"I could say the same about you."
The second I saw the smile vanish from Lilas's face was the moment I realized I said those words out loud.
It was nothing more than a hunch. After all, while Claire was talking about those "rumors," I thought it was strange that Lilas was blissfully zoned out. But it seemed she wasn't. The distant look in her eyes was enough proof that she was thinking about something, and that something was our conversation.
"I haven't the faintest idea of what—" Lilas stopped herself midway. The distant look grew into something more…sad, like she was trying to figure things out on her own. "What she said, Sister Claire, and what that man said…Ciel was it?" Lilas stopped moving, and Rinne and I did too.
Rinne and I exchanged looks. It was good that she was able to set aside personal matters for more serious ones. Rinne stepped closer to Lilas and looked deeply into Lilas's single eye.
"You are wondering if you should doubt the institution that took you in, aren't you?" Rinne said, speaking the thoughts I dared not say aloud. That was one thing I liked about Rinne. She had moments when she acted boldly without thinking about the possible consequences. She was definitely her child.
Back at the maintenance shaft yesterday, Ciel didn't seem to be lying when he was speaking, unlike when he said he killed Anya.
Though, thinking about it, he never said he killed her; he just alluded to that fact.
"…I suppose…" Lilas said, looking away from Rinne and toward me. "Hey, Golden." She stepped closer and grabbed my arm. Rinne glared at her, but she held her tongue, seeing that Lilas was not behaving herself. "You are a detective, right? Can you do the heavy thinking for me? I don't want to imagine a world where Father Muller had set up my entire life just for me to make believe he's my savior."
Muller is without a doubt her savior. I can attest that he doesn't play along with anyone's games. He took in Sara after her mother was killed just a couple of weeks ago, after all. He's a soft-hearted man who looks like a brute. A big old bear with a warm heart.
Now, for the Church, I wouldn't doubt they had a hand in her development. It's no surprise that most of the battle priests and priestesses are orphans with tragic backgrounds.
"…"
"Golden?" Lilas let go of my arm with a deflated whimper. "Was my request that…annoying?" She averted her gaze.
"Huh…no, I'll help you. I simply thought of a connection I didn't like about the situation," I said hastily.
Lilas had a lot going on in her life, and I did not want her to misunderstand whatever look I was giving her. But I couldn't shake the feeling that the Church had a hand in orchestrating its asset collection. The mere thought was enough for my blood to boil; after all, my parents were killed while I was young.
And Rinne…
Did they have a hand in Project: New Genesis? Did some puppet master from the Church cause Rinara's death by my hand?
Don't let sown seeds of doubt sprout.
"Golden Steam?"
Rinara and Rinne's voices blurred together for a moment. Day by day it was getting harder to tell the difference between their voices. Maybe that was because Rinne was nearing adulthood.
But was that really Rinara's voice? That shadow thing…what was it?
No, focus…
I looked at the young girl, genuinely worried about me, and gave her a forced smile.
"Come on, this investigation isn't over yet."
"R-right…" Rinne said hesitantly.
"…" Lilas stared at me carefully.
It was hard to tell what this impulsive woman was thinking when it came to me, but it was better than her getting lost in her thoughts.
We resumed our walk, heading toward the chapel's group home. It was still early in the day, but hopefully Anya was awake by now. Hell, if she wasn't, we'd have bigger problems on our hands.
The moment we stepped inside, a switch inside of Lilas's mind was flipped. She took the lead, slipping into her priestess mode, which she usually didn't show around me. If she normally acted this way, she'd be more tolerable, but she would lose her charm as a person.
"Hey, Aster?" Rinne said in a hushed voice from behind me.
"Rinne, do me a favor and never call me that."
"W-why? Do you hate that name that my mother gave you? It's easier than calling you Golden Steam all the time."
"Then just call me Golden. Lilas seems to do it fine."
"That's…That's Lilas's name for you. I want something unique to me." Rinne pouted.
Just why was she hung up on this? Names are just something I use and toss the moment they serve no purpose to me. I wish she'd never figured out the name Rinara gave me from scribblings on a wall. This little girl was smarter than she looked sometimes. But most of the time she acts purely based on her emotions.
"Fine, whatever," I said. "What were you gonna ask?"
"Hehe, Aster," Rinne said cheerfully. "But why does Lilas act like a different person when around us than she does with the Church folks?"
"That's a question for you to ask her. I cannot answer Lilas's personal questions like that."
"Hmmm…" Rinne let out a thoughtful noise.
We reached the end of the hallway just before the stairs. Lilas stood in front of the door to the medical room for outsiders like Rinne and me. She stood there for a while, unmoving. Rinne and I looked at each other before I reached out for Lilas's hand.
It was trembling. I looked at her face—it was pale without a hint of color remaining. Her soft lips quivered as if struggling to form a semblance of a smile. She squeezed my hand. I heard the faint movements from within the medical room.
That made a lot of sense. However, I couldn't help but think Lilas was acting rather cute, given her fear of Mother Kili.
"Disgusting…" Rinne muttered, her gaze fixed on me. "Using this opportunity to look at her that way."
Damn my hearing.
Damn my inability to say something while right next to Lilas's ear.
Damn Rinne for choosing the worst possible moment to think of me so badly.
I shook the thoughts out of my mind and raised my other hand to the door. Lilas squeezed even tighter. Despite her fear, she made no attempt to run away. Was this her way of facing her fear of Mother Kili? I mean, she did speak with her yesterday, though she was justly insulted by Kili.
I gave the door a few gentle knocks.
"Ah!" A voice that was not Kili's, Anya's, nor Celia's answered. "Just a moment!"
After a few seconds, the door opened, and Lilas dashed behind me, holding my waist.
"I bet you are enjoying this," Rinne once again muttered.
"Mister Axien and the two girls at his side." A blonde woman greeted us with a smile, though her soulless green eyes were enough to make me second-guess her expression. She looked around and put a finger to her lips. "Where's the little one?"
"She's busy with her indoctrination into Sisterhood," I said. Saying that left a bitter taste in my mouth after the conclusion I'd reached about the Church. "Also, is Mother Kili in there?" The moment I said those words, the arms around my waist tightened. What would normally be a pleasant experience for any man in my position was ruined by the fact that, even in the Church, Lilas wore her chainmail.
"Oh?" Hanna clasped her hands together. "I didn't know you actually had someone for you, Mister Axien. I guess you really don't need a happy ending from Mira."
I felt a hole being burned from the side of my head by none other than Rinne. I looked at her, and she averted her gaze. Lilas loosened her arms around my waist and straightened up.
"You seem to misunderstand," Lilas said, pretending that she wasn't just clinging to me. She looked deeply into the room past Hanna's shoulders.
Hanna seemed to notice and smiled a little, though the smile came off a bit… mischievous.
"You mean the little girl—erm…" Hanna scratched her cheek awkwardly. Her right hand was covered in small bandages. "Sorry, the Mother who runs the medical rooms said she had to step out. Said something about needing to water her cat. So I'm here to run things for her."
"What's with the bandages?" Rinne asked.
"Oh…well I um…" Hanna couldn't finish her statement.
"You called Mother Kili a child to her face," I said. I sensed I was correct as Hanna gave an awkward smile.
"Anyway, you three are here for Anya, right? So get in here!" Hanna grabbed me and pulled me into the room. Lilas and Rinne followed behind.