Arriving at a relatively small bakery, capable of fitting around 20 people in its entirety, I opened the small doors, embracing the sweet scent that immediatly flooded my nose.
Nodding my head at the cashier, I bought a simple pastry and coffee before taking a eat.
No doubt...if she were to take over, this is where she’d go.
Anna wasn’t at the point where she could forcibly take over Carissa, yet; it seemed she had to wait for her daughter to be unguarded.
...
...
...
Minutes turned to hours as I sipped on a coffee, simply gazing at the ocean through the windows.
Does she know? I wonder.
Carissa was a smart student; she could only attribute so many of her instances of losing consciousness and appearing somewhere else to sleepwalking.
Maybe if she opened her diary once and in the next moment, found herself in the cafteria an hour later, Carissa could ignore it.
But, by now, something like that must have occurred at least three times.
Even if she knew, though...what would she do?
The realization that your own mother, or a teenage version of her, is attempting to take over your body and erase you must be hard to accept.
If Carissa reported the incident to anyone, the diary would be undoubtedly confiscated, and she would lose the sole connection she had to her dead mother.
And...she couldn’t just stop opening the diary. She had probably tried that already.
Her mother’s soul had already infiltrated the body; simply carrying or being near the diary was enough for Carissa to lose control.
Thus, she had one option.
Find a way to save her mother’s young soul from the diary while simultaneously keeping her own soul unharmed.
Thus, not only was Carissa’s mom after Serena, but also Carissa herself.
*Ring~ring*
At that moment, the bell above the door suddenly rang out, prompting me to glance upward immediately.
And there, they were.
A purple-haired figure, accompanied by a white-haired one, stood side-by-side, immediatly attracting the gaze of everyone in the store.
*Ring~ring*
A moment later, as the bell rang out once again, another figure stepped in, with spiky pitch-black hair and blood-red eyes.
Haerin must be off with Magnus...
Resting my elbow on the table and leaning my head against my hand, I watched Serena carefully.
Did she notice their switch?
Leo, unlike Serena, had just met Carissa a few days ago, so even if Carissa’s mom took over right in front of him, he likely wouldn’t notice anything amiss.
Interestingly enough, though, if Leo as much as looked Carissa in the eyes, she would return to normal.
Unlike with Magnus, Leo’s ability to disperse Anna’s soul didn’t have anything to do with him knowing Carissa; it was simply his trait of mana-cancelling eyes.
Serena, with her intelligence and past with Carissa, should pick up on something if they switched.
Realizing I had been staring too long, I picked up my glass and sipped while looking out the window to my right.
...
...
...
Alternating gazes between the white-haired girl to her left and the black-haired boy behind her, Serena couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows.
What the hell was going on?
Carissa, the usually reserved and tame girl, all of a sudden, wanted to visit a bakery to buy sweet treats?
Serena had expected her to suggest simply going back to the house to make sure they weren’t late, but she wanted to...explore the city?
It’s because of him!
When Carissa had invited her to roam around the city, she should have instantly said no, but because of that irritating rank 1900, she had to say yes.
And now...she had been introduced in this confusing situation.
I can’t just ignore it now that I’m entangled, right!?
Looking at the completely oblivious boy behind her, Serena scoffed and shook her head, but at that moment...her eyes caught the side of a familiar blue.
Twisting her head around instantly, like an owl catching sight of its prey, Serena turned around and gazed at a figure sitting in the corner of the bakery.
...of course.
He was here! He knew something! All she had to do was ask him!
Yet, as she continued staring at Athen’s back, he suddenly turned around to face her, slowly raising a single finger to his mouth.
I-is he telling me to be quiet!?
Resisting the urge to march over to Athen, Serena took a deep breath and looked back at Carissa, who was eagerly pointing to pastries while talking to the cashier.
Taking a step back, she asked Leo behind her.
"Isn’t she...off?"
Pausing, his blood-red pupils locking onto Carissa’s back, Leo thought for a moment and answered.
"Yeah, for a while, now. She never liked sweets, did she? Maybe, she’s trying to change herself or going through a phase?"
Before Serena could continue questioning, Leo tilted his head and pointed to the corner of the store before asking.
"So, what’s up with you and him? I didn’t take you for the type to be friends with someone that low."
Letting out a dry cough, Serena solemnly answered.
"He’s on my team. That’s it."
"Then, what about eating t-"
Interrupting Leo mid-sentence, Serena simply said before approaching Carissa.
"Enough."
As Leo ordered his food, Carissa and Serena found a table, sitting a few feet away from Athen. For more chapters visit novel★fire.net
After a few moments, just as Serena was about to say something, Leo sat down and, looking directly at Carissa, asked.
"Did something happen recently?"
"..."
Silence.
Confused, Serena looked up and examined Carissa’s expression...only to see one of complete bewilderment as the girl raised her eyebrows, her hands trembling, while looking around.
...? Did she see a ghost?
After a solid thirty seconds, Carissa finally seemed to notice Serena and Leo’s presence, coughing and saying.
"A-ah, nothing."
"..."
Serena turned to face Leo, instantly meeting his eyes.
The two simultaneously nodded their heads, as if noticing the anomaly in her behavior.
[A/N: 1 chp today, 3 tmr.]