A crystalline tear slid down his porcelain-smooth face, traced over lips as soft as cherry blossoms, and dropped onto her little bird beak—salty, and tinged with bitter sorrow.
He cried...
He's already such a grown man, and yet he's crying...
She's just a bird, and she can't even talk—how is she supposed to comfort him?
Azure Flame fluttered her wings, flew up to him, and stretched them out to clumsily wipe away his tears.
Soren Lann looked at her in surprise, then held her tightly and said in a low, dejected voice, "Let's go back."
In the end... she's still with Sean.
...
Lily Bai coaxed Sean for ages before finally cheering him up—then he cast a spell and conjured a sky full of marigolds just for her.
She instantly understood: even if Sean never said a word, he still cared a lot about that time Soren Lann confessed to her with a rain of flowers.
Who knows how much jealousy he's swallowed over the years!
She snickered to herself...
Just then, Little Shrimp called her.
But when she answered, it was Lord Noctis who spoke.
"Lord Noctis," Lily Bai greeted him. "Any luck?"
Lord Noctis replied, "Liam Leshan is a man who avoids women, cares for his clan, and respects elders and children. Other than selling talismans everywhere regardless of good or evil, he's practically perfect. You asked me to dig up dirt in his hometown, but I found nothing."
"Nothing at all?" Lily Bai frowned.
From the Messenger Charm, she heard Little Shrimp munching on candy as he said, "Sis, his father died before his time—does that count?"
"Died before his time?" Lily Bai's eyes sharpened. "What happened exactly?"
Little Shrimp's voice sounded soft and sweet: "The old grandpa who gave me candy said the previous Leshan Clan Chief should've ascended just fine, but died in the middle of it."
"The old grandpa who gave you candy?" Lily Bai frowned. "Who is he, and how does he know the Leshan Clan Chief's fate?"
Noctis chimed in, "He's just the old sweeper at the Leshan Clan's ancestral temple—a crazy old coot."
"Master! Nine Li once told me the Sigil Sect had a crazy old janitor who was actually a god-level Rune Master! Super powerful! So we can't underestimate crazy old sweepers!" Little Shrimp piped up in his baby voice.
"You think every janitor in the world is secretly a hidden expert?" Noctis snatched his candy, bit the untouched side, and said, "That one's a total lunatic."
"Waaah... Sis, Master stole my candy!" Little Shrimp stared mournfully at his lollipop.
Lily Bai: "..."
"Lily Bai, you said you inherited the true legacy of the Whitefan Fan, so I believed you. Now what?" Noctis asked.
"Uh... I think if we can't find any flaws in Liam Leshan himself, we should dig into his family. You'll definitely find something in the Leshan Clan!"
"Her wedding is only ten days away," Noctis said, voice calm but intimidating. "Lily Bai, you'd better not play me for a fool."
"Oh, come on, Lord Noctis!" Lily Bai laughed nervously. "My own little brother is with you—how could I dare?"
The call ended on his side.
Lily Bai wiped her sweat, pulled out her Oracle Crescents, squatted down, and started divining, muttering with a frown, "This can't be right! There should be something to gain at the Leshan Clan..."
Sean squatted beside her, watched for a long time, then finally asked, "Noctis actually listens to your orders—how did you manage that?"