Meeting Family (3)

A couple minutes earlier, Shui had left the stadium and was going to find Emily, but Alicia spotted him first. She didn't want her brother or master interfering, so she had slipped away from them.

"I knew you would be here. Why didn't you come with me?" she asked with a pout.

"You know why. I'm more comfortable in the general seats than up there."

Alicia expected this response from him, so after rolling her eyes she moved on.

"Fine. By the way, have you gotten tickets for the concert tomorrow?"

Normally, it wouldn't be strange if he did have the tickets considering how much time was left, but Alicia knew that general tickets had been sold out when Shui arrived in the city. Furthermore, even if he was able to secure a ticket through some means, that wouldn't stop her from joining him. However, Alicia received a shock as she hadn't predicted the answer that Shui gave her.

"Yeah, luckily a friend helped me out so I'll be going with them."

She felt like she had been struck by thunder, but she had to confirm how bad the situation was before she tried to come up with an alternate plan.

"I-I see. And would this friend happen to be female?"

Shui felt awkward when he was asked this question, but he didn't see the need to deceive her so he just answered honestly.

"Yes."

Alicia clenched her fist to stop the impact of this secondary damage from affecting her, but she still couldn't think of anything else she could do. If it was a guy then she might have been able to join them, but since it was a girl she had to consider that Shui might deny her offer. It wouldn't just be so in the case that he was pursuing her, but also because she and his friend didn't know each other so her presence could ruin the mood.

'Damn it! I didn't see this coming. Even as charming as he is, I didn't expect that he could find a fan with an extra ticket that also happens to be a girl. Seriously, is this my bad luck or his good luck? Tch, I can't miss this chance, but what should I do?'

While Alicia was preoccupied with her thoughts, Shui had discreetly said goodbye and was heading towards Emily. She didn't have Dull Harmony out in the open, but he was familiar enough with her aura to trace her. When he reached her and spotted the bruise on her face, he was almost overcome by rage, especially since Adrian was next to her, but his rational side stopped him from dashing forward and taking his head in one motion.

"Emily!"

He ran up to her and immediately laid his hand on her cheek before using the inscription for 'Heal'. At first, Emily was surprised to see him, but she was also moved by how frantic he was. She had tried to acted tough in front of Adrian, but when she felt that soothing sensation from his hand warm her cheek and take away the pain, she almost stepped forward into his embrace, but the eyes around her provided enough restraint. Shui wouldn't have minded if she did step closer, but instead she only gave a gentle smile, one that Adrian had never received.

The flame of envy rioted at the sight of that smile, but it was time to leave. However, before he left, Adrian patted her on the shoulder and said goodbye after pushing his head next to hers. Shui felt the urge to kill, but he quickly managed to hold himself back as he knew who Emily would be going home with.

Once Adrian left, Shui wanted to ask Emily what happened, but he judged that it would be better to relocate.

"Do you want to go back to the inn?" he asked.

Emily nodded in response, so the two then went straight to Myriad Flower Pavilion. There were quite a few eyes on Emily due to the stunt she pulled at the amphitheater, but there were far too many things on her mind for her to care.

Shui should have also been under scrutiny since he was right next to her, but he could suppress his presence enough that he seemed unremarkable compared to Emily.

When they got back to the inn, Shui brought Emily to his suite(with pure intentions of course). He then sealed off the room and had her sit on the couch while he prepared tea. A few minutes later, when Emily nodded her head in appreciation after the first sip, Shui decided that it was time.

"What happened?"

Considering Emily's personality, it was obvious that she wouldn't like exposing her vulnerability. She had opened up to Shui once before and she did have something she wanted to ask him, but it wasn't easy for her to confess her fears. However, this wasn't a problem she could avoid now, and next time, he might get involved, so she knew that it might be necessary to inform him. Even so, she remained silent.

Emily took another sip instead of responding, and Shui didn't rush her. Although he didn't like the fact that Adrian knew more than him, he didn't want to tear open the wounds she was hiding.

Their teatime continued peacefully until Emily had finished her cup. The heat from the tea gave her a flow of courage that rose from her stomach, but she had to take out Dull Harmony from her robe and hug it before she could begin. It was slightly embarrassing as it seemed Dull Harmony had become a sort of charm for her, but it actually had the ability to soothe her so there was a proper reason behind this action.

"I met some members of my family. They saw me in the projection above the amphitheater, so they came to see me after today's preliminaries were over. They said that they wanted to catch up, and I hadn't seen them in a while either, so I agreed. However, when we got to the restaurant, I realized the truth. They only talked to me because they wanted my money."

Despite embracing her precious artifact, Emily still felt a sharp pain in her chest. Still, if it wasn't for Dull Harmony, it would be no surprise if she started crying. It wouldn't be the first time she cried in front of him, but she didn't want to be spoiled at a time like this. She had to remember her most important objective; to make everyone who wronged her master feel torturous regret. Even if she had to endure this pain, she wouldn't allow herself to forget why she was here.

Emily didn't say who exactly these family members were, but regardless, Shui wished that he had been there to teach them a lesson, or even better, prevent them from meeting in the first place. He didn't need to hear it to figure out that one of those family members had to be responsible for the bruise he saw, so there was more than enough reason for him to punish them. The fact that she reunited with family so far from her homeland should have been a lucky coincidence, especially considering how many were left after the purge in Cyrus, but it ended up as the exact opposite.

'If they're really family, then I should be able to track them but...'

As much as he didn't like it, this was her challenge, something Emily had to face for herself.