"There we have it, Maryland drug." Sir Daishi handed the clear, darkish vial to Silvie.
"I'm aware that what we're doing is illegal, but still..." Her worries slipped through upon gazing at the final product, she felt sullied within, knowing they were about to sell this to someone afflicted by the harshness of life.
"Having doubts, Silvie?" Sir Daishi noticed the uncertainty in her tone.
"Let it out. I'll listen." To Silvie's surprise, Sir Daishi did not appear overly strict in such matters.
"Sir Daishi, isn't this wrong? If the world is already suffering as it is, why are we purposely poisoning the people..." She voiced her pent-up concerns, hoping he would understand where she was coming from.
"I see..." To the store owner, this was a flaw that needed to be addressed immediately, though he was well aware that this life would be questioned by anyone new to it.
"Silvie, to be blunt, whatever miserable life a stranger is living is none of my concern. It is not nearly as important as the Malefactors' goals. Think of it as nothing more than a necessary step."
"Life is not fair, Silvie. You're standing among those with an advantage. This world doesn't need empathy. It will make it far easier on your heart if you put yourself above others and focus on the greater goal."
Sir Daishi's words struck something within her. This was the kind of existence she was living in. For a moment, she was baffled, but tried her earnestness to understand his viewpoint.
"The goal of the malefactors..." she repeated. All she was left with was to ponder in silence.
The store owner let out a sigh. "We are not in a luxurious position to develop a heart." It was the nail in the coffin, there was no hesitation in Sir Daishi's voice; he meant every word.
"I'll keep that in mind," Silvie replied.
"Sir Daishi, may I know one thing?" the servant asked.
"Go on," Sir Daishi said, permitting her to speak.
"How did you and Lady Evelyn encounter each other?" A question that evoked a nostalgic look on the store owner's face.
"That was a long time ago…"
"I am... indebted to her. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here, alive." There was a trace of gloom in Sir Daishi's voice, one of the first times she had heard such a tone from him.
"Lady Evelyn is the reason I'm a Scripter. One day, I was alone, and the next, she appeared, offering me an elixir brewed with the King Red Pufferfish as its mythical ingredient. And here I am now, doing everything for her goals."
The servant considered asking about his Script but thought better of it; Scripters were not known for parting with their secrets. Still, judging by the mythical ingredient, she could tell his abilities were tied to poison.
"Sir Daishi's thematic..." she mused inwardly. It was poetic, the man who taught her to make poison wielded it as his very power.
Choosing her words carefully, she asked instead, "Sir Daishi... is Lady Evelyn worth dying for?"
The question drew amusement to Sir Daishi's expression. Under any other circumstances, Silvie would have been apologizing for such a question, but after everything she had learned, she had to know: was the woman who was her mistress worth living and fighting for?
Silence cloaked the room as the question danced in the dust within the air. The sound of heartbeats and the smell of bitter black ink were palpable.
As Silvie anticipated Sir Daishi's answer...
"If I were ever given the choice, I'd die for her without hesitation. Her cause is worth the sacrifice. And someday, Silvie, she'll tell you what that cause truly is, then you'll have to decide if it's worth the same for you..."
A hint of irritation clung to Silvie's heart; she could not understand why they could not simply reveal the truth to her. Yet she reminded herself that this was their first day of meeting, and loyalty was not yet set in stone. Trust, she reasoned, would require time.
"Thank you, Sir Daishi. Thank you for entertaining my curiosity," she said, standing as she bowed slightly in respect.
"No need to bow to me, as I'm not your mistress," he replied, but he wasn't finished. "Silvie, I hope you realize that we aren't done here..."
"Not yet done? What do you mean, Sir Daishi?" she asked.
"What more could there be?"
"We have produced only one Maryland drug. We require six more," Sir Daishi informed her, making it immediately clear that further work awaited them.
"I see. Then shall we begin, Sir Daishi?" Silvie responded, and the two of them resumed their labor.
Both recognized, midway through their exchange, that if their present discussion continued, it might lead to discord. Thus, they instinctively chose to end it. Yet one thought remained with Silvie.
"One day, I must know Lady Evelyn's true intentions."
It took both of them the entire day. By the time they finished, it was already nearing the dead of night. Afterwards, they took breaks and indulged in pastries and sweets at the closed store.
Silvie had her usual Esteemed Glazed Hurst Pancakes. She wanted to drink coffee, but Sir Daishi advised against it, saying she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. So, she settled on the best alternative, water.
"I've eaten too much sweets today..."
She ate beside a closed window, and out of curiosity, took a peek outside. The moment she removed the covers, she was blinded by intense flashes of light.
"Why is this so strong?!" she exclaimed in frustration. "These streetlights could easily blind someone!" She was puzzled by their brightness. "Well, it was called Lantern Street," she thought, "but Blinding Street would fit it better."
After her eyes adjusted, she looked out again. The outside was overwhelmingly bright, with numerous lights from the surrounding buildings. "Are people really that afraid of the dark?" she remarked sarcastically. Eventually, she finished eating and washed the dishes herself.
While washing, she encountered Sir Daishi once more. He offered her a book, anticipating she might get bored with nothing else to do. He told her to call for him if anything happened; he would be downstairs in the laboratory, organizing things.
Silvie glanced at the book's cover. It depicted a man in a shadowed silhouette, with some kind of calamity and multiple winged creatures behind him. Needless to say, it looked morbidly interesting.
It's titled: "The Somber Man."
"Why not?" she said. "Might as well read it before Lady Evelyn gets home." But at the mention of Lady Evelyn, she remembered one thing.
"She promised to look at the night sky..."
But the lady wasn't here. Unfortunately, Silvie's curiosity was reaching a boiling point. All day long, she had been denied answers and left with nothing but even more questions! And headaches!
To her, it wouldn't hurt to see what Lady Evelyn was talking about, so she decided to read the book while staring at the night sky.
She recalled that this building had a terrace, and it wasn't difficult to find the stairs leading up to it.
Even if she's exhausted from the day's labor and restless with unanswered questions, Silvie climbed the stairs, drawn by a need to see the night sky of gravenhurst for herself.
Interestingly, as she ascended the stairs, she was met with a metal door. Holding the book in her hands, somewhat excited to have a peaceful night, she opened it, and the same brightness greeted her.
"This is ruining the mood..." she said, unable to even enjoy a peaceful night sky with all these lights...
Yet... Silvie froze.
"Where are... the stars?"
All she saw was Luna, the lone moon, alone in the void, reflecting the light of Ikaros, the lone star. For one, it explained why everything was so bright in Gravenhurst, to cure the pitch-black void of the night sky.
"It's so dark... The more I look at it, the more I feel so insignificant..."
Silvie simply stood, feeling unrelenting terror within her heart. She could've sworn there were constellations. She could've sworn there were multiple white dots in the sky, and not one lonely moon.
Yet...
"Why do I know that?" she asked herself.
It was bright, but her eyes saw the void, its silence threatened to swallow this world whole. She dropped the book of the somber man, her hand stretching out as if trying to unravel what lay behind the darkness of the sky.
"Lady Evelyn..."
"If a god exists in this world, it is surely the most malevolent of them all..."
Chapter End...