For The Love Of Yuri

(For Erika) In That Corner

In that corner, the two of us remain standing without knowing the right answer... ~"Miss You", AAA

xxxxxx

"How could you let her continue doing this?"

Those words, though Conrad had heard it, had only made the soldier heave a sigh. He was aware who said them, but he still chose to remain gazing towards the young princess still looking melancholic towards the sunset.

"I have no idea why I'm letting her do this. But I couldn't push forward to help her more, knowing that it would hurt her even more. She already had enough pain to bear with in this lifetime."

Murata was the one who sighed this time, in which it was meant for both Erika and Conrad, for some reason. But he, too, couldn't do anything for her childhood friend at the moment. He was at a loss of what to do for her sake.

"She had truly done everything to make things right for everyone, hadn't she? And yet how come none of us could do anything to help her make things right with regards to her life? Why are we still standing here, not doing anything?" Murata asked out of the blue, the sadness and hopelessness notable in his voice.

"It's a wall..." Conrad answered after a few more moments of silence. "She was slowly building one around herself since that man disappeared. And unconsciously... we got accustomed to the fact that we would never be able to go pass through that. We ended up building the same kind of wall that prevents us from helping her."

Though Murata doesn't want to admit it, he could tell that Conrad was right in more ways than one. And now, all of them were at a loss of what to do.

"So does this mean that thinking of a way to help her... will be something futile?" Murata asked not long after.

"Not really. But doing so would mean letting her realize the truth that she already lost him and that could also mean inflicting even more pain to her already broken heart. We have to be ready to do those things to her if we want to let it all go for her sake."

A heavy sigh came out of Murata's lips after that. Whatever ways all of them could think of, it would still boil down to one result--they would still end up hurting Erika one way or another. There was no other way to do it.

xxxxxx

The sunset was over and so was dinner in Blood Pledge Castle. It was time to sleep as there were other important things to do the next day. But Erika knew she would never be able to do so. At least on the sleeping early part of the work.

It was true that she still had a job to do just before the coronation for Yuri would begin. And she wanted to do it right, if one would ask her. She had no complains about doing the remainder of her job as her brother's regent and as a princess, anyway.

But for some reason, something still felt amiss with all this. And yes, she was well aware that it still had something to do with him. But she still couldn't do anything about it.

There was nothing--out of all the things she thought of--that would help her with her current situation, with her way of trying to finally forget and move on for good so that it would be over.

Another heavy sigh came out of Erika’s lips not long after and looked outside the windom of the room that they let her use while staying in that castle. It was the first time she stayed there and for some reason, she couldn’t help feeling nervous that it seemed to be contributing to a few factors why sleep eluded her until that hour.

Perhaps sleep wasn't going to come to her at this time again. She should get used to it, but she was aware that she shouldn't think of things that way.

With a sigh, Erika lifted ferself from the edge of the bed where she was sitting the entire time. She should have a breath of fresh air from all this and try to calm herself from all the thoughts assaulting her that gave her this restlessness she couldn't stop feeling.

Not long after, she reached the castle garden, which was her favorite part of the Blood Pledge Castle ever since Lady Cherie introduced it to her. Even in her state like this where her mind would continue plaguing her with so many thoughts, this garden had never failed to make her smile.

"You haven't done that in a long time, have you?"

Though startled upon hearing that voice, Erika chose not to show it. She turned to the source of it and soon found Conrad starting to approach her. She turned to look at the garden once again as soon as he stopped and stood beside her.

"You seem to know a lot about me for you to make that comment," Erika couldn't help saying. "Does Ken has something to do with it?"

"Part of it. The other was just about my observation about you. But then again, your advisor is truly knowledgeable about this sort of thing."

"I'd like to say that he's more of a blabbermouth if he told you a lot about me," she continued that made them both chuckle. "I really need to do everything to forget him now that I know he's really gone."

Her gaze remained locked to the garden that she didn't notice Conrad facing her with a surprised look on his face. "You already knew... about it?"

Erika solemnly nodded. "A week before Yuri finally woke up from his coma, the news about that came to me. I felt it, as well. The same way how I felt my brother was in grave danger a long time ago. Our lives have always been connected, you know? But even if it's like that, I've always known that... we will never be together at all. I should've accepted that fact a long time ago. But only now that... I've come to start doing so."

Those words ended with a heavy sigh before crouching down to get a closer look at one of the beautiful flowers. Erika gently touched them with a sad smile on her face this time.

"Well, I'll just have to warn you," Conrad spoke soon after that broke the silence between them. "Your brother and Wolfram seems to have a plan of doing what they can to help you cope up with losing him. They also thought that you still have no idea that he's already gone."

"I know. And I can't let them do what they want even if it was for my sake. I'll outwit them if I have to."

The two of them laughed once more and Erika realized that going out of her room to have a breath of fresh air wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

Should she had Conrad to thank for her to think of it like that?

"That means... I should truly start letting it all go if I want to outwit my brother with his plan to help me. I don't want to make him worry for me again. That should be my job, not his."

"I heard that... one of the Castalian royal twins has some sort of mystical ability to remove memories of a certain person. Is that true?" Conrad ventured for some reason. He was quite aware that the topic was kind of taboo to them.

Erika still nodded with no hesitation, much to his surprise, though. "It's true. But at the time of the war, Mother made sure that none of us would inherit that dangerous ability. That was also one reason why her powers weakened in a great deal at the time as it was the only way any of us could lead the kingdom with no fear and prejudice from the Council. That's why none of us could do such a feat anymore."

"Then... is there any other way for you to outwit your brother about his plan for you?"

But Erika smiled mysteriously the moment she faced him. "You'll see."

xxxxxx

Was that how she was always supposed to be? Was she always this confusing?

Those questions, however, had only made Conrad even more curious for the young Castalian princess. She looked towards the flowers planted on one of his mother's flowerbeds. But even with that, he couldn't forget the determination in her voice when he asked her about her plan to outwit and at least stop Yuri and Wolfram from doing anything to help her.

Yes, he was aware that she was trying to be strong in spite of the news that he was sure had broken her heart to pieces. But that was all he knew about her and her feelings at the moment.

He was unaware, however, of a certain feeling starting to lit up inside her because of that midnight conversation between them.