"Because that"s the truth, no?"

In the end, all of this is happening because of the careless decisions she made.

Arthur sighs, "Well, that certainly isn"t wrong. A knight can s.h.i.+ne brightest when they can embrace the loneliness and acceptance of others. Though, I suppose that logic will work for anybody living in this Empire."

"They were all alone from the start. And had I not brought them all together, then perhaps right now they"d all be.."

"You cannot solely blame yourself," Arthur trails off, "Surely you understand that. Blaming yourself over something like this will not do you any good. After all, do you not already have enough to worry about as it is?"

At that comment, Lyn laughed, "Ah, I see. Allen spoke with you, that was quick. I thought I could hide it longer."

"That man worries about you constantly. But what he said to me aside, I am worried too. You"re going out with that young boy, Kazuya, and you appear to be happy, yet there is still something wrong."

So the three of them saw through it. Lyn sighed, well, it would be stranger if they couldn"t see it. After all, she is not very good at hiding this side of herself.

"Perhaps, are you having second thoughts?" Arthur guessed.

"No, the decision to leave was something I made when I realized how attached I was becoming. So even long before this, I have been --"

Arthur quickly interjected, "Burdening yourself over destroying your current " world," right?"

Lyn laughs lightly, "If you have it figured it out already. Is there any need for this conversation?"

"On the contrary, is that not why we are having it? Perhaps you still have that thought that you don"t deserve happiness because of your wretchedness. " It"s fine if I am not happy. Because I don"t have such an ability, anyway. I"m a wretched person who doesn"t deserve to exist. All I can do is cause people to suffer; that"s why something like that I cannot have". … You still think that way, anybody can tell."

"Is loneliness not supposed to be a virtue, Mr. Prince?"

"It is the burden we all share. But I don"t think it suits you. ..indeed it wouldn"t suit either of you," Arthur sighed. So he brought up even now, that surprisingly took long.

"Everyone"s friends, we are all vital to this Kingdom. That girl was the one who told me that, and even though I dismissed it as silly and foolish. She never backed down in attempting to get that message across."

Lyn knew who he was talking about. This is about her again, isn"t it? "Her will is strong then," Lyn casually commented.

"No, on the contrary, it may be fragile."

That look in his eyes that must be the first time she has ever seen it. So when it comes to her, he makes that type of face, "It"s weak and similar to yours. That"s why I believe it will be one of you two to make it possible. The miracle that took even your mother a long time to achieve."

A miracle, huh?

Ahh, suddenly, all these expectations are on her. It really is odd, for someone like her. Someone so wretched that they cannot even save anyone dear to her. Someone who brings misfortune to others" lives. If such a person as her achieves that miracle, then she wonders if anyone will be happy at all.

Lyn closed her eyes, "Arthur, do you want to know? Exactly what I"m thinking now?"

"I"d like that, but would you allow me?"

....

During one of their first conversations. Kazuya said such negative sounding words.

"Hey, Lyn, what do I look like to you?

A monster or a beast?

Maybe just a formless disaster?"

Her reply surprised even her.

" ... you"re a flame. A big beautiful bright red flame."

She compared him to a flame, a gorgeous red flame.

"The most beautiful red in this world."

Kazuya has the most beautiful color in the world. He was never a monster or someone who caused havoc. Kazuya gathered so many people; he brought them peace and happiness. A peace and happiness she never thought were possible.

So many people, who all have caring and warm hearts. Such people wouldn"t have gathered around him if he were a monster. But if you are the most beautiful red, then she wonders what color she truly is? There cannot be two people with that color.

After all, all she seems capable of doing with this color is staining those people who are although painted a dark color already - staining them with a bloodshed red, is undoubtedly cruel.

"The heir apparent of the Wind Kingdom has arrived with his wife, the second Princess of the Mist Kingdom."

Lyn flinched slightly when she hears the wife announcement. They aren"t married yet, but it seems like everybody is treating her as Allen"s wife already. This is bad; how is she meant to break up the engagement when things are like this?

After the greetings, a relieved sigh crossed Lyn"s lips. She hates attending these events.

"I apologize for making you attend. But, since we were here, I figured.."

Lyn shook her head, "It"s alright. A warning ahead of time would have been nice, though. I"m afraid this outfit isn"t good enough," she mumbled. She wore a more western style of dress.

Allen smiles, "Not at all. It looks good on you."

It does, huh?

"You know I don"t like these events because you"re always faking your smile.."

He squeezed her hands, "Relax dear. I"ll find a place for us to be alone."

She nodded and said nothing. Allen is very good with his words. He pa.s.sed her a cup; Lyn stared at it curiously. "Drink, relax; the alcohol content isn"t a lot. It"s for events like this."

"Okay."

Whenever she attends these events, she feels like a doll. Just blindly obeying whatever her master commands, standing still to look pretty. Allen brushed his free hand against her hair, "You need not be so stiff, I"m right here."

"You"re not very rea.s.suring during these events; you act just like they do."

The person she wants to see now is Kazuya. After he left her with Allen, Kazuya didn"t return. Exactly where did he go? Why didn"t he bring her with him? It made Lyn feel incredibly uneasy. "Allen, did Kazuya contact you yet?" Lyn asked.

It felt insensitive asking such a question, but whenever she is apart from Kazuya - she becomes uneasy. What is this bad feeling she keeps getting lately? Lyn isn"t a superst.i.tious person. However, with the recent events. It"s hard to say, so many incidents keep occurring.