' So, you're probably wondering why my people are angry.'
' No...' Kigami's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
Kimoko quickly elbowed him right in the stomach. The demon hissed in pain and glared at her.
' What's your problem now, that you have to hit me again?'
' So you'll finally shut up and listen to what Estella has to say.'
Kigami closed his eyes, and his lips formed a mocking smile again.
' Okay, but first let the bunny explain to me why her people are only now rebelling.'
Estella sighed and, looking at the floor, whispered something that neither Kimoko nor Kigami expected.
' Because I never really ruled Amoria... My younger brother did it for me.'
There was anger in her voice.
' Wait, so you mean that Amoria isn't yours?'
Estella nodded.
' No, Amoria is mine, but I didn't rule it. It's a bit complicated, but for you to understand my problem, you need to know the truth.'
The goddess moved away from them, walked over to the throne, and sat on the ground in front of it. Kigami and Kimoko looked at each other in silence, unsure of what to do. Kimoko took a timid step forward, but Kigami stopped her. Only then did she notice that Estella was watching them closely.
' As you probably already know, we, the Vorthakai, are quadruplets. Many people believe that we don't even know each other, but that's not true.'
Her voice was quiet, and her gaze was empty, as if she wanted to look into their souls.
Kimoko swallowed, unconsciously tightening her fingers around Kigami's wrist. He covered her hand with his. Estella continued, 'I and my brother, known to you as the Night Lord, had a joint oath. However... I abused it. Instead of protecting me and Amoria like we had agreed, I stopped caring about it, handing Amoria over to him. I preferred to live my life to the fullest, believing that my brother would do everything for me anyway.'
' Wait, let me guess... Your brother rebelled?'
Kigami interrupted halfway through her story.
Kimoko noticed Estella nodding.
' No, my brother is a calm soul. The people of Amoria adored him, and he never complained about both Amoria and Nokta resting on his shoulders. We lived well... until the day she showed up...'
Her voice suddenly broke.
Kimoko clenched her fist even tighter before whispering,
' Who was that?'
Estella looked up, her fists clenching. Anger laced her voice.
' Sitaka. The Sun Goddess. I don't know why or for what she came to Amoria. It was because of her that everything started to fall apart. But back to the point... My brother and Sitaka fell in love. Fortunately, their relationship in Amoria didn't last long. Sitaka left shortly after her arrival. My brother was hurt by this. I truly felt sorry for him, but deep down I was happy, I was sure that everything would go back to normal... I was wrong.
Less than a month after she left, Sitaka returned, desperate to talk to my brother. I agreed... That was my biggest mistake.
It turned out that Sitaka was pregnant. With his child.'
Estella stopped for a moment, her angry gaze fixed on the floor.
' I was furious. At Sitaka. At my own brother. Especially when he told me he was going back to Nokta to take care of her and their child. In my anger, I did things that I can never fix.
My brother felt betrayed and hurt by this and I haven't had any contact with him since that day... Didn't have a chance to fix my mistakes... Even though now I need his help the most.'
' Wait, a moment.' Kigami crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her coldly.
' Your little brother has saved you from your responsibilities your whole life, and you got mad at him when he decided to leave to take care of his beloved and their unborn child?'
Irritation was evident in his voice.
' It's selfish and unfair.'
Estella looked at him with wide eyes. Kimoko could see that his words hurt her, as if someone had stabbed her in the back. Tears welled up in her eyes.
' I know that... But I can't cope without him. The people of Amori worship him. He is the one they see as their true ruler. I don't know what to do... They blame me for his departure and...'
Kigami burst out laughing again.
Kimoko knew perfectly well that he didn't take Estella seriously. It didn't surprise her at all, she knew that he had no respect for the gods.
' So you messed up by giving your country to your brother, and now you want us to make people worship you again?'
'Exactly what I ask of you.'
Kimoko still stood still, not knowing what to say.
All this time she had thought that the goddess was the victim of some dispute between the other gods. But now she wasn't so sure. In her story, she saw more of a victim of her own bad decisions.
The girl clenched her fists.
'What exactly do you want us to do, huh?! Find your brother and drag him back to Amoria by force?'
Her scream echoed through the room.
Shocked, she took a step back. She didn't intend to scream. She looked at Kigami, he was surprised too, but his expression quickly changed into a wide smile. He looked like he was proud of her.
Kimoko felt her cheeks redden and quickly looked away.
' My dear brother... He won't come back here. He's angry with me for how I treated him. But just before he left, he gave me this letter.'
Estella approached them, holding a carefully folded parchment in her hand. She slowly handed it to Kimoko.
The girl unfolded it carefully. Her eyes met with navy blue, smudged letters that made it difficult to read the words. She wasn't sure if it was because of the age of the letter or the tears of the person who wrote it.
Dear Estebelle,
I never believed that we would have to part like this. Your words were like sharp blades. You didn't want to listen to me, you didn't let me explain my decisions. That's why I'll try to do it now, in this letter.
I love you and have always cared about you, you are my sister after all. But Sitaka and our child need me too. Please try to understand. This choice was not easy for me.
I know it won't be easy for you either. That's why you need to find out something that can change your situation. On the border of Amori and the ocean grows a small silver tree. It holds all of Amoria's memories. If your subjects still consider me their true ruler... burn it.
This is your only way to change history. Everyone in Amori will forget me.
Except you, dear sister.
Do what's right.
Anstellerette
Kimoko moved the parchment away from her face. She didn't understand. After the way Estella had treated her brother, he still cared about her.
With a sigh, she handed the letter to the goddess. Her disgust for Estella was immense, but she knew they had no choice but to obey her request if they wanted to obtain the crystal. She looked at the man standing behind her. She could see from his face that he, too, had had enough of this self-pity. If he could, he would probably leave without a second thought.
Estella took a step towards Kigami. She came closer than the demon would tolerate. She stood on her tiptoes and began to wink her eyes flirtatiously.
' You're not going to leave the poor damsel in distress, are you?' Her voice was sweet and innocent, though Kimoko felt it irritated her more than it convinced her.
' You're so big and strong after all, and I'm just... just a weak little bunny.'
To her own surprise, Kimoko felt a pang of jealousy. "
" Why, Kimoko? Why do you feel jealous of Estella's flirtation... with that demon?"
' Exactly... why?' she whispered to herself.
She glanced at Kigami from under her eyelashes and saw the expression on his face. Disgust. With visible reluctance, he pushed Estelle away to a safe distance.
' Listen, if it weren't for the fact that I have some interest in this, I wouldn't care at all what happens to you or Amoria. Got it?' he snapped, irritated.
Estella narrowed her eyes, and anger danced on her face for a moment. However, she quickly covered it with a fake smile.
' Ah... I see...' she said with feigned carelessness.
' You look tired. Let's agree that you will set off tomorrow at dawn.'
' Shall we set off?' Kigami repeated and gave her a cold look.
' You didn't think Kimoko and I would do everything for you, did you?'
He then grabbed the girl by the hand and walked forward, passing Estella without so much as a glance.
' We won't leave you here.' he added without stopping. 'I want to keep an eye on you, to make sure you don't try to trick us.'
An hour later...
Kimoko was sitting on a modest bed in the room Estella had assigned them. The room was cold and empty, with only a few candles casting a dim light on the stone walls. The girl stared at the ceiling, trying to organize her thoughts.
It was all so absurd. Estella, a goddess who should have been powerful and wise, turned out to be a spoiled child longing for someone to fix her mistakes. Anstellerette Estella's brother, who despite everything that had happened to him, still had feelings for her. And finally... Kigami.
The thought of him made Kimoko sigh, turning onto her side. He was arrogant, cold and seemingly devoid of empathy, and yet... he always kept up with her. Now, as he took her hand, leading her through the room, his touch felt... familiar? Warm? Safe?
' What am I even imagining?' she mumbled
Her gaze on Kigami who was lying not far from her. He had his back to her, and from his calm breathing, the girl guessed that he was already asleep. She gently extended her trembling hand towards him, but when her fingers almost touched his hair, the girl hesitated.
She quickly slid her hand back in.
She sighed. Her gaze remained on the man.
With him, she felt safe. He was the only person she could trust at that moment.
Kimoko smiled, knowing that with him she wouldn't be alone,
Until the end of their journey.
17Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ430Uv4Ynjc
