Alice in the Land of Steam

Gloria ran into the garden, panting, her boots making a soft rustling sound on the cobblestone path. Her shoulders and hair were covered with white snowflakes (at least that's how she saw them), her cheeks were flushed with a healthy red from running, and her breath steamed in the cold air, gradually dissipating into a hazy mist.

"White Night! Lady Lena!" she called out from afar, her voice filled with joy. "It snowed so much today! When I came here, the forest was completely submerged, and I almost couldn't find the way!"

Bai Ye watched her enter the dilapidated garden without saying a word. He neither went to greet her nor showed any intention of leaving, as if the words "I won't wait any longer" had not come from his own mouth at all.

"Oh dear, you're still full of energy today, Miss Gloria."

Lady Lena covered her mouth and chuckled. With just one sentence, she made Gloria realize her lapse in composure, and a shy expression immediately appeared on her face.

“I…I’ve never seen such heavy snow before, so…” she explained shyly, then excitedly described the scene to the two of them: “Snow is everywhere, isn’t it amazing? The forests and roads are all submerged, as are the houses in the town, and even the grapevines in the fields. They must all be frozen, ah, just like the flowers and trees in this garden, so pitiful…Speaking of which, can the frozen grapevines still bear fruit? If not, won’t this year’s harvest be terrible? What will the residents of the town do?”

She belatedly realized the seriousness of the problem and began to think about it seriously.

Are you an idiot?

Bai Ye couldn't help but say, "The grapes were harvested last quarter. Some have already been sold as fruit, and the rest are buried in the cellar waiting to ferment. It's none of your business to worry about it."

"Oh, is that so?" Gloria was used to being belittled by Bai Ye, so she wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, she was amazed by the latter's erudition: "Bai Ye, you even know about this kind of thing? That's amazing."

"That's common sense," Bai Ye said with a stern face.

"Is it common sense?" Gloria asked doubtfully. "I didn't know that."

"Could it be because you're too stupid?" Bai Ye added a few more sarcastic remarks: "A conclusion that could be reached with careful observation, yet you have no understanding of it, only shows that you don't care about this land at all. However, that's not surprising, after all, when we sneaked out of the castle before, you were just like this, only interested in playing."

"I see, I see."

Gloria nodded seriously, putting on an expression that said, "I completely understand." "So, when we sneaked out to play before, I was the only one playing, while Bai Ye was always carefully observing this land, right? He even knew exactly when the grapes ripened and how the townspeople handled the harvested grapes. In that case, Bai Ye really does care about everyone more than I do, and isn't as indifferent as he claims to be."

"you--"

Bai Ye was furious and wanted to retort, but she didn't know how, since Gloria had said exactly what she had said.

A soft laugh came from the side. Of course, she wasn't laughing because she enjoyed seeing Bai Ye make a fool of himself; she just found the scene amusing.

She had felt this way for a long time. Between the twins Bai Ye and Gloria, the former clearly seemed very strong, yet she was always rendered speechless by a casual remark from the latter. This was probably what was called a relationship of restraint, right? Of course, Miss Bai Ye clearly knew this, but she never learned her lesson and always took the initiative to provoke Miss Gloria. Behind such perseverance, it's hard to say that there wasn't a little bit of pride and self-respect supporting her, right?

Ah, this is youth.

She couldn't help but sigh.

Of course, Bai Ye would never admit that her constant opposition to Gloria stemmed from a childish mentality. She only needed to adopt a defiant and indifferent attitude to easily maintain her haughty and aloof image. Conversely, Gloria was already used to Bai Ye's stubbornness and lack of frankness. She said a few words with a smile and then turned to chat with Lady Lena before Bai Ye could get angry, leaving Bai Ye with a belly full of anger but nowhere to vent it. She could only keep a tight face, seemingly on the verge of turning into a statue.

Gloria chatted with Lady Lena for a while longer, mostly doing the talking, with Lady Lena only occasionally chiming in. Finally, seeing that the snow was falling heavier and heavier, soon to submerge the courtyard and garden, Lady Lena suggested that they move their conversation to the castle's greenhouse, where she had prepared all the elements of an afternoon tea party, including black tea, pastries, and some more intimate topics suitable for young ladies.

Bai Ye remained noncommittal, while Gloria seemed somewhat reluctant to part.

"Do we really have to go inside the house?" she asked Mrs. Lena. "Wouldn't it be just as good to enjoy the snow in the garden?"

Mrs. Lena smiled at her. "Do you think the snow is beautiful, Miss Gloria?"

“Of course!” Gloria nodded vigorously, then looked around, taking in the white snowscape of the castle, and laughed happily. “I’ve never seen it snow before! Everything is white, the grass is white, the walls are white, even the fountain in the courtyard and the pond in the garden are white, isn’t it beautiful? Ah, although those plants that have been damaged and killed by the frost are a bit pitiful, but spring will come after the snow stops, and they will bloom again, won’t they?”

She enthusiastically described to the two how the snow felt, like someone showing off the beautiful scenery of their hometown to tourists. She had never stayed in one place for long in her life, but the concept of hometown always existed: the place where she first opened her eyes, the place where she first received her name, the place where she was first loved, the place where she first felt joy and sorrow, the place where she first left home to embark on a journey…

Everything is etched in my memory, like a long-awaited reunion.

However, out of the girl's sight, Bai Ye and Lady Lena exchanged a glance, their expressions both somewhat solemn.

“White snow…that is indeed a beautiful sight.” Lady Lena reached out and gently rubbed her head. “But you can enjoy the snow indoors, and it’s safer there. Miss Gloria, you are not very healthy, so you can’t stay in the snow for too long. Don’t make the master and madam worry about you.”

She invoked the couple's name, and Gloria was immediately swayed, perhaps recalling past experiences. Although Bai Ye was the one who mostly did the mischievous and playful things back then, it was she who caused her parents the most worry. Every time she sneaked out of the castle, she would return to the couple's warm greetings, worried that she had encountered some danger outside, while Bai Ye only faced confinement. Gloria sometimes felt that she had stolen the affection that should have belonged to Bai Ye, but Bai Ye had told her more than once that he didn't need that kind of thing.

If someone has never actively sought something, then it can't be said that it was taken away from them, right?
Her initial enthusiasm cooled slightly. Gloria gave a soft "hmm" and walked along the garden path toward the greenhouse located to the side of the castle. Lady Lena simply watched, not immediately following. Only after Gloria had walked a little further away did she speak, deliberately lowering her voice to ensure she wasn't overheard, saying to Bai Ye, "Miss Gloria just said she saw white snow." "Hmm... I heard that," Bai Ye pursed her lips.

Dreams are the boundary between reality and illusion; they can reflect reality and depict illusion, all depending on the dreamer's perception. That is to say, even the same thing often has different forms. For example, a snowstorm engulfing the world is pitch black in reality, but becomes pure white in a dream. How can one distinguish between them? The key lies in whether the dreamer can recognize their own state. If they are aware that they are in a dream, then they will see the snow as it is in reality; if they are resisting reality, then the snow in the dream becomes the only color.

The problem is, Gloria should have known from the beginning that she was in a dream, so why would she see white snow?

Both Bai Ye and Lady Lena knew the reason for this contradiction: it was a conflict between instinct and emotion.

Gloria is a soul created by Bai Ye. Her origin lies in Bai Ye's needs, meaning she instinctively fulfills Bai Ye's wishes, such as integrating into the world for her or bearing the curse for her. Bai Ye made her request to remain in the dream. Although the request wasn't mandatory and she was given time to consider, since it was Bai Ye's wish, Gloria's instincts subconsciously responded, causing her to gradually integrate into the dream without her even realizing it. This snowfall is the best evidence of this.

However, even a created soul possesses its own emotions and will. Gloria does not exist merely as an appendage of Bai Ye. She strongly opposes Bai Ye's desire to keep her in the dream and harbors deep doubts about Bai Ye's claim that "you are no longer needed." Therefore, even as her body merges into the dream, her emotions still urge her to continue resisting. Evidence of this is that she comes to confront Bai Ye every day, often ending in unpleasant arguments.

However, instinct will gradually triumph over emotion, because ultimately, among the two states that constitute Gloria's soul, only instinct truly belongs to her, while emotions are bestowed upon her by others. Gloria still needs to learn much to understand what true emotion is, but she has already innately learned to follow her instincts.

Gloria came to see Bai Ye again today, but unlike the previous days, she didn't question her or doubt her true motives. If this continues, it won't be long before she completely forgets about it, remaining only in her dreams, never wanting to leave.

"Isn't that the result you wanted, Miss Baiye?" Mrs. Lena asked.

After all, it is because Bai Ye needs Gloria that Gloria is needed by Bai Ye; no matter what Bai Ye's wishes are, Gloria wants to help her fulfill them; the relationship between need and being needed is not a simple symbiotic one, but it is difficult to describe accurately. Perhaps it should be said... to make up for each other?

However, who should make amends for whom? This remains to be discussed.

The conclusion was correct, but for some reason, it made Bai Ye feel a little irritated. She wondered if she would think Lady Lena was being pretentious if she said that this was indeed the result she wanted, but not the way she wanted to achieve it. Of course, this elegant and mysterious noblewoman would never use such harsh words to belittle others, but what frightened Bai Ye was... her own thoughts.

So, how pretentious!

Bai Ye cursed himself inwardly.

"You seem quite troubled, Miss Baiye," Mrs. Lena said with a smile, clearly wanting to see what would happen. Is this the mindset of a competent attending physician?

"If you've taken the consultation fee, you'd better take responsibility for it!" Bai Ye wanted to say that, but she wasn't the one who paid the money. Besides, before meeting the group of companions from Cloud Whale Sky Island, the only person in the world who could tolerate, accept, and even tolerate these awkward twins was Lady Lena. From this point of view, it's impossible to say that she was irresponsible.

Perhaps it's not outwardly apparent, but Bai Ye is actually a person who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, and would never repay kindness with enmity. Otherwise, why would she create a chief physician in her dream to manage her? Isn't it because she had already recognized the other party's qualifications as a chief physician long ago in the past?

That being said, it's still very unpleasant to see people take advantage of this weakness and then make sarcastic remarks without restraint, whether they're just watching from the sidelines or fanning the flames.

Bai Ye curled his lip, too lazy to say anything more, and turned to leave.

“You’re going the wrong way, Miss White Night,” Lady Lena kindly reminded her from behind. “If you want to go to the castle greenhouse for our afternoon tea party, you should take this route.”

“I never said I was going to any afternoon tea party.” Bai Ye continued walking without turning back. “It’s enough that you’re there to keep that little fool company. If she’s not happy, just tell her that we’ll talk about it when I get back.”

Of course, it would be even better if she couldn't wait and went back first, a dark thought sprouted in Bai Ye's mind.

“I don’t have any objections, but you should at least tell me where you’re going, so I can explain if Miss Gloria asks,” Mrs. Lena said with a slight smile.

Why should I explain to that guy? Bai Ye really wanted to say that, but the words changed as soon as they came out: "It's nothing, I just went out for a walk to clear my head."

"I see." Mrs. Lena expressed her understanding and even offered her blessings in a serious manner. "In that case, I wish you a pleasant trip, Miss Baiye?"

Bai Ye replied coldly, "It sounds more like a curse."

She walked away silently, leaving Lady Lena to watch her figure disappear into the depths of the maze, into the vast, dark snow.

That's right, Bai Ye didn't go through the main gate, just like Gloria never went through the main gate when leaving the castle.

Perhaps the two people made this choice for different reasons, but their feelings must have been the same.

Who made them such a troublesome and awkward pair of twins?
A faint sigh drifted from the garden, but the two girls who had long since departed could no longer hear it. (End of Chapter)