Nighttime Encounters - Chapter 22
The morning sun shone peacefully on a wintery day. The bed, unadorned but neatly made, was bathed in light. However, lying on the bed, Rosia emitted a gloomy and somber aura. A small sigh escaped her lips, her eyes closed like a dead body.
“Haah.”
Slowly lifting her eyelids, revealing violet eyes brimming with concern, she gazed endlessly at the floating dust particles in the air before parting her lips.
“Did that jerk really take it?” Rosia asked. “Maybe he thought it was useless and threw it away. Or maybe he dropped it somewhere.”
She hoped just a little. “If he threw it away, we can get the spirits to find it…”
But the information Luperne had was brutally specific and clear.
[No, he took it with him.]
Luperne plopped down at the edge of the bed where Rosia lay.
[He held onto it until he entered headquarters.]
Luperne exhaled and conveyed the guard commander’s words.
[Gunther reported that he was still clutching it even when they were taking those rogues to the detention center.]
Rosia let out a faint groan, turning to lie on her side as if avoiding reality. She curled her body within the covers, and her platinum hair cascaded like waves across the pristine white bed.
“What am I going to do? I can’t do without it.”
Luperne, feeling concerned, gently stroked Rosia’s head. Luperne, the black cat, also came over and rubbed her head.
Feeling the intertwined emotions of the two Lupernes in her heart, Rosia revealed the story behind the ribbon.
“It was the last birthday gift from my parents.”
It symbolized a time when they were together, when things were simpler and peaceful. A day before her seventh birthday, her parents pushed her to wear the hair tie a day early. It was purple like Rosia’s eyes. Her father’s laughter as he offered the purple ribbon, claiming he personally chose it. Her mother’s touch while gently tying up her platinum hair. For Rosia, that ribbon was her parents.
“It means the world to me.”
When she tied her hair up, it felt like her parents were right there with her. It calmed the nerves of hiding in someone else’s home and provided reassurance in banishing spirits. So every time she ventured out as Trinity, the ribbon became a talisman of luck, accompanying her wherever she went.
As Rosia contemplated the significance of the headband, she sighed and curled up even tighter.
“To have it taken from me by that man.”
She closed her eyes tightly, consumed by sadness. Her vision dimmed, and the events of her life flashed through her like a lantern in the distance.
She could see the spirits of the dead. Even when she realized that her parents had passed away, she was shocked but managed to endure. Although she couldn’t feel their warm presence, she could sense that they were there with her. It was the first and last time I felt grateful for her unusual abilities.
The moment her parents’ souls were consumed by an evil spirit, Rosia could only curse herself. She had to live through their deaths twice, and she wasn’t able to do anything about it. If she hadn’t met Luperne, she might have gone mad with self-loathing.
“This can’t go on like this.”
Rosia, reminiscing about the past, jerked upright. The air trapped within the covers fluttered, along with her platinum strands of hair. She clutched the edges of the blanket tightly and spoke firmly.
“I have to get my ribbon back, no matter what.”
Exorcising evil spirits was not only about avenging her parents but also proving her reason for existence. The purple ribbon was a reminder of her parents and the source of Trinity’s strength. Therefore, it was an item she absolutely had to retrieve.
[Confronting the Joker? That would be dangerous.]
“Even if it’s dangerous, it’s something I have to do.” Rosia’s eyes sparkled with determination. “Luperne, call forth that soul. Right now.”
The spirit that haunted him with a disapproving gaze during the day and night—now was the time to summon them.
