Chapter 125
With the two girls left alone in the room, the atmosphere became tense.
Clair's mind soon began racing with questions.
'Why did they leave me alone with her? What does she want to talk about right now? It's already embarrassing enough that she heard and saw all that, how much more of this can I endure?' These thoughts swirled in Clair's head.
Vasiliki, sensing her discomfort, gestured to the open chair at her bedside and said, "Isn't it uncomfortable standing up? Take a seat." she offered.
Clair hesitated briefly but then took the offered seat after a moment of contemplation.
"So why did you suddenly confess to Draco nii? Why did you feel the need to rush things? And did you really do all those weird things with his clothes?" Vasiliki questioned, her tone direct and her gaze unnerving.
Clair nearly choked upon hearing such blunt questions, her heart racing as she pondered whether she should answer.
"Do I really have to answer those questions?" Clair asked, her eyes studying Vasiliki's expression, searching for any hint of jest or playfulness.
"Well, you can choose not to answer me, but you will eventually have to talk to someone about this if you want to feel any semblance of normal again. So, can't that person be me?" Vasiliki replied, her voice soft and understanding.
Clair couldn't help but scrunch her face after hearing Vasiliki's reply.
"Do you not know..." she was about to say, but Vasiliki cut her off.
"Have I ever joked around during serious situations?" Vasiliki suddenly asked, her expression serious.
"No..." Clair replied after contemplating for a while.
"Then do I currently have an expression that says I'm not taking this seriously?" Vasiliki asked, her gaze locked onto Clair's.
Clair observed Vasiliki's expression for a while, searching for any falsehood, but found none.
"No," she replied.
"Look, I know that I tease and mess around with you all a lot, but it's not entirely always for fun. There are times I do it for a reason, and right now isn't a time to be playful. So, open up and talk to me," Vasiliki said, her words weighted with sincerity.
Clair was hesitant for a bit, but after seeing how serious Vasiliki looked, she decided to trust her and speak.
Seeing that Clair was willing to open up, Vasiliki began speaking again.
"Do you think you can tell me everything from the beginning?" she asked.
"Sigh, okay," Clair replied, taking a deep breath.
She closed her eyes, arranging her thoughts before speaking.
Then, she began narrating the events that transpired after Vasiliki had fallen unconscious in the dungeon.
Clair's story started with her outburst in the dungeon, when she realized that Draco had been treating her differently, but not for the reasons she had wanted.
She had thought it was because he found her special, but that didn't turn out to be the case.
To him, she was just family.
She then transitioned the story to after they had returned from the dungeon.
She had said things she didn't mean, and she wanted to apologize to everyone, but she was scared of their reaction.
She narrated the questions she had asked herself then and the emotions that followed as she even began doubting the authenticity of her love for Draco.
Then she reached the part where she met their goddess Bahamut early in the morning of the next day in the kitchen.
Bahamut had offered her advice and given her the courage to make amends with the rest of the familia, but later around noon the same day, Bahamut had revealed her love confession to Draco the previous day.
At that time, Clair felt a sense of numbness wash over her, repeatedly questioning herself.
When she finally arrived at an answer, she immediately made her own love confession to Draco.
Perhaps she felt a bit pressured because Bahamut had confessed first, and she didn't want to lose out.
Or perhaps it was another reason, but at that moment, her mind was a jumbled mess, struggling to make sense of the swirling emotions.
The last part was about Draco rejecting her, and the rest Vasiliki already knew about.
After her detailed narration of the events, Clair just stared at the ground, tears welling in her eyes once again.
Just then, Vasiliki wrapped her hands around Clair, gently patting her back to provide comfort.
As Clair's crying turned into sobs, Vasiliki raised her face and looked into her eyes.
"Look here, being rejected isn't the end of the world. We may have experienced a lot compared to other children our age, but we are far from experiencing all that the world has to offer," Vasiliki said, her voice soothing and reassuring.
"Draco nii may not be your mister right, but it doesn't mean that one doesn't exist out there," Vasiliki consoled.
"Then what would you have done in my situation?" Clair asked, her voice trembling between sobs.
"Hmm, that's a hard question," Vasiliki muttered, gently stroking Clair's firm furry ears in a comforting gesture.
"Honestly, I would have waited till I heard Draco nii's reply to Bahamut's love confession first," Vasiliki answered, her words thoughtful and measured.
"Why?" Clair asked, her curiosity piqued through the remnants of her tears.
"Because two simultaneous love confessions would put him on the spot, and he would feel as though he had to choose one or the other, even worse make a decision in a short amount of time," Vasiliki explained.
"Additionally, from the announcement he made after rejecting you, it's easy to tell how conflicted he was." she added.
"Then if I had waited like you said, would he have accepted my confession?" Clair asked, hope flickering in her eyes.
"Truthfully, it was unlikely," Vasiliki replied, her voice steady.
"You hadn't yet turned his perception of you from just family to potential lover." she explained.
"Then aren't you going to face the same situation like I did as his step-sister?" Clair asked, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Well, I don't know, but I wasn't planning to make any sort of move until I at least came of age," Vasiliki responded.
"And why is that?" Clair inquired, her curiosity piqued once more.
"It's quite simple. Think of it from Draco nii's perspective. We are simply too young. Think of Draco nii as an adult, even though he is just 12, acting as the adult in our lives, our parent and role model. Do you think an adult would to be romantically involved with a child?" Vasiliki asked.
Vasiliki reclined back on her bed, a pensive expression etched upon her features, she understood the complex dynamics at play.
"You see, Draco nii views himself as an adult, while he sees us as mere children. That's why a romantic relationship was doomed from the start. One would need to find a way to make him see them as an adult first, to even be on the starting line." She paused, carefully observing Clair's reaction.
Clair furrowed her brows, mulling over Vasiliki's insight.
"So you're saying Bahamut-sama had an advantage because she had already been perceived as an adult?" she inquired, a hint of hope lacing her tone.
"That's likely part of it," Vasiliki replied. "And Draco nii's preferences seem to factor in as well." she added.
Clair's expression brightened with a glimmer of hope.
'Perhaps I still have a chance,' she thought.
Observing this, Vasiliki reached out and pinched Clair's ear, eliciting a yelp of pain.
"Ouch! Why did you do that?" Clair asked, rubbing her sore ear.
"Don't get any ideas, silly girl. I'm not telling you this to give you hope," Vasiliki chided.
"I was just letting you know why you never stood a chance from the beginning." she said bluntly.
"But who's to say things won't work out for me in the future, when I've become an adult in his eyes?" she retorted undeterred.
Vasiliki sighed, shaking her head.
"And what if he rejects you again, even then?" she challenged.
"Then I'll handle it when the time comes," Clair replied resolutely.
'Ugh, this wasn't supposed to happen,' Vasiliki thought, realizing her words had inadvertently fuelled Clair's determination.
"You do know that Draco nii might form a harem, right?" she asked, trying a different approach.
Clair's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Why would he do that?" she exclaimed.
"Tsk, have you forgotten that he is the last of his species?" Vasiliki said, her tone laced with exasperation.
Clair's expression shifted as she considered this.
"But that still doesn't mean he will," Clair countered.
"Besides, doesn't the same apply to you and Vasileios? I remember hearing from Grandpa Marcus that your species is extremely rare too." she added.
Vasiliki's gaze narrowed and her jaw tightened, realizing she had painted herself into a corner.
“Just why are you trying so hard to stop me from continuing my pursuit of Draco” Clair finally asked.
'Tsk, so it’s come to this huh?, I didn't want to play this card, but I guess that I have no choice now,' she thought.
Vasiliki didn’t really mind Clair continuing her pursuit of Draco, but when she thought of Michalis, she wanted to push Clair towards him instead.
In her perspective, she had judged that Clair wasn’t someone who would be willing to share Draco with anyone else.
Leaning in close, Vasiliki whispered into Clair's ear, a devious grin spreading across her face.
"It's because Michalis is in love with you." she said.
Clair's eyes widened in shock, a shiver running down her spine.
"What did you just say?" she stammered, her voice laced with disbelief.
Vasiliki sat back, her expression unreadable.
"You heard me, Clair. Michalis has feelings for you," she stated matter-of-factly.
The revelation hung in the air, leaving Clair grappling with a myriad of emotions as she tried to process Vasiliki's unexpected disclosure.