After a short silence, she replied in a weak voice:
"What should I do to die later?"
Kira started laughing hysterically, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clutched his stomach, nearly rolling on the floor.
Not many respond to the template he created, and almost no one takes his amusing questions seriously.
"I like smart girls, sissy."
The laughter, which was so intense that it sounded fake, stopped instantly. The only colorful expression in the room was Cecilia's; the others around already knew very well who Kira was.
"Well, Hun, if you don't want to die—although it's not a bad option—you have to get rid of that thing first." Kira's fingernail came dangerously close to Cecilia's left eye, which had a small black genetic defect within its red pupil.
"Kira," Sirius warned, "not everything will go unanswered."
"Of course," Kira suddenly dropped his hand from Cecilia's face. "If we simply remove the eye, the curse will lose hold of the body and will make the body rot from inside within a few days; no, we'll have to seal it first and then uproot it."
Even though Kira didn't seem to care what Sirius was saying, he still stole a look at him from the corner of his eye, asking for approval.
"No, no one touches her eye."
"But, Sirius..."
"She's a girl; it'll make it hard for her to get married and stuff. She's not like you who can just take off the women's clothes in third-year wardrobes without a care in the world who's taking pictures." He looked at him warningly, trying to use his weak (but only) card.
"Fine, fine, you're lucky I still have some respect for my seniors." Kira said this with feigned nonchalance, holding back the sudden urge to pry Sirois's mouth off: "But she'll need an overseer; the Order does no longer trust you after the last incident."
He took a deep breath and announced the news he had come for at the beginning:
"She will go to academia, Sirius; there's not much of an option right now."
Cecilia, helpless and unable to participate in the conversation, was very pleased. She experienced the widest range of emotions ever!
From shock to fear to worry. She loved all of these new experiences.
Her big eyes sparkled as she listened to the conversation concerning her, in which no one asked her opinion.
"I will seal her," Sirius promised, "and there will be no more trouble."
"It's out of my hands, Sirius; I've already reported it to the higher-ups."
"But don't worry, it will be fun."
Kira addressed her for the first time ina few minutes.
"Aren't you happy, Sissy? You're going to school!"
. . .
A crowd of people, led by Kira, surrounded Sirius as he tattooed Cecilia.
Every single person in this room seems indifferent to the girl crying when an intricate pattern forms on her back.
Not to mention a tattoo, everyone there had experienced far worse death and wars and was more than willing to let her suffer a similar fate if necessary.
As the last line stroked her frail back, the tattoo glowed red as it all began to fill with the curse.
"Look." Sirius held a mirror in front of Cecilia's face. "The curse is gone."
"Sealed," one of Kira's underlings, opened his mouth for the first time.
All Cecilia cared about now was her new look. She watched herself from different angles in wonder, studying how her now-mirrored eyes reflected in her face.
"Just one last sweet little warning, Sissy." Kira ran his fingers over her sore back and watched her brows furrow in pain. "The slightest scratch will break the cycle; don't get hurt here at all costs. The curse is sure to have a backlash after being trapped here for so long; you know how they are."
Cecilia had no idea how they were.
"Well, until next time, sissy," he slammed his hand on her back, which made her let out a scream.
His subordinates followed him as he turned to the garage door and told Sirius, who looked at Cecilia with concern in his eyes: "I trust you to send her to academia next year through the appropriate channels; if you're being a dick about it, there will be consequences, for me as well as for you. Bye Siri!"
"Hey brat! You never even called me that! I didn't consent to that!"
"Kira team, run!"
"What the fork, Kira!" Sirius screamed at Kira and his subordinates, who suddenly ran out of the house in an orderly formation wearing their suspicious robes.
Sirius turned to Cecilia helplessly and asked if she was okay. He knew firsthand that he wouldn't be as calm as she was after such a big shock. He even felt a little guilt, knowing that even those few words were the most care and love he had shown her in years.
He didn't even know how she would react.
Cecilia, on the other hand, nodded excitedly. She'd been unloved for so long that she didn't even feel any resentment toward her adoptive uncle, who promised to take care of her—just a warm, frenzied feeling in her heart that she couldn't define.
Actually, Cecilia had a gut feeling that Kira was trying to avoid any more interaction for some reason, but she brushed it all aside.
Nothing matters as long as her uncle cares about her.
"Good, I have to make a call now; lie still and try not to move. There are a lot of nerves in the back, and the tattoo will probably hurt a lot soon."
"Are you going to call the academia?"
"9-1-1, I'm going to report about some suspicious robe-wearing sons of bitches."