Chapter 42: The Reason Why
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Fun fact: If seagulls flew over the bay, they'd still be seagulls.

Also, school's starting up again, so chapters are going to become less frequent.

When it came to her 'scoops' and her 'extras,' Tabby worked as fast as lightning. After Matilda ran away screaming, I hobbled back to my room to treat my abrasions, and at roughly five-thirty in the afternoon when I went to have tea in the rose garden, that scoop had already made the rounds. The girls were all already reading the newspaper. Tabby let out a smug giggle. "Look at that picture!" she addressed me as soon as I sat down at the table with the rest of the girls. "If you don't mind me tooting my own horn here, I'd say I'm pro level." Tabby may have been thrilled with the results, but Sol was anything but that.

"...Excuse me, Seraph?" Sol said sternly, looking up from the newspaper. I don't even need to see her to tell she's angry; I can already tell by the tone of her voice. The inflection in her voice said she's going to beat me - wait, no, she wouldn't do that. I'll probably just be yelled at. Hopefully. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Nothing..." I weakly tell her while averting my eyes. I swallow my saliva. I don't know what I did wrong, but I know I did wrong. Sol wouldn't be mad unless I did something wrong. 

"Why are you so angry?" Luna asked her in genuine curiosity. "Aren't you eager to see Seraph's approval rating rise? It's your 'Rising Tide' policy, I believe."

"That's... true, but..." Sol became speechless.

"It really is well-taken, though," Luna added. She lowered the paper and turned her gaze on me. "You do have a tendency for excellent timing. You aren't calling Tabby in advance for these things, are you?"

Tabby cut in before I could respond. "Excuse me?" She sounded very offended. "Did you forget my title, Luna? Nothing escapes my gaze. I see ALL!"

"...That is true." Luna shrugged her shoulders and let go of the topic.

"W-Well..." Sol spoke up, trying to take charge of the conversation again. "What I was trying to was... Seraph, you didn't tell her, did you?" 

"That's right." Now Chloe spoke up alongside her. "I was wondering about that myself."

"Um..." I mutter, confused. "What are we talking about right now?"

"Matilda!" Chloe told me, rapping the paper against the table. Her loud voice caused me to flinch. "After all, you hid it all the way up there in that tree, and she found it immediately. It's weird, isn't it?"

"I-I-I d-didn't..." I try to tell them I didn't reveal my eggs spot to Matilda, but I'm panicking too much. I have no idea why these two are so angry, but it's scaring me. I can't even speak straight.

"Rather than him telling her," Sapphire interjected on my behalf. "It may be that Matilda saw him hiding it there." 

I nod vigorously to confirm that Sapphire's story of events were true. It was the truth. Despite this, both Chloe and Sol were unsatisfied.

"That's right," Luna spoke as if she had just remembered something. "The real shocker here is Matilda. I can't believe she would betray Rosalia this way."

"HOW DARE YOU EVEN SUGGEST THAT?!" I fly out of my seat in outrage. I can hardly believe what just came out of this girl's mouth. She looks just as confused as I am shocked.

"TH-TH-THAT'S NOT IT!" Matilda yelled, bursting out of nowhere. Luna seemed more shocked by her sudden appearance than she was by me.

"You were listening in on us?" Luna asked her in a state of surprise. Matilda just ignored her.

"L-Luna! Please don't say such awful thing in front of my Amie!" Matilda said, rushing towards Rosalia. Rosalia was just staring out into space. She looked so done with everything.

"Yes, yes, I beg your pardon," Luna chuckled at Matilda's outlandish behavior. "But then, really, what's all this about? We were all shocked by it." All eyes turned to Matilda. Her already tiny body shrank even further as she turned red from embarrassment. 

Then Matilda turned to me for some reason. "Th-Thy filthy serpent! I shall cleave thee in twain after all!"

"Lass, I'm on your side!" I tell her.

"...Matilda, don't shift blame, please." Rosalia reluctantly stepped in to handle her pet. Matilda looked momentarily abashed, then immediately straightened and turned back to Rosalia. 

"A-Ah, Amie, you know... you know what I was trying to do, don't you?" 

Rosalia let out a sigh. "Yes... you did tell me, after all... And I assume you knew of this as well, Seraph?"

"Yeah..." I hesitantly answer.

"Good," Rosalia said. "Then you can explain."

Wow, she really just threw me under the bus, huh?


Two days ago...

"F-Forgive me, Amie! I... I failed you! I failed to retrieve Seraph's Easter egg for you!" Matilda had begged for Rosalia's forgiveness after failing to retrieve the location of Seraph's Easter egg. 

"...Matilda," Rosalia stared down at her with a face as still as stone. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

"I... I intended to protect you, but..." 

"Just come inside first." Rosalia invited Matilda into her room and sat her down on a chair. Rosalia sat on her bed, facing her. "Now, what is this all about? You never give me any context for anything, so I don't know what's going on."

"Ah..." Matilda uttered, now aware of her conduct. "It regards the Soirée Dansante."

"Yes?" Rosalia followed her story, so far.

"I attempted to ask Seraph where he intended to hide his Easter egg, but I could not retrieve this information."

Then Rosalia came to the only logical conclusion that any normal person would think of immediately after hearing a story like that. Seraph did not even come close to this conclusion. "...Are you that interested in dancing with Seraph?" Rosalia asked, in an unusual state surprise.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, AMIE?!" Matilda got on the defensive.

"Well, that's the only reason I can think of," she said. "Why else would you do it?"

"I did it for you, Amie!" Matilda said, as if it were the most obvious reason.

Now Rosalia was lost. "...What does this have to do with me?"

"W-Well, you know! I wanted to prevent the off-chance that it might fall into your hands, instead." 

"Ah..." Rosalia breathed, finally getting it. It was a ridiculous reason. So ridiculous, she even giggled. "You worry too much. Well... it's true that I don't especially like dancing with men, but-"

Matilda was quick to latch onto that statement before Rosalia could even finish speaking. "Huh? Amie, have you danced with a man before?" she asked, a little worried.

"...No, I haven't experienced it for myself," she told her straight. "I can just imagine that is how I would feel."

"Ah. Yes, I can understand that," Matilda nodded. 

"...Anyway, rules are rules. They've already been decided, so I intend to follow them. I suggest you do the same," Rosalia advised.

That's when Matilda had an epiphany. She remembered how that stupid serpent let it slip from his mouth that he would be leaving the dorm at seven tomorrow morning to hide his egg. All she had to do was wait for him outside at that time and make sure to follow him without his knowing. If she can do that until he hid his egg, she'd know where it was without breaking any rules.

"Very well," Matilda said with a grin of intellectual superiority. "Then I shall approach 'Woo with Oeuf' in accordance with the rules." With those final words, Matilda strutted out of the room, leaving Rosalia with a gnawing sense of dread. 


"'Twas a tale of valiant heroism and noble sacrifice," I told them. But when I told them how I knew what Matilda's motives were, the girls just looked at me with pity for some reason. Even Rosalia.

"I thought you knew because Matilda had told you," she said. "But to come to that conclusion on your own... It may be correct, but that's just sad."

"Come on, Seraph," Chloe told me. "That shouldn't have been the first thing you thought of..."

"What do you mean?" I demand. I have no idea why they're acting this way. "What other possible reason could there have been? Why else would she be doing it?"

"Well, it's what I wrote down here," Tabby said, pointing to a certain part of the paper.

Matilda read it, and was shocked beyond belief. "L-L-L-LOVE IN BLOOM?! What were you thinking?!" 

"How could you even think of that?" I scolded her.

"Is it really that strange of a thought?" she asked, moving back a bit out of fear.

"Think, Tabby!" I tell her as I lean in closer to her. "How could she possibly be in love with me?" I wait for Tabby to answer, but she's just stuttering in shock, presumably trying to think of an answer. "Exactly,"  I tell her after a few seconds of silence. "She couldn't."

Matilda agreed with me. "EXACTLY! THERE IS NO WAY-"

"Matilda," Rosalia spoke her name, sending her into silence. "Kindly control yourself. You've been screeching this entire time. Besides, regardless of the conditions, the fact is that Seraph saved you. Now what do you say to someone who has done you a service?"

"Ah... w-well..." Matilda stuttered, flustered. She kept stuttering. This was getting painful to watch.

"It's fine," I tell her. "I don't want an-"

"No." Rosalia shot me down straight away. "Your feelings on the matter are irrelevant. It's simple common decency."

"Yeah," I agree. "But it's kind of my fault for hiding-"

"No." Rosalia shot me down again. "If Matilda was foolish enough to even think I would climb a tree for an egg, then the situation she's in right now is entirely her fault. You have no reason to blame yourself."

"...Right." I can't think of anything else to argue. This girl was ruthless

"Now, Matilda," Rosalia repeated. "What do you say to someone who has done you a service?"

"Yes..." Matilda grit her teeth and glared at the ground. "Thank you, Seraph..." 

"Uh, yeah... No problem-"

"But I'm still not going to let my guard down around that sorcery of yours!" Matilda yelled, right after thanking me. "Now I know with even more certainty that I need to protect Amie!"

"...What?" I turn to Rosalia hoping for some answers, but she just seemed as baffled and done with this as I am.

"Well, anyway," Tabby redirected the conversation. "I'm looking forward to the Soirée Dansante."

"So Chérie Poupée is going to dance with Serpent Séduisant..." Luna commented.

Sapphire turned to Matilda with a mischievous smile. "If just looking at him will make you pregnant, I wonder what holding his hand might do." Her words sent Matilda into a panic.

"WAUUUGH! I CAN'T HAVE A BABY AT MY AGE!" she cried, running off.

"Perhaps I teased her a bit too much," Sapphire giggled.

"Ah, well," Sol breathed a sigh of disappointment. "Rules are rules, after all."

"Did you find any, Seraph?" Chloe asked me.

"Yeah," I tell her. "I just picked one up in the underbrush outside the dorms."

"In the underbrush?" Rosalia took an unusual interest in my words.

"Yeah..." I narrow my eyes at her. "It was green... and I haven't opened it yet..."

"I see..." Rosalia said in response. She showed no emotion, but the look we shared with each other said more than enough. It seemed like we both knew straight away. 

I had picked up her egg.

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