Queeny vowed to herself that she would make that happen.
She would do that for all her friends, for all of those who resolutely helped her but were mercilessly taken down.
She had to make that happen.
On that cold night, she gazed at the crackling fire in the furnace. Her eyes became steadily brighter.
In a trance, she seemed to see a vibrant woman in a black jumpsuit laughing wildly in front of her again.
“Queeny, we don’t need no men! All that matters is that we’ll stick together forever!”
Her proud, familiar voice was still ringing in Queeny’s ears, but it aroused a miserable feeling beyond words.
“Forever? How long is forever gonna last?”
She felt as if a knife had slashed the softest part of her heart, leaving a long cut there. When the blood dried, there was an empty hole in her heart.
Queeny closed her eyes. The wind picked up the locks of her stray hair and brushed against her cheeks, giving her a tickling sensation. The repulsive smell of the burnt corpse spread to her nose from the furnace. It made her shudder as if somebody had hit her with a hammer.
“Phoenix,” she called softly in her head.
Shrouded by boundless loneliness, she watched the body be reduced to ashes. Then, she abruptly whispered, “Goodbye.”
“Hey! Who's here?”
The iron gate suddenly creaked open. A middle-aged man in a blue staff uniform came in with a ruddy face. He seemed tipsy, for he was stumbling a little. Still, he spotted Queeny at once. Pointing a finger at her, he stuttered, “Who... who are you?”
Queeny shelved all her thoughts in an instant. She turned around, glanced at the drunk man, and put on a wicked smile. Then, she broke at a run, leaped over the wall, and jumped off before disappearing into the dark.
She was so fast that she almost vanished in a second like a ghost.
The middle-aged man was dumbstruck. He stood rooted to the spot for minutes. Then, the wine bottle in his hand dropped onto the ground with a bang as he dashed out, crying, “Aaaah! A ghost! I saw a ghost!”
Hearing the terrified cry, the birds in the vicinity flew away in alarm. However, the person who caused this fuss stopped to a halt. In the darkness, she cast the last meaningful look at the blurry fire in the distance, then wheeled around and raced in another direction.
At this time in the castle.
Felix was sitting in the study. He had been there for two whole hours.
Earlier, a servant told him that dinner was ready, but Felix said he had no appetite and threw him out.
He looked gloomy, which foreboded a storm.
The servant dared not disobey his order and backed out in a hurry. Because Felix was in a bad mood, everyone in the castle tiptoed around him.
The entire castle was drowned in a depressing mood.
No one, not even Donald, knew why Felix was so somber.
Bella came over after dinner. She had learned that Felix was in a foul mood and refused to eat. Thus, she brought over some soup she cooked by herself.
From the lesson Felix had taught her, Bella was aware that though he let her stay here, he didn’t want to be anywhere near her, nor did he like her taking the liberty to prepare food for him.
Therefore, she didn’t go upstairs this time. Instead, she stopped downstairs and asked Donald to tell Felix that she wanted to see him.
Donald told Felix that Bella was here. He thought Felix would turn her down, but, surprisingly, he nodded.
Shortly after, in the living room in the main building, Bella saw Felix come downstairs.
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