Chapter 552 (2/2)

“I would like to face her,” Tia said, but as she said that she reached up with one hand and fluffed her hair.

Neveah chuckled but beckoned. As he stood there, Randidly felt the air around him adjust as Neveah’s illusion settled around him. Annoyed that Neveah could do this so easily, and he couldn’t do it well at all even when borrowing her Skill, Randidly stepped forward.

When Tia looked at him, she looked at a spot that was on his chest, because the form Neveah had given him was much smaller than he actually was.

“What’s your name?” Tia asked.

For a second, Randidly froze. What name should he say? Don’t save Valkyrie, don’t say Valkyrie….

But then abruptly, a word came to his mouth, because he suddenly knew who Neveah had made him look like. “Lyra. My name’s Lyra.”

Tia gave a small nod, looking Randidly up and down. And as Tia looked, Randidly saw Lyra too. Her sharp features, her tawny hair, her wicked smile. And ultimately, Tia seemed satisfied and turned to go. Randidly wanted to roll his eyes.

Really, all you wanted to check was that your fiance’s ex was attractive?

After she had gone, the joy left Randidly, and he felt tired. There were two things he wanted to do before he left because today had proven to him that taking back his name and face would be more trouble than it was worth. First because of the engagement, then because of the work, and finally because of Ghost’s watchful eye. Senator Firefly might be a good source of information, but he was a fool in some ways, and just as likely to tip the Creature and its servants off to his goals.

The first thing he wanted to do was look at his reflection. Although Randidly’s attempts at illusion were clumsy, he could still manage to create the illusion of a mirror, and he looked at himself.

“Maybe the real reason that I was so furious…” Randidly said slowly, “Was because, with her, it was never about trust; Lyra only cared about results. And she believed that you should be the same. The… thing she shared her secrets with was the Creature, not me. And she wanted me to accept that.”

Then Randidly shook his head. There was a knot here, inside of himself, due to her involvement with the Creature. It was something he didn’t understand on so many levels. But his gut just kept repeating the same thing, over and over.

Why didn’t you pick me?

Maybe Lyra thought she had. But her way of picking was not something Randidly was willing to put up with. Shaking his head, Randidly turned to the issue at hand. He looked at Neveah.

“You actually care for her. When I heard how you came to be engaged, I thought it was a misunderstanding. Did you truly know what you were doing the whole time?” Randidly asked.

“Well no,” said Neveah, her Randidly-smile sheepish. “But does anyone? The more time I spent with her… It made me happy.”

Randidly regarded Neveah skeptically. “This will not end well. Do you think that Tia would really want to marry you if she knew… what you were?”

Neveah shrugged. It was oddly infuriating to watch his own body perform gestures, thought Randidly as he gritted his teeth.

“More than that, she is shallow and self-centered. She can’t see past what is put in front of her! She’s basically nothing more than a child-”

“Am I not the same?”

Neveah’s words stopped Randidly dead in his tracks.

“Perhaps not shallow… but I play games. I don’t do things I don’t want to do. I don’t worry about responsibility, I just act. That is the freedom that you gave me. I understand that in your mind this is a stage I will grow out of… but what if it is not? It’s true we might decide not to get married, or we might get married, then end things… but do not most humans do this?

“Also… Randidly…” Neveah gazed at him with soft eyes. “Do you realize why she infuriates you so much? It’s true she has her own shallowness and vanity she is very different… but I think if you look closely about how eclectic her attention is and how much her world is centered around herself…. How kind she is without thinking, and how she would act without asking for anything in return… you can see just how similar you two are at your core. And why I will marry her.”