"Laplace, you're here to see me again."
Carly said as she threw her phone onto the table and absentmindedly continued to eat the sandwich in her hand.
However, hearing Laplace's name, Pace was a little surprised:
"Laplace? Miss Carly, is this the Laplace I'm thinking of?"
"The Grand Commander of the Academy, Laplace von Valantia," Carly said, rolling her eyes, "Yeah, I hung up on him, but so what..."
"If I remember correctly, Miss Carly is also a member of the [Academy], right?"
"Well, yes, but I rarely go to the Federation."
"So... this really won't..."
"will not."
"really?"
"I already said I wouldn't do that."
Seeing Carly's indifferent expression, Pace's understanding of her was renewed. You know, as a member of the [Academy], if she casually hung up Laplace's phone call, it would be like the Thebits dancing in front of the [Iron Lord]...
If you don't have a few extra lives to spare, I guess no one would dare to play like this.
"Carly..." Perlis, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, "Laplace...why did he look for you..."
"Ah... this..."
Carly stared at Perlis with a hint of worry for a while. As if confirming Perlis' worst guess, she sighed slightly:
"For you, Perlis."
......
8) Wilkin's Rain (Part 7)
"Pure idealists died long ago."
"Look, those noble souls who are struggling in the dust with their ideals."
"Uncover their sleeves and you will see the scar of compromise."
——Selected Fairy Tales from Wilkin
......
The light drizzle falling into the endless darkness is probably one of the most favorite scenes in the eyes of the bard. The rainy night in Wilkin always has a touch of petty bourgeoisie. Whether it is the elegant oasis area or the Visa Desert burned by the scorching sun during the day, they all slowly calm down in this deep night drizzle.
"call.."
Under the slightly yellowish desk lamp, Perlis slowly closed her father's diary and looked out the window boredly at the darkness. The white mist between her breaths spit out on the glass dotted with raindrops, covering the night outside the window with a layer of ethereal mist. The girl's blood-red eyes stared at the window with a dull look, as if she wanted to see through the mist that enveloped her and the outside world, or as if she was just in a daze.
The rain continued to fall, and the drizzle gently hit the windows, making a sound of raindrops that made Perlis very comfortable. Perlis liked the sound of rain. Compared with the night rain in Lorton with the damp smell of the alley, the rain in Wilkin seemed more elegant, like a gentle lady, slowly combing her soft long hair with a patterned wooden comb.
In the rhythm of the raindrops, Perlis slowly pressed her face against the cold window. The coolness brought by the drizzle spread along her skin, slowly soothing her somewhat melancholy heart. While watching the drizzle outside the window, she slowly curled her snow-white long hair with one finger, circle after circle, and then let go, repeating.
Rainy nights make her absent-minded, but also peaceful. Perlis likes to be alone. In this quietness dotted with drizzle, there is only her and the rain, separated by a layer of glass window, each alone.
"Perlis?"
The knock on the door pulled Perlis back from the atmosphere of the rainy night. She turned to look at the door of the study. The door had been pushed open, and Carly walked in slowly with two cups of coffee.
"It's so late, aren't you going to sleep?"
Perlis did not answer, but turned her head and silently stared at the diary on the table. Edward's diary was already a little old, and time was like a carving knife, scratching the edges and corners of the diary, but only the sentence above was still engraved on the yellowed paper:
"To Perlis Havrgard, my little white flower, I love you forever."
Carly slowly walked to the side of Perlis, looked at her with some melancholy, then sighed, put the coffee on the desk, and then sat on the bed next to Perlis. Looking at Perlis's lost profile, Carly opened her mouth, but thousands of words were stuck in her throat, and she was hesitant to speak.
"You..don't want to sleep?"
The silence did not last long. Perlis slowly turned her head and looked at Carly. There was finally some light in her red eyes.
"It's not good to learn from me and stay up late. You are so smart..."
"I want to sleep, too, but as soon as I fell asleep, I dreamed that a fool locked himself in the study room at night and was unhappy," Carly smiled reluctantly, stretched out a hand and slowly stroked the long white hair of Perlis. Perlis did not react, but just looked at her silently.
The rain was still falling, punctuating the silence between the two. Some things didn't need to be said, and between them there was no need for false courtesy or formality, only the most real thing.
Something more real than the night that swallowed up the drizzling rain.
In the atmosphere of the rainy night, Carly sighed softly. She knew that most of the time, Pearls did not need empty and condescending comfort, or those meaningless blank checks.
All she needs is the simplest companionship.
The rain in Wilkin fell slowly, extending from the city surrounded by ancient temples to the endless suburbs. The rain enveloped Wilkin without any difference, like a mother coaxing her child to sleep, gentle, and revealing a hint of looming divinity.
After a long time, Perlis broke the silence softly.
"I'm...scared..."
Carly looked up in surprise, her red eyes were filled with something. That thing was like the drizzle outside, which was almost invisible to the naked eye at ordinary times. But when you walked into it, that thing would envelope you so realistically.
"Perlis..?"
"I can't do it, I'm too... too stupid, too weak..."
Perlis's voice trembled, creating little waves in the calm rainy night.
"..I can't do anything right, I have no way..."
Carly looked at Perlis in a daze, tears streaming down her eyes, and her body trembling slightly, like a helpless child.
"..I..I messed up everything..I lost the butterfly knife and bracelet that my father left for me.."
Perlis spoke with sobs and her body trembled continuously, without any trace of the [Pure White Fireworks] she had seen on the battlefield in the past.
"I can't do anything right... I'm so tired, I'm so scared, I don't dare..."
"..Wow..I..I'm so useless, I still——"
Before Perlis could continue, Carly suddenly embraced her with both hands, which made her speechless.
"Carly..?"
"Shh..." Carly freed one hand and slowly stroked Perlis's head, like a mother comforting her child, "You are already great, little white flower."
"..but I.."
"You're already great," Carly said as she stroked Perlis's head. Her voice was as gentle as water, moistening Perlis' heart like the drizzle outside. "You have talent and have been working hard. Even if not many people see it, that can't be denied - not even you can deny it."
"But no matter how strong you are, no matter how hard you work, you are definitely not omnipotent. You have to fight against such bad people. There are so many of them, and they are so bad. Even you can't do it, okay?"
"So, please don't always leave alone with a cold face. Sometimes, you can rely on me."
Carly closed her eyes and smiled at ease. She could feel Perlis trembling in her arms like a frightened child. Carly knew that was Perlis' true appearance, not [Blade of Babel], not [Pure White Fireworks], but just [Perlis Hafurgard].
Strip away all the masks that the world has put on her, and you will find that she is, after all, just a little girl.
Carly hugged Perlis tightly and stroked her pure white hair gently:
"Don't worry, little white flower. No matter how many bad guys there are, I will always stand behind you."
"Carly.. oooooooooooooooooooooo."
Perlis was completely unable to resist the gushing emotions and burst into tears. But Carly seemed to be unable to bear her like this, so she let go of her body from her arms and held Perlis' tearful cheeks with both hands, which made Perlis feel a little surprised.
"...Eh?"
"What's up? Have you become a crying idiot now?" Carly rubbed Perlis's little face with a smile, looking at the remaining tears in the corners of her eyes, feeling pity for her. "Don't think I don't remember. It's past midnight. Today is your birthday. Since it's your birthday, you should be happy——"
After saying that, Carly used both hands to pull the corners of Pearlis' mouth and helped her put on a smile.
"Happy, happy, happy! An 18-year-old white flower is not allowed to be alone in a room and mourn!"
Then, Carly let go of Polys, and Polys lowered her head slightly. When she raised her head again, a very rare bright smile appeared on her face.
"..Um.."
On the girl's bright smiling face, a tear dripped from the corner of her eye, ran across her face, and fell to the ground, just like the drizzle from the sky falling into the endless darkness.
"Thank you.."
......
Amid the sound of rain, Carly covered the sleeping Pearlis with a quilt. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she found that Pearlis was holding her hand tightly.
"..Carly..."
Perlis murmured in her dream, and her lovely sleeping face was reflected in Carly's eyes, like a defenseless baby. This extremely childish behavior made Carly angry and amused.
How? When did you become a kid again?
"I really can't help you.. Well, tonight is an exception."
After that, Carly climbed onto Pearlis's bed, gently hugged her in her arms, and slowly stroked her head.
"Go to sleep, little white flower. At least here you are allowed to show a little weakness."
Their faces were pressed together, and Perlis' breath slowly sprayed on Carly's face, warm and slow.
Looking at Perlis's sleeping face, Carly couldn't help but smile.
Amid the rhythmic sound of raindrops, she gently kissed Perlis's little face, which still had some traces of tears on it.
"At least here, you can rest assured and have a good sleep."
The drizzle outside the window was still swallowed up by the boundless darkness, but at least at this moment, nothing could affect the two girls sleeping in each other's arms.
......
Early in the morning, Perlis slowly walked out of the gate of the mansion and stretched gently in the morning light.
After a few days of rest, Pearlis was able to walk on her own. She got up early every day and walked into Wilkin's morning.
The atmosphere of the early morning after the rain intoxicated Perlis more than any kind of alcohol. The faint smell of water vapor mixed with the soft morning light formed a symphony unique to the early morning.
After enjoying the morning air for a while at the door, Perlis started walking towards the garden.
However, at this moment, the object on the ground caught her attention——
"Huh? What is this..?"
Looking down, there was a small black box on the ground at the entrance of the mansion. There was also a note on it, with the words written in an extremely fancy font:
"You left these behind, little flower."
The familiar font shattered the tranquility that Perlis had gained in the early morning like a hammer, and a dark cloud shrouded her heart again.
Perlis slowly squatted down and opened the box that exuded an ominous aura with trembling hands.
Lying in the box is that familiar diary——
“How…how could it be…?”
Pearlis grabbed the diary and quickly flipped through it. It was exactly Edward's diary, word for word.
Why..why would he..?
As if to answer Pearlis's question, the diary stopped at the end of Edward's record.
There, a silver butterfly knife with a factor bracelet was clamped in the book like a bookmark.
Pearlis grabbed the butterfly knife and felt the familiar coolness of the handle touching her skin. This was exactly her butterfly knife, guaranteed to be genuine.
What caught my eye was a note hidden under the butterfly knife:
"I'll wait for you at the Tower of Babel."
......
Got Your Six (Part 1)
Eight years ago
Babel Tower Competition
"I..I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Aleph Stro tried to get up very weakly, but he couldn't hold on and fell to the ground.
