“You finally decide to seek my experience,” Xia smiled at the two girls lost in the limbo of defeat. “Betty, you should have asked from the beginning. I’m dying to ‘help’ you.”

Betty gritted her teeth, “I immediately regret my decision.”

Betty and Hikari sat opposite Xia in the bed. Xia, in her white satin summer dress, observed them patiently. She understood Hikari needed someone to guide her through this harsh time. The same fact also applied to Betty. However, Xia still smiled at the thought of getting one over her sister.

“Why do you want to know about me and Ciel?” Xia said. “You’ve never asked about our history before.”

Betty was the one who spoke, “Fine, I’m going to admit it. Both of us don’t get Ciel. We don’t know how to talk to him, and he is avoiding me like a bomb.”

“He asked me to make him a deal he couldn’t refuse,” Hikari spoke of her problems. “I don’t know how.”

Xia sighed. Well, she was the General Manager tasked with dealing with this exact problem. Ciel might be an excellent lover, but he was far from perfect. He had his flaws. He could be manipulative, with a dash of insensitivity. 

That was why Xia was here; to plug the hole he couldn’t.

“I need to apologize about Ciel’s insensitivity,” Xia said. “He meant well, but his communication might sound harsh.” She further explained. “I believe he said he wants you to have a choice.”

“Choice what?” Betty said. “We never have a choice!”

“No,” Xia corrected. “You have a choice. You can stand on your two feet, and fight as a human. Or fold like a paper and beg for Ciel to babysit you.” She rolled her eyes. “Ciel obviously prefers the earlier type. That is why he fell for both me and Amy. Sure, he was aiming for us, but in introspection he was dragging his feet like it was a chore.”

“What?” Betty found that ridiculous. “You are talking about a guy with power every woman on this planet wants. Sis, you sleep with him every night, right?”

“Absolutely,” Xia couldn’t help but smile. “It is fantastic.”

“And you are telling me, that despite screwing you every night for months, he was practically a prude when he tried to seduce you,” Betty said.

Hikari couldn’t believe it either, “Lord Ciel must have tried to court you.”

“He did,” Xia confirmed. “But you both misunderstand Ciel. My dearest isn’t just seeing himself as human. He is practically horrified by the thought of becoming like other Lords. That fear held him back. He dreads the thought of forcing himself and his decision on you.” Xia cleared her throat. “Every time you walk to Ciel and beseech him as a savior, it turns him off and causes him to raise his guard.”

Betty sulked, and Hikari drooped. Yes, that was exactly what they did. After losing, Betty pretty much threw herself at Ciel for extra power. Meanwhile, the blinded Hikari all but groveled, begging Ciel not to abandon her.

Both women treated Ciel like a god he didn’t want to be.

“Madam Xia,” Hikari felt this title sounded strange in her mouth. All this time, she thought of Xia as the fling of the Unity Lord, but that was no longer true. Given her in-depth knowledge of Ciel, she was more than a mere ‘lady’. Xia was, for all intents and purposes, the Madam of the house. “How did you two get together?”

Xia smiled at the memory, “Ah, that is a good memory,” Xia then narrated the experience. “My old foe, Spade, sent me to investigate a certain disappearance case,” she leered at Betty, “thanks to certain someone, the only back-up I have is Ciel.”

Betty wasn’t sharing the happiness. “Please don’t remind me of how I fuck up.” She looked her sister in the eyes. “ Then you two disappeared for a fortnight. What the hell actually happens?”

“You finally ask,” Xia mockingly exclaimed. “It took you months, but finally you care about my ordeal.”

“Madam,” Hikari said. “I know you have a lot to unload to Betty, but please continue with your story.”

Xia sighed and continued the story, “We met the Lord behind the disappearance, and predictably got our ass kicked, fell down the ravine and into a river,” Xia said with nostalgia. “We got stuck in an underwater cave together for over a week.”

“So, you started 'that' there?” Betty tried to wrap her mind around it.

“God, no, I’m too mad at him,” Xia said to Betty. “I found out he is related to a monster who nearly killed me. Then he had the nerve to say that you — dear sister —  is the one he is aiming for.”

Betty’s mouth hung open, “Me?”

“Yes, he didn’t know about your issue then, so you looked prettier compared to a wreck I was,” Xia gleefully rubbed the fact in Betty’s face. “You are this close.” Xia pinched her finger to display how close Betty was. “This ‘close’ to being the head wife. Thank god, it is me who fell to the ravine because I’m genuinely afraid what would happen if Ciel took your suggestion as a default.”

“Please stop making me feel worse!” Betty was at the end of her rope.

“No, because you made the last two years a living-hell for me,” Xia said. “I forgive you, sis, but a girl has to vent.”

“Madam Xia,” Hikari said, beseeching Xia to stop sidetracking. “Please continue with your story.”

“Ah, right,” Xia spun her conversation back on track. “Well, our relationship got off on the wrong foot. I, being an idiot, obstinately protested by crying all night while soaked.”

“Hypothermia?” Hikari could guess what would happen in that scenario in the forest of separation.

“Yes, hypothermia.” Xia said. “Ciel spent the next few days nursing me back to health.”

Betty was outraged at favoritism, “He spent days nursing you? What am I? A canary for a mine? Why did he treat you so well?”

“Because I don’t have the history of backstabbing people, Betty,” Xia answered. “Let’s say we worked through our differences, and eventually I landed my current position.”

“So how did he seduce you in those two weeks?” Betty snorted. “I know you aren’t the romantic type.”

“He didn’t,” Xia informed them. “We talked a little, became friends, but Ciel doesn’t make a move on me. Not that it would work, he already told me about his Authority by the third day we were stuck together.”

Hikari’s jaw dropped and Betty blinked.

“Then how did you two get together!?” Betty said.

“That is the beautiful part,” Xia said, smiling. “Our relationship is built on trust and unity against the common enemy. Do you know that Ciel could leave the cave anytime, but he stayed there because I couldn’t come with him? Even when Slomrath attacked, he still couldn’t let me die.” Xia then confessed the most important thing. “It is me who initiated the contract. I chose Ciel, accepting everything that comes together with him. Unlike you two, Ciel isn’t forced by my desperation. Our bond is built on acknowledgements and mutual respect.”

“Mutual respect?” Hikari asked.

“Yes. Mutual Respect. I’m quite insulted at the fact you believed Ciel is this kind of almighty genie that will make your wish come true,” Xia shrugged. “Sure, he is sentimental. He will save you anyway. But to take you as a lover and award you that trust? Well, that privilege cannot be won by groveling. Dearest prefers women with actual spine.” Betty looked at them both. “Come on. Both of you should be able to pull it off. Hell, take Amy’s example. She eavesdropped on Ciel, confronted him about the contract, and became the first contractor to prevent him from becoming like your despotic two-cent lords.”

“Amy did what?” Hikari was stunned at the revelation. 

“You sound so smug about leaning on a guy,” Betty said bitterly.

“And you sound so depressed after chasing every guy away,” Xia countered with brutality. “You are right, Betty. I’m smug about leaning on a guy.” Xia smiled. “I mean Ciel doesn’t mind leaning on me when I teach him White Magic and Aura.” Xia watched Betty nearly choke on air. “That’s right Betty. I teach Ciel everything about combat.” She watched Betty staring at her in confusion. “What are you looking at me for? You think I lean on him for everything like you want to? Get real, Betty. Marriage and love are the subject of mutually accepting you aren’t the center of the universe. It’s about seeing faults in yourself and your partner, and mutually leaning on each other despite the flaw through thick and thin.” Xia leered at her sister. “That must be foreign to you. Then again, today's dating sphere was about presenting an unsustainable mask to lure in the best specimen.” Xia rolled her eyes. “What the hell are you? A peacock? No wonder most marriages fail. Sure, the tail is colorful, but once you look deeper, it must be quite heavy when you meet a problem like a predator.”

Betty didn’t speak. She was too busy reflecting on her life.

Hikari, not seeing where she should go next, asked Xia the most important question.

“Madam Xia, what should I do?”

“Make a deal he couldn’t refuse,” Xia stood and walked out the door. “You did that once. You can do it again.”

…

Hikari thought back to her childhood.

She was young back then. A refugee with her mother, running away from the home occupied by the Yulong Empire. It was a harsh time, and Hikari needed to make money to survive.

It was then she found her talent in the art of killing. She was thirteen when she applied to be a security guard and learned Aura Art. She discovered her knack for code-breaking and investigation. That knowledge allowed her to become a member and eventually a leader of the Golden Hand.

Hikari had many regrets, but sat chiefly among them was at her mother's deathbed. Even her newfound job couldn’t do a thing to reverse the sickness, the long-term product of their living condition, that plagued her mother for years.

The only thing she could do was try her hardest to make sure her mother could pass with no regret.

‘Mom, don’t worry, I can take care of myself.’

…

That girl, now grown-up and blinded, sat in contemplation on her bed.

“Take care of myself?” Hikari thought back to the moment she degraded herself to run from fear of abandonment and failure. “Sorry, mother, I nearly broke our promise, aren’t I.”

…

When Ciel came back to the Harriet House, Amy came and informed him that Hikari had something to tell him.

Ciel breathed deeply, praying that he would be correct in his assumption. He walked up the stairs. Each step brought him closer to that sliding door.

Before that door, Ciel slid it open and stepped inside.

Hikari’s clothing and her mess of a hair remain unchanged, but Ciel knew from the way she held herself that he wasn’t disappointed.

“Hello, Lord Ciel,” Hikari said. “I can’t express how sorry I am for disappointing you with my disgraceful behavior.”

“Everyone has their moment,” Ciel said with generosity. “So, what is your offer for my help?”

“Madam Xia is right about you preferring a woman who can stand up to you,” Hikari smiled. “My offer is simple. All the information I — as former leader of Onren — possessed. I can give you the location of the sensitive data, methods to access them, location of Borbonsi’s hidden reserve, key-individual running Eleanor, and leverages I have over them.”

“Nice deal,” Ciel whistled. “But—”

“But you have no interest in power or wealth,” Hikari said. “I heard from Amy. You want to avoid the worst repercussions from the Theomachy and I will happily provide every sensitive information about other potential,” she struggled to find the correct word, “candidates and their risk.”

Ciel’s hand trembled a little. Xia was already a beast in bed.

“Better yet, before I lost my position, I have asked an associate to perform a task vital to your cause,” Hikari said. “In exchange for all the above, I want to make a contract with you. Given your Authority enhances your partner’s ability…”

“You believe my power could reduce the handicap from your lost eyes,” Ciel said. “Good. Reasonable. But what is this task you give this person?”

“Her name is Pruina Von Ozean,” Hikari said. “She is an expert in Magic, arrays, artifacts, and a nomadic traveler. I can say she is among the world's best, if she ever goes public with her talent.” Hikari sighed. “She owes me money to fund her insane experiment and fails to pay it back every due date. I only let her walk because she is the best at her job.” Hikari’s tone conveys confidence. “I ask her to find a method to destroy the flying-city of Curtis or make Etaceh vulnerable.”

“You think she can do it?” Ciel said. He understood the Lord of Mechanical Magic’s defense. Holmes and he threw themselves at the blueprint and came short. Could this Pruina do the job?

“You won’t say that if you know the experiment she’d done,” Hikari grumbled. “That girl nearly destroyed Eleanor thrice.”

“Well, Hikari,” Ciel clapped. “Congratulations. I always know you are good at pitching.”

…

Above the Forest of separation, among the clouds, a city loomed. The buildings were bustling with war automatons. Its impenetrable walls glowed in defiance of the sun. Countless thrusters pushed this behemoth forward like a rumbling beast.

In the ornate palace originally belonging to the La Louve’s family, on the golden throne, sat the Empress of the Advanced Research Empire, the Prime Intelligentsia.

Etaceh was dressed in a white noble gown with luxurious jewelry. Her mind, connected to every artifact paving the roads, roofs, and the streets of the flying city, analyzed a torrent of information. The sleepy woman opened the deep well of mystery that was her eyes. She rose. Her flowing dark navy hair flowed in the wind as she glided to the window.

Etaceh looked toward the Port City at the horizon and smiled.

“Sorry, Borbon,” Etaceh playfully said. “It is a good time, but only one can sit on top.” She dreamily smiled. “And we all know it won’t be you.”