37 Chapter 37 - A Lonely Heart With No Hearth

It's been an hour of silence since Zio walked her to her place. The place is located on the border between a red-light district and a lower-income residential area. Judging by the size of the room and the scratching marks on the floor made Zio believe that it must be a sort kind of an abandoned storeroom.

The 'home' which Cecilia lives in reminded Zio of his day in the sewage, though a little bit better since it's clean, and doesn't reek of filth at the very least. Inside her home, there's hardly anything else other than the essentials for living, such as a water container, plate, cutlery, oil lamp, and a little bit of girly things such as makeup.

They sit upon a single piece of mattress. The cloaking silence is not awkward, but rather pleasant instead. The only thing unpleasant is Zio’s throbbing body. Even though he only used his magic a few times back then, but the consequences are starting to kick in. Zio thought that much use of mana should've been no problem. But perhaps he was wrong.

" Thank... you... " Zio heard a faint voice from the mawkish girl who had been hiding under her blanket all the time now.

" Heh. I wonder where's that high-spirited girl from this noon went. "

Zio tried to cheer her up. Who knows what might happen if he left her as she is. Surely, he doesn't think that it would be a good thing for him to be the last guy to be seen with a dead girl which body was found early in the morning.

" She... has never existed in the first place... " Zio’s words backfired, and drive her back into a corner instead.

Feeling that any relieving words that come out of his mouth would be futile, Zio believes that there's no other way but to use his trump card.

" Hey. " He touched her chin, pulling her face towards him. Staring at her swelling grey eyes while he wiped her running nose.

" Wanna hear a joke? " Zio asked nicely to the sniffing and confused girl.

" What do you get from a pampered cow? "

Zio continued anyway, as the girl stared at him, rising one of her eyebrows before looking around at the corners of her eyes in thinking.

" U-Um... uh... A slice of good meat? "

" Nope. "

" ...A lazy cow? "

" Nope. The answer is...

Spoiled milk. " Zio whispered to her ear.

Zio laughed when she doesn't seem to get it until a long pause. She then pinched his nipple and twist it painfully in annoyance.

" I-Idiot... I have never heard any worse joke than that. " Cecilia giggled a little, although Zio can tell that she's trying hard not to show it.

" Hm. Now that's a better look. Otherwise, it would be a waste for such an attractive face. "

Cecilia seems to be startled as Zio throw her words back right on her face. Then she looks at him with her teary eyes. Zio sighed in relief by seeing her futile resistance. Because with tears that much, it would overflow anytime now.

" U-Uh... I don't mean to ruin the mood but.... can you let go of my nipple? It really hurts, seriously. "

" Idiot... Idiot idiot idiot! " Cecilia hugged Zio tight all of a sudden, before hitting his chest non-stop while insulting him with repetitive vocabularies. Zio doesn’t mind how many times she hits him, because it doesn't hurt as much as her pinching.

" Where have you been all this time...? " She put her head on his chest, letting out all of her tears and sobs.

' Well damn, I was under the city all this time. ' That's what Zio wanted to say, but of course, this is not the right time to toying around with words like that. Zio will need to move along with her grief, sliding through all of her traumas and misery.

" Why... don't you come sooner to my life...? " Her body is quivering, or rather, it’s more like convulsing. She cried way too hard for her own good.

" ...You are strong as you are. Congratulation for staying alive. " Zio embraced her into his arms. At least this is the littlest bit of kindness that he can offer to the girl who wandered alone in the darkness of such a cruel world.

Cecilia cried her heart out until she is satisfied. While all that Zio can do is to keep himself silent and gently stroking her hair, hoping that she calmed down already so he can go home. Because there's a lot of work that he wanted and needed to do, especially when today is the first day of his debut as a smith with real top-grade instruments.

But in the end, Zio decided to go with the flow of the mood anyway, because the feeling isn't entirely unpleasant to him after all.

" Hey... Zio. "

" Hm? Want me to fetch some water? "

" Mmm... I'm fine.... thank you. " Cecilia shook her head in refusal.

Now that Zio thinks she's alright already, maybe he can leave now. But as he wanted to stand up and leave, the girl grabbed the tip of his sleeveless, black-hooded coat. Her eyebrows are furrowed, giving out a sad expression, as if she doesn’t want him to leave her.

" W-Wait... I-I... Um... D-Don't you... have something to ask me? "

Zio is not interested to talk about whether she's not a virgin anymore or whether she has been defiled or anything like that, as those sort of things means little to him. But he does have his questions. So, he decided that he'll stick around a little bit longer.

" I do. But... do you mind? "

" It's okay. "

Now Zio takes the lead in their conversation. ‘Where should I begin?’ he asked himself. The thugs perhaps? But she might burst into tears again if he did. The marking? It’s a no also, because it must be a painful experience for her.

Thus, he tried for the most basic and safest build of a conversation.

" Alright so, first thing first... who are you actually? "

" ...I'm Cecilia. A daughter of a bankrupt merchant. My father couldn't pay his debt, so he... sold me... and my mother. "

Zio closed his eyes in disgust and irritation. Those who fight and lose is a loser. Those who don't fight at all are much worse. But those who aren’t ready to pay the price of losing, and pass the leash to others, are without a doubt the worst.

" What does the guy mean with 'family'? “

" (...Ceus-Kamille. A branch family of the Kamille.) " Cecilia whispered to Zio’s ear like she was afraid of being heard by the wall itself.

That is a real surprise to be heard. Now Zio understands why they are acting all smug and mighty. A strong backing equals strong confidence also, especially in the affair of the illegals.

" And those guys are? "

" ....F-Fabio's henchman, the boss of this district. " Cecilia sounds a little hesitant and scared.

" How many districts do they control? "

" Three; Tursil, Arlys, and here, Solas. "

" Is there anyone else of the nobles doing the same? "

" There are three families which are disputing over Elgram's underworld... Kamille, Souza, and Gustav. "

" Does the Kamille main family knows about this? "

" It's hard to say... I don't know either. "

The point of him asking all those questions is not because Zio can do or willing to do anything about it. It’s all simply out of his curiosity. There's no way he can oppose them, let alone to be a hero of the system. There's no reason for him to take unnecessary risks, especially when he had someone dear to him to protect.

" About the mark on your... uh... "

" On my...? "

" You know, uhm. O-On your lower body. "

" Ahaha, you are unexpectedly mild and mindful for someone who has done so much. "

" I-I'm a gentleman! "

Zio wanted to complain to her, but refrain himself from doing so after seeing her smiling again. ‘At least she's doing better than she was a few minutes ago.’ He thought.

" Just like that man said... It was a sign that I was a 'doll'. A property for them... to play with. " Cecilia looked a little down as she explains it.

" Are there any others beside you? "

" Of course... here in Solas, at least there are thirty girls who went through the same hell as me. "

‘This is nonsense’ Zio said to himself. He could not comprehend how all these shady businesses can go unnoticed by the officials. He suspected that the roots might run deep down to the royal court.

" ...Can't we do something about yours? "

" ...I'm not sure about that. It was made with magic; they will come for me if they noticed one of their dolls is missing. "

Zio understands that they had put some kind of a tracking spell in each of the markings. Then the big question is; is there anyone who is knowledgeable enough to do something about it? Yet, then again, he didn’t care much about it in the first place. But he thinks that maybe it won’t hurt that much to ask Gissel for more information.

" Very well, this is my last question. What are you doing in the academy? "

" I... um. I mean 'we', were told to look out for you. "

Zio knew that there was something fishy in the first place. The way they met and how she was sticking herself on him really feels off. But to think that there are some among the participants who were aiming for him. That fact alone makes Zio finally deemed the case as something potentially dangerous in the near future.

" What do you mean? "

" I don't know what the details are, but Fabio told some of his henchman and dolls to sneak into the academy and spy on you. Here, he even gave me your portrait. " She fetched a leaf of paper from under her pillow. There is a sketch of Zio’s face on that paper, not too exact but very dependable.

Zio doesn't think that Cecilia is making up stories. Hence, there must be something going on behind him. He needs to figure this out, and Cecilia is too important of a source to let go. He has to take the first step, else who knows what kind of poison is being brewed in the shadow.

" Lia, let's make a deal. "

" A deal? "

" I will find a way to set you free. In exchange, you have to help me out by gathering some information. "

And by that, they made a promise to each other. A promise to keep an eye on each other back. A promise to fend off the darkness and run towards the light. Zio told Cecilia that they would meet the day after tomorrow on the first day of school to begin their move.

After everything was done. Zio wanted to leave, but again Cecilia grabbed his coat.

" C... C-Can't you stay for tonight? "

" Lia? "

" I-I haven't thanked you properly... S-So maybe... if you want to... " Cecilia crawls at him until her hip was on his lap.

She pushed Zio down the mattress, climbed him closer and closer until her short hair grazed his cheeks. Zio can see her eyes clearly. It's much more beautiful than it was, filled with hope, will, and of course, a quite bit of lust.

" I think... it's fine... if it's you... " Cecilia kissed Zio without any hesitation.

He can feel all of her lips. Slightly chapped but it's warm and sweet. The set of the mood can’t be more right, and the warm atmosphere is all in the air. Zio won't be able to hold himself back if this continues.

Thus, as soon as she let go of his lips, Zio immediately stopped her from undressing herself.

" You shouldn't give away yourself easily like that. You are precious. You should value yourself more. "

" B-But If it's you, Zio! Then I- "

" I appreciate your feelings, and that's why I'm telling you now. It's been a long day. I believe you better get some rest. "

" ...Okay. "

Finally, Zio bid her a proper goodbye, leaving her on her own for the third time today. To think that there's such a terrible story behind that nice and lovely smile of hers. The heartache which Zio sparsely feel, left him with a little wish for a power to change the world.