Her Free Will

Arcturus hated feeling so doubtful. He couldn't help but to assume Constance has an ulterior motive for helping him out. From his twenty years of living, he learned one important lesson: every person has a motive for their action, whether it be for selfish or selfless purposes. It was human nature to follow their wills, after all. This also applied to Shifties since they can develop them, like how he saw with Kori and now Constance.

He couldn't help but to tense up now that he recalled what Nova had said to him back on the airship, about how a Shiftie's appearance was based on a deceased person. The will she developed was nurtured by another person's soul. He knew that the person across from him wasn't the person who long died, but a new person wearing their skin but with completely new memories and life. It was not a reason that he should doubt her for having ulterior motives, but he still couldn't let go of this horrifying revelation.

"Is that the actual reason?" Souhait asked as he put his spoon down. "Did you really help us out because you wanted to?"

"In a way, yes. I thought I sensed another Shiftie, so I went to check. If you had happened to be an abandoned Shiftie, then I wanted to help you out, but you turned out to be a human when I touched your hand."

"Abandoned?" Arcturus was rather intrigued by her choice of word.

"I'm an abandoned Shiftie. My master abandoned me for having free will." When she had said those words, she had a rather melancholic expression. Arcturus could tell she was visibly hurt by this.

"That's quite unusual. I've never seen an abandoned Shiftie back in Lamina." Then again, Arcturus was aware that Shifties developing wills could happen, but it was mostly a rare thing. "Are the customs here different?"

"I'm not too sure, but I am the only abandoned Shiftie from what I know."

"We're not too sure about 'customs' ourselves, honestly." Sophia remarked. "Shifties have been a recently made invention, after all."

"I see…" Arcturus glanced over at Souhait whose gaze was still glued to Constance. He noticed him curling his hands into fists.

"Constance…I can sense that there is something deeper within you. I don't sense that you're lying, but there's a much deeper, more profound reason on why you helped us out. Spill it."

"Souhait…" Arcturus wasn't sure if he should stop him from pestering her. This felt like an interrogation now.

He glanced over at Constance who seemed rather surprised at his words. She had her head down. Suddenly, the corner of her lips curled up. She put her head back up. She looked rather confident.

"As expected of the Charlatan. My data is never incorrect. You really do have the ability to discern the full truth."

Arcturus was surprised; Constance felt like a completely different person now. He had never seen a Shiftie behave in such a manner. Is this how Shifties behave once they grasp the concept of having a free will or is she just an anomaly?

Constance continued, "That's right. I have a much deeper reason for why I helped you out. However, don't get me wrong. I did help you because I wanted to. I just never expected that the person I helped out also had the Charlatan with him. It was truly lucky of me to stumble upon you two."

"Get to the point. What do you want from us?" Souhait inquired.

"Cooperate with me."

"With what?" Arcturus asked, raising an eyebrow at her vague request.

Constance got up from her seat and grabbed the television remote that was resting on the coffee table. She turned it on. Arcturus saw a news channel broadcast detailing the destruction of Castle Lavender and how Nova is now on the loose. The way the announcer was detailing how dangerous he was angered Arcturus. Nova is not a criminal or some sort of crazy psychopath on the loose! What is with this news outlet slandering him?

The announcer then informed, "We have live word about this matter from the Lady Mayor herself."

The screen changed from the newsroom to an office where a rather distinguished woman was. She had caramel-tinted skin, platinum blonde hair styled in a chic bob, piercing gray eyes that almost looked as if they were silver-tinted, and was dressed in a classy white suit that showed off her elegance and charisma. To Arcturus, she was a beautiful woman with a powerful aura that caused him to feel rather anxious.

A meek reporter with curly blonde hair, fair skin and green eyes popped up from the corner, signaling the camera to focus on her. "This is Mish Hazel reporting live from Central Tower. I'm here with our Lady Mayor, Bellatrix Leonis!" She turned to focus on the mayor. "Lady Mayor, please give us your insight into the current matter regarding the Charlatan."

"Yes. I am sure you all are aware that Castle Lavender has been destroyed and that the Eternal Blizzard has come to its end. We have yet to find reports on where the Charlatan has been hiding, but we do have reports about how a dragon has intruded into our city of Sirius but then disappeared. We are currently doing our best to locate where the dragon has disappeared off to. Security on the streets will be tighter than before as we will focus on capturing the Charlatan and ensure safety for the civilians."

From what Arcturus could hear, Bellatrix spoke rather monotonously, as if she was a robot. Her expression has never once moved; the only human aspect about her was that she blinked.

Mish then questioned, "How dangerous is this Charlatan?"

"He is absolutely dangerous. He was the one who killed the previous Lady Mayor, my mother Mebsuta Leonis, two decades ago. He came to this city, spewing drivel like being able to grant wishes, but he was nothing more than a delusional quack disguised as a murderous psychopath. We have also placed a bounty on his head for any civilian willing to capture him and turn him over to the soldiers."

Hearing her slanderous words of Nova caused Arcturus to slam his hands on the table, startling everyone in the room. Realizing his actions, he quickly apologized as he focused on eating the remaining soup and bread while focusing on the broadcast.

Mish inquired, "What does this Charlatan look like?"

"He's quite easy to find. His main trait is having lavender eyes. Just find a beautiful man with lavender eyes and he's the Charlatan."

Mish hummed. "Lavender eyes, what an unusual eye color. I don't think I've ever met anyone with that eye color."

"It's a sign of misfortune. Once he is captured, I'll make sure to properly execute him so that prosperity will come to our beloved city once and for all."

The camera focused back on Lena. "And there you have it. Our Lady Mayor will keep us safe. Make sure to find the Charlatan! This was Mish Hazel and let's return back to Sally!"

Murphy then took the remote from Constance's hand and turned off the television. Arcturus glanced over to see Souhait hanging his head down. He wanted to console him, but the frustration within him kept building up.

"What they all said was a load of bull. Nova and Souhait are not dangerous and they do have the ability to grant wishes."

"We know that." Murphy remarked. "That's why we took you in."

"Constance, why did you show us the broadcast?" Souhait muttered.

"The Lady Mayor was my master who abandoned me. I want to get revenge on her for abandoning me and I want to kill her."

Souhait raised his head. "Kill her, you say?" Arcturus could tell he was intrigued, and he was too.

"I want your help to kill Bellatrix Leonis and make this city a place where everyone can live equally. Let's work together."