"Kai? Are you in there? It's Evelina."
Her voice was gentle and cut through the initial silence in the room. My mind, which had just begun to settle after the armory incident and the diary's chilling revelation, began to drift with thoughts . Evelina. The eldest daughter. The one Olberic had described as "truly lovely, some may say even too nice."
Too nice. The phrase echoed in my mind, sending a wave of suspicion through me. Was this her 'niceness' in action? Coming to check on me, perhaps to see if I had found anything, if I was holding the journal?
"I'm on my way!" I called out, my voice a little rougher than I intended.
My eyes flickered back to the diary. It was still there. I couldn't just leave it out. But if I tried to hide it now, it would look even more suspicious. I decided to trust that she wouldn't immediately notice it, or that I could distract her. Olberic's words about her being "too nice" now felt less like a compliment and more like a warning. Could that niceness be a facade? A tool to gain trust, to get closer, to perhaps even… monitor him? The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. I plastered a polite, slightly apologetic expression on my face. This was it. Time to play the part of the adopted son, I thought.
I opened the door.
Evelina stood in the hallway, framed by the soft light filtering from a distant window. She was even more striking up close than in the VIP box. Her blue hair, the color of the early morning sky, cascaded around her shoulders, and her eyes, it held a warmth that seemed genuine. She wore a simple, elegant dress that flowed gracefully, and a faint, she had a pleasant scent of perfume that radiated from her.
For a moment, I was genuinely flattered. She was beautiful, effortlessly so. The embarrassment from my earlier blunder surged again, my cheeks were visibly red.
"Evelina," I began, "I… I am so terribly sorry about earlier. Walking into your room like that. It was entirely unintentional, I assure you. I was… lost." I hoped the 'lost' excuse would cover both incidents.
She waved a dismissive hand, a light laugh escaping her lips. "Oh, Kai, don't be silly. It's quite alright. I overreacted, truly. It was just a shock, that's all. And I suppose I should have locked my door." Her smile was truly sweet. "Besides, this manor is truly a labyrinth, isn't it? Even I get lost sometimes."
Her words were so reassuring, so understanding, that a part of me wanted to believe her completely. But the paranoia, fueled by Olberic's diary, surged at me. Was it genuine forgiveness, or a calculated move?
"May I come in?" she asked, her gaze sweeping past me into the room.
"Of course," I said, stepping aside.
She walked jolly into the room, her movements light and graceful. She didn't head straight for the desk, to my immense relief. Instead, she began to look around, her eyes taking in the details of the room. I quickly closed the door behind her, my eyes fixed on her every movement, trying to discern any hint of suspicion, any tell that she was here for more than just a friendly visit.
"Oh, my," she murmured, running a finger along the top of a small chest of drawers. "This room is quite dusty, isn't it? When was the last time the maids came to clean in here?"
My mind scrambled for a plausible answer. "It was… recent," I replied, trying to sound casual. "This room just tends to get dirty quickly, I suppose. The air circulation, perhaps." It was a lame excuse, but I hoped it suffice.
She hummed thoughtfully, then moved towards the desk. My heart rate spiked. This was it. She was heading for the diary. I tried to subtly position myself, to block her view, but she was already there, her fingers trailing along the polished wood of the tabletop.
"And here too," she commented, her brow furrowing slightly as she picked up a quill, leaving a faint smudge on her fingertip. She glanced down, her eyes falling on the journal.
A wide, genuine smile spread across her face. "Oh, Kai! I never knew you kept a diary!" She picked it up, her touch gentle, almost affectionate. "How charmingly old-fashioned of you." She opened it to the first page, her eyes scanning the familiar handwriting.
It was going off the rails. She was about to see it. What if she wasn't the one? She was going to see those things about her family.
"Olberic?" she murmured, a faint note of confusion in her voice. She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "Who's Olberic, Kai?"
"It's… it's personal," I blurted out, my voice a little too sharp, a little too panicked. I reached out, almost snatching the book from her hands. My movements were truly clumsy
Her eyes widened, not with anger, but with a hurt surprise. "Personal?" she repeated, her voice softer now, tinged with a betrayed note. "So, we're hiding things now, Kai? From your own sister? I'm your big sister, you know."
Her 'big sister' comment, combined with her earlier 'too nice' description, created a confusing scenario in my mind. Was this a test? Was she genuinely hurt? Or was this a subtle probe, a way to gauge my reaction, to see what I was hiding? I couldn't tell. Her face was an open book, but my past life had taught me that the most dangerous people were often the best actors.
We stood there for a moment, the silence was thick with hard tension.
Just then, the translucent blue screen appeared into existence at the edge of my vision, superimposed over Evelina's concerned face.
[ EVENT AVAILABLE: RELATIONSHIP BONDING - EVELINA SAPPHIRE ]
My eyes widened, trying to process the message. Relationship bonding? Was this some kind of game mechanic? Did my interaction with Evelina, my apology, her reaction, my clumsy attempt to hide the diary, all contribute to some kind of 'relationship stat'?, my mind raced with deep thoughts, the message was completely unexpected.
Before I could even begin to decern what 'Relationship Bonding' entailed, another message popped up, right below the first, its text clear and immediate.
[ STORY DIVERGENCE INCREASED BY 0.6 PPT ]
An unexpected turn of events.