The Atonement of a Writer

31. Players' Responsibilities

"It wasn't his fault," Arielle defended him immediately as Clovis trembled in anger. As always, everything Colette did and said had an effect on him. "Don't you dare blame him. You were the one who killed them."

"They were taking too slow to die," she gave an uncaring shrug. "But you cannot argue that if he had stopped me, they wouldn't have died. Unfortunately, the fool believed in second chances."

"Stop using his conscience against him," Arielle spat, face stiff with anger. "Even now, you're playing your little mind games."

Colette smirked. "I wouldn't call them little."

Indeed, Clovis's trembling figure didn't show any sign of stopping. Everyone present could tell that he was blaming himself. Arielle's fingers gripped his shoulders. "Get up, Clovis. It's not over yet."

"My, my. Where's the compassion?" Colette smirked. "After all, he did just kill his own parents. A little sympathy would be nice. Now..."

Colette held out her hand, and a massive fireball appeared in her hands. "...Let's play."

Arielle immediately moved in front of Clovis protectively, shielding him with her body. Behind her, she could hear Killian kneeling beside Clovis, muttering into his ear. "Bring it on, bitch."

~*~

When Lili opened her heavy eyelids, she, once again, found herself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. For a moment, she just lied there, staring at the ceiling and wondering how many times she was going to wake up like this.

She quietly laid in bed as the room got gradually brighter. It must be really early in the morning. The bed was really comfortable, so she stole a few moments to herself before she sat up.

She still didn't recognize the room--it was fancier than the ones back at the manor, so she probably wasn't there. Was this the palace, then? It didn't really make a lot of sense for her to be in the palace, but since Lili was Arielle again, it was a possibility.

Nobody else was in the room, so she got off the bed and made her way to the door. The moment she reached for it, the door opened itself, and suddenly she was staring into the emerald eyes of one Killian Soule.

Taken aback by the sudden movement, she froze, feeling like a deer caught in headlights, though technically she'd done nothing wrong. Of course, she thought. As the protagonist, she would be surprised if she didn't find one of the male leads at the door. He, too, froze and stared at her. "...Arielle?"

"Killian..." Even to her own ears, her voice sounded weak and hoarse.

"Arielle!" He grabbed her lightly by the shoulders, as if he was afraid of breaking her by his mere touch. Lili's eyes widened in surprise. "You--you're awake--what are you doing out of bed?"

Raising her arms in surrender, she made her way back to the bed and sat down, sending him a look that said, happy? He settled beside her and, to her ever-growing surprise, pulled her into a hug. "Thank the gods you're okay...I--we were all so worried that you..."

His voice cracked, and that was when Lili realized the arms around her were shaking. In retrospect, when Killian came in, he had looked like he hadn't slept for days. So she sat there and patted his back until he was ready to speak. She could even feel Killian's mana running through her now, ascertaining her health. Lili didn't know when she had gained this power of sensing mana--was it because she was now aware of it, after finishing the book? Or was it because of Heimarmene?

As if suddenly realizing the position they were in, he broke free of the hug with an apology spilling from his lips. "I apologize--I--"

She patted his hand. "It's fine. I understand."