I was raised in the simulator, and I’m really not a bad woman in Ark!

The lunch was just messed around like this.

……

On the way back to the room where I was assigned.

Luciana chose to leave because she needed to investigate more information about the Tower of Babel, while W was still abducted to the infirmary by the medical staff of the Tower of Babel because of the severe infection of Originium disease.

As before, only Ekalos and Arturo were left in the corridor.

The sound of the girls' footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

Although operators would pass by from time to time, they were just passers-by in a hurry and there was no possibility of affecting the two girls.

"…Arturo, you must have felt very uncomfortable eating lunch, right?"

As they walked, Ekalos, who was walking in front of Arturo, suddenly asked the black-haired beauty behind him, stopped his steps, turned his head and looked at Arturo.

The light golden eyes shone a little in the slightly dark corridor, looking holy and beautiful.

"It's okay, it's not that bad actually..." Arturo looked at Ekalos who turned around and lied subconsciously. She didn't want to make herself look so precious that she couldn't bear the slightest hardship.

After all, even Ikaros could eat everything with a smile, so what right did she have to complain?

"I don't like it when you lie, Arturo."

But Ekalos didn't care about that. She turned around, walked a few steps to Arturo, and gently stroked Arturo's face with one hand, making the other party look at her with a slightly evasive gaze.

There was also a hint of threat in the gentle and ethereal tone.

This action also made Arturo give up the idea of ​​resistance, and he admitted reluctantly:

"...Well, it is true that compared to the food you cook, Ikaros, and the food you usually eat in Lateran, your food is very bad."

"Not even as good as those compressed biscuits you bought."

"Is that so? Then I feel relieved. After all, Arturo thinks the same as I do."

But after Arturo admitted his true inner thoughts, Ekalos looked relieved. He smiled and took his hand away from Arturo's face, speaking in a relaxed tone.

This made Arturo stunned.

Seeing Arturo's stunned look, Ekalos chuckled and looked into Arturo's black eyes and said, "Because I don't like Kazdel's food either. It reminds me of some bad things in the past, things that I once told you about."

"So, I don't like the food here any more than you do, Arturo. Besides, it tastes really bad."

After saying this, he shook his head, sighed, and revealed an expression that was slightly sad, mixed with distress and helplessness.

Ikaros really seemed like a good kid who behaved properly when faced with unpalatable food out of understanding.

At this moment, I am feeling uncomfortable because of the memory of the bad food I ate before.

This performance immediately made Arturo, who originally felt that he was a little maverick, feel much better. Just when he was about to step forward and comfort his childhood sweetheart, Ekalos suggested first:

"But if that's the case."

"Why don't you come to my room, Arturo? I remember that there is a place to cook in the room we were assigned to. 伅"

"Although the ingredients here may not be enough, I still haven't used up the spice bag I wrote down with me. If you don't mind, how about we have an extra meal at noon to reward ourselves?"

Icarus invited Arturo with a sweet smile.

And how could Arturo refuse when he saw the lovely childhood sweetheart in front of him, who was measuring him up in every way and recalling his previous bad lunch experience?

"Yeah, okay. I'm looking forward to it."

Having said this, Arturo went to Ikaros' room at Ikaros' invitation.

Well... to be honest, the two rooms are actually opposite each other.

……

"Well, that's all the content of the reforms that this meeting will carry out within the Tower of Babel."

"Who agrees, who opposes? You only have this one chance to revise and make suggestions on my proposal. If you miss it, I will no longer consider any of your suggestions."

Sitting in the chair of the conference round table, Theresa supported her chin with both hands, and her beautiful eyes swept over the surrounding Sarkaz officials and the ministers of various departments of the Tower of Babel.

And facing Theresa now.

In fact, those dishonest nobles and officials had been secretly cleared out by Ascalon long ago.

Those who can stay here now are either Theresa's loyalists, or those who compromise with Theresa or are neutral.

Therefore, naturally no one would have any objection to Theresa's words.

Instead, everyone was there admiring Theresa's foresight and wisdom.

Next to Theresa, watching this scene, Kal'tsit had a somewhat complicated expression as if it was a dictatorship.

Although compared to the last meeting a few months ago when there was a hundred schools of thought, or a scene with many different opinions and parties, the efficiency of the Tower of Babel Parliament today can be described as highly efficient.

But Kal'tsit still had to look at Theresa's indifferent profile at this moment, and sighed slightly in her heart again.

"Your Highness, you have really changed..."

But overall things have gotten better. Theresa is still as gentle as before. As a friend, Kal'tsit is happy to see that Theresa can be more like a leader who can truly govern a country in the long run.

The only thing I don't know is what caused Theresa to change so much.

This made Kal'tsit very distressed.

But the meeting was over after all, and soon only Theresa and Kal'tsit were left.

"Kelsey, do you think I did the right thing?"

Suddenly, Theresa, who was sitting in her seat, asked the lynx man next to her.

This question obviously scared Kal'tsit who was thinking, but after hearing the question carefully and seeing a hint of confusion and disappointment between Theresa's brows.

Kal'tsit instantly felt as excited as a kitten that had found its prey!

"There aren't so many right and wrong things in this world, Your Highness."

Kal'tsit cleared her throat and seized the opportunity to comfort Theresa, and at the same time try to get some information from Theresa about the reasons that caused her change.

So Kelsey started her own operation.

"Just like there is more to this world than black and white, there is no absolute right or wrong in the world. It is like the two sides of a coin. When the positions are different, the front and back of the coin can be reversed, and the same is true for the right and wrong of things."

"So, Your Highness, instead of worrying about whether something is right or not, you should stick to what you think is right, and then see with your own eyes what your belief in what is right will bring to this land."

In a broad sense, what Kal'tsit said is indeed correct.

Theresa listened and nodded slightly, falling into thought.

But do you stick to what you believe is right and the path you follow?

Haha...it seems that the former Grand Duke also said so.

After all, Grand Duke Ekalos is that kind of person. He only does what he wants to do, only recognizes the people he recognizes, and only takes his own path.

If the Grand Duke had been a little softer and less stubborn.

Would she not have died in the end?

Would I not have to embrace the Archduke's corpse in the end, twisted and obsessed with it for hundreds of years with regret and pain that was enough to tear my heart apart?

Maybe not...

But Theresa knew that possibility would not exist.

Because she was the Grand Duchess, her last name was Manchester and her first name was Icarus.

This meant that the other party would not choose the path of living in disgrace, but would silently support herself and her brother until the end, and would stubbornly come to her after losing everything, allowing herself to end the "game" with her own hands.

Such a great man cannot be judged by whether he is right or wrong, nor can he be measured by simply right or wrong.

For Victoria, the Archduke was undoubtedly a sinner, an ally of the enemy, and a traitor.

But for Kazdel and Theresa, the Grand Duke is undoubtedly a hero, a salvation, and an existence that cannot be forgotten.

So there isn't much to say.

"Huh... That's all, thank you, Kal'tsit."

She let out a breath. Because she thought of the Grand Duke, Theresa's mood began to become mixed again. The stagnant emotions were like black mud, constantly eating away at Theresa's heart.

It is a heavy mixture of morbid emotions, paranoid obsession, distorted love and irreparable regrets.

Fortunately, Theresa was able to suppress this emotion.

At least that must have been the case before I met the Archduke.

So she stood up with a smile and thanked the people around her, then said goodbye and slowly left.

Theresa planned to go out and relax, to relieve the accumulated emotions in her heart towards the Grand Duke, so as to avoid being overly affected in the future.

"I'm going to go out for a while and check on the recent situation of the Tower of Babel. I'd like to ask you to help me sort out the remaining documents and information, and tell the doctor about these things."

Theresa gave Kal'tsit a gentle, apologetic smile, and after Kal'tsit nodded and accepted her request, she left the slightly dull meeting room.

Only Kal'tsit was left to pack up the remaining documents.

Although it was not successful to get information from Theresa about the reasons for Theresa's change.

However, seeing that she seemed to have successfully comforted His Highness, Kal'tsit was still relieved.

Besides, His Highness is still the same His Highness as before.

Isn't this... enough?

…………

Left the conference room.

Walking down a corridor that few people visit.

Theresa looked out the window through the tempered glass at the barren plain and the dust and sand all over the sky.

My mood became more chaotic and disordered.

The scene outside the window reminded her of the first time she met the Grand Duke.

At that time, she and her brother were in despair. After all, it was impossible for the Sarkaz who were sold as slaves by human traffickers to have a good ending.

Theresa had even made plans to give up her own freedom and let her brother escape if she couldn't take him away with her.

But in the end, what she encountered was not death and suffering, but a redemption that came from beyond fate.

"Alas, Archduke..."

I touched my palm to the glass, and my face and figure were slightly reflected.

Theresa recalled the past, and the complex emotions in her heart became even more bitter, sour and turbulent.

Memory is an amazing thing.

The unpleasant things in the past will become more and more blurred, or even forgotten, as time goes by.

But the happy and warm past will become more beautiful and unforgettable with the passage of time.

Theresa even felt that the smell of the Yan country cuisine that the Grand Duke had specially cooked for her with a look of disgust on her birthday was lingering around her nose.

I vaguely remember that day, the Grand Duke's hands were covered with gauze, and the taste of blood was mixed into the food, but he still pretended not to care, and said proudly that he just wanted to try it, not for your birthday.

Thinking about it now still makes Theresa feel warm in her chest, even though that feeling of gratitude may not entirely belong to her.

But after feeling it, Theresa was still somewhat intoxicated by it.

That is happiness that does not belong to you, but it is happiness that belongs to you alone.

only……

I closed my eyes and felt and recalled for a long time.

Theresa opened her amber eyes again, with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

This smell...why does it feel so real and as if it has always been there?

Looking at a guest room on the inside of the corridor, Theresa seemed to remember that this was the room arranged for Luciana's two companions, and it seemed that those two companions were her daughters.