The Fairest of Them All

XXII. Free

A/N: I do not own any images so far.

Chapter 22

Yui was sitting on the cold, attic floor. Her breathing was heavy as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

'The triplet's mother...I saw her again...' she thought, searching through the scattered books and fallen papers with shaky hands. '...Why does my chest hurt whenever I see her?'

Yui stopped and closed her eyes. 'I don't want to be in this place...'

"...But I must clear up this confusion," she said aloud, her voice hushed but firm.

Her eyes flashed determinedly before she resumed her scanning. A gust of wind suddenly rushed into the room, scrambling the papers and causing the dust to go frantic in the air.

"What I'm slightly confused about is how you manage to get in here, the second time at that."

Yui turned towards the opened glass door and saw Laito standing on the balcony. He was gazing in the distance, his cheek resting on the back of his hand. He then turned and glanced at her.

"La...Laito-kun," Yui eventually greeted.

Laito smirked, leaning back as his hands gripped the railings behind him. He then cocked his head and simply stared at her. His gaze was less clouded than before.

"Hmm? Not going to respond?" he said through narrowed eyes.

"I-I don't know..." Yui replied. "All I remember is running after..."

Laito raised a brow. "After what?"

"Seriously, what are you up to?" Ayato was suddenly in the room, sitting on one of the tables closest to where Yui sat. "Do you even know what you're doing half of the time? ...Or are you controlled somehow by that man?"

"Why would you ask her that?" said Kanato, squeezing the stuffed toy in his arms. He was sitting cross-legged on the wooden chair. "She probably wouldn't know."

Yui mustered a small smile. "Kanato-kun..."

"Though, if she starts to become too much of a nuisance we can kill her. Right, Teddy?"

A gloomy aura surrounded Yui.

"Now, now. We aren't meant to kill her, remember?" reminded Laito.

Kanato looked irritated. His eyes then brightened. "Well, we could kill her in a way that seems like she committed suicide."

"Um...please wait..." Yui began breaking into cold sweat, her hands held out in front of her.

Ayato placed a hand on his chin. "That actually doesn't sound too bad."

"Alright, we're getting veery off topic here~" Laito said. His eyes then grew cold. "So, Bitch-chan...care to tell us what you're trying to stick your nose into?"

Yui tightened her grip on the journal. "I...I want to find out the truth...about why I'm here. What relationship does my father have with you guys? Did father send me here on...on purpose? Why am I chosen as the 'bride'?"

"You still haven't given up on that?" Ayato said.

Laito hummed. "Well, I'm not sure myself if we have all the answers."