âI must, it gives effect to it. I shall never stop calling you as such, my dearest Lissy. Itâs rather adorable and denotes weâre close, donât you agree?â Although, if she were to ever get genuinely upset with him, heâd most certainly cease the very second she asked. But so far the two of them had never been genuinely angry with one another.
âFufu, does that embarrass you? Your bloodlust is in good place, I get excited myself too.âHe had a habit of grinning even when he was covered in blood or killing someone up close, looking as if he was always having a good time â which he was. For some reason, fighting was a most splendid occasion for him, as much as he tried to avoid a war between Lucae and Melantia.
âCurrently? Youâre perfect. I donât find you despicable. Just missing something. Something that brightens you up. Being perfectly imperfect is wonderful too, you know. You ought to try it.â Crimson hums, flashing her a gentle smile. âPersonally, I want to see the real Lissandra someday and then some. I want to see her when she messes up and when she cries, when she smiles with the full force of her being and when she laughs like she wonât laugh harder ever again in her life.â
He pauses and then looks down at her again, winking playfully. âDonât you want to meet that girl inside you too?â
Everyoneâs pure self, from their inner child to their fault ridden adult. He wanted to see within everyone he met.
âOho⌠Is that so? You should have fun, donât hold yourself back. Like Minh.â Despite Minh being nearly an adult, he had no qualms about being himself (thank god) and lived like he was still full of childish wonder and life.
As she scolds him for being so blunt, he arrives at the palace gates and sets her down carefully, making noises to assure her that he was listening. âOh, Iâd never be so direct to anyone else. I donât view you the same as other ladies. And no, Iâm not saying I donât see you as a woman, before you yell at me again.â He reaches out to ruffle her hair, laughing. âAnyway, Iâd never dream of hurting you deeply, so I would never toy with your delicate maiden heart. Now, shall we go inside or would you like me to carry you further in?â
â-; Huffing, she crosses her arms and turns away from the emperor. âHmph, perhaps, but Iâd rather be considered beautiful and elegant than adorable. Such an image is simply not fitting for a Duchess! Though I hold not a candle to you nor Her Majesty Cordelia, there are still a few people who look up to me, and Iâd like to be someone they can look up to with pride.â Duchess... That title had meant everything to her. It was how her persona came to be, what she crafted it around. Small talk and flattery, it was how she trained herself to be, and while it pleased most nobles, it seemed to be somewhat of a hindrance to Crimson. How was she to act if not her usual self though? Even she did not know, for that was something she had never even thought of being a possibility.
â-; âTo smile and laugh while committing murder... Surely that is not what the people want to see... Besides, it gets my dresses all torn up and ruined.â She wouldnât say it aloud, for she thought that talks of her being a âmonsterâ and needing to be âbrought downâ had already reached the emperorâs ears, and so she simply ended it as a matter of her attire getting ruined.
â-; The real Lissandra, huh? But who was the real Lissandra? Wasnât this her? Or had she lied for so long that she tricked herself into believing this masquerade was who she truly was. âItâs been quite a while since I have laughed so hard... It will be interesting to see you attempt to do so, Your Majesty,â she says with a smile. At the mention of her crying though, she lets out a brief laugh--however it was her usual cordial and gentle one, not the one Crimson wanted to hear out of her. âMe, crying? Oh dear, the last time that happened, they had to repair my entire bedroom and then some, for I had kicked a hole in a wall with my heel... Ask Zia, Iâm sure heâd be delighted to tell you stories about me, though if he doesnât watch his tongue, he may just lose it.~â Giggling to herself, she finally remembers who sheâs in the presence in and coughs into her hand, as if that would make the words she said disappear. âI-I mean, um, I just hope he doesnât say too many bad things about me... Weâve been together for so long, I know heâs just dying to share some of the... less-than-refined acts Iâve done...â
â-; Having finally gotten used to the emperorâs playful nature, she does no more than look him in the eye and give him a slight glare; all in good nature, of course. âIâve no desire to meet anyone. Iâm perfectly fine with the way I am, but if you want to try and weasel some other emotion out of me, so be it,â she says, waving her arm dismissively as she closes her eyes.
â-; âI have fun in many ways, just not the way you deem to be fun. I have always enjoyed being etiquette, and so to practice doing such would be what I suppose you would deem âfunâ, to me. Is that not enough?â Of course he would compare her to Minh though... But no matter how hard she tried, she would never, and could never, reach that level of... carefree childishness.
â-;Â âIs that so? Then how do you view me, Your Majesty? And I am not so fragile that your words could hurt me! ...Perhaps they might sting a bit in the moment, given what you say--but nothing I canât come back from!â As he ruffles her hair though, she growls a bit before fixing it back in place. Did he mean to say that he saw her as a child? Was that it? Was she just a mere child in his eyes?
â-; Taking off her heels, she sighed. âNo, this was further than needed, Your Majesty. Though I must say, I didnât imagine walking into the royal palace practically barefoot... I hope youâll forgive me.â She was sure Minh had done this millions of times, but as stated before, it was simply in her nature to act like so.