Chapter 853: Confession |
853 Confession
Seeing the sparkling tears and streaks on Franca's face, Lumian suddenly thought of his sister Aurore. He recalled the loneliness that always emanated from her when she gazed at the stars from the rooftop.
He also remembered the life he and Aurore had depended on each other in Cordu, the excruciating pain when his sister died and Cordu was destroyed, and the self-destructive impulses he had when he first arrived in Trier. Overcoming those emotions and rebuilding his social connections had started with Franca, Jenna, Charlie, and many tenants at the Auberge du Coq Doré.
In this world, there aren't many people I care about anymore... Lumian sighed deeply.
Back in Morora, he had engaged in mutual scheming against Julie, Albus Medici, and the others. Even when facing various dangers and conspiracies, he hadn't sighed as much as he had in the past few days.
He often felt so troubled that he wanted to burn the world down.
Franca's words had struck a chord in him. He already knew what his answer would be, but he wanted to struggle a bit more.
Looking at Franca, Lumian said with a bitter smile, "Caring doesn't have to manifest in that way. Apart from Aurore, you and Jenna are the people I care about most."
Franca shook her head without hesitation. "No way! I would feel resentful, like an outsider!
"As the leader of a team, you must remember three things when dealing with each member: "Fairness! Fairness! And damn fairness!"
"But for this kind of matter..." Lumian responded instinctively, "If Anthony wants to sleep with me, do I have to agree too?"
"You must agree!" Franca walked to the bed and looked down at Lumian sitting there, her voice fierce. "Who told you to sleep with Jenna first, unless Anthony doesn't want to or you consider him a dispensable member of the team!"
Lumian rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
What kind of strange logic is this...
Why does Franca always have so many bizarre ideas...
Lumian looked at Franca and said with a bitter smile, "Is this how you digested the Instigator potion?"
Before Franca could respond, he sighed again. "I agree."
He added, "But I'm only speaking for myself. You'll have to talk to Jenna about it yourself."
He was referring to the threesome.
Franca's body suddenly swayed, as if she had briefly lost strength.
Her expression slowly relaxed, and she said with a chuckle, "We'll talk about it later. For now, I just want your agreement."
"And Jenna and I..." Lumian initially wanted to say that he and Jenna had only agreed until the Pleasure potion was digested, but he felt it wasn't the right time to say this now.
Franca, looking a bit tired, showed a teasing smile. "You haven't said which choice you agreed to. I'm more looking forward to you becoming a Demoness of Despair, or me screwing you."
"The remaining choice," Lumian answered helplessly.
Franca let out a long breath. "That works too."
She seemed to have lost her hard exterior, looking quite weak.
She waved her hand. "I'll go rest now."
"I thought..." Lumian was slightly surprised.
Franca rolled her eyes at him. "What did you think? I've been so shocked and hurt, feeling down for so long, my emotions and state are all over the place. How could I be in the mood for the deed? You've agreed, so just keep it in mind, and we'll talk about it when I feel better."
My mind and spirit need a break too... Lumian sighed silently.
After watching Franca leave through the window, disappearing into the night outside, Lumian walked to the bedroom door and opened it.
Jenna was quietly sitting in the dark area of the living room.
Lumian wasn't surprised by Jenna's appearance; she had been watching Franca's door, and Franca's intense emotions made it hard not to be noticed or followed when she left.
"I didn't expect it to turn out this way." Lumian sighed to Jenna.
Jenna stood up, smiling. "Although I didn't expect it either, I thought about it for a while and felt like, maybe I could accept it. Just you and her, it's much better than I anticipated."
"What did you anticipate?" Lumian quietly sighed with relief.
Jenna's eyes held a mix of sadness, guilt, and pain as she said, "Franca losing her mind and trying to kill us.
"I would agree but hide for a while, waiting until I have arranged Julien's future before seeing her again."
Lumian looked at Jenna for a few seconds, then sighed.
"Since your mother's death, you've had quite a bit of self-destructive tendencies. We thought we'd completely helped you overcome them, but it turns out a bit still lingered."
Jenna's eyes glistened as she looked at Lumian. "Aren't you the same?"
Lumian met her gaze and after two seconds, couldn't help but laugh. "Is this a support group for the broken?"
"Yes." Jenna pointed to the door. "I'll go talk to Franca. We'll exchange our ailments in a few days."
"Okay." Lumian nodded gently.
...
Inside Apartment 702 at 9 Rue Orosai.
Franca lay back in the armchair, her eyes open, gently rocking with the chair's movement.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
She heard the knocking and realized someone was outside.
In this state, I could easily be assassinated... Franca reflected on herself, stood up, and walked to the door.
She could guess who was outside.
Sure enough, she saw Jenna with her Vampire makeup.
Franca opened her mouth, unsure what to say, and just stepped aside to let Jenna in.
After Jenna sat on the single sofa, she smiled at Franca, who had returned to the armchair.
"I heard your conversation with Lumian."
Franca's face, which had been somewhat pale, quickly turned red.
Embarrassing!
How embarrassing!
So embarrassing she wanted to crawl into a hole!
Jenna laughed softly. "Actually, I also looked forward to those other two choices more."
Franca could only give a sheepish chuckle.
Jenna looked at her seriously. "I can tell there were other thoughts behind that last choice. Can you tell me what they were?"
Franca remained silent for a few seconds before speaking up, "That bastard Lumian must have told you it was only until the Pleasure potion was digested. I know him!"
As she spoke, Franca felt a bit indignant on Jenna's behalf.
Then, she sighed. "If I joined now, in this state, Lumian would definitely feel awkward and not set a time limit. For fairness, he shouldn't propose one to you either."
Jenna closed her eyes briefly, as if being blown by the wind.
She looked at Franca with unusually gentle eyes and said with a bitter smile, "But that's just a false realization. I can't deceive myself."
"False is better than nothing. If it lasts long enough, it might become real," Franca showed a self-mocking smile, "For a long time, even knowing it's false is better, it helps us digest the potion."
Looking at Jenna, Franca suddenly felt a surge of emotion and had a lot to say, "Maybe I'm a coward. I've liked you for a long time, but I've never dared to truly pursue you or express my feelings. I've always been indecisive about this, retreating every day."
In the current atmosphere, Franca suddenly found it wasn't hard to say the words "I like you."
This unexpected ease made her even sadder.
Jenna looked at Franca without any anger or words.
She could feel that what Franca truly wanted to say was yet to come.
After a brief pause, Franca clenched her teeth and uttered, "I've been hiding something from you. I-I was originally a man."
"I know," Jenna replied calmly, her eyes showing some encouragement, "The Witch potion."
"You did know." Franca wasn't surprised. She mustered her courage and continued, "There's something else. I-I'm not from this world. I transmigrated from another world. I-I took over this body."
Jenna exclaimed in surprise, "Another world?"
A thought suddenly struck her. "The one with the Underworld Daoist and the Celestial Master?"
Having worked together for so long, Franca often forgot whether she had told Jenna about these things, so Jenna knew these terms but didn't understand what they represented, considering them as powerful beings.
"Yes, and also Resurrection Island." After revealing this secret, Franca felt much lighter.
Jenna had a look of sudden realization. "No wonder you were so agitated when you got Harrison's information..."
"So, you understand why I've been eager to summon the Armored Shadow?"
Franca asked nervously, "You, you don't mind that I took someone else's body, do you?"
"Why should I mind? Unless it's the Franca I know being replaced," Jenna responded with amusement, clearly expressing her stance.
Franca relaxed completely, almost collapsing into the armchair.
Jenna thought for a moment and probed, "Lumian's sister and those mysticism gathering attendees with strange codenames, are they from your world too?"
"Yes, but I can't tell you more. I can only talk about my part," Franca said with a sigh. "I used to dream of going home, returning to my world. So every time I had the impulse to step towards you, I couldn't help but ask myself, can you bear her future? When there's a chance to go home, would you stay for her? Taking her to an unfamiliar world, wouldn't that be too cruel? Would she be willing to go, could she go..."
"Each time I asked those questions, I retreated...
"I was always so conflicted, never taking any real action."
Jenna listened gently, and when Franca finished, she smiled and said, "You're one of the kindest people I've ever met. I'm glad you were with me through the toughest times."
She looked at Franca and hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you still think about going home now?"
Franca fell silent. The crimson moonlight outside had dimmed at some point.
After a few seconds, Franca answered in a low voice, "Yes."
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