"After she died, I shut myself off from everything."

The tears that flowed from Lucielle's face as she spoke was unbelievable.

Rey had never seen anyone cry the way Lucielle did. Her crimson eyes glowed, and the hot tears seemed to be evaporating with heat as they kept flowing down her eyes.

'She's using Magic to make sure she never cries, but it seems the tears are too much this time, so the liquid keeps leaking out. What the hell is this mechanism? How long has she been doing this to herself?' He had to wonder.

Still, he said nothing and just listened to her speak.

"I hid my pain under smiles and carefreeness. No one could understand how I felt, after all... and there was still tons of work to be done." Lucielle added.

"I didn't even attend the funeral."

What was the point?

The only part of Aisha they were able to retrieve was one of her arms-the part that tightly held the letter.

"I read what she wrote... more times than I can possibly count."

"What did it?"

"She was so scared, Rey... so, so scared." Lucielle's voice was beginning to break, even as she pushed on, now trying harder to evaporate her tears.

"She didn't want to die. She wanted to see me so badly. She... she loved me, Rey."

"I didn't realize how much she loved me until she died."

All of this information flowed from Lucielle like an unstoppable river, and Rey allowed himself to be swept with the current.

"She did everything for me. For the longest time, I blamed myself for her death... telling myself that I killed her, and that she would still be alive if it wasn't for me."

"It wasn't your fault." Rey said, to which she responded immediately.

"Of course, I know that."

Her eyes burned with hatred as she looked at him, veins popping around her eyes and forehead as the anger within her went beyond palpable.

"It's all the fault of those foul creatures... the Dragons."

After Aisha's death, once she got over the self-blame part, Lucielle ended up developing something else—a new emotion targeted at a new target.

She grew to hate the Dragons.

"After that, the United Human Alliance was formed. Even more of my allies and disciples have died as a result of the War. I've stopped counting already."

The tears were all dried up, and Lucielle was now perfectly calm-as if everything up until this moment was merely an illusion.

"I want to end this war, Rey. I really do, but... I have a much deeper desire-something more selfish."

It seemed, unlike her sister, she couldn't let go of her selfishness.

She ended up inheriting the sense of duty that her sister had, doing her best to protect humanity and fight against the oppressors who took her sister from her and who desired to take even more, but... her selfish desires remained a prime motivation for her.

"I want to transcend the limits of my current understanding and reach the ultimate heights- the peak of Magic."

"I want it so badly, Rey! I want to be able to see the world the way you would see it... past the Grand Realm and into that of the Absolute!"

"It's an obsession of mine, Rey! I don't mind setting aside my pride, my grief, my rage, and everything else as long as I can get even a step closer to that goal." She beamed now, her smile banishing the final embers of her sadness.

It almost felt like the story Lucielle just told him right now wasn't real.

However, Rey knew it was more than real.

'She probably doesn't want me to pity her, all things considered...' He thought to himself, nodding as he accepted her wishes.

"Honestly, Lucielle... you're amazing."

Those words from him seemed to stop her in her tracks. She looked at him with genuine surprise as he smiled at her with a mix of admiration and another emotion she didn't quite understand herself.

Over the course of her life, Lucielle had heard how amazing she was more times than she could even stomach, but this one felt different.

It was different!

"It's not just because of your talent in Magic, but... your dedication to it."

After her sister died, Lucielle put in more effort towards her study and practice of Magic, and when her opportunity finally came... she forced the Royal Council to let her fight in the

frontlines.

This improved her perspective on Magic and advanced her application of the art in warfare. She kept growing despite every adversity, and after her recent encounter with the Dragon Commander-which caused the deaths of so many Mages-she was able to evolve even

further.

She continued her advancement... no matter what.

"You're far better than I am. I have no real knowledge or skill in Magic and its applications." Rey admitted. "I just have a lot of skills that help me sort out the kinks and make everything as easy as snapping my fingers or flicking my wrist."

"Ahh... I'm so jealous!"

"Don't be." Rey smiled, drawing close to her so he could rub his hand against her head.

Why he did that, he had no idea.

"S-stop..."

As she said this, her cheeks turned bright red and she looked to the side-clearly embarrassed

by the whole thing.

Rey quickly noticed this and pulled away.

"Sorry!"

"It's fine..."

"W-well... my point is..." Rey felt a lump in his throat for a split-second, but with his emotions being corrected at similar speeds, he found his composure very quickly.

"... I can help you with your dream."

Lucielle's eyes widened as soon as she heard this. Before she could say anything, Rey raised his hand to calm her down, at least until he finished speaking.

"Like I said... I have a ton of skills at my disposal. I could help you test out whatever theories that you have. You can use me as a... well, a test subject, or as a way to help you understand Magic more." He couldn't believe what he was saying so readily, but Rey couldn't deny how excited he was also feeling.

"Whatever you want... I can help you with it!"

He realized that this was not going to help Lucielle get over her feelings for him, and he also realized that he wouldn't be doing himself any favors by placing himself at her beck and call.

Yet... he offered anyway.

Why?

'I have to admit, I'm curious.'

Now, more than most things that he wanted in this life, he wanted to see just how far this selfish ambition of Lucielle would take her.

"Are you sure about this, Rey?" She didn't seem as thrilled as he expected her to be, but that was only because she was containing all the giddy feelings that were about to burst within

her.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

"Really sure?"

"Really."

"Really really super duper sure?"

"Yes! I'm sure, Lucielle." He was exasperated as he answered for the last time, only for him to

nearly get startled by the squeal she followed up with.

"Kyahhhhhhhh!!! I'm so excited, Rey!" She jumped out of her bed and rushed towards him

with sheer anticipation and unbridled joy.

Her eyes were wide open, and her cheeks appeared red hot with how hard she was blushing.

"Take off everything, Rey!" She screamed with all her might. "Right here and now..." The boy was already beginning to see the severe consequences of his decision, and it was barely a minute after he made it.

"... Let us begin, okay?"

*

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Thanks for reading!

Hahaha! Well, this was a sort of funny conclusion to this whole thing.

What do you think about Lucielle now? Is she worthy to be a serious participant in the Waifu

Wars? Is she fodder?

Remember to vote for her character among the character arts if you support her.