Chapter 32: Confession on the Dome
Vivian had her hair tied in twin tails, and the evening breeze gently blew past as she sat by the window, gazing at the sea of roses under the distant sunset.
Her hair clip was also a small rose carved from red agate. Baili was staring transfixed. The rosemary’s effects seemed quite good—unfortunately, he’d only drunk a little, so he could still control the fire of desire in his body.
“This hair clip is really beautiful.” Baili unconsciously touched her hair, and Vivian didn’t dodge, letting him caress it freely.
“This hair clip was carved by a human. He was still young then—he should be around seventy now.” Vivian explained the clip’s origin. “Do you know him, if he’s still alive?”
The clip’s luster shimmered brilliantly, the rose’s texture perfectly crafted, as if it were real.
Baili was also curious about what kind of master craftsman could create such work. Though just a hair clip, it was clearly made with tremendous care.
“Otto Weddigen—do you know him?”
Hearing this name, Baili was completely stunned. Wasn’t this that master swordsmith? His greatest masterpiece was Baili’s former sword “Frost Moon.”
Time had passed—he never would have imagined that someone who back then only made jewelry had now become the Empire’s finest swordsmith.
Vivian rested her feet slanted against the windowsill, her black stockings wrapping around her fleshy thighs. She emanated that unique fragrance of a young girl, intertwining with the rose scent in the room.
“You leaned on me all last night—you promised to give me a massage.”
Possessed by some supernatural force, Baili moved closer and began massaging her. His hands lightly touched her skin, his movements quite unnatural at first.
“I’ll allow you to be bolder. Feel free to do whatever you want to do.”
The rosemary drove the blood throughout Baili’s body to boil, and his movements became faster. This sensation—touching once felt like sinking right in.
The black stockings stimulated Baili’s senses. This seemingly present barrier somewhat hindered his experience. As he massaged, he unconsciously moved closer to her upper thighs.
“No, what am I doing?” He tried to use ice magic to force himself to end these inappropriate thoughts, but he couldn’t do anything.
His cerebral cortex and spinal cord were fighting each other. Baili’s movements became inexplicable—originally massaging Vivian’s thighs, but somehow it turned into his left hand massaging his right hand.
“What are you doing? Do you find these stockings a bit bothersome?” Vivian said while slowly lifting a corner of the stockings. “I can help you with that.”
“Forget it, I’ll go outside to cool down. Let’s save that kind of thing for another day.” Baili released his hands and walked outside without looking back.
During this period of doing such things with her, though subjectively he rejected it, he honestly wondered if he might get her pregnant.
Baili walked to the rooftop, letting the cold wind sting his face—only this way could he stay somewhat clear-headed.
Thinking about such problems, since they’d already done that kind of thing, shouldn’t he take some responsibility? Regardless of the reasons, having done it was an objective fact he couldn’t escape.
No choice—right now he just wanted to sleep well and escape reality. He could still resist this level of rosemary with willpower.
No sooner said than done—he’d experienced sleeping outdoors plenty of times.
Vivian pushed open the door to see him lying on the ground with his back to her, already asleep.
She had indeed wanted to tease him a little, but hadn’t expected him to leave so decisively.
It was a bit cold outside—he was just sleeping against the wall like that.
“You fool, it’s cold outside.”
Baili looked at her indifferently. He didn’t want to talk.
This expression was exactly the same as when he was at the fortress—even his position was identical.
“Come here, will you hold my hand?”
That small, pale hand was in front of Baili. He turned his head away, not wanting to look at her. Only the cold stone bricks could keep Baili from thinking about so many other things.
“What exactly are you trying to do? What’s fun about this?” Baili couldn’t help but pour out his thoughts. “I’m still a person, aren’t I? Using me as your toy for that kind of thing—isn’t that somewhat inappropriate?”
As he said this, he stood up, not at all showing the dejected appearance from earlier.
…
Silence. Vivian quietly lowered her hand. She removed her hair clip—the rose seemed to wither, and despite the cool moonlight shining on the dome, it remained dim and lightless.
“Since we’ve already done that kind of thing, I will definitely take responsibility for you.”
The dome was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The hair clip in Vivian’s hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
Her bound twin tails scattered in the wind, and the young girl’s tears fell—whether from hurt or being moved was unclear.
“What’s so good about that hypocritical Empire? Isn’t it good having me here with you?”
Teardrops fell to the ground as she cried out, questioning the fool before her.
“I’m just your plaything—you don’t need to feel sorry for your possessions like this.”
Even without magic power now, he had once stood at the pinnacle of the world.
“Living so aimlessly like this, you might as well let me die.” Baili took out his carving knife and drove it deep into the cold wall brick.
The fragile carving knife could penetrate the hard brick—even a Windwhisperer’s arrow would break upon hitting this brick.
Vivian stopped crying, choking back her sobs.
“Then tell me, what have you ever protected?”
Memories flashed like scenes from a movie, one after another playing in his mind.
The Empire hadn’t prospered under his protection—his hands were merely stained with pointless blood.
…
“This blade will probably be my final work.”
“Master Otto, thank you for your trouble. Forgive me—I don’t know how to express my gratitude in words.”
Baili knelt on one knee, receiving Frost Moon from Otto with both hands.
“Go seek your purpose. Without someone you want to protect, even the finest famous blade is just a useless toy.”
…
Remembering Otto’s advice, he seemed to understand something now. He walked toward the tearful young girl before him and smoothed her wind-scattered silver hair.
Perhaps it was fate—Vivian’s momentary malice hadn’t killed him. But she discovered she was sinking deeper, though she could never break through that barrier.
She could only use this coercive method to satisfy herself.
She didn’t resist, letting him help arrange her hair. The usually clumsy Baili moved with surprising fluency as he pinned the hair clip for her.
He didn’t even hurt her. At some point, the silver-haired girl slowly pressed against Baili’s chest. He could feel tears had already moistened his clothes.
Baili also embraced her, the two pressed together at zero distance. This time he felt nothing inappropriate—he’d just promised to take responsibility for her.
“What you just said about taking responsibility for me—is it true?”
“Regardless of the reasons, even if we’re on opposite sides, I’ll take responsibility to the end.”
He could feel that Vivian had developed real feelings for him. Her previous behavior toward him… he was too lazy to dwell on it anymore.
“You promised, okay? Pinky swear—sealed for ten thousand years, no changing allowed.”
One large and one small finger hooked together, making an unchanging vow.
Light blue and red shadows cast on the glass screen seemed frozen in time, lingering long without fading