Louis saw Eugene's expression and pursed his lips. There was nothing but seriousness on his face as he said, "No matter what you are. Who you are. Had a previous life. Never had a previous life, you are Eugeneia Veria. The only Eugeneia La Veria we know. Mother's and father's daughter. My sister, my family." He paused for a moment before continuing in a softer voice, "You can trust us."
While Louis spoke, and even when he finished speaking, Eugene wasn't able to utter a single word. Her mouth kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something, however, she wasn't able to say anything. She was astonished because it was 'Louis' himself who said this to her, and not anyone else.
Her hand reached for her chest which ached a lot. She felt moved but at the same time, her body felt light as if she was relieved of the burden that she had carried for a long time. She felt as if she had broken out from the chains that locked the rest of her emotions. The chain that covered her heart to protect her from getting hurt. The chain that made her unable to feel emotions. It was something her body created as a protective measure.
This chain had already begun to loosen when she died in her former world because she was relieved of the pressure of her life, and it began to unravel more during the 10 years she lived in this world. And because of Louis's words, the chain had completely broken.
Because she was suddenly free of everything holding her back, she felt scared. Scared that she might get hurt one day and revert back to her shell again.
"What? Are you moved?" His lips curved up at Eugene's clumsy-looking face.
Louis's words snapped Eugene out and she nodded slowly, "Hm." She was very moved.
Her response wasn't what Louis had expected hence he was not able to respond in time.
Eugene's eyes moved to Levis and she asked out of curiosity, "Say… Do you hate me?" She knows the answer was no, but she still wanted to ask.
"..." Louis tilted his head, confused as to how she could've possibly taken that from the words he said earlier on.
"... No." His forehead was furrowed as he stared at her.
Eugene's eyes widened, which made Louis even more confused. Very confused.
Eugene blinked her eyes rapidly, sipped her tea, put down her cup, and asked him again, "Then… Do you love me?" Like a sibling, of course. If Louis didn't hate her, then it means he loves her! For some reason, the chain Louis broke brought forth her naivety.
"..." Again, where and how on earth did she take that from the words he said earlier on? Because he doesn't hate her, he loves her? Are you serious, Eugeneia?
His face was scrunched up and he replied, "No. Not really." There was sarcasm in his voice as he responded.
Eugene shook her head, "No you love me." She stated. Her voice was firm as if she was confident that he loves her. Because if didn't love her, he wouldn't be here today.
"..." Louis was speechless. He didn't want to talk to her anymore so he turned away. Talking to her made him confused and also gave him a severe headache. He didn't even want to breathe in the same room as her anymore so he motioned for her to leave so that he could rest.
Eugene nodded, victory plastered all over her face, and just when she was about to leave she turned around, "Oh. When will we go home?" She asked.
'Her mood switch. I can't keep up.' Louis shook his head in resignation.
"In 1 hour."
Eugene thought for a minute before nodding. She then turned around and proceeded to head back to her room, leaving Louis to rest.
.
.
.
Eugene and Louis met up with Noelle, who had freed herself and had been on the hunt for Darius and the criminal group who had already long vanished. She never found out that Eugene had been caught by the military and was almost executed until now.
Eugene had to pat her hidden guard on her back and console her for a minute before they could head back home.
As they got on their own individual horse from the transportation center of Raden, Eugene turned to Louis and ask,
"Do you have any updates on Euria?" She was so muddlehead over everything that she had forgotten the purpose of why she was here in the first place. Clearly, the only reason why she was in Raden right now was for Euria.
Louis looked at her in a face that showed, 'You finally asked', before handing her a letter.
Eugene didn't care about his tsundere expression and didn't take any offense to his face and open the letter.
The letter was written by the Crown Prince himself, who detailed Euria's daily activities and lifestyle. According to the Crown Prince, she had woken up on the 2nd day and was flabbergasted that she was in Zene. But after a brief moment of surprise, she began to eat well, play well, shop well and was living a good and rich life with the budget the Royal family gave her. Crown Prince Nexiel was by Euria's side 12 hours a day and was monitoring her closely.
"..." Eugene didn't bother to read his letter in exact detail because there was too much useless information. Why would she want to know what items Euria bought and for how much?
Crown Prince Nexiel mentioned meeting up with Duke Rodriguez who had gone over to Zene to personally escort Euria back to Xenperia. According to the Crown Prince, he would leave Zene and arrive at the capital city of Xenperia 2 days from today.
She gave the letters back to Louis, "If we speed up, we can arrive before them right?" She asked Louis who nodded.
"Will mother and father be there to welcome Euria?" She asked dazedly, not realizing that she was using the terms 'mother' and 'father' for the first time in front of Louis. Eugene had always called their parents Duke or Duchess which was why the switch stunned him.
"You... You're not holding back anymore?" He asked. His voice contained speechlessness from Eugene's switch of character.
"Excuse me?" Eugene was confused.
"Mother and Father." He pointed out.
Eugene stared at him blankly, "They are my mother and father. What will I call them if not those terms?" Her brows were raised as she asked Louis. As she got on her horse she continued, "Dearest brother."
Louis... stood there frozen. When his body began to unfreeze, his face was filled with nothing but disgust. He was so used to Eugene calling him by his name over her 10 years of living that her calling him by his polite title sent him shivers down his spine. He really felt as if the world was ending because of what she just called him.
"Don't do that."
Eugene raised a brow, "Do what, Dearest brother?" Her lips curved up. It was her turn to tease him.
"..." Louis stared at her for a few seconds before pulling out an Uno reverse card, "Would you like me to change your title too, Dearest sister."
Eugene's smiling face turned ugly in an instant. Like Louis, she felt nothing but disgust. She felt shivers going down her spine as well as cold sweat.
"... No, thank you." She will never call him that again, she swears.
Louis, Eugene, and Noelle rode on their big horse as they raced their way to the capital city. The horses throttled their way and galloped towards the direction the people on top of them instructed them to. The three rode very fast, fast enough to scare the local animals who scurried out of their way. They rode until late at night, or until they were forced to take a break.
The three stopped at an open space inside the forest. Noelle went into the woods to gather woods to start a fire so that they could keep warm for the night. They had already prepared enough food to last for 2 days so they didn't have to head into town for food. Not that they could anyway, because the horses were already at their limit.
Eugene stretched her neck along with her entire body. She moved around like a snake as if she was never injured or had any injury, inciting Louis' curiosity.
"Is your wound not pain-?" He was about to inquire about her pain when he paused.
"Excuse me?" She turned to Louis and paused stretching.
"Did you use Occul to heal yourself?" He changed his wordings and asked her.
Eugene thought for a moment before replying, "I guess. I don't know the conditions of my body exactly, but the wounds seem to be somewhat healed." She checked out her body as she responded.
Louis was in deep thoughts for a moment before he decided to confirm with her, "You don't feel pain right?"