Villeres’s body was as stiff as a stone, squeezed so tightly by Motifiel’s sudden and forceful embrace that she could barely breathe.
She instinctively wanted to push this inexplicably foolish girl away, her nails even elongating slightly, gleaming with the sharp luster unique to Darkspawn, but just before her hand touched Motifiel’s back, she heard a stifled, broken sob.
Wasn’t this an attack?
A trace of genuine confusion flashed in Villeres’s scarlet eyes, and the hand she was about to push away froze mid-air.
She could feel the trembling of the body in her arms, as well as the heat and dampness rapidly spreading across her shoulder.
Is this girl… crying?
Motifiel buried her face tightly in Villeres’s shoulder hollow, clinging to her with all her might, like a drowning person grabbing onto the last piece of driftwood.
The courage she had built up during her dash here now transformed into even fiercer tears and endless grievances as she finally held this familiar yet estranged friend.
“Viller, Villeres… ngh-uhh~” Her voice was muffled, thick with her nose and sobs, stammering and nearly incoherent, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I’m stupid… I know I’m really, really stupid, I know I always mess things up… I know the information I send back is useless, wuuu wuuu wuuu~”
Villeres frowned, trying to make sense of this bewildering apology.
But Motifiel only grew more emotional, her tears pouring like a floodgate had been opened.
“But, but I really like it here, I really like Lianglai Mama, I really like everyone in the Court of Purity… It’s so warm here, there’s good food, no one hits me, no one yells at me, and people care if I’m cold or hungry, if I’m hurt someone helps with my wounds, and when I have nightmares at night, Lianglai Mama comes to comfort me, wuuu wuuu…”
“I know you’re here for a Task, I know I should help you… but, but I’m scared! I’m really, really scared!” Her voice trembled with fear.
“I’m scared Lianglai Mama will abandon me once she knows I’m a Darkspawn, hate me, look at me like a monster, and then shove me away. I’m scared everyone will hate me, and I’m also scared… I’m also scared you’ll hurt them when you finish your Task, that you’ll hurt everyone… They’re all good people, really, everyone is really, really nice… uwwaaah~”
At last, she couldn’t hold back and burst into loud sobs, like a child lost for ages, pouring out all her fear, anxiety, confusion, and pain without reservation.
“I don’t want to break with you, Villeres…! You’re my only friend… Back there, too, you were the only one who’d play with me, the only one who never thought I was stupid… but, but why does it have to be this way…? Ngh-uhh~ Can’t we find another way…? Can’t—can’t we not hurt them? Can’t—can’t you stay too… and we can be like before, isn’t that okay…? Waaa~”
She sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath, smearing tears and snot all over Villeres’s shoulder, her words jumbled and illogical, but that sincere, nearly desperate feeling reached her completely unhindered.
Villeres was utterly stunned.
She had imagined all kinds of reactions from Motifiel.
Continuing to cowardly avoid, stupidly trying to inform on her, even being forced to turn and attack—just now, as Motifiel hugged her, all she thought was that Motifiel was about to stab her in the back… but she never expected this kind of scene.
This idiot… wasn’t here to threaten or beg for mercy, but… to try and salvage their “Friendship”? Using this messy, weeping, snot-and-tears all over her way to express her care and her attachment to this place?
The wet, hot feeling on her shoulder was so real, and the body in her arms trembled endlessly from crying.
Those incoherent words were like tiny needles, catching her off guard and piercing her cold, hard defenses.
Was this all an act?
Villeres couldn’t help but doubt.
But if such a foolish and heartfelt performance was really an act, then Motifiel was a once-in-a-lifetime actress.
Motifiel… wasn’t that smart, not nearly clever enough to put on this kind of textbook-perfect show just to achieve her goal.
If she lied, it would be obvious, because… she really is a fool!
As Villeres felt the utterly unguarded embrace and reliance, and listened to those clumsy yet sincere words, the taut string in her heart named Task and the interest of her kind loosened just a little for the first time.
Maybe, maybe this idiot was telling the truth? Maybe this place… really was that wonderful? So wonderful she’d rather betray her people to protect it?
A faint, nearly undetectable flicker of uncertainty—and… perhaps, was it envy?—flickered through her heart before she even noticed.
Growing up in the cold environment of the Darkspawn, all she’d ever known was survival of the fittest and absolute obedience.
When had she ever experienced this warmth called “home”?
Yet, that momentary wavering was instantly suppressed by her stronger rationality and the concept of putting the Task above all else.
She was a Darkspawn, an infiltrator, standing against the Divine Court. How could she be swayed by such ridiculous feelings? She…
She had to complete the Task—if she didn’t, the consequences would be disastrous. Besides, how could she possibly trust humans?
Absolutely not…!
Yet, facing the friend in her arms, crying with no dignity and laying her heart bare, those cold threats and mocking words were suddenly hard to say.
She stood there stiffly, neither pushing Motifiel away nor returning the hug.
In those scarlet eyes, the coldness and mockery gradually faded, replaced by a mixture of complex emotions she had never known.
Awkwardness, agitation, embarrassment, and even a hint of… softness she wasn’t willing to admit.
She pressed her lips tight, jaw clenched, gaze falling somewhere in the air, unable to utter a single word.
Refuse?
That seemed too heartless, and might push this emotionally unstable fool over the edge, causing unpredictable consequences.
Agree?
Impossible.
A Task was a Task.
Humans were humans. Humans were even more ruthless than Darkspawn.
How could she betray her people for them?
In the end, she could only maintain this stiff posture, letting Motifiel clutch her and cry, using silence to respond to this scene that was so far beyond her plans and control.
In the room, only Motifiel’s wailing and Villeres’s barely audible, slightly disordered breathing remained.
Alright then, first I’ll figure out a way to get this idiot Motifiel to stop crying—her sobbing was making her head ache.