A Familiar Scene, A Lingering Ache

The same shop.

The same seat.

The same time.

Even the same ice cream.

“……”

Seraphina rested her chin lazily on her delicate fingers, her head bowed. She slowly stirred the strawberry sundae in her cup with a spoon, appearing utterly nonchalant.

In truth, this was merely an act, a facade to conceal the unease churning within her.

‘This person… why did they have to choose this exact place, this very seat?’

Lowering her brow, Seraphina cautiously raised her eyes, glancing at the golden-haired figure before her. Claire seemed somewhat at a loss, staring at her own sundae, and old memories flooded Seraphina’s mind.

“Claire.”

“…Yes?”

“Why aren’t you eating? It might melt if you don’t eat it soon, you know.”

Feigning gentleness, Seraphina’s inner self was already on high alert, a stark contrast to her composed exterior.

‘Don’t tell me this one, like Iqiyah, also wants me to…’

“Well, if it’s alright…”

‘Hold on, aren’t you socially anxious? Please, don’t suggest something so embarrassing!’

Perhaps Claire sensed Seraphina’s dilemma, or perhaps she genuinely had no intention of continuing. Instead, she frowned slightly, then curved her lips into a smile, adopting a pleading gaze as she stared piteously into Seraphina’s eyes.

‘This person… hasn’t she used this trick too many times?’

“A good child should still feed themselves, you know.”

Crossing her arms, Seraphina leaned back, unwilling to outright refuse Claire.

“W-w-well… I understand…”

To Seraphina’s surprise, Claire didn’t make a fuss. She merely nodded with a wronged expression, then curled up like a small kitten, slowly beginning to eat the ice cream before her.

“……”

“Oh, this one.”

Leaning against the chair back, Seraphina watched the utterly timid blonde girl, a hint of melancholy stirring within her.

Despite her striking, graceful figure, the very picture of an elegant and capable young woman, her mind and actions were as immature as a child’s.

‘However… speaking of children…’

Seraphina blinked inadvertently.

“!?”

A familiar mass of white hair appeared before her eyes.

‘Iqiyah!?’

In Claire’s place, a child-sized Iqiyah stood, pouting and glaring angrily at her, her cheeks puffed out and red.

‘What’s happening!? Am I seeing things?’

“Se-ra-phi-na!”

A familiar chiding voice rang in her ears, and Seraphina broke out in a cold sweat.

‘Am I hallucinating too?’

Iqiyah slammed her hand on the table, and the Iqiyah before her suddenly stood up.

“You’re flirting with other women behind my back again!”

Behind her, a blazing inferno seemed to roar, making the surrounding air glow red with heat.

“I’m not, I didn’t…”

“You didn’t? How dare you quibble!”

Yet, in direct proportion to the raging flames, Iqiyah’s crimson eyes were distinctly moist.

As if soaked with tears, specks of red light scattered through them, casting a hazy, misty rainbow before Seraphina’s vision.

“You promised me you’d only look at me.”

“…Let me explain, this is all for…”

‘You.’

Before Seraphina could finish, Iqiyah blinked, and her long white hair vanished with the wind, leaving only the golden-haired figure engrossed in her ice cream.

“……”

A sour ache, like rising steam, swiftly filled Seraphina’s nostrils.

‘Iqiyah…’

Pressing a hand to her nose, Seraphina tried her best to suppress the urge for her eyes to well up.

For days, Seraphina had been shuttling between Claire and her maid duties, with no time for herself. So much so… she hadn’t fully realized how much she missed the devoted Blood Princess.

So much so… that just a fleeting memory filled Seraphina’s mind with thoughts of that sweet, soft little white-haired one.

‘Iqiyah…’

That day, she gave Seraphina the [First Embrace] and told her that Seraphina would stay with her forever.

‘Iqiyah…’

That day, when Seraphina struggled with food, she chewed meat into a pulp and fed it directly into Seraphina’s mouth.

‘Iqiyah…’

That day, she straddled Seraphina’s waist, suckled her already unhealable finger, and with her body heat, soothed away the pain and scars.

‘Iqiyah…’

‘Ugh…’

The swelling discomfort from the sour ache was truly agonizing, bitter and stifling. It was so oppressive that Seraphina couldn’t help but cover her eyes with her hand. She wondered when her emotions would finally overwhelm her, allowing unbidden tears to escape her eyes.

In truth, Claire had also treated her well.

Although she had made Seraphina her maid, Claire had arranged a separate room for her (though perhaps also to make it easier for others to make demands of her).

While she was assigned duties, these tasks were neither too grand nor too trivial, certainly never reaching the point of arduous labor.

Though Claire had deliberately imposed status constraints on her, she had never taken the [Krieg Ring] from Seraphina’s hand.

One could say that under Claire’s calculated treatment, Seraphina, despite serving as a maid, still retained a certain degree of dignity.

However… it was precisely this deliberate nature that allowed Seraphina to see an underlying intention behind all of Claire’s actions—she desired to control her.

Whether it was the tactical counter on the first day, or the use of [Purification] and [True Ancestor Blood]… these were all merely to prevent herself from being completely led by Claire, from becoming a canary in her palm.

Furthermore… perhaps because of the seven-day pact, Seraphina’s life as a maid in Krieg Manor felt more like a mission.

No matter how many comedic moments occurred, no matter what heart-pounding interactions transpired… Seraphina’s ultimate goal was simply to acquire the ticket to the [Land of Elves].

The overt and covert struggles with Claire, the pressure of the mission, coupled with the unexpected incident involving Claire that very morning—too many things had overwhelmed her all at once in these past few days.

She was utterly exhausted.

It was precisely for this reason that she instinctively began to miss the person who had always been by her side.

Just as she pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed, a faint inquiry came.

“Seraphina?”

“What is it, Claire?”

Truthfully, Seraphina didn’t want to engage with Claire, but considering it from the perspective of both a maid and a friend, she had to respond.

“Are you… unhappy?”

“A little.”

Seraphina pressed her palm firmly against her forehead, then swept it downwards, as if wiping away all the gloom from her face, leaving behind only a somewhat resilient smile.

“But don’t overthink it. It’s probably just because I’m a bit tired.”

However… Seraphina didn’t realize just how exhausted and haggard her face truly was at that moment.

Claire’s throat moved, her body trembled, and she instinctively clutched the collar of her top.

“Seraphina.”

“Just say it. What do you want me to do?”

Reaching out, Claire steadily picked up the untouched ice cream sundae in front of Seraphina with one hand, and gently took the spoon inserted in it with the other.

Then, she slowly scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, leaned forward, and offered, “Ah—”

“Claire, what are you…?”

Seraphina was at a loss, looking at the ice cream offered to her mouth.

“D-do you even need to ask?”

Uncomfortably twisting her neck, Claire tried to hide her face.

“Just eat it… it’s really embarrassing, you know.”

‘Pfft…’

Seeing Claire’s face flushed crimson, so shy that steam seemed to rise from her head, Seraphina couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, her inner sadness vanishing with it.

“Alright, alright. Now you know how embarrassing it is to be fed in public, don’t you?”