Chapter 75 - Accept My Invitation!

"Gem asked me to unlock the book. Do you think it had something to do with what's happening to her right now?" Fily shared to Petunia immediately after being kicked out of the room where Gem was staying as per the doctor's orders.

"I'm not sure. But you did say it was just because of her first menstruation, right?" Petunia answered while swirling around the chair in front of Fily on one of the Castle's open balconies.

They decided to have breakfast here because it was the closest table they could get to where Gem was and additionally, they were also waiting for Venedette and the boys outside so they could finally go to the basement and grab the ingredients that they need for Gem's medicine.

"That's what I thought at first, but Gem told me it was not the case at all. She couldn't sleep the whole night and the pain looked much more painful than just a normal menstrual cramp."

"So that was why you're asking me to help you create a sleeping syrup and pain killer for her? As if the doctors haven't thought about that yet?" Petunia said sarcastically while munching on her sophisticated royal cat's breakfast in comparison to Fily's humble tea and croissant.

"Uhuh. And I don't trust the doctors simply because I'm more intelligent than them.." Fily said arrogantly before brainstorming even more about why Gem was asking her to prioritize unlocking the book first and its connection to her current condition.

***

"Why did you do that Von?" Venedette said after finally getting back to her senses while flying beside Von and Sir Grand who was carrying Lei with him back to the castle.

But instead of answering, Von only rolled his eyes at them which made Venedette furious at him.

"Answer me or I will send you to a real school." Venedette threatened, which seemed to work based on Von's expression immediately turning sour.

"I just want you to stop caring too much about that damn tournament-"

"Language, Von." Sir Grand suddenly interrupted which made Von roll his eyes again and eventually stop what he was saying mid-way.

"Aren't you going to say sorry?" Venedette asked with a pout while catching up to Von's speed and holding his hand on the way.

"No way," he said stubbornly but as soon as he saw Sir Grand's piercing death glare, he immediately followed his words reluctantly, trying to negotiate. "You say it first."

And even though Sir Grand had a lot of things he wanted to commect about Von's attitude, he just let Von and Venedette have their moment together without getting in the way too much and ruining the mood for them.

"Okay. I'm sorry for neglecting you. I know I have been a bad mother to you these past few days and I'm sorry for that. Also about the things you said about Gem. I admit I was wrong for trying to replace Demi with her, but please don't deny the girl of a better life inside these borders. She's just trying to survive by being good help to us."

"But still! She doesn't deserve to get treated like she's on the same level as me!  She's just an outsider! How dare her to try and take my place away from me!" Von lashed out and tried to shake Venedette's hold off of him but Venedette's grip on him became tighter instead.

"What did I tell you about looking down on other people, Von? Didn't I tell you to always be humble and caring to everyone around you?" Venedette said with authority which made Von curl slightly out of fear.

"I'm sorry I just got carried away, mom. I won't do it again. Just please don't send me to a real school okay? I hate all the people there."

"Von." Sir Grand said and shook his head. 

"Okay, fine. I won't hate anyone anymore. Just please don't send me there okay?"

"Okay. But on one condition." Venedette said with a straight face which scared Von a little bit.

He could read what his mom was going to say to him at that time but he still waited for her to say it first before reacting.

"Accept my invitation to Leviathan along with Lei. That's your condition. Also, promise me you won't lie about your condition or run away like this ever again just because you feel neglected. You can just talk to us anytime about your feelings and we will do our best to make things better for you. We're your parents Von, not fortune-tellers. Don't expect us to understand why you suddenly ran away like that without an explanation. And since you tried running away from your mistakes and responsibilities, I think this will be enough punishment for the both of you."

"Okay okay! Fine! I'll join." Von said irritatedly and even pouted at Lei for having the same punishment as him, with him. 

'How will I make him pay for his betrayal if we're going to be in the same team together?!' Von thought to himself, immediately regretting the repulsive decision that he made just because his mom was being too noisy for him to handle.

"Okay, we're all good then," Venedette said, finally smiling after that scary frown of hers that she just put on for show because, in reality, all she cared about was the safety of her son and Lei and nothing else.

"Ven." Sir Grand called for her attention softly, but since they were flying too fast, Venedette was unable to hear his call which he just decided to tell her later.

When the four of them neared the castle, they were immediately spotted by Fily and Petunia on the balcony, so naturally, Petunia went to Gem's room to inform Halma of their arrival while Fily was the one to greet them back into the castle.

"Oh my god, I've totally forgotten about Gem," Venedette said frantically as soon as she landed on the balcony beside Fily.

"Why? What happened to Gem?" Lei said innocently, briefly forgetting about the fact that he just ignored Gem inside the clinic last night.

"She's… uhmmmm…" Fily thought for a moment before finally deciding to not tell them about it, "You don't need to know. It's just… girl things, you know?" Fily said with a bright smile which weirded both Lei and Von out.

"O-Okay." Von, who was also curious about what happened, just said, letting it go, before floating straight to his room while Lei just stood there for a little bit longer beside Fily.