Lanqi and Talia's Wager

Three days passed. Four o'clock on a sunny afternoon. In District 4 of Palieu, the Flower Capital, stood Count Baptiste's manor. Christina reclined listlessly against the parlor sofa with a book in hand, letting the breeze turn a page or two from time to time. "*Yaaawn*..." Abandoning all proper etiquette for a highborn lady, she yawned broadly and shook her head, blinking blearily. This was the best part about being home: she could be as casual as she liked, and no one in the family would fault her for it. After all, she had been raised with the belief that as the eldest daughter of the Baptiste countship, she was meant to live willfully. Aside from heading out after lunch for a stroll around the shopping district on Monotropa Boulevard, she had spent the rest of the day cooling off at home, and now drowsiness was creeping up on her. "What's taking him so long?" she muttered, glancing at the clock. Every day at half past three in the afternoon, the estate's butler, Luoqi, gave clothing design lessons to Kyle, the count's son, concluding at four o'clock. By all accounts, that brown-haired, green-eyed butler should be strolling solemnly through the corridor right about now. And in all likelihood, he would pass by the first-floor parlor that connected the staircase to the hall. Just thinking about it made Christina's eyelids grow heavy. Maybe she should take a quick nap. Outside in the courtyard, the afternoon sun had deepened into a rich golden amber. Accompanied by a gentle wisp of floral fragrance, it cast a dreamy, restless interplay of light and shadow across the manor's ground-floor parlor. Just then, Christina caught sight of a figure walking past the room. "Luoqi, over here, over here!" She immediately sat up straight, shaking off her drowsiness as she waved and called out. "Miss, how may I be of service?" Holding a book in his arm, the brown-haired, green-eyed butler noticed the young lady on the sofa, turned on his heel, and walked toward the carpeted parlor. Lanqi had just finished Kyle's lesson and was about to check up on the work of the other household staff. Master Kyle's fashion design course consisted of thirty-minute sessions four times a week, taking up exactly two extra hours of the butler's schedule. A half-hour lesson not only helped the student maintain focus, but also gave them ample time to digest the material and allowed for a few assignments to let them practice and reflect on their own. "Wait here for me. I'll be right back!" Christina said, dashing off toward the stairs and heading up to the second floor. "Careful now," Lanqi said without any hurry, mildly concerned she might trip. Yet the young lady did not seem to hear him at all. Seeing that, he simply stood where he was, holding the book in one hand and casually flipping through it. It was a translation of the *Tome of Creation* in the Posen tongue, which he had borrowed from Kyle. No matter how eras crumbled and vanished into oblivion, this singular book had survived hundreds of thousands of years. Every language's translation offered its own unique interpretation of the divine script. Although Lanqi couldn't learn the divine arts recorded in the *Tome of Creation*, ever since he had laid eyes on an ancient edition in the Blood Moon Ruined World, he had developed a keen interest in reading every version he could find. Each one yielded fresh insights. Before long, Christina returned. Only this time, she brought a red-haired maid down from the second floor by the hand. It seemed the maid had been right in the middle of cleaning a room when the young mistress dragged her away. "Look at her! See if you notice anything different!" Christina puffed out her chest proudly, resting a hand on her hip as she prompted the butler to inspect her personal maid. Standing behind Christina was Inoan. Long bangs concealed her right eye, leaving a glimpse of a violet gaze observing the person before her. Even tied back in twin tails, her long crimson hair flowed all the way down to her waist. Although Christina had offered to help trim her hair, Inoan had seemed reluctant. Perhaps keeping her face partly hidden gave her a greater sense of security. She wore the classic maid uniform of the Kingdom of Posen: a neat black-and-white base accented by crisp ribbons, crowned with a striking ruby at the chest that tied the look together, perfectly mirroring the brimmed white headpiece resting upon her hair. Inoan's brows were slightly knit, as if weighed down by some lingering concern. "Oh? You're finally willing to wear the headpiece today?" Lanqi offered Inoan a warm smile in greeting. On her very first day at the manor, Inoan had put on the uniform with immense reluctance. And as for the maid's headpiece, she had refused it at all costs, as if holding on to some final shred of dignity. When Lanqi had instructed her in her duties that morning, he vaguely remembered she hadn't been wearing it. "I just didn't want to hear people saying that Christina brought home some inferior maid anymore," Inoan spat out with obvious resentment, her voice thick with impatience. "Where did that kind of talk come from?" Lanqi raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Baptiste family was quite kind; none of them would slander Inoan. In fact, Inoan was constantly left bewildered by their goodwill. Besides, there was nothing wrong with her working ability—she was only just learning the ropes, so she was bound to be a bit clumsy at times. "It was that viscount from before! When he saw that Inoan was actually a girl, he went out of his way to humiliate her even more!" Christina said, brimming with indignation. That fellow had even sneered that Christina had picked up a decent piece of trash. "Viscount Hammond?" Lanqi asked. "Yes, him!" Christina nodded. Their opponent that night, Viscount Charles Hammond, was also Inoan's former employer. He belonged to the Hammond Financial Group, which provided international financial services across the Southern Continent, including investment banking, asset management, and insurance. The wealthy Baptiste family had been acquainted with the Hammonds for a long time, occasionally cooperating, but mostly at odds with one another. Last week, Christina had caused him to lose an important proxy match, and Inoan had personally suffered the loss in the ring. Seeing the two of them walking together had made Viscount Charles Hammond grind his teeth in fury. "It made me so furious! If he had run his mouth one more time, I would've told Inoan to beat him up! At worst, the two of us could've spent a few days in a holding cell!" Even now, Christina's temper flared at the memory, and she stomped her foot. Inoan, standing beside her, looked remarkably calm by comparison. "The things I called him were already going easy on him!" Christina wasn't always sweet-tempered; she had fired right back on Inoan's behalf on the spot, showing Viscount Hammond, an elder noble, not an ounce of deference. When they returned home afterward, Christina had noticed something different about Inoan. Looking closely, she realized Inoan had finally put on the headpiece. "Miss, resorting to violence is entirely out of the question. Please don't entertain thoughts of spending days in jail ever again," Lanqi admonished her with a solemn expression. "Uh, sure..." Christina hadn't expected to be lectured like this by her butler one day. Still, no matter how one looked at it, Butler Luoqi possessed an unexpectedly law-abiding temperament. "If this happens again, you can ask me to negotiate with Viscount Hammond on your behalf. We can demand appropriate compensation, emotional distress damages, defamation damages, a public apology, and so forth. If that fails, we can employ legal means to investigate and report his company's business practices one by one. Financial institutions with high leverage like theirs are prone to sudden collapses. Once an issue arises, we could even launch a friendly takeover of their firm," Lanqi explained, laying out what he considered a far more reasonable approach. If Christina ran into similar situations down the road, perhaps this would inspire her to resolve matters more harmoniously. "'Friendly takeover,' my foot! Don't make a hostile takeover sound so refined and wholesome!" Christina knew a thing or two about her family's businesses; hostile takeovers were illegal, and the laws of the Kingdom of Posen explicitly denied them any legal standing. She really shouldn't have listened to Butler Luoqi. "Inoan knows how to clean rooms now, you know! She picked up maid etiquette in no time, and she remembered all the precautions you taught her," Christina decided to change the subject, boasting proudly to Luoqi. "..." Inoan stood silently behind Christina, neither confirming nor denying anything, looking as if she wouldn't move until given an order. "See? She looks like an absolute lady now," Lanqi said, looking at Inoan with an appreciative smile. Inoan looked away, visibly displeased. "All right, Inoan, ask Butler Luoqi whatever you wanted to ask," Christina patted Inoan on the shoulder, gesturing for her to sit on the sofa. "How can I get my memories back?" Inoan asked, looking at Luoqi across from her as she took a seat. "Why are you suddenly asking me this today?" Lanqi unhurriedly half-closed the book in his hand and looked at her. "..." Inoan didn't answer. "Anyone would panic without their memories! Inoan doesn't want to be someone without a past, either," Christina chimed in, sitting beside her. "I see," Lanqi murmured, opening the book once more. Thanks to her monstrous physical constitution, Inoan had shed her bandages in short order. However, her internal injuries had yet to heal. Moreover, while her mana seemed immense, she had zero grasp of combat techniques; during a test in the count's courtyard, she had been taken down in a few moves by Tata possessing Lanqi. Not only were her wounds still mending, but she had also forgotten how to use her power. Consequently, Christina—who had originally contemplated having Inoan fight in matches to earn prize money they could split—had decided it was better to let Inoan stick to ordinary chores around the manor for now. "..." Christina couldn't tell what the butler was thinking at that moment, nor whether he agreed with what she had just said. "To help restore your memories, the doctor said you either need an intense emotional shock, or you need to encounter familiar objects and settings. Only then might the injured areas of your brain begin to recover," Lanqi explained. He had reviewed Inoan's diagnostic report and spoken with her attending physician. "So to get my memories back, I have to suffer?" Inoan frowned again. She couldn't feel pain anyway; even if someone tortured her, she wouldn't find it particularly agonizing. She simply didn't want to die. "Theoretically, yes. Which is why your situation is quite complicated, and it may prove very difficult to recover them," Lanqi replied with a nod. "Don't worry, Inoan. I'll take you to see the best doctors," Christina said softly, her words trailing off like a net woven of concern, settling over the quiet room. Lanqi knew Christina was very fond of her, as Inoan was the first retainer Christina had ever personally hired. Besides, Inoan looked lovely in whatever she wore; the moment they had brought her home, Christina had taken her to her room for an extended dress-up session and bought her several new outfits. After learning that the clothes wouldn't be deducted from her wages, Inoan had weighed the pros and cons for a moment before accepting them. "If I can't remember, then forget it," Inoan said impassively. In any case, Count Baptiste's manor was safe enough, and no enemies seemed to be hunting her down. Living like this wouldn't be so bad. "Who can say? Fate is fickle. When you desperately seek something, you may never find it; but the moment you start to fear finding it, it comes crashing down upon you," Lanqi murmured, glancing at the translated *Tome of Creation*, which happened to be open to the concluding Chapter of Fate and Samsara. "Me? Afraid?" Inoan let out an instinctive scoff, as if she had just heard an absurd joke. "First, you must understand something: fear is not a bad thing. Just like the sense of pain I mentioned last time—though it causes suffering, it is profoundly important." Lanqi closed the translated text he had finished reading and spoke to the red-haired girl before him. "Tell me, what do you think is the most important emotion?" He gently lifted an index finger, pointing toward the colorful flowers in the courtyard beyond the French windows, as though each blossom corresponded to an emotion. "Pleasure?" Inoan asked. "That question depends on individual perspective. Any answer is correct," Lanqi said, resting his clasped hands on his knees and nodding solemnly. "However, the more decisively you answer, the easier it is to overlook a fundamental truth: every single emotion is essential." "Why do you say that?" Inoan had lost her memories, but not her basic knowledge. She still knew how to eat, walk, and do arithmetic. Similarly, she was certain she had never heard the concepts Luoqi was explaining. "When you crudely categorize emotions into positive and negative, or more simply, good and bad, you allow our natural instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm to blind you to the meaning of many things," Lanqi said, his voice slow, deep, and tinged with concern. "You will come to despise yourself during periods of low spirits, and you might cruelly force yourself to do things you shouldn't when you ought to simply accept being down. It is like being wounded: you should rest and let the injury heal, rather than ignore the wound entirely." Every word seemed carefully weighed to see if it suited Inoan at this moment. "Conversely, if you clearly recognize the purpose of every emotion, you will come to accept how the world works. It will become easier to be kind to yourself and kind to others. Just as day follows night, every physiological and psychological reaction you experience is normal—and serves as an important signal." Over the past few days, Lanqi had been giving Inoan daily psychological counseling sessions. Christina had been somewhat worried at first, so she had sat beside them to listen. After listening for two or three days, she felt it was quite sound, and had even picked up a few tips on how to comfort people. Inoan, on the other hand, had been intensely resistant to Butler Luoqi's words at first. This unadulterated kindness made her deeply uncomfortable; it was as if she were encountering something she had never seen before, and she feared it. Later on, perhaps feeling a measure of comfort from chatting with Butler Luoqi, Inoan stopped resisting and spent most of the time listening in silence. *** An hour later. It was about time for the count's butler to finish his shift. Carrying his briefcase once more, Lanqi walked past the parlor. Inoan had already returned to her chores. Christina was still lounging lazily on the sofa. Noticing Lanqi, Christina sprang up and hurried over. "Thanks, Luoqi!" She gave Lanqi a light pat on the back, seeing him off. More than anything, she was thanking him for helping untangle Inoan's emotional knots. In this manor, Inoan kept her distance from everyone else, but she placed a fair amount of trust in the two of them, even gradually allowing them to stand close to her. "Miss Christina, I clearly feel that she is much more dangerous than I am. Why are you so fond of her, yet remain so wary of me?" Lanqi asked, puzzled. "You're way too familiar with people right off the bat, which is terrifying. It feels like no matter where you're dropped, you can hit it off with anyone in seconds," Christina said, leaning back warily as she looked him up and down. "Inoan, though... she feels like an injured wolf you pick up... and now she's turned into a cub. Wouldn't this be the perfect chance to tame her?" Christina mused somewhat uncertainly. "Ah, so you prefer raising someone over having them drop out of the sky," Lanqi said, shaking his head with a dejected sigh, looking as if no one liked him. "Tsk, look at how dependent my family is on you already," Christina clicked her tongue at the butler playing weak. "By the way, if she gets her memories back, will she stop recognizing me right away?" Christina asked next. She was a little worried that everything she was doing now might be in vain. If Inoan suddenly treated her like a stranger one day and disappeared from her life, she would be heartbroken. "No matter what kind of past she remembers, the memories of her time with you will remain forever in her mind. Perhaps to her original, violent nature, this might count as a form of corruption, but happiness and joy cannot be faked—and once tasted, they are hard to forget," Lanqi explained with a smile, stepping to the door and offering a slight bow. Over this period, he had come to realize that Miss Christina had very few genuine friends. Most people wrote her off as a villainess akin to Master Kyle before even getting to know her. Inoan, meanwhile, was like a blank sheet of paper. Opening her eyes, the first person she saw was Christina, and she both trusted and relied on her. Having saved such a maid herself, Christina already treated Inoan like a precious treasure, wanting nothing more than to be good friends. "I understand now." Christina smiled and waved at Lanqi, wishing him a pleasant evening. Hearing the butler say that finally put her mind at ease. *** After the sun crossed the zenith and began its descent, evening settled over the city. Beside a street dyed in the hues of the sunset, a quiet lane led toward the Parkinson Palace Boutique Hotel in the Cultural District. Lanqi and Talia strolled along, searching for a place to eat dinner. "We have to wake up early tomorrow—around seven o'clock. Is it all right if we head back early tonight?" Lanqi asked, cradling the cat as he looked at Talia beside him. By rights, Talia had waited for him all day while he worked, staying quiet and obedient in her magic card form—far more peaceful than the Poet of Great Love. Now that his shift had ended, she ought to want a stroll through the Flower Capital. The Platinum-rank card maker exam would begin over the weekend. Tomorrow was Friday, so he didn't need to report to Count Baptiste's manor, but the two of them had to visit the Southern Continent Card Makers Association branch in Palieu to check in with Countess Rosalinda and review the proctoring guidelines. "Fine by me. Sleep with an easy mind; I'll wake you when it's time," Talia said dismissively. These days, whenever she woke up, she would wait for Lanqi to wake. If she strayed too far from Lanqi, it would increase her continuous mana consumption, making it harder to monitor his condition. If she drained his mana without realizing it, Lanqi would be in grave danger. "You actually double as an alarm clock?" Lanqi turned his head to look at her. "When Hyperion was attending school, I'd make breakfast for her before waking her up. Her blood sugar runs low sometimes, making it hard for her to get out of bed in the morning," Talia replied, gazing down the street ahead. "Then I won't set an alarm," Lanqi muttered, feeling a strange sense of loss. Talia actually knew how to cook? And this domestic, maternal habit of hers—he found it impossible to accept! "I'm always helping Asna in the kitchen, so of course I picked up a thing or two. It's just that when I'm alone, I don't bother cooking properly. Phoning it in is worse than just buying takeout. I only put real effort into it when I'm cooking for someone else," Talia explained, too tired to bother getting angry at Lanqi. He had stray thoughts of this caliber dozens of times a day. Having said her piece, Talia ignored Lanqi. Lanqi navigated the streets as usual. Over there, over here— He shifted directions with seemingly no logic, yet his steps never hesitated for an instant. Talia tilted her head to stare at his profile, constantly wondering how much time this fellow spent memorizing maps in advance. If she were leading the way, she would take a wrong turn once or twice at the very least. When the two finally stopped walking, they had navigated several small lanes in the Cultural District and arrived at a traffic light before an exceptionally bustling thoroughfare. They waited for the light to change. It didn't turn for a long time. "By the way... is that person really all right?" Talia suddenly asked. She felt something was off about Inoan. She was the one who had clashed with Inoan that day. While Lanqi was possessed by her, he hadn't been able to perceive the unnatural strength clinging to Inoan. Neither Lanqi nor Christina had found any criminal record for Inoan. Yet in Talia's experience, the cleaner such a person appeared, the more dangerous they truly were. "I think she's fine. Inoan seems to have severe psychological trauma and personality flaws, but she poses no real danger right now. I believe she can be taught how to treat others kindly and step normally into society," Lanqi said, looking at Talia in confusion. "You place too much trust in yourself, and too much trust in others. That cognitive habit of yours is your greatest flaw." Talia had wanted to address this with Lanqi for a while now. Traveling together had made her realize how severe Lanqi's issue truly was. She knew Lanqi wouldn't pigeonhole Inoan based on incomplete information, choosing instead to view her as an individual solely through what he saw and felt. What he did was right, but that didn't mean he would always be right. "Then do you think I should have harbored hostility toward Miss Lisanthie?" Lanqi asked after half a second of hesitation, stroking the little black cat as he turned to Talia. "..." For a moment, Talia didn't know how to respond. Miss Lisanthie, whom they had encountered aboard the *Floating Castle* upon arriving in the Flower Capital—indeed, Lanqi's trust and lack of prejudice had saved her. Anyone else, facing the closing pursuit of Executioner Nigel, might not have chosen so resolutely to aid a demon, let alone a cursed one. Now, Inoan was much the same: an unknown identity, full of variables. Yet Lanqi had adhered to his past choice without the slightest hesitation. Talia could understand Lanqi, but she could not agree with him. "I finally know why the two of us can't get along," Talia said. "Why?" Lanqi asked curiously. "You have this inexplicable confidence, always pursuing the most extreme optimal solution. But I prefer stability and certainty. To me, an optimal solution is never about walking a tightrope." Talia raised her golden eyes to look straight at him, speaking directly into his mind via telepathy. "When I hesitate, you are decisive; when I am decisive, you hesitate. That's why our rhythms never align." Their collaborative card making had made virtually no progress to date. "So that's it." Lanqi nodded after a moment's pause, realizing she was entirely right. Over this period, the two of them had gradually come to understand why their teamwork was so abysmal. Technically speaking, they understood each other remarkably well. By all accounts, a few practice runs should have made it second nature. The true reason lay in their clashing modes of thought—or rather, they were naturally mismatched partners. If neither he nor Talia yielded to the other, or refused to see eye to eye, crafting a perfect magic card together was an absolute impossibility. "Let's make a bet, then," Lanqi said plainly once he came back to his senses. He was referring to the matter with Inoan. "Fine by me. Let's see who's right in the end." Talia didn't need him to elaborate; she understood his meaning through their mental connection: Whoever won would call the shots, and the loser would adjust their pace to accommodate the other. "Why does this sound like an angel and a demon making a wager, meow?" Boss Cat, sprawled across Lanqi's arms, looked back and forth between them as he listened to their exchange. "I believe that no matter what kind of past she has, I can find a way to save her—so long as she gives me the chance right now," Lanqi declared with unwavering conviction. Or rather, this opportunity felt like a gift from the Goddess of Fate. "Then my guess is that your mindset will only lead to her ruin, or that you were never capable of saving her to begin with. You aren't omnipotent, Lanqi. In the end, there will always be people you cannot save," Talia added. Though Talia had never seen Lanqi suffer a total failure, she was looking forward to it. She wanted to see that composed confidence of his shatter all over the floor like glass one day.