Fates Parallel Chapter 209 - Honesty

Time began to fly by weeks at a time as Jia and Eui’s days were filled by a constant deluge of meetings, negotiations, and—when they could squeeze in the time for it—training. Between all of that, it was difficult to find any time to themselves, but there was one person for whom Jia would always make time.

“Big sis, when is Haeun coming back to play again?”

Jia sighed. She was overseeing Narae’s studies while she worked on her own adjustments to the complicated barrier formation she’d finally started making progress with. Ever since Haeun had snuck out of the palace to visit Narae, it had been a constant question of when they could meet again—a question Jia didn’t have the answer to.

“I’m not sure, sweetie. I’ll try to ask her sister next time I visit the palace, alright?”

Narae grumbled an unsatisfied acknowledgement before returning to her reading. Jia wished she could offer more, but she hadn’t been able to contact Eunae since that night, and the speaking stone was still being reserved for emergencies. As if it had somehow read her thoughts, the stone picked that precise moment to glow with energy, Seong Eunae’s soft, melodic voice coming through.

“Jia, are you there?”

“I’m here, Eunae. You’ve got good timing, but I thought this was just for emergencies.”

Jia heard Eunae huff on the other end.

“There’s hardly a point, now. Everyone already knows about our association, and despite my best efforts it’s become widely known that I covered for you during the ‘kidnapping.’ I’m afraid you are now irrevocably burdened by my reputation—my apologies.”

“I never cared about hiding our friendship, Eunae. I’m sure Kaede will figure out how to deal with it. So what are you calling about?”

Eunae giggled lightly.

“Well, Haeun has been rather inconsolable lately, and I was wondering if you and your sister were free for a visit.”

Jia paused, sparing Narae a glance as her little sister looked up at her with pleading eyes.

“Just like that? I thought there’d be more security involved—especially after what happened last time.”

“Tsk, you are guests of the palace. That invitation naturally applies to your family as well. Besides, the palace is the safest place in all of Goryeo—if anything were to happen, half a dozen xiantian mages would intercede in a moment.”

“Something like the youngest princess sneaking out, you mean?”

There was a pregnant pause before Eunae responded.

“Well, that’s actually another reason for us to meet. Her tutors have been trying to figure out how Haeun managed to disappear like that and her explanations have been...unhelpful.”

Jia snorted in amusement. If Heian’s explanations were any indication, she could believe it. Jia had interrogated the cat spirit repeatedly, but the most she’d been able to figure out was that Haeun’s technique was some kind of intuitive application of aura control with a similar effect to Heian’s shadow shields. Jia hadn’t been able to replicate it.

“Alright, I haven’t got anything else to do today if you have time now.”

“That’s perfect! I’ll send Aecha to meet you at the gates!”

Narae leapt to her feet excitedly, and Jia wasn’t sure whether she was more excited about playing with her new friend or getting to take a break from studying. Jia giggled and shook her head.

“Alright, go tell your mom where we’re going and get Aunt Chunhei to help you get dressed.”

“Okay!”

Lee Narae zipped out of the room to go find her mother, literally flying through the halls in her excitement. Jia chuckled and closed her eyes, speaking mentally to Eui, who was currently in the middle of helping her mother with some sewing.

“You heard all that.”

“Yep! You two go have fun, I promised Mom I’d help sew some basic enchantments for a prototype mage’s robe that she wants to try presenting to the colleges. Combining form and function.”

“Alright. Our link might get a bit dull while I’m in the palace, so I’m going to leave the speaking stone with you, just in case.”

“Sure. Try not to get into too much trouble without me.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Love you, Jia.”

“I love you too!”

—-

Jia swatted Narae’s hand as she tried to reach up and fiddle with the decorative comb holding her hair out of her eyes. Her little sister was even less used to dressing up than she was, and was clearly uncomfortable with the fancy dress.

“Just bear with it, honey. You know how serious Aunt Chunhei gets about fashion.”

“Yeah...”

Narae grumbled a bit, but her attitude was quickly forgotten as they entered the palace grounds. As promised, Hyeong Aecha was waiting inside for them, the maidservant bowing low in greeting.

“Welcome, Magus Ambassador. Mistress Seong has instructed me to guide you to her private garden.”

Jia returned the bow.

“Thank you, Miss Hyeong! Please, lead the way.”

As Hyeong Aecha guided them, Lee Narae looked around in awe at the beautiful architecture of the Goryeon palace grounds. Jia had to stifle a giggle at the sight—had she looked like that when she first saw the palace? Eventually, they were led to a huge, wide open park that had Jia gawking just as much as Narae had been. ‘Private garden’ was an understatement. The garden was the size of Lee Jia’s entire estate, with artfully arranged rows of flowers, hedges, and grasses. A pathway of smooth stone led through the garden to a central gazebo where Eunae and her little sister sat waiting for them.

“Narae!”

“Haeun!”

As soon as Narae and Haeun saw each other, both ran out to meet each other halfway and hugged, giggling happily. The sight warmed Jia’s heart, though she couldn’t help but be amused at how deep a friendship they’d managed to form after only a single meeting. After a moment, Heian manifested herself—Jia had canceled her punishment after the incident with the elemental—and held her arms out, looking left out. Without missing a beat, the other two girls practically tackled her.

Eunae was watching the spectacle with a smile on her face as Jia took a seat next to her under the gazebo. Even out in the open air garden, Eunae had a small table set up with tea and an arrangement of snacks.

“It’s nice to see Haeun so happy again.”

Jia looked askance at Eunae.

“She’s always seemed pretty cheerful whenever I’ve seen her.”

Eunae sighed, smiling sadly.

“I envy that. You always get to see her at her best. Do you remember when I first introduced her to you? Back when Misun was visiting the academy with her.”

Jia frowned, Misun had made a bad first impression and it hadn’t improved on any of their subsequent meetings.

“Hard to forget. Your older sister was being a huge bitch, and I ended up summoning Heian to break the tension.”

Eunae covered her mouth with a sleeve and giggled.

“Indeed. But before that, do you remember how shy and reticent she was? That’s what Haeun is usually like, even now. She opens up more often these days, but still only with those she trusts the most. Me, you, Dae, and now your little sister. Heian and Narae might be the only real friends she actually has.”

“What about Chiyo?”

“Rika’s sister? Perhaps, but she’s much older—already a developing young lady, right?”

Jia shrugged.

“Probably, yeah.”

“Still, anything would be better than being stuck in this palace...”

Eunae’s words reminded Jia of what the queen had said about getting Eunae out of the palace to make friends. Perhaps she had a lot in common with her aunt.

“I should have brought Rika, huh?”

Eunae cocked her head in confusion.

“Rika? What do you mean?”

“Haeun’s not the only one who misses her friends, right?”

Blushing, Eunae turned away and huffed irritably.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about me, Jia. Besides, Rika’s probably keeping herself busy with that Ja Yun.”

Jia’s eyes widened in surprise. Was that...a hint of jealousy? She leaned back in her seat and stared up at the ceiling.

“I thought you’d be more happy for her. Rika’s been striking out for years—I was starting to worry she was going to make a move on Kaede before Ja Yun came along.”

Eunae let out an uncharacteristically unladylike snort.

“Oh, what a disaster that would be. I don’t think Miss Hayakawa has any interest in such things whatsoever, much less with other women.”

“Like you?”

Though she kept a straight face and gave away very little even to Jia’s empathy, the moment of hesitation before Eunae’s response was telling.

“I—yes. Exactly. Like me, Hayakawa has too many other obligations to waste time with courtship.”

Jia couldn’t help but notice the bitterness in Eunae’s tone. She considered her words carefully before deciding that she owed it to Eunae to be as honest with her as possible.

“Are you really? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think your family trusts you with much responsibility. Do you actually have any obligations aside from babysitting Haeun and one day passing on your ‘gift’?”

Eunae grimaced.

“Officially, no. You’re quite right about that, but I find ways to use the limited influence I have. Or have you already forgotten who you have to thank for your current place of residence?”

Jia raised her hands defensively.

“Sorry, you’re right. I didn’t mean to be ungrateful. I just mean...are you actually uninterested, or do you just feel like you’re not allowed to be?”

Eunae glanced at Jia, her eyes half-lidded as they focused on Jia’s chin to avoid meeting her gaze.

“What difference would it make, either way?”

Jia hummed thoughtfully. Though it had been quite some time since her joint meditation with Rika, she still had a few leftover glimmers of insight into her friend—many of which had been quite revealing about herself, but Jia wasn’t quite ready to unpack those thoughts just yet. Rika cared deeply about Eunae, but she always took things at face value. To Rika, Eunae’s rejection had been final, but Eunae’s feelings were obviously much more complicated.

“Someone once told me that I should honestly tell people how I feel. That it was cruel to leave things open-ended, and the longer I waited the more I would end up hurting the people I care for.”

Eunae raised her eyebrows.

“I made it clear to Rika from the beginning that a relationship would not be possible. Also—if you’re going to throw my own words back at me, I feel like I should point out that you failed to heed that advice, and kept Dae and Eui waiting for months after that.”

Jia blushed, coughing awkwardly.

“Yes, well...I shouldn’t have, okay? You were right. And anyway, Rika’s not the one you’re being dishonest with, is she?”

Eunae furrowed her brows and looked away.

“This isn’t what I called you here to talk about. I think it will be possible to get my family—and the Kims, by extension—on our side with a few concessions regarding—”

“I don’t care about that. Rika and Kaede are figuring that stuff out. I don’t have a head for that diplomacy stuff—I need Eui with me just to sort through it all. Don’t change the subject, Eunae.”

“There’s nothing more to discuss about—”

“You deserve to be happy too!”

Jia’s shout was loud enough that even the playing children paused to turn their attention on her. She waved them off with a smile, speaking softly to Eunae as they returned to what they were doing.

“It’s sweet how much you’re willing to do for me, and for your sister. You’re one of the most caring people I know, Eunae. But you have to take care of yourself, too.”

Eunae sighed, slumping down in her seat a bit.

“I appreciate you saying so, Jia, but this isn’t the academy anymore. I can’t pretend that I’m not a princess.”

“If you weren’t a princess—if, hypothetically, you had no other obligations—would you want to see Rika?”

“Of course I would, she’s my best—”

Jia shook her head, cutting Eunae off.

“No, you know that’s not what I mean. Would you want to see Rika? Would you date her?”

She blushed a bit as the remnants of Eui and Rika’s minds made her feel ridiculous for phrasing it that way, but Jia still had her own mental blocks on the subject. It was only because she cared about Eunae so much that she was bringing it up at all. Eunae wasn’t faring any better, her face flushed bright red as she struggled to find an answer.

“I—well, I suppose I might be...interested. But just interested! And only in that hypothetical! I’m curious but...that’s all.”

“So you’re just jealous of Ja Yun out of ‘curiosity’ then?”

Eunae elbowed her in the ribs.

“I never said I was jealous of Ja Yun! Rika can take whatever partner she likes.”

“What if she likes you?”

“Enough already! I get it, Jia. You don’t have to play matchmaker! Ancestors, when did you get so nosey?”

Jia chuckled as Eunae desperately tried to cover her blushing face.

“I guess I just spent too much time around you and Rika.”

“Tsk, don’t you put this on me you—”

A third voice cut through their conversation. Eui’s urgent tone, immediately casting a pall over the playful mood.

“Eunae, it’s An Eui. Is Jia there?”

Eunae produced the speaking stone with a frown.

“She is, what’s wrong Eui?”

“There’s a bunch of xiantian cultivators approaching. I thought it was a coincidence at first, but they’ve started to surround the house!”

Jia felt the blood drain from her face as she stood up in alarm.

“What!? Who?”

Eui answered without hesitating, but Jia knew what the answer would be before she had even asked.

“It’s the elementals.”