Microlith

"Where am I?" 

Titania roamed her vision, but darkness was the only thing she saw. "Didn't you want to come back?" She turned around to look at the source of that voice. But there was nothing behind her nor either at her sides. 

"Why don't you come back now? Ashley's waiting for you." 

She felt anxious upon hearing that. "How do you know that name? Who are you?!" The loud laugh of a woman filled the whole darkness and made Titania's ears ring. It's slowly getting louder, resulting in her head hurting. 

"You won't see her ever again if you don't come back now." 

Titania opened her eyes as she gasped for air. "What was that dream?" she looked all over the place and saw her usual room. She slowly got up while holding her head. Her memories are fuzzy. "How did I end up in my room?" 

She yawns as she sits on her bed, the sudden grumbling of her stomach made her realize that she hasn't eaten anything this day.  "Is Marie still awake?" 

Titania wore her slippers and made her way out of the room. Only the hallway lights are preventing the place from turning pitch dark.  Another grumbling weakened her knees. "Maybe I shouldn't have walked out the room." Since she doesn't have any sense of direction, it's hard for her to distinguish the way to the kitchen in this darkness. 

"I'll just go back." 

That's what she decided to do, but the loud grunting coming from a room stopped her from moving away. "It won't work. Why?" The familiar voice of Astra made her feel curious about what was happening. 

"A…stra. Quick!" 

When she peeked into the room, she saw Sylvester's eyes glistened in the darkness while Astra was doing something that she couldn't understand. "It's not working! I can't use it anymore." 

Her forehead creased, 'What are they doing?' she thought as she listened carefully to what they were saying. 

"I-It's too painful." Sylvester's grunts astonished the lady; she already saw him like that before when he was burning with fever.  "Stop! I'm not him!" Titania couldn't understand what Sylvester was talking about. 

"Wait for me, I'll find another way. Bear with it for a moment."  Astra disappeared out of nowhere, leaving Sylvester all alone and struggling to keep his sanity. His screams filled the room, mixed with his grunts. 

He couldn't even lie on the bed properly as he kept struggling due to the pain. Titania, who couldn't endure seeing another person in pain like that, went inside the room quietly. 

She noticed the interior of the room, and thought 'What a gloomy-looking room.' 

"Stop!" 

Titania froze from where she was standing upon hearing the Archduke shout. 'Did he notice me?' 

"I'm not a…monster." 

What Sylvester said baffled Titania even more. Thus she went to the bedside and saw the Archduke's body and face full of sweat. His forehead is creased with his eyes shut, trying to fight the pain he is feeling. 

Titania wasn't sure if her being here was okay, but she couldn't just let him suffer in pain. "Sylvester." 

The man opened his eyes and saw the lady beside him, he looked surprised, but his expression quickly turned sour. 

"What are you doing here? Get out!" 

The lady frowned after being screamed at like that. "I'm here to help you." She initiated and was about to touch the man, but he immediately pushed her away, resulting in Titania falling to the ground. 

"You… stupid Archduke!" 

She rushed towards Sylvester, but he quickly stopped her by pushing her forehead away with one hand; his head was still hurting, that's why he couldn't push her all the way. 

Titania, who struggled to touch the Archduke, used the chance to get on top of him after he grew weaker due to his headaches. 

Sylvester gaped with his eyes wide open as Titania straddled him, "W-What are you doing?!" He tried to push the lady off of him, but she suddenly flicked his forehead. 

The Archduke thought that he'd feel pain, but it was the opposite. As if her touch cooled his head, the pain went away for a short while.  Titania quickly grabbed both of Sylvester's hands before he could even move and push her away, "Shut up." She closed her eyes and focused her energy on Sylvester's hands. 

He stared at her as she began glowing, her hair turned the same colour as her eyes, and Sylvester could feel her cooling mana inside his body. 

"Blue hair," Sylvester mumbled as he slowly fell on his back. The pain he felt subsided as he continued to watch the fairy remove his agony without much effort. "Your wings are gone." His eyes grew heavier as he gradually drowses off. 

"What are you doing?" 

Titania felt jumpy due to the voice behind her, "So after kissing him, you're planning to do something—" 

"I'm not doing anything!" 

Astra raised an eyebrow as he stared at the girl, "You're on top of him, on the bed." Titania stepped on Sylvester's stomach and quickly got off of him out of panic, making Astra laugh aloud with how her face looked so scared and baffled. 

"Now, tell me, what were you doing?" 

Titania glared at Astra for laughing at her, "I healed him. Look, he's sleeping peacefully now." The mage checked up on Sylvester's condition just to see that the lady wasn't lying at all. "How did you?" 

Titania shrugged, "I just kept thinking that I want to help him. Anyway, can we have something to eat, please? I'm starving." 

Astra chuckled as he pats Titania's head; he brought her to his room in the magic tower where he's currently working on something.  The young mage gave Titania some snacks, "This is the only thing I have here." He sat on his chair and continued working on something that he didn't bother to explain. 

Titania, who's munching on the snacks, examined the whole place. She already got here before, but it seems more clattered than the last time she saw it. There were also new items that piqued her interest. 

"What are you working on?" 

"Mircolith." 

Her forehead puckered, but her mouth didn't stop from swallowing all Astra's snacks. "What's that?" 

"A medium that could let you see another dimension for a short period of time. The medium that we needed to see your original body." Titania's eyes widened as she crushed the cookie in her hand.

"Does that mean I could go back to my world now?" 

"I said you could look, not go back." Astra deadpanned. 

"Then what's the use of looking?" 

He sighs, "If I could see how your world works, then I might get some ideas on how to help you get back." A smile formed on Titania's face as she began clapping due to happiness and even showed Astra her celebratory dance. 

"You're a genius!" 

"You're just figuring that out?" 

Titania thought that she could finally leave this fantastical world of strange things, "Guess I need to enjoy everything here for my last days. And you should come up with an excuse after I leave." 

"Right. Push it all to the mage guy." 

The young lady bid him goodbye and was about to open the door, but Astra said something, making her stop, "You see, thanks for making Sylvester sleep peacefully." She giggled upon seeing a shy expression on Astra's usually goofy face. 

"I mean, you're working hard to help me, so how could I not do the same?" 

The next day came with Titania full of energy. The mere servants are the ones feeling nervous about how energetic she was after fainting yesterday. 

"Blaze!" She called up to the young knight in the training ground, and the knight quickly went to her. 

"This is for you. I know you like sweets too." Blaze stared at Titania with wary eyes. "I'm not planning anything. I just want to thank you for always following me everywhere and protecting me like a stalker." Blaze felt hurt by what he heard. 

Titania giggled as she placed the bag of chocolates in Blaze's hand, "I'm just kidding. Here take it." 

After giving Blaze the chocolates, she skipped her way back to her room and bumped into the Archduke. She began touching the Archduke's face carelessly. 

"Do you feel alright now? Shall we go on an adventure?"  Sylvester's face reddened as he remembered the memories of yesterday night. "Stop touching me." He tried to act usual but couldn't look straight into Titania's face. 

Although he's suffering in agony that night, his memories are vivid, and all he can see is the young fairy's face. 

Sylvester stroked Titania's hair, "How did your hair change colour?"  The lady gazed into Sylvester's eyes as he was looking at her hair with his soft gaze. 'What is he talking about?' Titania, who didn't realize what happened to her hair that night, shrugged at the Archduke's question. 

"Astra said that he's already making the Microlith." 

"Microlith?"

Her mouth curved into a smile, and both her eyes twinkled with excitement, "Yes! The tool he's going to use to see my original body. And then he'll help me get back to my wor—" Sylvester unintentionally pulled Titania's hair, cutting what she's saying. 

"Hey, why did you pull it?" 

Sylvester suddenly realized what he did and instantly let go of her hair. As if the hallway turned grim, Titania watched the Archduke's expression change. From his soft gaze turning back into his usual cold and chilling face. 

"Since you're going back already, you should accompany me."  Her smile widened as she clapped her hand, "I'm in!" 

But her excitement didn't last long. The Archduke pulled her into his office with Alger and Blaze waiting inside. 

They planned to sneak on the Auction Hall, also known as Fantasia, where they sell and trade demi-humans and peasants, which is illegal in the Empire of Alynthia. The owner of Fantasia is Marquess Kendrick Byron, Vivica's Father and also a prime minister. 

"This is why Lennox wanted me to marry Vivica so that I could do nothing about what they were doing behind everyone's back." 

Titania stood up with her mouth agape, "I don't want to be involved with Vivica anymore." The three of them looked at her with confusion in their eyes, 'These idiots wouldn't understand the struggle I had yesterday.' 

Sylvester stared at her with his cold eyes, "And why is that?" 'This man's mood swings are much freakier than mine.' She thought as she explained what happened yesterday while she was finding the document they needed. 

Blaze, who is still a minor, didn't understand anything that she said, but it didn't bother him. 

"You saw them?" Titania saw how Sylvester clenched his fist. "Something outrageous." She laughed at the Archduke's angry face, which baffled the other two, and thought their lady was indeed odd. 

"You sent me there, didn't you? Why are you getting mad?"  Silence filled the room. The two knights felt complicated upon witnessing the Archduke's humiliation. 

"You're right. We should now focus on infiltrating the Auction Hall." Sylvester's tone came back to how it usually is. Titania thought that he grew softer. 'I guess I'm wrong.' 

"Did you understand?" 

"H-Huh? Pardon?" 

Sylvester shook his head, "We're going to pretend as a couple from a far-away country that wanted to try buying a demi-human. Alger already got us some tickets, and tomorrow there will be a grand exhibition for their most bizarre collections." 

'He's talking a lot now,' the lady thought while she watched the Archduke's mouth move. 

She placed her cheek on her hand as she mumbled, "Handsome." They all looked at her after she caught their attention. 

"What?"