fall in love someday."
"We-well, I'm sorry..." Bere regretted.
Ophelia knew that the regret was only because Cleopatra was angry. She was sure that, deep inside, Bere was still mocking her. But she chose to ignore it first. Later, when they were outside the Sultanate, maybe she would reply.
Cleopatra looked up at the sky, she was imagining things.
"A love affair, hmm..."
"I cannot say who your soul mate is and the romance that takes place is too far in the future. The future that I can see is limited to ¼ century. I also cannot specifically explain who your future lover is. Maybe just a description or outline, is that okay?" asked Cleopatra.
"Yes," nodded Ophelia.
Cleopatra smiled a little. She tried to recall the person who was closest to Ophelia, had the most intimate relationship and could make Ophelia salty.
"Hmm... How do I say it, huh...? I don't really want to say it because if Lady Ophelia knew about your future lover, what would your thoughts be if you met him/her someday? You might not even be interested in him/her," Cleopatra asked herself.
"It's okay, please just tell me. If we are meant to be, no matter what happens, we will be together," Ophelia replied without hesitation.
Bere was trembling even more. She thought to herself, how could Ophelia say such a shameful thing openly.
"It's fine if you say so yourself," Cleopatra replied.
Cleopatra pointed to the setting sun which reflected a reddish Orange glow on the surface of the lake water.
"Red."
"?"
Smiling brightly, Cleopatra looked at Ophelia.
"She is a red-haired girl with a slightly troublesome nature. But her strength and popularity cannot be matched by anyone even though she is not a member of the noble family."
DEGG
"You seem to be used to her and can deal with her easily, even making her misbehave. But sometimes, that kind of nature can also leave you speechless and carried away."
"I think I can only go so far."
Hearing Cleopatra's explanation, the three of them fell silent thinking about different things.
Ophelia who was directly involved looked surprised, perhaps more like heartbroken.
"Not... Cece...?"
Bere was distracted by something.
"Wehh... For Cleopatra to say 'troublesome' means that for others it's no longer a little, but a lot. What about the person, huh?"
Naeva, on the other hand, flinched with an expression of unacceptance at something.
"Red hair?"
Naeva stared straight at Cleopatra, a look that the girl realized gave her goosebumps instantly.
"Red hair you say? What style?"
"Why do you ask, Lady Naeva?" asked Cleopatra fearfully.
"Just answer."
"I-It's..."
Cleopatra glanced at Ophelia, she felt that Ophelia should not know too much so that the future would not change much. So Cleopatra chose to whisper in Naeva's ear.
"Long red hair," Cleopatra whispered.
DEGG
"Eye color? Or other special features?" Naeva asked again. There was a reason why she was so curious.
Cleopatra didn't understand why Naeva would be that curious. But she answered her anyway with another whisper.
"Amethyst purple eye color. She has two horns on her head."
"Ah, I see," Naeva was relieved.
"Why exactly did you ask that question?" Now it was Cleopatra who was curious.
"Nothing," Naeva replied briefly. She didn't want to explain. Cleopatra didn't push either.
".... Okay."
The conversation ended with a strange awkwardness. Cleopatra who was confused by Naeva, Bere who was still mocking Ophelia in her heart and Ophelia whose feelings were in turmoil for various reasons. The only person whose feelings were light there was Naeva alone. She was already... Nervous? No, no, what is it... Hmm... Her feelings had been complicated throughout Cleopatra's explanation of Ophelia's future lover. But after hearing the details, she was relieved.
"The girl with long red hair. Just makes me anxious. For a moment I thought it was me that Cleopatra mentioned," Naeva thought with relief. She didn't want to get into a romantic relationship with her own student.
"Moreover, the description of her nature is far from my style, it's strange to imagine me in the future like that."
Naeva was even more relieved.
In the midst of her relief, a hand poked her lightly. Naeva glanced at the owner of the hand. It came from Cleopatra. Cleopatra said something silently, hoping Naeva would understand just from the movement of her lips. Of course Naeva, whose senses were far more sensitive than anyone else's, immediately understood Cleopatra's meaning. She returned the words with a nod.
Cleopatra then shook her sister's shoulder.
"Aneue, isn't it time we went back?"
"Ah, yeah."
Bere looked up at the sky that was beginning to lose its light.
"It's about to get dark."
Bere rose first and extended her hand, helping Cleopatra up.
"Lia, Naeva. Let's come back."
"Hmm," Naeva replied as she stood up.
Ophelia woke up from her reverie. She immediately joined in looking at the sky, it was true, the sun had already begun to set. Her mind was still tangled, but she couldn't brood in the gazebo either. The drastic drop in temperature could make them sick.
".... Okay."