Going Their Own Ways II

According to Helios, it would take a week at most for the retainers from the palace to arrive and escort Eric back there.

With that, he still has more time to spend with Seraphine. Clement is still around as well, though he can feel that it will not be for too long. Considering that he has a connection with those outlaws from the underground organization he belongs to, it will not be good for him to stay any longer.

Helios had already started an investigation on this human trafficking case, and Clement had a chance of getting taken into custody once the details emerged to the surface.

"So, Eric is right all along. You're leaving tonight."

Seraphine managed to catch up to Clement on the night he planned to depart in secret.

He was stunned to find her there - she even knew that he would be using the gates beyond the castle's garden rather than the main ones. He chose this route to avoid attention as much as he could.

For a moment, the two of them only continue exchanging looks with each other. That is until he realizes that she must have something to say about his departure despite treating him like a stranger for the past days.

At that thought, Clement smiles a little. Seraphine, on the other hand, remains expressionless.

"It's cold out here. Why did you go out with only your evening wear on?" he started - him choosing such a random topic made her flare up a bit.

"So, you've got time to mind what I wear now? But not on telling me about this...?" she scoffed.

"Just why is that you keep doing things behind my back?"

"Not that you act like you care, anyway. You've put your distance. I understand, though. "

"And this is exactly why I've done it. I'm having a hard time to trust you again. And now, you've gone and done it once more - you won't tell me anything at all."

"Why, Sera? Why'd you wanna know? What would you do if I had told you?"

Seraphine stilled for a second there, not expecting what Clement just asked her.

Of course, there is a lot of things she wants to say about the matter. Despite all the disputes and fall-outs that happened between them, those never changed the fact that they once shared a close relationship. She already gets that he has been feeling guilty and regretful for what he has done - and now, it is only her who needs to make up her mind.

Seraphine could not just watch Clement leave like this - not when she felt like she would never see him again.

"I've realized something, Clement. It's the same as with Eric. You two are kind of similar," she brought up all of the sudden, making him snort in indignance.

"Don't lump me together with that brat. He is sickeningly mushy and clingy and slimy. I certainly am not," he scorned as he recalled how close the two of them had become.

"It's not that. What I mean is that I have to understand your circumstances like how I tried to understand his. Both of you have grown up in different worlds. Since you're still young, you're not sure what's right or wrong. You do as you have learned, and you act as you think is good. I can't blame you for having preconceived beliefs and faulty perceptions because there's no one there to teach you."

Astonished, Clement only stays silent at that.

It is as he thought. Seraphine has always been understanding and considerate. But then, he did not expect that she would suddenly get so deep and earnest about this. That only shows how much she thought this through - and how much she actually cared, too.

Once again, he can't help but smile at the thought.

"Thanks for that, Sera. However, it's as I said before - I'm more than a brat..." Clement told Seraphine in the most impassioned and sincere she had seen him in.

"I can't just settle with being the receiving end of your understanding all the time. I'll have to grow, and for that, I'll have to set off."

"You're... really going?"

"Yeah. But we'll meet again someday. Hopefully."

Seeing the fixity of purpose in his steady gaze, she realizes that he must have found something in this journey of theirs - something that would take him on a whole new one. Then, ever so slowly, she finds herself smiling at him at last. She'll hold onto that hope of his, wishing that he'll reach that growth he's aspiring to attain.

"Alright. I'll see you around, Clement."

Respecting what Clement wished for the betterment of himself, Seraphine had no choice but to bid him farewell and see him off that night.