Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 31: The Highest Bidder, Part Six

{September 11, 239 2E}

Following the conversation Lianna had with the administrator, a few things changed immediately.

As Lianna woke up the next day, while she was getting ready to go to her weekly course, she found an article that was almost a direct counterargument to the one that had generated so much newfound suspicion over Lianna and Enverna.

"Have you seen this?" Enverna asked as she sat down next to Lianna on the couch, both women wearing their uniforms.

"Yeah. Finally, a few people are starting to doubt the fucking narratives."

The article Enverna was showing to Lianna right now was made by an amateur journalist working for the Shields of Saren guild. It addressed the rumors but noted that when Lianna and Enverna were taken into police custody for questioning, no evidence was found that could tie them to the murder directly, other than the fact that they were present when it happened.

The article brought up three possibilities. One, that a Fiend had killed Vara and that Jack, who reported the crime, simply hadn’t seen it. It argued that even though the Haunted Forest was known for having low-rank Fiends, not *all* Fiends there were low-rank, and maybe Vara simply met her match. Another possibility it discussed, but barely brought attention to, was that of Jack himself being the killer, which incidentally was the correct answer.

Still, this was a good sign. And, perhaps, once the administrator saw fit to release that footage of the murder, Lianna and Enverna would be allowed to fully put this behind them.

[She said she’d release it before the gala...] Lianna thought. [Hopefully, she stays true to her word.]

Lianna’s attention was brought back to Enverna when her fiance placed a hand on top of her own.

"You’ve been doing alright, though? Nothing bad’s happened when you’ve been out on your own?"

Lianna sighed.

[Holy crap, she’s so cute. She’s been asking me this every day.]

"I’m alright," Lianna replied. "Nothing I’m not used to. That said... I have been suffering from a bit of wife deficiency lately. We haven’t gotten to do much in a while."

Enverna looked away with a slightly shy expression. One that only made Lianna see what it would take it fluster her more.

"What would you like to do?" Enverna asked.

"... How about a movie night?" Lianna asked. "I watched a ton of movies in the orphanage. I’d love to show you a couple."

Enverna gave a tiny, relieved sigh. Lianna held back a smirk.

[Thought this was going somewhere else? Eh, who knows... Something might still happen.]

"I’d like that."

---

Later, in class, just like last time, all eyes fell on Lianna.

It was natural for them to all have the same questions on their minds, but...

[Holy fuck, it’s annoying.]

The administrator’s reasoning for not releasing the video yet made sense, but Lianna could not wait for her to finally do so.

"Alright, so, today we’re going to be going over the art of setting up a good camp!" Instructor Walker announced. "Now, I know what you’re thinking. ’Oh, it can’t be that complicated!’ But, just like with packing bags, setting up a camp is an art form. And, I’m here to make artists out of all of you."

Just as he got started explaining himself, Lianna noticed someone standing rather close to her.

[Hm?]

Looking to her right, she found Mel there, her head low and her eyes half-fixed on Walker. They were only half-fixed on him because every couple of seconds, she’d look up at Lianna.

With a bit of a smirk, Lianna poked the girl’s waist.

"Mm!" Mel nearly let out a yelp. It was all Lianna could do to keep herself from laughing.

Leaning in, after making sure Walker wasn’t looking their way, Lianna asked her quietly:

"You wanna hang out a bit later?"

"..." Wordlessly, Mel nodded, without meeting Lianna’s eyes.

At that moment, Lianna noticed someone else looking her way.

Zura, the girl who carried as many scars on her skin as she did muscles, gave Lianna a mild glare.

Lianna ignored her completely.

[Another person who probably believes the rumors. Just wait till the video comes out, Lianna. Just wait till then.]

Unfortunately, despite what Lianna told Enverna, she couldn’t deny that some stress had bubbled up within her. She didn’t mention it to her fiance as, admittedly, she only wanted Enverna to see the best in her. She feared what someone as refined as her would think if Lianna allowed herself to be more vulnerable.

[I mean... We’re pretty much still on the path to becoming actual friends. I can’t just drop all my feelings on her...]

But, that stress was there. And, well, there was one method Lianna often used to deal with her stress that immediately came to mind.

"Maybe I could..."

Immediately, she set the idea aside, though. To be totally honest, the kind of people who would still sleep with Lianna despite believing her to be a murderer weren’t the type of lovers Lianna was willing to entertain.

However, someone who didn’t believe those rumors...

[What? No, what am I thinking? I’m getting married! Sure, Enverna doesn’t quite see me that way yet, but... What if she does? I should just hold out! Come on... Going without a bit of sex can’t be that hard. I mean, it’s already been almost... a... month... since...]

Some despair set in. Or, perhaps one could call it "sex withdrawal".

[Holy shit, it’s almost been a month. Damn.]

The sudden awareness of that fact nearly made Lianna lean on Mel and go:

"You know, if you wanna just hang out back at my place for a while, I wouldn’t mind..."

Mel’s eyes widened.

[... Wait. I actually just said that out loud. Shit.]

"I mean..."

However, turning away, Mel replied:

"S-Sure..."

[Eh?]

The girl didn’t meet Lianna’s eyes again, but that definitely sounded like she agreed just now.

A feeling that was reinforced when a new message appeared, saying:

Quest Gained!

{Give Mel a kiss before the gala on September 30}

{Reward: Spell: Through Enverna’s Eyes}