Chapter Thirty-Three: Did You Miss Me That Much?
“Luo Ling, I think… my rose-tinted glasses for you have gotten even thicker.”
Fiona propped her chin on her hand, studying Luo Ling with unconcealed admiration.
“Hmm?”
Luo Ling frowned, tugging at the long, black court dress. A single white flower adorned her hair, adding to the somber atmosphere.
The dress fit perfectly. Fiona had instructed the maids to alter it overnight, adjusting the style and size to suit Luo Ling’s figure.
But Luo Ling rarely wore dresses, the unfamiliar feeling unsettling.
After all, high school students were required to wear uniforms, and due to her family’s financial situation, even at home, she usually wore her uniform.
Later… it became a habit. After arriving in Victoria, she chose mostly masculine clothing, though it wasn’t particularly unusual in her eccentric team.
Lu Manqing preferred cheongsams modified into shirts from the Republican era, Elsa insisted on Lolita princess dresses that resembled cosplay, and Cen Xiangyun, although normally dressed, had a fashion sense far ahead of this era.
Even the newly joined Eve, despite being a young lady, was a passionate enthusiast of maid outfits.
“Fiona… Aunt Fiona, are you sure this is Linna’s dress?”
Luo Ling couldn’t imagine Linna wearing this. She pictured Linna in an elegant tuxedo, even for formal occasions like banquets.
“It is hers.” Fiona nodded. “She just doesn’t wear it often.”
“Indeed, this dress isn’t very comfortable… at least not for me.”
Luo Ling patted the dress and sighed.
“Even this awkwardness… is exactly the same.” Fiona covered her mouth, tears welling up. “Lin— Miss Luo Ling, this dress suits you, really.”
…You just said “Lin,” didn’t you?!
Luo Ling’s expression twitched. She had prepared to play the role of Linna to comfort Fiona, but she hadn’t expected Fiona to be this invested.
Linna, you should come back and apologize to your mother. Look, she’s using me as your substitute! Can you bear it?!
Luo Ling could sense Linna’s presence, but she couldn’t pinpoint her location.
Linna hadn’t been hiding all this time. She was also exploring the power Luo Ling had bestowed upon her.
Now, Linna was half-human, half-Grotesquery, her body reshaped by the Puppet Ballad, her consciousness also influenced by Naraku.
But her memories and abilities were intact, her strength unchanged.
Linna’s situation was different from Elsa and Saint Alyssa. She couldn’t actively use the Puppet Ballad’s abilities, only her own, now under its influence.
However, although she couldn’t use the Puppet Ballad’s abilities, she still possessed some of its characteristics, like regeneration.
Linna must also be aware of Luo Ling’s existence. When news of the White Witch reached Victoria, she must have realized that their temporary separation was nearing its end.
Her absence might be due to an unwillingness to interfere with causality, or perhaps she was busy with other matters.
However, Luo Ling suspected that Linna wouldn’t mind Fiona’s substitution, even saying something like, “I’ll discreetly turn around, not wanting to interrupt your heartwarming moment.”
Secretly enjoying the situation, just like when she saw Luo Ling and little Odeletta’s “special play” in the Incubation Barrier.
This was Luo Ling’s biggest problem. How had she gotten involved with this mother-daughter duo?
“Sorry, Luo Ling, I lost control of my emotions.” Fiona composed herself, walking behind Luo Ling. “Don’t worry, I’ll try my best not to bother you.”
“It’s not that bothersome…”
Luo Ling felt slightly embarrassed.
Fiona picked up something and placed it on Luo Ling’s face.
“This is…”
Luo Ling looked at herself in the full-length mirror, seeing a thin black veil covering her face.
“A little something to obscure your features. It’s yours. Besides the funeral, you might find it useful in the future.”
Fiona placed her hands gently on Luo Ling’s shoulders, leaning closer and whispering,
“Linna hasn’t used this one.”
“Oh…”
“I have.”
“Huh?”
Luo Ling was stunned. Fiona straightened up and said,
“Let’s go, we’ll be late. It’s your big day, after all.”
Luo Ling: “…”
That phrasing was still strange, no matter how many times she heard it.
“Just us?”
Luo Ling looked around. The maids had left, leaving only her and Fiona in the dressing room.
“Yes, just us.” Fiona nodded. “It’s best not to involve the Fate Society. This is a personal matter.”
That explained the veil. Luo Ling had wondered why Fiona thought she would need it. She had planned to simply blend into the crowd.
But without the veil, she couldn’t surprise them.
However…
Fiona giving her the veil was also likely because she wanted to witness the surprise, wasn’t it?
Luo Ling’s lips twitched.
As expected of Linna’s mother, they were two peas in a pod…
“Is the carriage ready?” Luo Ling asked.
“Carriage?” Fiona blinked. “Why would we need a carriage?”
“Aren’t we going to—”
Fiona took Luo Ling’s hand, gently squeezing it.
“Yes, but we don’t need a carriage.
“Because… one step is enough.”
Fiona led Luo Ling, and they took a step together.
The scenery shifted, the dressing room fading away, replaced by a shower of white flower petals and the mournful melody of funeral music.
“To our dearest friend, family, beloved…
“Let us mourn the unfortunate passing of Miss Luo Ling.”
Fiona’s entrance was quiet. Although a few noticed the blonde woman, arguably responsible for Luo Ling’s “death,” they quickly averted their gazes.
No one noticed the young woman in the black dress beside her.
Fiona’s status was too prominent, equivalent to a member of the Company’s board of directors.
Of course, her actual status in the Awakened world wasn’t that high, but still higher than an ordinary P9 officer.
Few dared to question her. Commissions involving the Realm of Nothingness inherently carried risks. Although Miss Luo Ling’s death was unexpected, they couldn’t blame the client.
Fiona attending the funeral and arranging Luo Ling’s affairs was already considered going above and beyond.
Most attendees were Company members who barely knew Luo Ling. After all, she was officially a member of the Wellington office, so at least her colleagues would attend.
Hidden behind the veil, even Cen Xiangyun and the others, although familiar with Luo Ling, didn’t recognize her.
Besides, they weren’t eager to interact with Fiona. Even with her status, only ordinary servants attended to her at the funeral.
Admittedly, in the Awakened world, clients weren’t held responsible for such outcomes, but Luo Ling had died while carrying out this Fate Society high-ranking member’s mission. Those close to Luo Ling naturally resented Fiona.
“How can she even show her face here?”
Cen Xiangyun glared at the elegant blonde woman in a black dress.
She resented Fiona the most, having wanted to drive this woman, who caused Luo Ling’s death, away yesterday, only stopped by Lu Manqing.
“Perhaps… it was Miss Luo Ling’s fate.” Lu Manqing sighed, patting Cen Xiangyun’s back.
“Elsa, what are you looking at?”
Cen Xiangyun noticed Elsa looking around anxiously, unusual for her.
Was she shy?
She hadn’t heard of Elsa having such a problem before…
In Jiangcheng County, Elsa’s quietness was due to her physical condition. She was actually quite talkative, especially after realizing that Luo Ling wasn’t afraid of her speaking.
“Nothing…”
Elsa lowered her head.
“But Miss Luo Ling isn’t dead—she didn’t die…”
Through the connection between an Apostle and their Grotesquery, she could sense Miss Luo Ling’s presence nearby, very nearby, likely among the funeral attendees.
“It’s not your fault, Elsa.” Cen Xiangyun looked at Elsa with pity, stroking her hair. “We have to accept reality… but it’s alright for you to take your time.”
“It’s really not—”
Elsa’s words were cut short as she caught sight of a black figure in her peripheral vision.
Her eyes widened, fixated on the black-dressed girl standing beside the blonde woman.
Although the girl wore a veil, obscuring her face, and her figure and demeanor were different from the Miss Luo Ling she remembered, an Apostle’s perception of their Grotesquery was unmistakable.
Elsa recognized her instantly. The black-dressed girl was Miss Luo Ling, returned after a month and a half.
The black-dressed girl also noticed Elsa’s gaze and turned to look at her.
“Luo—”
Before Elsa could shout, the black-dressed girl placed a finger on her lips, shushing her.
Elsa swallowed her words.
“What’s wrong, Elsa?”
Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing looked at Elsa with puzzled expressions.
Elsa froze for a moment, then put on a sorrowful expression, wiping her tears and sobbing.
“Miss Luo Ling… is dead…”
Her cries attracted the attention of several guests, but seeing it was Elsa, they looked at her with pity.
Poor child, finally accepting reality?
However, Elsa’s mind was racing. She peeked at the black-dressed girl through her fingers, her sobs intensifying.
Did Miss Luo Ling not want to reveal her presence?
Had she been faking her death all this time, carrying out some… special operation?
It must be!
So, she had to cooperate with Miss Luo Ling!
Realizing this, Elsa instantly put on an Oscar-worthy performance.
Even the black-dressed girl was startled, wondering if she had made the wrong hand gesture.
That was the universal sign for silence, wasn’t it?
It should be…
Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing frantically tried to comfort the sobbing Elsa, hugging her and patting her back like a child.
…Which she was.
They whispered to each other.
“I told you not to bring Elsa. She’s from a mental hospital, not quite right in the head, and now she’s even more unstable after all this. And you’re still provoking her!”
“I thought that in this environment, she might finally accept reality… who knew she’d react so drastically. Even as a doctor, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s all your fault, it’s all your fault…”
As they bickered, Elsa discreetly gave the black-dressed girl a thumbs-up and winked.
The black-dressed girl, however, was even more confused by Elsa’s actions.
The mournful music changed, interrupting their little exchange.
Cen Xiangyun looked up at the coffin containing Miss Luo Ling’s clothes and sighed deeply.
It was time to say goodbye to Miss Luo Ling.
Knowing Luo Ling’s personality, Cen Xiangyun knew that she wouldn’t have liked this boisterous affair, let alone with so many unfamiliar “colleagues.”
If she knew how noisy her funeral was, she would be frowning.
But this was the Company’s arrangement. They seemed to be using this opportunity to pressure Ms. Fiona of the Fate Society, intentionally enlarging the scale of the funeral.
Otherwise, for a P4 specialist, why would they make such a fuss?
The thought brought tears to Cen Xiangyun’s eyes.
She had been blaming Fiona for Luo Ling’s death, but deep down, she felt like the true culprit was herself.
It was her who had insisted on bringing Miss Luo Ling into the Company. If she hadn’t extended her hand that day… would the outcome have been different?
But there were no ifs.
“We invite Miss Cen Xiangyun, Captain of Specialist Luo Ling, to speak, to commemorate this great specialist who sacrificed herself for humanity.”
The emcee called her name. Cen Xiangyun looked up blankly, seeing the emcee smiling at her.
But she wasn’t in the mood for a speech…
She was still dazed as her colleagues pushed her towards the stage.
“I…”
Looking at her colleagues and the expectant emcee, Cen Xiangyun couldn’t utter a word.
She knew her colleagues weren’t wrong, the emcee wasn’t wrong, no one was wrong.
But…
This was Miss Luo Ling’s funeral. Why were there so many irrelevant people here?
Couldn’t they let Miss Luo Ling depart peacefully, surrounded by her friends, in the way she would have preferred…
Why was even her death being exploited…
Used as a bargaining chip between factions, an opportunity, a favor, a tool.
This was the first time.
For the first time, Cen Xiangyun questioned the organization she belonged to, the Company.
“I… miss her.”
Tears streamed down Cen Xiangyun’s face.
“Anything else? Any other words you’d like to share?”
The emcee hoped that this closest teammate of Miss Luo Ling would say more, making the funeral more impactful.
Preferably something that would deeply move Fiona, “Andromeda” of the Fate Society’s three constellations, leaving a lasting impression.
“No.”
Cen Xiangyun shook her head.
“Really nothing else?”
The emcee’s disappointment was evident.
Seeing his expression, a surge of anger welled up within Cen Xiangyun. Losing her usual composure, she shouted hysterically,
“No, no, no! I said no! I just miss her! That’s all! I want her alive! I want her back! That’s all!”
Cen Xiangyun gasped for breath.
The mournful music stopped. Everyone stared at her in silence, the only sound her ragged breathing.
She wanted to say more, but her throat tightened, tears blurring her vision.
“I… I…” she sobbed. “I just… miss her, that’s all.”
“Did you miss me that much?”
A familiar, clear voice echoed, calm as ever.
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