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In that moment, Tear didn't really know what would happen. In those times, she was only worried about filling her belly with some tasty grilled meat and live her life carefreely.
She found Veredorr quite handsome, but never really paid attention to him, completely unaware of all the love he felt for her, which developed more and more.
Because of his nature and personality, as a shy person, Veredorr never really talked about how he felt. He always hid those feelings from her.
However, Tear could still remember, all those good times, all those good memories together…
Like that time he and her big brother went to the river to catch fish, and Veredorr ended tripping down the river, and because he was so light, he ended sliding through the water helplessly.
She ran to his rescue without thinking it, jumping in the middle of the river and catching him with her big arms, and lifting him up, carrying him princess-like.
"T-Thanks… Phew, I thought I would become fish food, hahah…"
"Geez, you're really quite the dummy!"
Or that other time they gathered together to eat some of the food his mother had taught him. How he prepared everything so carefully and with so much love.
Back then, she didn't realized that when he was smiling while cooking for her, he was putting his heart and love into every ingredient, every meal…
"So when did your mother… You know." Tear asked.
"My mother… she passed away around forty years ago." Veredorr sighed.
"W-Woah, you're old!" Tear said. "How old are you?"
"I'm roughly… like seventy." Said Veredorr. "I guess for you I would be a grandpa, though… it doesn't feel that way to me. Time when you can't die of old age… feels ephemeral. It is as if… it goes on so fast… I can't even realize it and a decade has gone by. Sometimes I slept for whole years."
"Woah… Sounds rather… sad." Tear sighed. "So… I am also ephemeral to you?"
Tear wondered without expecting anything complex of an answer. At most, she had expected Veredorr to laugh or something.
Yet… he looked her into the eyes and smiled gently.
"Of course not… You and your brother… everyone… You're the first people since my mother that had made me feel like… Time goes slowly." He smiled gently, such a beautiful smile even captivated Tear for a bit. "You're… really important to me…"
"I-I see… Hahaha, I guess that makes me happy!" Tear giggled. "So when is it done yet?"
"Almost… Now that the noodles are boiling, let's make a sauce." Veredorr smiled. "How old are you anyways, Tear?"
"Me? Well I'm actually over twenty…" Tear said. "But everyone in the village is like… over a hundred years, even my brother, I'm the youngest of the bunch so far! Though some women are finally pregnant after so long!"
"I see… I guess Ice Giants do live a long time too. I wonder how you perceive time." Said Veredorr.
"It sometimes is so painful slow I feel like I wanna die~" Tear sighed, looking bored.
"Hey, don't say that! Not even as a joke… Life is precious. Your life is… to me… A-And your brother and the village too." Veredorr said, blushing a bit.
"Eh? I was just joking, dummy." Tear giggled. "Oooh, that smells nice! What is that red stuff?"
"Tomatoes I purchased from the human town nearby… My mother named this meal Pasta a la Bolognese…" Veredorr smiled. "It was her favorite meal, something her grandmother always made for her! And it is also… my favorite meal too. Sometimes, every few years, I prepare it, to taste the flavors, and remember my mother…"
"I see…" Tear smiled gently. "I also miss my mom… And my dad… They passed away due to a fight with the humans… My brother always says that we can't hate the humans, that not all of them are awful people but… I hate them."
"…" Veredorr sighed. "I am half human… Do you hate me?"
"E-Eh? O-Of course not! You're different!" Tear said.
"See? Just like I am different, there are also different humans. Not all of them are bad people." Veredorr smiled. "In this world there's all kinds of people, bad and good. The trick is to just try to find the good people. Or well, that's what my mother used to say to me."
"…" Tear remained in silence, gritting her teeth. "Maybe…" She looked elsewhere.
Veredorr giggled gently.
"The food's done, let's eat." He swiftly served her a plate, the two sitting around a small table inside of his little house.
"Hmm… How do I eat this- Oh? Ooooh! It is good! Wowowowow! Hot!" Tear ended eating a lot in a single bite, but the heat of the meal made her mouth burn a little bit.
"C-Careful there, Tear! Here, have some water." Sighed Veredorr. "Eat it slowly, with this fork, like this. See?"
"Ooh!" Tear nodded. "Alright!"
Perhaps due to their difference in age, and due to Veredorr's mentality of seeing life as "ephemeral" he never really wanted to admit his feelings for her.
Days like these continued across the years, of happiness, laughter, and sometimes, hardships that were overcome by their cooperation and bonds.
Yet everything ended tragically when she took the life of Veredorr with her own hands…
Tear glanced at her own hands, remembering Veredorr's face as he cried for her to stop, as he implored her to take out that crown…
"Please… Tear! You're not being you… Tear…!"
Those were his last words before his entire body was frozen, becoming a statue.
Yet unlike the rest, he was not inflicted with a curse, his body was merely frozen completely, and he died on the spot.
Tear glanced at her own hands, despite this being fault of the crown's manipulate, she couldn't help but feel guilty for this…
For the horrible things she did.
Deep down, she felt like taking her life, to end her suffering, to be punished for the wrongdoings she had committed.
Yet that was the complete opposite of what Veredorr wanted.
"What do I do now… Veredorr?" Her tears fell over Veredorr's Soul Crystal.
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