Love, was it all in Vain? Kalego x Reader Chapter 12
I don't understand what is going on. These two are just living their normal lives. Crystal is the name of the girl whose eyes I see through, she has blue hair, almost pale, nearing white, it had a similar gleam to my staff whenever light bounces off it, her eyes were... blurry, I couldn't see them in the mirror at all whenever she looked into it.
She and Route had this mundane routine, after dinner Route would leave to his office to do some work. When I managed to sneak a peek of what was in there, it was full of magical tools. Though this was interesting, another thing I noticed was how... alone Crystal was...
House chores and a little bit of gardening and that was it, no other interactions or distractions. Whenever they needed something from the town, Route always insisted on going by himself, alone.
One day, Route got injured in his office and had to stay bedridden for a while, Crystal took care of him, but eventually she had to go out to get something in town. Route tried to stop her, but she insisted and managed to leave, being given a special hairclip by Route said to disguise her looks. In his words, "I don't want anyone else to fall for your beauty, my wife."
Still, even in their most loving interactions, there was this sense of unease that I felt...
In town, I could feel Crystal feeling anxious, she didn't know what do, it was her first time in town and everyone she tried to speak to seemed to ignore her, that was until...
A man had bumped into her, knocking Crystal down, the clip on her head flew off, breaking on the ground, she picked it up, worried about the damage as the man held his hand out to her.
"Are you alright, miss?" he asked, his tone of genuine concern.
Crystal looked up at him, taking his hand and fixing herself up, "I'm alright... thank you, um...?" she said, holding the broken clip near her chest, her eyes fixated on the man in front of her.
An enigmatic expression adorned his features, he wore regal clothing, was he a noble?
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself," he says, placing his hand in front of his chest and doing a small curtsy, "I'm ______" he stated.
That name sounded static when it came to my ears, but it seemed that Crystal was unaffected by it.
"Oh my, I apologize..." Crystal became frantic, bowing profusely as the man tried to calm her down by gesturing his hands down. Crystal pulled the edge of her skirt and bowed to him, "H-how do you do, my name is Crystal ______" she said, keeping her head lowered.
It had been quite some time since she had last done something like this, from what I'm feeling, she's a bit flustered and worried she might've lost her edge.
The man chuckled, causing Crystal to look up warily.
"Well then miss Crystal, what brings you to town?" he asks.
Crystal's eyes darted elsewhere as she pressed her index fingers together shyly, "Um... you see, my husband is sick and I was looking for the pharmacy, he's been waiting for quite some time now, I'm rather worried..." she explains, placing a hand to her cheek.
"Is this your first time coming to town? I haven't seen you here before," the man comments, placing a hand on his chin. Crystal nods at his question, "Then let me show you the way," he offers kindly.
Crystal's mood instantly lifted, "Really? Thank you so much!" she said with glee.
That was most of the interaction, after getting the medicine, Crystal thanked him once again before heading back to her house.
"I'm back," she called out, greeted by Route at the couch, his foot in a cast, "I got something that would heal your injury instantly, here, take it," Crystal says, handing him the medication, eager to make him feel better.
"Thank you darling," Route says, giving Crystal a kiss on the cheek as he took the medicine off her hands. As he opened the bottle, his eyes focused on the medicine, "By the way..." he began, side eyeing Crystal, "Did you talk to anyone... by chance...?" he asked.
Crystal was quiet, her head tilted, but she smiled, "No one I can remember, just the pharmacist," she says.
Route smiled, "I see," his mood seemed to brighten, "I was worried someone was enchanted by your beauty and might take you away from me, I'm glad I'm the only one who can see that you're a diamond in the rough, my love," he says.
Crystal smacked his shoulder lightly, blushing, "Hah..." she sighed, "stop joking."
"It's true though," Route said nonchalantly, taking a handful of medicine and taking it all at once.
He wiggled his feet and took off the cast, "There we go," he said in relief before standing up, taking Crystal by the hand and taking her somewhere, somewhere I will not explain because my sight faded to black.
The next few days seemed to have returned everything back to normal. By normal, I mean Route spending all of his time making magic tools, Crystal being alone.
One day while making lunch, there was no bread, and Crystal wanted to make something with bread.
She sighed, thinking that she had already gone to town once, it wouldn't hurt to go again when Route was so engrossed in his work, she wrote a note and stuck it in the fridge before leaving the house, thinking that she should also restock their pantry while she was out there.
And coincidentally, she bumped into someone.
"Oh, it's you again, sir _____" Crystal greeted.
"Miss Crystal, what a coincidence," he replied, "what brings you to town this time?" he wondered.
"Just a bit of grocery, I was in the middle of making lunch and realized we were low on supplies, I thought that I would just make a quick trip," she says.
The man smiled, "Speaking of lunch, would you care to join me?" he asked.
Crystal tilted her head, "You mean?" she questioned.
"There's a café that I've been wanting to go to, but I'm embarrassed to go alone," he said with a slightly shy face, "I would appreciate it if you'd consider my request..."
Crystal placed a hand over her mouth to hide her smile, "Why of course, I'd love to see the town a bit more before I go home," she replied, her smile wavering before she released a giggle she had been holding back.
The man let out a relieved sigh, giving Crystal an embarrassed smile before offering his hand, "Let's go then."
The two headed to the café and ordered, they spent the rest of the afternoon talking about things, perhaps things that Crystal wasn't able to tell Route because he was so busy, nevertheless, it felt like a weight had been lifted from Crystal's chest.
"Oh, would you look at the time," Crystal says before getting up from her seat, "thank you for the lovely time, but I should head home, my husband must be looking for me by now," she said worriedly.
"No worries, I had a lovely chat," the man assured, "tell me more when we meet again, miss Crystal," he says as he waved her off.
Crystal waved as she left, heading back home. She opened the door, ready to be greeted by a concerned Route, but no one was there.
"Route?" she called out, stepping inside, leaving the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter, her note still in the same place as she had left it.
She knocked on his office door before opening it after hearing no response, she found him at his desk sleeping in his arms, she couldn't help but sigh seeing him overworking himself and missing lunch and quite possibly dinner as well.
Crystal took a blanket and draped it over him before heading to the kitchen to make dinner, crumpling up her note before tossing it to the trash, placing the groceries in the pantry. Route didn't have to know she went to town, it would only worry him more... at least that's what Crystal felt.
Weeks passed, nothing much changed, one could even call this emotional neglect. Crystal had been taking more frequent walks into the forest to unwind, she was upset with Route, but she didn't want to cause any conflict between them and instead kept it all inside.
Then the thought arose, how about visiting the town?
She left a note for him again before leaving, this time deciding to head to the library to check out some books, she had already read through the entirety of her collection, now it was time to get new books to read, perhaps romance? Just the thought of it made her smile.
Her hands trailed the back of the hardcovered books, searching for the most eye-catching title, stopping at the forbidden love section, she stood still, frozen in time as she picked a book, opening it to read the prologue when a voice called her.
"It seems that we often cross paths whenever you're in town," he spoke, his tone full of amusement.
Crystal chuckled, her eyes never leaving the page, "Are you perhaps stalking me?" she quipped.
The two shared a silent moment as the man's gaze fell on the book, "That's a good book," he says, "too bad it ended in a tragedy."
Crystal closed the book in a huff, glaring at the man, "Spoilers," she said in an annoyed tone.
The man chuckled awkwardly, "Then shall I recommend something else? I promise I won't spoil," he said, holding a finger above his lip in a mysterious manner.
"Alright," Crystal smiled.
The two sat down at the table and chatted for some time, there it was... a small flutter in Crystal's chest, she was... falling for this man...
And when they checked out their books, "Here," the man says, handing Crystal a book.
She looked at it before taking it off his hands, "This is... the book you spoiled me on earlier," she said with a deadpan look.
The man chuckled, "I paid for it, it's only fair since I spoiled the ending," he said, giving Crystal an odd smile... there was definitely something there...
Crystal nodded, placing the book in her bag before turning, "Then, I'll see you again next time," she waved as she walked off.
A cold chill filled the room as Crystal entered the house, Route sat on the couch with his elbows rested on the table, looking at Crystal.
Crystal sighed, "I left a note," she said wearily, "I went to the library in town to get some b--"
"And what if someone caught you?!" Route shouted, standing up from his seat as he angrily approached Crystal, grabbing her by the shoulders. "You put yourself in danger and for what? What do you want to happen? If you want me to be worried then I'm worried!" he shouted.
"But no one caught me!" Crystal shouted back, getting Route's attention. Seeing the anger in Crystal's eyes, he stared wide eyed at her, "How can you say that you're worried when it feels like you're not even here! Worried? What about me? Don't you think I'm worried about you always being cooped up in your room working on whatever it that you're working on?!" she yelled, pulling away from him, tears brimming in her eyes.
Route's hand outstretched to her, his red eyes wide with regret, "Crystal I--"
"--No! Forget it!" she shouted in frustration, walking off to the bedroom before slamming the door shut, locking it behind her before curling into a ball, leaning her back against the door while Route tried to apologize.
She needed the time to cool off, Route began to grow silent on the other side of the door, footsteps fading away, Crystal began to sob.
Her eyes trailed to the bag she had on her, seeing the scattered books on the ground, a voice echoed in her ears as she saw the book on the floor. "I paid for it, it's only fair since I spoiled the ending."
Her hand reached for it instinctively, her breathing had finally calmed down as she began to read the book, her heart fluttered at every loving word the two characters shared, the story of a demoness trapped in a political marriage and her forbidden love, a simple man who tried not to dabble in the affairs of nobility.
And yet the ending was bittersweet, with them being separated by their fates unable to rekindle even after all they've been through.
The sun had rose when Crystal had finished reading the book, she placed it down next to her nightstand and fell asleep, exhausted.
Crystal awoke to someone tucking her hair behind her ear, her eyes opened softly, landing on Route who was laying beside her, a remorseful look on his face.
"Route..." she called, sitting up, it was still awkward between them.
He placed his hand on top of hers, "I was worried since you didn't come out, I made dinner..." he said gently, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.
"I'm sorry for not considering your feelings, I've been too caught up in my work to take care of you, I promise I'll do my best to be better from now on, so please, don't be mad..." Route stated pitifully, as if a puppy begging for treats.
Crystal turned to him, a small smile forming on her face, she took his hand and placing her other hand on his cheek, making him face her, "You better keep your promise, dummy," she says, grinning at him.
Route couldn't help but pull her in close, "I will," he said like a sob, "and please," followed up by something that made Crystal feel cold.
"Don't go to that town ever again."
So this turned out longer than expected, I kinda slept on this after my last post cuz I was burnt out from work and needed a break, anyway, thanks for all the support, I really appreciate it!
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