Chapter 31 - A Catastrophic Mistake

  Haaaaah......So, I'm neck-deep in this crap, and guess what? I freakin' hate Cillian. Dude's just a pretty face with zero substance. I gotta stop obsessing over his worthless ass and focus on the real shit going down. And, oh yeah, I'm in Omeen now! Maybe I should hit up my mom, but damn, that's a whole emotional minefield waiting to explode. HAHHHH.....

  The familiar melody drifted through the night air, weaving its way through the open window. ??"Sasayaki ga hibiku kage no naka,"?? “Speak of the Devil…” I muttered, a smirk tugging at the er of my lips. The words fell from my mouth out of habit, their irony rolling off my tongue. I swung my legs off the bed, my feet toug the cool, smooth wood beh me, grounding me in the moment. ??"nigaku namida ni somatta sora no shimo,"??

  I stretched, every muscle pulling taut before loosening into an easy nguidness, limbs like liquid. I made my way to the garden door, trailing my fiips along the door’s frame, sav the familiar texture. I slid it open, the night air washing over me, and I stepped out into the silver wash of moonlight, feeling it bathe my skin as if it knew my secrets. ??"katsute wa kagayaite ita tamashī ga ima wa haiiro ni ōwa re,-kō no yume wa kiesatta." ?? Breathing in deeply, I filled my lungs with the night, as if drawing strength from its cool depths. Without a sed thought, I broke into a sprint, darting across the garden, the soft grass cushioning my bare feet as I ran. My path took me to the wall, a familiar obstacle that I scaled with ease. My muscles khe rhythm by heart, my body moving in perfect syny as I vaulted over the edge, nding with a soft thud oher side. ??"moku no naka de ikari ga tsunoru, daremoshiranai itami kara." ?? With every step, I felt my body e alive. The wind tugged at my hair, and a grin spread ay face, wild and untamed. My mind wandered for a brief moment, w if, just this once, my mht have something worth my time. Or was this just another one of her games, luri for her amusement? Perhaps tonight I would allow myself to let the ing, plex feelings inside me simmer down, just enough to embrace this moment. As I he familiar street that led to the forest, my pace slowed, the usual eerie quietness repced by something ued. The street was alive with lights and music, the st of sweet treats filling the air. Children giggled as they chased each other between stalls; young couples swayed to the rhythm of upbeat music. Merts hollered, hawking wares, their voices blending into the lively hum of the crowd. A night festival? The realization hit me with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. I hesitated on the edge of the crowd, taking in the vibrant se before me. Why would Hana choose to stay hidden in her home on a night like this? I wondered as I let myself be drawn into the crowd, the festive air a stark trast to the solitude of the garden I had just left. My breath fogged in the cool night air, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I should just turn back. But something pelled me forward. Running was no longer an option, not with the throng of people pressing in from all sides. Instead, I weaved through the crowd, skillfully slippiween strangers, their eyes widening as they noticed my attire—no doubt an odd sight amidst the festival-goers. I could feel their curious stares, some even whispered, but I ighem, fog on reag the forest edge, away from the prying eyes. Just when I thought I was in the clear, I collided with someohe impact jolti of my thoughts. "Ouch. I’m sorry, I didn’t see—" I froze mid-sentence, my gaze log onto a familiar face, one I never expected to see here. My breath hitched. My heart nearly stopped as reition dawned. MY NANNY stht in front of me... The air grew thick, the noise of the crowd dimming as my heart pounded, each beat filling the sileween us. Her lips twisted into a smirk, her eyes gleaming with a bitter amusement I knew all too well. "OH MY! Isn’t this MY PRINCESS?" Her words dripped with sarcasm, sharp as a bde. "N-nanny?" The word slipped from my mouth, trembling with the fear and fusion surging through me. I took an instinctive step back, memories of her cruelty fshing before my eyes. Her smirk deepened, eyes alight with malice. “Ah? Is this fear I see?” she sneered, her voice ced with mockery. “Tell me, how does it feel to kill an i soul? Did you enjoy it, you i little—" She raised a hand, and I flinched, my body tensing in anticipation of the blow. But before her hand could make tact, a warmth enveloped my face. A ge firm hand covered my eyes, blog out everything but thin slivers of light. I caught a glimpse of my nanny’s face—her expression had shifted fre to shock, her body frozen, fear pin in her wide eyes. “Y-Your Majesty,” she stammered, voice trembling. Your Majesty? The words spun in my head, my mind uo catch up. Could it be…? The voice that answered was regal, each word ced with unmistakable authority. “It is an imperative of the utmost gravity that you withdraw yourself from my sight forthwith, lest I be obliged to exact repense for the grievous affront you have so unceremoniously inflicted upon me on this otherwise felicitous day. I e you, with the stro admonition that I may muster, to absd with all possible haste, whilst the bounds of my patience remain intad the full dignity of my restrai prevails untainted.” The meaning was clear: Leave, before I make you pay for the insult. “U-uood, Your Majesty,” my nanny stammered, bag away like a frightened animal. In the blink of an eye, she was gone, swallowed by the crowd. Slowly, cautiously, I reached up aly pulled the hand from my face, my firembling as I turo see the figure standing behind me. And there she was. My mother, resple uhe glow of the festival lights. She wore a Victorian-style dress, mainly deep red with striking bck ats and intricate ce detailing. It had a high nee with ce trim, puffed sleeves tapering into fitted cuffs, and a fitted bodice ched with a bck belt. The voluminous skirt was adorned with multiple yers of ruffles and ce, creating a dramatic silhouette. There was a rge bow on the side and various d ribbon embellishments giving it a gothid vintage aesthetic. Her presence was regal and magic. I stared at her, words failing me as a flood of emotions surged within me—relief, fusion, longing, and a cautious wariness. "I humbly beseech yracious pardon, Your Eminence," I enced, my words measured and deliberate, yet irely devoid of a modicum of hesitation. "While I am indeed most grateful for your intercession, it is with utmost deferehat I submit that such as were, in truth, quite superfluous. For I remain steadfast in my vi that I possess the requisite wherewithal to navigate the present circumstances unaided." With a sudden and ued gesture, my mother leaned in close, her face mere timeters from mine. I recoiled, unsure of how to respond, but before I could muster a rea, she pulled away, her delicate fingers partially cealing a wry smile as she broke into a melodious ugh, her eyes gently shut. It was as if I were witnessing a divine being expressing mirth. "Why are you-" I stuttered, but my mother interjected with a tender phrase that caused my cheeks to flush with warmth. "Because you're simply adorable, Lily," she cooed, elig a swell of emotion that I had long harbored in the depths of my heart. Overwhelmed by the iy of the moment, I pleaded with her, "Please refrain from making such remarks," my voice trembling and uain. With another soft giggle, my mother took hold of my hand, and together we raced toward the dense woodnd that cradled the Go-tei. As we tio traverse the forest, tears once again welled up in my eyes, streaming down my cheeks. "Mother," I choked out, my voice trembling with emotion. Her tone unyielding, she queried, "Is this about that rogue?" Attempting tain my posure, I wiped the tears away with my free hand, for my right hand was securely held within her left, as she guided me forward, shielding me from potential harm. "I had assumed you were fond of him, sidering his e to your friend," I ventured, my voice regaining some of its strength. "Merely because Cillian is the son of a person you once held dear does not necessarily imply that you must hold him in high regard as well. Additionally, it would be best to avoid any close association with him. A me be unequivocally clear, do ertain any notions of romantita with him. He is, unequivocally, not a suitable match for you. That being said, perhaps immersing yourself in the experience of love could provide some valuable perspective on my past emotions and struggles, allowing you to resider your harsh judgment of my choices." My mother's resolute to no room fument. With a forceful tug, I freed my hand from her grasp and locked eyes with her. "If that's the case," I demanded, my voice steely with resolve, "then tell me right here and now. Be utterly truthful. What is it that you truly desired then, and still desire now?" My mother spun around, her hair falling in wild strands around her face, her eyes narrowing as she settled oh a look that felt like ice sinking into my bones. She stepped frabbing my face roughly, her fingers digging into my cheeks as she spat, “I desired nothing more than to watch your father suffer, to watch him fall apart. But you—” her grip tightened, “you’re the real curse I’m stuck with. If I could’ve gotten rid of you, too, I would have do in a heartbeat. You've ruined everything." Her grip tightened until my cheeks ached, her face twisted with disgust. "Every time I look at you, I'm reminded of the mistake I made. I’ve wasted my life because of you.” I tried to pull away, but her grip only grew stronger. "And what do I desire now?" she repeated, tilting her head as if sav every hateful word. "I want you gone. I wish you'd aken a single breath. Every sed you’re here, you make my life worse. Do you know what you are to me?" Her voice was sharp and vicious. "A curse, a weight dragging me down every single day. If I had one ce to erase you from my life, I’d take it without a sed thought. You’ve ruined everything good." She ughed bitterly, her nails digging harder into my skin. "I lost everything because of you. My life, my dreams, my happiness—all of it, ripped away. If you hadn’t e along, I could have had a life. I could have been free. But no—I got stuck with you, a pathetic, useless burden who’s brought nothing but misery.” She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper. “Do you even realize how much I hate you? I hate the way you look, the way you talk, the way you exist. Every breath you take is an insult to me, a reminder of the life I lost.” "You don’t deserve a mother. You don’t deserve love. I wish I could scrub every memory of you from my mind. You’re a parasite, feeding off me, taking everything and giving nothing back. You are the biggest regret of my existence, and every day I’m reminded of the mistake I made.” She stepped back, her gre growing more intense. “I dream of a life where I never had to know you. Where I never had to sacrifiything for you. Wishing every day that you’d just disappear—that you’d just vanish and never e back. Because that’s what I feel when I look at you. I feel nothing but disgust. If I could erase you, I would do it in an instant.” Her voice grew louder, her words sharper, eae hitting like a sp. "You’ve ruined everything. I’ve wasted years of my life on you, years I’ll never get back. And for what? So I watch you stumble around, wasting space, failing at everything you touch? Do you think you’re worth this? You’re not. You never were. You are nothing. Less than nothing. You’re a stain, a burden I am forced to carry, and every day, I wonder why I eveend you matter.” She sneered, her eyes filled with raw pt. “You are a disappoi. A leech. A curse that I am shackled to. I am trapped, ed to you forever, and if I could finally be free, I would leave you without a sed thought.” She paused, her gaze hard and unfeeling. "So let me make ohing clear—you mean nothing to me. Less than nothing. I don’t love you. I don’t even like you. I tolerate you because I have to, but if I ever get the ce to live a life without you, I’ll take it and never look back." Her voice dropped to an icy whisper as she leaned in, her breath hot and bitter. "Don’t think, even for a sed, that you’re worth anything to me. You are a curse I would do anything to get rid of, and I will never, ever regret saying that."

  "Let me make this perfectly clear," she hissed, her words razor-sharp and gcial, cutting through the air like shards of ice. "You are an abomination, a catastrophic mistake that has poisoned every breath I've ever taken. Looking at you is like staring into an abyss of my shattered dreams—each glimpse reminds me of the life you murdered the moment you entered mine. You're a parasitic void, a bck hole of neediness and failure that has devoured every shred of joy, every possibility, every dream I ever had. My existence has been reduced to ashes because of the ic tragedy of your birth. The mere sound of your breathing makes my skin crawl with revulsion. You're a cer that has metastasized through my entire life, corrupting everything you touch with your i worthlessness. Each sacrifice I made for you feels like self-mutition now—pieyself I carved away for someone who amounts to nothing but a walkiome of disappoi. The depth of my hatred for you is bottomless, an o of pure revulsion that grows deeper with every pathetic attempt you make to exist in my world. If I could go ba time, I would tear you from existence so violently that even the memory of your ception would be obliterated. You haven't just ruined my life—you've desecrated it, tur into a mo ret and revulsion. The fact that you carry my blood makes me want to drain every drop from my veins. You are less than nothing—you are anti-matter, destroying everything good and pure by your mere presehe thought that I am forever tainted by the fact that you emerged from my body makes me wish I could burn away every cell that ever touched you. Your existence is my eternal punishment, and I curse every god and force of nature that allowed you to draw breath. If you disappeared this instant, turo dust and scattered in the wind, it would be turies too te to salvage what you've destroyed."

  To be tinued...