It took a while for Cleopatra and Bere's room to stop being visited. After Cleopatra's condition had been confirmed to be fine by the Doctor, Bere's party members including Hamer and Ruka visited briefly to see her. But it was not the right time for a private conversation. At that time, Naeva only briefly explained the story that had been embellished.
Naeva intended to visit Cleopatra secretly when she was alone. Unfortunately, that was not possible. Bere did not leave Cleopatra for a minute because of her anxiety. As it was, Naeva had no choice but to speak to her directly. Naeva asked Bere to leave the room as she wanted to talk to Cleopatra alone the next day. Although somewhat hesitant, Bere allowed it. Because she knew that her friend wouldn't do anything to harm her sister. Plus, Cleopatra and Naeva seemed to be close in her eyes.
And now, in Cleopatra's room, the two girls were silent without saying anything. Awkwardness and confusion filled Cleopatra's head. As for Naeva herself, she waited for the girl to ask questions because she was too lazy to explain everything.
"Well... Lady Naeva..." Cleopatra lied.
Naeva who was sitting on the sofa drinking tea also glanced at Cleopatra who was sitting on her bed.
"Hmm?"
"Could you... tell me what exactly happened?" asked Cleopatra cautiously.
"The Sun Priest is dead. But why is there no fuss about it?"
Naeva set down her tea gracefully.
"He's not dead."
".... What!?" Cleopatra was shocked.
She was pretty sure she had killed the Sun Priest back then.
Naeva's crystal silver-blue eyes looked at her rather sharply.
"I froze his time. He's not dead."
"At least not now."
"He... Heh..."
Cleopatra didn't know what to say. She was still in shock at Naeva's answer.
"Can time be frozen!?"
"Bu- But why? Isn't it troublesome to do that?" she asked again.
"It's more trouble if he dies now," Naeva answered honestly.
"The 3rd Floor Ascension Exams are coming up soon. I don't want the hassle of the Sun Priest' death and the inauguration of the new Sun Priestess to hold us back."
Naeva was telling the truth. If the Sun Priest died now, there would be a huge uproar that would be very disturbing. So Naeva made the Sun Priest' time stop and put him in a coma in bed until some time after she and her party left the 2nd floor. After that, whether he died, whether he somersaulted after death and so on, was up to him. Naeva also explained that she had unfrozen the guards. They won't remember anything, all they know is that the Sun Priest is lying weakly on his bed because his Solar Nova is running low. And it was only a matter of time until his nova was completely depleted.
"I- I see. It was indeed Lady Naeva once..." Cleopatra said.
Cleopatra fiddled with her fingers, she was nervous and somewhat afraid to continue.
"Lady Naeva... Thank you... for helping me this far. And I apologize for--"
"Deceived me?" cut in Naeva.
GLEKK
Cleopatra was stunned, she instantly looked down in fear.
"Y-Yes, My... Apologize..."
Naeva grinned slightly.
"You know a little about my powers. But how dare you do that."
"My apologize..."
What Naeva and Cleopatra were referring to now was Cleopatra's moment of life and death. In the beginning, Cleopatra never talked about herself dying because the Solar Nova exploded after absorbing her uncle's Nova. That's because she knew that Naeva wouldn't let her die. In fact, if she had said it at the beginning, there was a possibility that Naeva would have refused to help her. Because guaranteeing her life at that time was more difficult than killing the Sun Priest.
Hearing the girl's regret, Naeva just let out a small sigh.
"Never mind."
"!"
Cleopatra instantly raised her head, she was somewhat surprised to hear Naeva's answer.
And what the girl saw afterward shocked her even more. Although it was thin and faint, Cleopatra could see a smile on Naeva's face. There was also a slight blush that faintly adorned her face.
"Yesterday was quite interesting. I had fun, so it doesn't matter."
"Wh-What!? S-She forgave me!? A Lady Naeva!!!?" Cleopatra screamed in her heart. She was already mentally prepared if Naeva tried to kill her.
"Eh? Really?"
"Yes. But I won't let you go that easily," Naeva said.
Hearing this delighted Cleopatra. Her chest heaved, her eyes beaming.
"Yes, my lady! I will do my best for you in return! Is there anything you need?"
Naeva thought for a moment, nothing for now.
"How long will you survive?" She asked bluntly.
"That's... I can probably last until I'm 20. About 3-4 more years," Cleopatra replied carefree after pondering.
Slowly getting up from her chair, Naeva walked towards the door.
"Then during that time, you will be my person. The Sun Priest's power is right under the Emperor, which means you have a lot of movement, right?"
Cleopatra's eyes widened slightly. She knew Naeva was not the type of person who liked power and things like that. So Naeva's true intentions might not be apparent from her words.
"O... Okay..."
"Good. Remember that," Naeva said right before she left Cleopatra there alone.
"I... Get it..."
Cleopatra was still looking in the direction the girl had gone until she completely disappeared.
After Naeva's shadow was no longer visible. Cleopatra clasped her hands together. Her head tried to digest Naeva's intentions, words and actions. Cleopatra realized many things. And none of those things seemed to hurt her too much.
"Ha~ahh..."
Cleopatra breathed a sigh of relief, then flung herself onto the bed.
"So that's it. Now it's not just the Sultan who is on top of me."
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The girl covered her blind eyes with her right arm.
"Lady Naeva, you... want me to be your personal informant, huh. Or maybe even... a spy?"
"Well, whatever it is... If it's Lady Naeva--"
A flash of memory that was far in the future and had come to her long ago in the past now flashed back into her head. The figure of a +20 y.o woman with short white hair and silver crystal blue eyes that was familiar to her was smiling gently. The bright gaze and warm aura radiating from her made the people around her smile happily. On the other hand, a girl with a very similar appearance to her was staring at her from afar with a cold gaze and blank expression. The two of them were like shadows in a mirror. Very similar but also very different.
"--then there will be no problem. Because no matter how she changes, Lady Naeva is still Lady Naeva," Cleopatra was satisfied with her decision to approach Naeva.
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Time passed so quickly after that day. The news of the Sun Priest could not be hidden for too long. Although various doctors had been deployed, none of them could tell when the Sun Priest had stopped and his nova had been absorbed. The news of him collapsing with only a drop of Nova left spread quickly among the people and nobles. But instead of sadness or sympathy for it, they were secretly relieved and happy.
That irresponsible, arbitrary Sun Priest had finally stepped down from his throne and their smart, kind and friendly Princess would soon take his place. Who wouldn't be happy about that?
They all had high expectations of the Sultanate's two Princesses, Berenice who would climb the Tower and Cleopatra who would lead the Sun Temple. Since it was the First Prince who would inherit the throne of the Sultanate and the Second Prince as its prime minister, Princess Berenice as the First Princess was the king's child who had the most chance of becoming a ranker and climbing the Tower as high as possible.
Their treatment of Berenice and Cleopatra and their colleagues increased, especially for Cleopatra who often fell unconscious. The guard around the girl became much tighter. Although they had all been polite to her in the beginning, but lately the treatment felt more special than usual. And this made Bere depressed. She hated this kind of atmosphere. Many times she complained to Ophelia and Naeva about it and many times Cleopatra scolded her.
There was great responsibility behind great profit.
That's what her sister always said. Bere had heard it hundreds of times until she was tired of it. Bere didn't want to run away from responsibility. She just didn't like being pressured as a princess and wanted to be free.
And now finally, she could be free from that pressure.
"Cleopatra! I heard that there are a lot of interesting things on 3th Floor. I'll come back and bring you some souvenirs in my spare time, okay!" grinned Bere.
I'll come back and bring you some souvenirs in my spare time, okay!" grinned Bere [https://img.wattpad.com/166b52d162893086a76831188e4db619ee102e30/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f632d4155466a724c7964544e30673d3d2d313333373734383231392e313739306566373666663536333535303836303137383439343639332e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]
Cleopatra, who had both hands held by her sister, just smiled.
"Yes, Aneue. Please don't push yourself too hard."
"Who do you think your sister is! Hehehe..."
"But Aneue... Are you sure you want to leave like this?" Cleopatra glanced in the other direction.
As could be seen from the girl's eyes, Bere and her party were now in front of the elevator building where they had teleported to earlier. Early in the morning. When no one was there yet. Without any guards or escorts. Accompanied only by Cleopatra and some of her maids.
Bere puffed out her cheeks.
"If it wasn't like this, Chichiue would have made an extravagant delivery like when she picked me up. No! No way!!! It's too much, you know!"
Cleopatra smiled wryly.
"Even though Aneue told Chichiue and Hahaue to leave at noon with the others. I'm sure the escort Chichiue prepared for the afternoon won't have a job."
"What's wrong? The princess is breaking her promise," Hamer mocked.
Bere elbowed Hamer in the stomach.
"Noisy."
"Goghhk!"
"It hurts, girl!!!" he raged, and Bere stuck out her tongue.
"Well, at least Aneue did say goodbye to Chichiue and Hahaue. So... Maybe there won't be any problems?" Cleopatra thought resignedly.
Bere approached her sister again. She gently rubbed Cleopatra's head.
"I'm sorry I can't stay with you longer. Make sure to keep sending me messages. Especially when you're actually inducted as a Sun Priestess. I'll be sure to come straight down to 2nd Floor!"
"Okay, Aneue."
Now Bere hugged her sister tightly.
"Take good care of yourself. Don't wander around by yourself. If there's anything wrong, it could be serious. Don't forget to watch what you eat. Don't work too hard. Don't sleep too late. Don't--"
"Yes, yes, Aneue. I get it. Take it easy. I'm not a child," Cleopatra cut in. Well, there were times when Bere also turned around to nag her.
Bere giggled a little.
"I'll miss you. I'll come home often, okay."
"......."
For some reason Cleopatra's cheeks felt a little hot. She buried her face in Bere's arms, then hugged her too.
"I too... will miss Aneue."
Seeing their closeness made the others smile. If in the eyes of others, Cleopatra was just a sister who was lonely because her sister left her, it was different in Naeva's eyes. Naeva could clearly see the girl's regret for not being able to be with her sister for so long. Max 4 years, and only when her sister visited. After that, her sister had to move on without her twin sister.
After hugging for a long time. Both of them let go of their embrace. There was a single tear on their faces. Bere wiped them away slowly. Then, she stepped back for a moment, letting the others say goodbye as well.
Ophelia came forward first, she took Cleopatra's hand.
"Thank you for everything Cleopatra. You really helped us. Everything was fun thanks to you."
"If Bere comes to visit, I'll come and play too."
The maids Cleopatra had brought were close maids only, so there was no problem talking non-formally now.
"Of course, Lady Ophelia. It's also a pleasure to be with you. Please come to the Sultanate whenever you like," Cleopatra replied sincerely.
Hamer and Ruka did not approach. They were still under the impression that the Sultanate's princesses were not allowed to get close to men. Well, let's just say Bere was an exception.
"Thank you Cleopatra! It's good to know you! If she do something wrong, I'll tell you!" grinned Hamer while embracing Bere.
"Ahh!!! What the hell uncle!!?" Bere was upset.
Cleopatra giggled, "Sure. Please just tell me, Mr. Hamer. I will definitely advise Aneue if that happens."
"Not Cleopatra too!" sad Bere, Hamer gave his thumbs up.
The sleepy Ruka tried to open his eyes.
"Hoamm... Thank you Cleopatra Nee-san. Sleeping in the Sultanate feels good. It's cozy and warm here. Thanks to you."
"Fufufu, you're welcome Mr. Ruka. Glad to hear it," Cleopatra replied.
Again, once Naeva's turn came. All eyes were on her. Ah, Naeva couldn't like this kind of drama-filled scene. But she had to go with the flow, or else Bere and Ophelia would tire her out even more. Especially since in their eyes, she and Cleopatra were quite close.
Naeva let out a small sigh. She walked over to Cleopatra. Then rubbed her head lightly.
"...??"
But that only made Cleopatra confused. She really didn't know what to do in this situation.
Without saying anything, Naeva walked straight to the entrance after she finished doing that. This made Bere and Ophelia look at each other before finally looking at Naeva equally confused.
"Eh? That's it?" they asked.
Naeva paused in front of the door.
"Don't overdo it. This isn't a breakup."
"!"
Naeva was right. They could visit Cleopatra anytime, so it wasn't a breakup. But because those words came out of Naeva's mouth, they gasped in shock.
"Doesn't that mean Naeva will visit Cleopatra again? So she doesn't have to say goodbye? Naeva... You..." Ophelia's mind was somewhat pleased that her friend was becoming more open.
Well, Ophelia... Naeva will indeed visit again. But the reason is different from what you imagined. Well... Never mind.
"How long do you want to stay there?" asked Naeva, unable to bear Bere and Ophelia's twinkling eyes.
"Ah! Yes! If we don't hurry, someone will catch us!" screamed Bere as the sun began to rise.
Ophelia smiled sweetly and waved her hand.
"Bye, Cleopatra! Please convey our greetings to the others. We're leaving first."
Cleopatra waved her hand as well.
"Of course, Lady Ophelia. May you pass the exams with ease."
"Hmm. Bye!"
Bere, Hamer and Ruka waved along with Ophelia before they finally followed Naeva into the building.
Left behind by her sister and new friends, Cleopatra could only smile warmly there.
"May the blessings of the Sun God always be with you."
" [https://img.wattpad.com/f4cf53b7124bdd3a16106e0d6aba0bf216a882c2/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5335775250584d5173735a4642513d3d2d313333373734383231392e313739306566363563666337646135353731373939303336313436382e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]