Morgaine nodded, and finally, Ryuk could heave a sigh of relief.
Now it all made sense why he was in the Half-Fallen's home.
Somehow that brought him so much peace and calm, and made the air around him feel less alien.
Suddenly, a weird sound was made in the room, as both gazes turned to Ryuk's grumbling stomach.
"That is, ummm..." Ryuk called out as a pink hue appeared on his cheeks, leaving him at a loss for words. Talk about a bad time for his stomach to protest.
"You're hungry. Makes sense since all you've been taking were endless healing serums. Come down, it's just the perfect time for dinner..." Morgaine said as she moved out of the room. After much consideration, Ryuk followed behind her.
Exiting the room, what unfurled before them was a very long hallway with various images hung on the sides of the walls.
Most of the images depicted Fallens in various poses, many of which Ryuk couldn't identify, but some were recognizable. Among those, there were dramatized portraits of the Half-Fallen one herself.
It felt like a picture gallery, with gentle white light emanating from the crystals embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the area. The walk was incredibly quiet as they soon arrived at the end of the hall. Morgaine opened a door, revealing a large, white room.
They stood at the top of a balcony, gazing down at the sprawling space below. Guards with spears stood at the far end of the room, while maids dressed in pristine uniforms moved about, each attending to their duties.
"This way..." Morgaine whispered, her voice low as if to avoid alerting the guards. She took a door to the side and entered. Ryuk followed after her.
It wasn't long before they arrived at a sprawling table with various plates, all covered, along with fruits in small trays at the sides.
Forks, spoons, and neatly folded napkins were set up, and surprisingly, the dining area had just two seats.
Ryuk's eyes gleamed as he looked at both seats, but the gleam disappeared just quickly.
"Welcome to my own personal and special dining room!"
"Only two people know about this place out of the hundreds that visit this house every day, and you are the third. You should feel honored!" Morgaine said, adopting an authoritative tone that Ryuk found strikingly similar to that of the Half-Fallen one—except thicker and more playful.
She took her seat, and Ryuk sat opposite her. Morgaine grabbed her knife and fork, uncovering the dishes one by one, a bright light of anticipation flashing in her eyes.
There were vegetables, rice, meats, and many other assorted dishes Ryuk couldn't recognize.
"Feel free to dive in!" Morgaine said as she quickly began stuffing food into her mouth.
Contrary to her, Ryuk sat gently, picking up his fork and knife slowly, seemingly eating with precision. This scene made Morgaine furrow her brows, a memory entering her mind.
It was the memory of the first time she met Ryuk—stuffing food into his mouth like a beast.
Yet now, the roles seemed reversed.
She was the one eating voraciously, while Ryuk watched her with a funny look, silently insinuating exactly what she was thinking.
"Are you stylishly calling me a barbarian!?"
"I am a Fallen Princess, for Fallen's sake!" she called out as Ryuk grinned.
"I didn't even say anything, my lady..." he said with a chuckle, and Morgaine fumed, slowing her eating pace to match his.
"I have a question, though," Ryuk stated, and Morgaine nodded.
"If this is the Half-Fallen one's abode, then it must be a castle. I thought castles only have a single big dining room."
"Why do you have your own special small dining room? Do you not get along with the Half-Fallen one very well?" Ryuk asked, and Morgaine's motion paused as her brows furrowed.
"How do you know that?"
"Not much really. It's just, I assumed if I were the daughter of the Half-Fallen one, then I would have probably announced it to the whole genius arena in the Arsien Hall. The respect and favor they would grant me would make life a thousand times easier. But you didn't, and you even asked me not to reveal that."
"Besides, I noticed you didn't really bow to the Half-Fallen one right before you began your fight or when you finished. Unlike everyone else, you simply walked off. And throughout the competition, you seemed to be trying to avoid her gaze."
"And now, your dining room is also extra special, away from the dining room that belongs to the rest of the house. I doubt the Half-Fallen one uses this dining room. And even though the chairs are two, the one you're sitting on matches the color of the table, while the one I'm sitting on does not."
"It more or less looks like some regular chair that was brought in newly for a special occasion."
"Almost like you expected me to eventually be hungry and prepared a seat for me..."
"All of this seems to point to the fact that you're somehow trying to alienate yourself from the Half-Fallen one in all possible ways."
Ryuk stated, and Morgaine's jaw almost dropped to the ground.
'He observed all of that while under the pressure of fighting Ignitus, and just a few seconds after waking up and walking to the room?'
'How did one come by such incredible observation skills?'
"You're right. But it's simple, really."
"I like my mom, but I hate the Half-Fallen one," Morgaine said, and Ryuk hummed, trying to make sense of that. Soon, he nodded.
"I understand..." he mused.
"Oh really? How so?" Morgaine asked curiously as Ryuk reviewed the information of "mom" in his head, putting himself in Morgaine's shoes. The reason for her hatred became quickly clear to him.
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.