Part Seven
story concept: LAREINE
photos by: Hideaki Imamoto
written by: Fuzuki Watanabe
translated by: Bronny
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For just an instant, Lillie hid her shoulder. The force with which Jérémie held her had caused the scar on her back to hurt. Jérémie's face took on a worried expression, and he suddenly unwrapped his arms from around her. Lillie turned her head slightly to the side, and murmured in a thin voice.
"I think I loved you too much. And surely that was what I was running away from. From you, from fate, from this scar..."
Jérémie wanted to tell Lillie, who seemed so heart-broken, that there was no longer any need to run away.
"Right now, I love you too much. Is that such a crime?"
Lillie smiled. It was a smile so short-lived that it seemed as though it would disappear.
"I don't know. However, that is a very sad thing for me."
Jérémie could see she was shaking. Disconcerted, he lay his hand on her shoulder.
"......you see? I knew it would turn out like this; that was why I didn't want you to come."
Somehow it seemed as though Lillie was fading from his touch.
"Turn out like this...? What... what's happening to you?"
A wind which should not have existed blew across the flower garden at the bottom of the lake. It carried a lilting melody, and from somewhere, pained-sounding singing could be heard.
"I'm sorry. In just a little while we will have to say goodbye. This time, for good."
Lillie's words brought up the idea of an eternal separation. This true grief tore through his body like a flash of lightning.
"You're lying. It's a lie! You're here, you're in my arms. Where are you saying you're going to go? Is someone going to separate us? This "goodbye"... it's a lie!!", he screamed, and his hold on Lillie grew stronger. Lillie merely smiled. Full of love, like a mother with her child, like the omnipotent mother of Christ, she smiled at Jérémie.
"If this is fate, then I'll never forgive the bastard who decided it." he muttered, and from Jérémie's eyes, tears spilled out in drops. While wiping away his tears with the tips of her slender fingers, Lillie spoke quietly.
"Even though I'm sincerely grateful for this? For this fate - fate which has allowed you to be here...?"