Chapter 79: If you keep saying such things, you will...

Navia blinked rapidly.

How could Luna know what she was about to say before she even spoke?

"Is this about Mr. Callas and Ms. Clementine?" Luna asked.

Navia's mouth gaped slightly, rendered speechless.

"Am I wrong?"

"No... Did you just guess?"

"This is deduction, my dear Nana. We haven't made plans to leave the city, yet you still came here and chose the Clementine Line—a route with very few passengers."

Luna's fingertips slid off Navia's lips, stained with a smudge of lipstick. Unfazed, she continued, "I know what you're thinking. So don't be nervous or hesitant; I will listen to you."

"Lulu..."

Navia cast her gaze down and once again held Luna's hands. When she looked up, a gentle smile graced her face. "You always pay attention to me."

Luna smiled back, "Who could resist paying attention to Nana?"

Navia shook her head: "But there aren't many who keep my matters in their hearts. To be frank, I never expected you to want to take this chance to ask the Hydro Archon about the case."

"You always seem to figure out what's on my mind so quickly..."

Navia held Luna's hands, lightly clasping her palms.

"So before I share more of my heartfelt words, I must express how I feel about you, my dear Lulu!"

"In a nutshell, it's this: Thank you, a heartfelt thank you—and I knew my judgment was right! Becoming your friend can be considered one of the most correct choices I've ever made, hee hee hee."

Luna smiled slightly. "Is that so?"

"Absolutely!"

Will it always be like this in the future? Luna, of course, wouldn't ask such a question.

There was no need to inquire about it.

Navia exhaled deeply, feeling refreshed. "After confessing my feelings like this, I suddenly feel so much lighter and refreshed."

"Oh, I think Nana's words are quite heavy; they don't leave me feeling light at all."

"How so?!"

What's so heavy about them?

Can expressing one's true feelings openly really make others feel burdened? Navia fretted over it.

"I'm just joking."

"Lulu...that joke wasn't funny at all. Why don't you join in and be penalized too? Just tell me how you really feel about me."

Surprised, Luna replied, "Me? I'd rather not."

"You're making me even more curious now," Navia said, her tone brimming with intrigue.

What exactly is Luna thinking about me?

Nevertheless, Navia decided to get straight to the point.

If she missed this opportunity, the words she needed to say might sink back down into silence.

Still holding Luna's hands, Navia gently swayed them from side to side as she spoke in a soothing voice:

"You must already know that the Clementine Line was named after my mother, while my father gave his name to the Callas Line..."

"My mother, when she was alive, everyone said she was completely different from Father."

"In the old Spina di Rosula, the other members could only offer suggestions. Father, on the other hand, was always decisive and rarely took no for an answer. Once he made up his mind, not even my mother could sway him."

"Compared to him, Mother was gentle, optimistic, and humorous. She was also very sociable, often acting as a mediator in conflicts between Father and others."

"For Father, I suppose Mother was someone who supported him, loved him, and also served as a brake—making sure he didn't go too far."

"However, during my birth, my mother suffered a difficult labor and passed away," Navia continued somberly.

"After that, there were significant internal conflicts within the Spina di Rosula. My father was always such a complex man, you know."

"He never showed any weakness to anyone and never opened up to me either. Yet he brought me to negotiation tables and had others teach me how to hold a gun and wield a weapon."

"... For a while, I wasn't sure if our relationship was distant or not. None of the usual father-daughter moments seemed to happen between us."

Navia fell silent again.

Her gaze lowered once more, lips gently moving as she said, "After hearing your reasoning, Lulu, I went back and asked Melus."

Luna prompted softly, "And?"

"I asked Melus, 'Why did Father choose to sacrifice himself on the dueling grounds? Was it to protect me from our enemies?'"

Melus nodded.

"He also told me that at the time, Father had already been diagnosed with a rare illness. By the time it was discovered, it was too late—he only had five years left to live."

So that's how it was. With this, the truth of why Callas chose to die was now crystal clear.

"She recognized she couldn't maintain the standoff indefinitely and chose..." Luna began.

"Indeed," Navia whispered. "Just as you deduced, Lulu."

Claiming to possess crucial evidence against each other, they were forced to cease their destructive conflict to avoid mutual annihilation.

Otherwise, the incriminating proof would be exposed to all.

Such immense loss was naturally something neither side would relish.

"The evidence truly existed?" Luna murmured.

Navia shook her head.

Were they using proxy threats to ride on someone else's strength? Or was there some other hidden reason? Luna couldn't immediately discern the answer, so she decided to set the matter aside for the time being.

"I had no idea my father suffered from such a condition, nor could I ever tell..." she continued. "He never mentioned it, silently making all those decisions before passing away just as quietly."

With these words, Navia also fell silent.

Her thoughts drifted away from the present, floating back into the distant past.

But no matter how she searched, she couldn't find any trace of Callas amidst the hazy memories—assuming he had ever been there at all.

"He's always like this," Navia murmured, stroking Luna's fingers.

Feeling the warm, tingling sensation on her hand, Luna's thoughts began to wander.

She once asked Arlecchino a question:

"Why does 'Father' have to be called 'Father'?"

After all, she was a beautiful woman.

But at that time, Arlecchino only smiled faintly.

"If you want to know the answer, think for yourself, Luna. Only those who use both body and mind to chase the truth have the right to obtain it."

There were so many riddles.

That was Luna's first thought back then.

And even until now, Luna had only seen a glimmer of the truth.

"I think Father is like this," she said.

"...Lulu's father too?"

Luna smiled. "Probably. Strict and harsh, but now I seem to understand her more. If she hadn't been like that, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet Nana."

"...!"

Navia's eyes widened further.

She had considered before that perhaps the reason her father rejected a title was to avoid being separated from the common people by status;

Had he taken her to negotiations and even taught her combat techniques because he hoped she could fend for herself when she grew up—protect herself?

She kept these thoughts to herself, afraid to ask. Perhaps she had misread his intentions; maybe it wasn't as she'd imagined. But now, his motivations would forever remain a mystery.

Hearing Luna's words still evoked an indescribable feeling within her.

"...I know how that feels," Luna said softly. "It took me ages to truly understand my father. I don't think I ever fully grasped him, but I did feel a little closer to him."

I finally got a bit closer to him, Navia thought absently, only after he'd been dead for three years.

Well, this can still count as good, right? she wanted to say, but under Luna's watchful gaze, the words that came out were different.

"...Can I borrow your shoulder to lean on?"

Luna smiled faintly. "No."

"No?!"

To reject such a request in this situation?! Navia was stunned. Before she could anxiously try again, Luna removed her hat.

"Come, lie down."

Then she pulled Navia onto her lap.

Against her cheek was a smooth, soft warmth, and her nose was filled with a refreshing, subtle fragrance. Navia never could have predicted this turn of events.

"L-L-Lulu? Why am I resting my head on your lap...?" Navia looked panicked and instinctively tried to sit up.

"It's alright," Luna said reassuringly.

Luna gently pressed her back down.

"It's all right," she whispered softly, her fingertips tenderly caressing Navia's long lashes before covering her eyes.

In the pitch-black darkness, Navia could only hear the hum of the trackless train and the flow of the waterway. She could feel the cool breeze against her skin and, in stark contrast, Luna's warm body heat.

So warm, she thought. Like the flames of a fireplace. Navia's consciousness gradually drifted, becoming hazy.

Just before completely drifting off, she squeezed out her last bit of awareness and spoke, "Lulu."

"What is it? Are you disappointed my legs aren't soft enough?"

"No, it's not that. I just thought... next time, let's switch places. You can rest your head on my legs. That way it'd be fair."

Luna brushed aside a few strands of hair from Navia's ear, tenderly caressing the soft skin beside it.

"Sounds good. By the way, do you feel sunburned? If you're uncomfortable, I can cover you up."

"The sun's already set, and what do you plan to cover me with anyway?"

"My dress."

"...Lulu, you know you can't say such things!"

Luna chuckled. "Come on, you know I'm just joking."

"Oh, I'm sure you are!" Navia retorted playfully.

Her conversation had been animated enough, but before long, Navia drifted off to sleep, her head pillowed on Luna's lap.

It was a testament to her strong will, yet she wasn't immune to occasional feelings of sadness.

Luna placed Navia's hat nearby and shushed Aeval with a raised index finger.

Aeval nodded vigorously, covering her mouth with both hands.

Unable to suppress a smile, Luna settled back to await their arrival at the terminus. She seized the opportunity to savor this rare sight—Navia's peaceful slumber.

poke

"Mmmn..."

Poke poke poke poke

"Nn..."

As Luna admired Navia's sleeping face, she playfully poked and stroked her, from nose to chin, ear to ear, until the train finally arrived at its destination.