Click— Just as Ecaros sank into deep slumber, the very next moment, accompanied by the crisp sound of the door lock, a graceful silhouette entered the girl’s bedroom.
It was a young woman of sixteen, dressed in an academy-style ensemble.
The black-and-white interwoven attire silently accentuated the nature deep within the girl’s soul.
A creamy-white tailcoat draped her streamlined figure.
Beneath a black lace-trimmed miniskirt, a glimpse of snow-white skin forming an absolute territory with the black stockings was particularly eye-catching.
The girl herself was a peerless beauty.
Her captivating features seemed innately alluring; the beauty mark beneath the corner of her eye could steal one’s very soul.
Every word, every smile, seemed able to ensnare the heart.
Add to that her smooth, jet-black long hair, the sleek and perfect curve of her thighs, her willowy, boneless waist, and the deep, obsidian-like eyes beneath her hime-cut bangs…
These qualities layered together formed the girl’s unique beauty—like a bewitching poisonous rose, as dangerous and alluring as a poppy.
To put it simply, the girl was practically Terra’s own Tomie.
Beautiful and dangerous.
And the girl who possessed such beauty was none other than the childhood friend Ecaros still missed dearly, even after awakening her past life’s memories.
Arturia Giallo.
“Good morning.
Are you awake, my dear Ecaros?” After entering the room, Arturia expertly closed the door.
Her feet, wrapped in black stockings, stepped into the little white rabbit slippers Ecaros had prepared for her, and she walked to the bedside of the sleeping girl.
Pretending to sleep again?
Seeing that Ecaros on the bed showed no reaction, as she always did, the already accustomed Arturia’s lips curved upward.
Her obsidian-like eyes fixed upon Ecaros’ adorable sleeping face.
Not without teasing intent, she said: “So you’re really asleep.
In that case, I won’t hold back, Ecaros~” Deliberately speaking these slightly suggestive words with a frivolous air, Arturia used her hand, wrapped in black gloves, to tuck the black hair by her cheek behind her ear, revealing her fair face.
Then, gently bending over, the bangs upon the girl’s forehead drooped slightly.
As her face drew closer and closer to the sleeping Ecaros, Her warm breath softly brushed against Ecaros’ face, like a tender lover caressing that fair skin.
The faint, elusive fragrance of Arturia’s body also drifted through the air into Ecaros’ delicate nose.
Those thin, cherry-hued lips were only half a foot from Ecaros’ lips…
Yet Ecaros still showed no reaction.
This puzzled Arturia somewhat.
Because according to past experience, Ecaros would have already begun to show cracks by now.
If not blushing, then her body would tremble slightly—small reactions Arturia found exceedingly amusing and adorable.
But today, Ecaros showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever.
Something was clearly amiss.
“Ecaros…
Ecaros?” “…Seems you’ve really fallen asleep this time.” While gently shaking the girl’s body, Arturia also softly called her name.
But after a series of futile attempts, Arturia realized that Ecaros had indeed fallen asleep.
After all, Ecaros would never ignore her.
So she immediately gave up on disturbing Ecaros’ sleep.
At the same time, she gently pulled Ecaros’ blanket up a little higher.
Expertly and quietly, she took a small stool from beneath the nearby vanity, sat down by the girl’s bedside, propped her chin in her hand, and quietly watched Ecaros’ somewhat sanctified countenance as she breathed faintly under the warm sunlight.
The warm sunlight, while lingering fondly upon Ecaros, did not forget to share its warmth with Arturia as well, enveloping the girl’s black hair and golden eyes in a warm-hued glow.
Arturia watched Ecaros’ sleeping face, toying with the other’s smooth silver hair, glossy under the morning light’s caress.
The texture of the strands was wonderful, making Arturia unable to resist taking off her gloves and using the soft skin of her palm to carefully feel Ecaros’ silk-like silver hair.
Feeling the ticklish sensation as the silver strands slipped through the soft flesh of her palm, time soundlessly slipped through Arturia’s fingertips as well.
The sun seemed to have fully woken up, too.
No longer drowsy, it wanted to drape even more light and heat over the adorably sleeping Ecaros.
But this light and heat, in Arturia’s view, was a bit too much for a sleeping person.
Thus, she rose and drew the curtains most of the way, blocking most of the sunlight spilling onto Ecaros’ face, yet not leaving her entirely in darkness.
At the same time, the warm sunlight, unwilling to be blocked by the curtains, still strove to pass through them and bring its warm glow to the slumbering Ecaros.
Seeing this, Arturia did nothing more.
She merely wiped away the faint trickle of glistening drool at the corner of Ecaros’ mouth and couldn’t help but reveal a gentle smile.
Ecaros is still so cute.
Today, my fondness for her seems to have grown just a little bit more as well.
Unconsciously sighing in her heart, Arturia gazed at Ecaros’ delicate features.
Those beautiful eyes, looking at the girl, held no boredom or weariness, as if she could go on like this with the girl before her for eternity.
But watching the girl’s gradually maturing appearance, feeling the silken strands between her fingers as smooth as ever, and savoring the tranquility of this moment, the memories and moments the girl had carefully treasured in her mind surged into Arturia’s thoughts, bringing with them the beauty of the past.
Thinking back carefully…
how did someone like herself fall for Ecaros in the first place?
Was it that lonely, stifling afternoon—when she, who had been playing music alone in her mother’s room, finished a piece and saw, through the window, her mother returning home holding a girl’s hand?
When she joyfully and gratefully threw herself into her mother’s embrace, she saw that girl’s expressionless face.
Or was it when, because of her Originium Arts, after being forbidden from performing, that girl secretly used her saved-up pocket money, hitched a ride on someone else’s carriage, and with her small body, traveled to a city dozens of kilometers away to buy a second-hand cello, then dirtily climbed back into her house through the window?
When she handed that cello to her and saw her own stunned expression, that girl revealed a silly, gentle smile.
Or was it when, on her birthday, after hearing her wish, the girl naively wanted to become someone who understood her, to become a companion who stood by her side?
When she began to learn the piano and hone an Originium Art that could restrain her own influence—the moment she saw that girl’s unwavering resolve—her heart, for some unknown reason, quickened, and the rims of her eyes grew faintly moist.
No matter when, she always held absolute trust in her, protected her fragile, true self, allowed her to play freely, and used her own sincere heart to search for the answers she longed for.
And finally, the time when she asked the girl if she were to leave Laterano, and the other, without any hesitation, answered that she would gladly wander Terra together with her.
That look in her eyes, as if she was willing to stand against the whole world for her sake…
The girl’s face in all these memories overlapped with the sleeping Ecaros before her eyes.
It was probably because of all this…
That the one named Arturia had come to love Ecaros.
At first, it was only a faint stirring of the heart.
But when she looked back again, she found she had already fallen too deep to extricate herself.
Emotions were strange things like that.
And Arturia would forever pursue the most sincere of emotions—whether from others or from herself.
As for what consequences this pursuit might bring about in the end, Arturia never cared.
She only cared about being able to walk the road to the future together with Ecaros, accompanying each other.
Unconsciously, she had leaned onto the head of the sleeping girl’s bed.
Arturia gazed at the exquisite side profile of Ecaros.
Threads of sunlight filtering through the curtains reflected upon her face.
In her obsidian-like eyes, at this moment, only Ecaros’ figure remained.
A bright, radiant smile rose on her face.
Her black hair intertwined with that silver, overlapping, as if inseparable.
And at this moment, a painting belonging solely to Arturia and Ecaros in this world was composed.
Time seemed to quietly still at this instant.
Even the sunlight gentled considerably.
The curtains were quietly stirred by a tender breeze, as if all were offering silent blessings to the maidens.