章 403: Alicia Engaged Again

"I thought you wouldn't come, Amael," Elizabeth said as she approached me.

"I wish I hadn't," I grumbled, scanning the room and feeling the toxic tension in the air.

Why couldn't Cyril and Alvara just take their frustrations out on each other and knock themselves out? 

It would make things so much simpler.

"You're exaggerating again," Elizabeth chided gently.

"Maybe…" I muttered, carefully avoiding her gaze. How could she act so normal after everything that had happened between us? Twice now, we had been together—intimately—yet there was nothing romantic involved. And here she was, speaking as if nothing had changed, as if everything was perfectly ordinary.

It left me feeling pathetic, like I was the only one who was overly conscious of the situation, of what had transpired. Same thing with Celes and that kiss or whatever it was…

Was this normal now? To act like it didn't matter, like it was just another meaningless interaction?