Chapter 149: Unsullied Twist
When Ade returned home, Lacus was not yet off work and Momoka was busy cooking dinner. When he said goodbye to Aeolia, he sternly refused Kaworu Nagisa's offer to come over for dinner — simply because he didn't want to make Ange, who was already nervous, even more nervous.
He heard Ange's yelling as he was changing his shoes in the foyer, and when he walked to the living room, it was Ange who was playing an FTG game with Mineva. Ange stared intently at the screen, her body swaying left and right in excitement following the manipulated character; Mineva was sitting still, but her face was flushed with excitement.
"The pitching technique is just decoration, Sister Ange will not understand." Mineva nervously pressed the buttons, "Mineva flying kick!"
"A mere flying kick, let me push it back!" Ange controlled her character, "The difference in the character's performance is too great, Mineva, you have no chance to win!"
"I'm here to tell Sister Ange today that character performance has nothing to do with winning or losing!" Even as Mineva said so, her character still lost, "Hey, is this character you picked a monster?"
"So you lost from the moment you picked the character," Ange laughed triumphantly, "This character of mine is not just good-looking!"
"Oh no!" Mineva's character was K.O., and the young girl looked dejected, "Well, it's all because of the mistakes I made when I was young."
Unlike Lacus, who loves to read, and C.C., who likes watching TV, Ange is the only person in the family who needs a playmate. This playmate is mostly Mineva, and occasionally Ade and Momoka. Ade is not interested in games, but his main recreational activity is research. When he was tired of research, he often listened to music or did some advanced mathematics problems to relax.
C.C., who had been robbed of her TV, was watching them play and waiting for the meal to start. When she saw Ade, she patted the seat beside her, and Ade naturally sat next to her.
"I won't ask in front of Lacus and the girls." C.C.'s soft body leaned on Ade's arm. Her lips came to his ear and whispered, but her voice was a little cold, "Explain clearly in a minute, what's the situation with Ikari Yui."
Ade's heart thumped, obviously, he did not do anything, he still felt nervous. C.C. seemed to be strong, but her heart was actually very soft. She still easily thought of everything in black and white.
"There is nothing between us. I never saw her before Aeolia brought her back." Ade said honestly, "If you do not believe my words, let Mineva come over to verify if I'm lying."
"The little girl likes you, how do I know if she would lie to me?" C.C. sneered, "I thought Lilith's changed look before looked familiar, and after seeing Ikari Yui, I checked her data and found that it was exactly Ikari Yui's appearance when she was a little girl. I remember her saying that was the image you expected of her, the 'desired image', eh?"
"Uh, this …" Ade had an invisible cold sweat running up his forehead. He had no idea how to explain this, "It's really the first time Ikari Yui and I met. I'm not interested in her at all."
"Do you expect me to believe your unsubstantiated lies?" C.C. rolled over and sat on top of him, staring at him expressionlessly, and within five seconds, a smile suddenly sprang up in her golden eyes, "I believe you."
The C.C. who suddenly smiled was like an iceberg melting, so beautiful that Ade couldn't help but look dumbfounded at her for a moment.
"We're already an old married couple, why are you still staring at me like that?" C.C.'s eyes were gentle like water, "You have eaten Lilith's fruit of life, why didn't you tell me? If Ange didn't unintentionally say it, how long are you going to keep it a secret to me?"
"You know it is an important matter, how can I just casually tell you about it." Ade glared at the back of Ange's head, who was still playing the game, "Idiot, I told her not to say it, but she still said it."
"Why do you call Ange 'idiot'? I think this little girl is quite good, she knows how to care for people and take care of the children and family." C.C. gave him a quick kiss on his face, climbed off him, and smoothly took his hand, "Come with me."
C.C. led Ade to the bathroom, closed the door, took out a Butterfly knife from her pocket, and waved it in front of Ade's eyes, "Let's do an experiment."
"Why do you also carry a knife with you?!" Ade was shocked.
"Also? Who else? Ange?" C.C. unfolded the Butterfly knife, turned on the faucet and rinsed it, then dried the water on it, reached out and pushed up Ade's sleeve, "It hurts a little, can you bear it?"
"Don't force yourself. Let me do it myself." Ade took the knife from her hand and pressed the sharp blade against his skin, "I'm afraid you'll be heartbroken when you cut me."
"Self-important." C.C. hummed with a light laugh, her voice surprisingly couldn't stop trembling a little. She took a deep breath, her gaze fixed on the place where the blade was pressed against his skin, and unconsciously swallowed her saliva.
The cold tip of the knife pierced the epidermis of Ade's skin, cut open the dermis, cut capillaries, then fine beads of blood seeped from the wound, C.C.'s ragged breathing was clearly audible. The wound under her eyes began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, and finally completely disappeared.
"It's real…" she took hold of Ade's arm and tenderly stroked the place where the wound had been. Teardrops broke out from her big beautiful eyes without warning, "It's real, it's real …"
"Of course it's real, since childhood, when have I ever lied to you?" Ade placed the knife by the sink and gave her a bright smile, "We will be together forever, and death will not be able to separate us."
"Yes, Ade," C.C. cried and laughed at the same time, not bothering to wipe her tears at all, "I'm allowed to be happy too, right?"
"Your identity is the female Number One admired by the worldview, your name is the most precious resource of the universe, and your existence is the first cause of my birth." Ade looked at her rightfully, "If you can't even be happy, there's no point in telling this story, right?"
"It's like a dream that an out-of-date witch like me will have the day to be a female Number One …" C.C.'s face suddenly flushed, "Ade, I want it."
"Wait, the topic is jumping too fast, right?" Ade didn't react for a moment, "First, I just got home and didn't take a shower, second, I'm about to eat dinner, third, this scene is not a very appropriate place, so I can't—"
"No, I want it now." C.C. skillfully undo his clothes, "Be good, do not move. Leave the rest to me."
… rustling sound … fondling sound … gasping sound … and the sound of knocking on the door.
"Ade, still in there?" Ange thumped on the door, "Hurry up, come out for dinner, and C.C. is missing, have you seen her?"
"… ha … answer her…" C.C.'s rapid breathing was interspersed with ambiguous laughter, and there were still dried tear traces on her face, "…you're… going to be … ha … suspected …"
"Do I dare?" Ade whispered in her ear, "Ange ears are too sharp. She will immediately know it when I open my mouth."
"Ade?" Ange started knocking on the door again, "Are you talking to anyone?"
"… I've been listening… to you two… ha … for so long … ha … isn't it good… to let her hear … ha… isn't it good…" C.C. turned her head and gave him a light kiss, followed by a mischievous smile on her face, and screamed out in Ade's shocked line of sight, "Ah~!"
Ten minutes later, the atmosphere in the dining room was very strange. C.C. was smiling in front of everyone for the first time and kept praising Momoka for her cooking. Ange, however, had a stern face and did not say a word from the beginning to the end. Mineva concentrated on eating with an innocent look on her face, pretending not to know anything.
Lacus watched curiously for a while and turned a puzzled look to Ade, who looked away sheepishly.
"By the way, Ade, did you see the news this afternoon?" Lacus tried to ease the awkward atmosphere, "Something big happened today."
"Nunnally became the empress?" Ade quickly joined the conversation, "It's to be expected, we can't have a blind man as emperor. Besides, it's more in our interest for her to be empress, and smart people are always better to deal with."
"I'm talking about the more important one, of course, but it seems Nunnally is more important to you?" Lacus glanced covertly at C.C., "Or are you too busy to watch the news this afternoon?"
"I just got back from Aeolia's house late this afternoon and didn't have time to watch the news." Ade replied as naturally as possible amidst C.C.'s playful smile, "What's wrong, did something big happen again?"
"You don't even know about something so big?" Lacus showed a surprised expression, "Scirocco just released a public statement, accusing the mastermind behind Celestial Being of being you, Adrien Lingus."
…
Meanwhile, two men sat shoulder to shoulder against a wall in a dilapidated hut in a small deserted village on the east coast of Britannia. The two men were breathing heavily, covered in dust and mud.
"We are at least former — Knights of the Round Table, yes, the new emperor had just ascended the throne, but there is no need to kill us all, right? They didn't even give us a chance to show our loyalty, isn't that a bit too harsh?" One of the men complained, his leg seemed to be wounded and roughly bandaged, "Her Highness Nunnally—"
"Her Majesty Nunnally." Setsuna corrected him, "It's Her Majesty after she ascends the throne, Rockon."
"Well, Her Majesty Nunnally, she looks like a cute little girl, why is her heart so dark?" Rockon sighed breathlessly, "Hunting down pilots like us, just a few teams of infantry will do, right? Does she actually send Suzaku Kururugi over? How big a grudge is it?"
"Suzaku Kururugi." Setsuna seemed to remember something and nodded heartily, "He is very powerful."
"That's right. ACE gatekeeper? Who passed on that nickname?" Rockon also recalled some past events and "tsked", "His strength is so excessive, even if he wanted to hide, he didn't need to pretend to be so weak, right?"
Setsuna did not know how to answer this, so he didn't say anything. The cabin fell into silence.
"Setsuna, I heard before that Her Majesty intended to marry Princess Euphemia to Suzaku Kururugi, did you hear about it?" Lockon laughed, "Is it because of this that he worked so hard?"
"I don't know." Setsuna never inquires about gossip. The cabin once again fell into silence.
"… you are still so boring." Rockon stretched a lazy back, pulled out the few remaining foods from his pocket, and his voice suddenly became very low, "Setsuna, this is my last ration. It's difficult to find food here. Coupled with the fact that there are pursuers behind us, rationally speaking, I don't think there's any way I can reach the beach alive."
"Rockon …" Setsuna followed and pulled out the poor remaining food. His gaze was a little confused, "Are we over?"
"Anyway, I'm over, finished, dead, and hopeless." Rockon leaned his head helplessly against the dirty wall, "But I'm not willing to die. Headless memories, a life I don't know what to do with, a messy world, it's just inexplicable."
"Emperor Charles is dead." Setsuna said suddenly, "He promised to give me answers, but didn't."
"Right? You're not happy about it either, are you?" Lockon abruptly shoved the food he was holding into Setsuna's hand without a second thought, "I'm injured, I can't run anymore, so why not take the initiative to surrender and gamble on my life? Maybe Her Majesty will spare my life? You are still young, take my share to figure it out together, ok?"
"Rockon …" Setsuna looked at the food in his hands, "You are making me … "
"Use your brain! It's impossible to run away with me as a dragger!" Rockon snapped, "But I'm not happy about it! Who the hell am I? What the hell am I doing? Why am I suddenly going to die? What the hell is going on in this fucked up world? Setsuna, I'm not happy!"
Setsuna was stunned by Rockon's aura and couldn't move.
"So, please, try to live with my part, all right?" Rockon exhaled heavily, "You are so young, so good, just like the main character in the films. I think, if it's you, maybe you can find the answer."
"Rockon …" Setsuna clutched the food, "Why are you so nice to me?"
"I, sigh, always get the delusion that I seem to have a brother, probably think of you as him?" Rockon smiled to himself, "Go, if you don't go now, I'm afraid I'll change my mind again and have to drag you to the same death."
Setsuna gritted his teeth, gave him a final deep look, got up, and left without looking back.
However, just less than a day later, under the dusk, Setsuna looked at the neat row of MSs in front of him, standing in place. There was no Suzaku Kururugi among the troops, but it made no difference to him.
"I'm sorry, Rockon." He murmured, "And that's the end of me, no answers."
A thick, hideous beam of particles interrupted his whisper, and several MSs fell in response. The heat and wind pressure made him subconsciously raise his arms to protect his face. Explosions rang out one after another, and by the time all the dust had settled, there was no MS still standing to be found around Setsuna.
He looked up in a daze, a never seen MS hovering in the sky, overlooking the earth with a proud posture like a savior descending to earth. A similar image suddenly flashed in his mind. Similar dusk, similar scenes, and a shuddering throb made Setsuna could not help but blurt out, "Gundam."
"The lost sheep saved by my misadventure, you have quite a good eye." A voice that sounded majestic came from the MS's loudspeaker, "As you can see, I am a god, welcome to be my believer."
