Chapter 354 - Alexandria’s Genesis

"Mister, are you alright?"

Unlike normal people who'd appear disoriented when they had just woken up, the man in front of Yuuka stared at her with clear, violet eyes that reminded her of the precious stone she loved. She unconsciously placed her hand against her ċhėst where her amethyst pendant rested in between her brėȧst under her shirt as she returned the man's gaze.

She had been a bit worried earlier upon seeing him lying on the ground. What made her thought the man collapsed, she had no idea. The man was obviously sleeping – beautifully even on a bed of cherry blossoms, with all the pinkish-white petals kept falling on him like rain from the tree.  

Sleeping beauty.

If he hadn't moved just now, she'd even think he's a sculpture of a god. That was how perfectly beautiful he appeared in her eyes. Looking at him made her think about Alexandria's genesis, an online myth that claimed that a genetic mutation turned some people into violet-eyed, "perfect" human beings.

This Kazehaya Gin lookalike was the very example of human perfection – one that transcended mortality.

Yuuka internally sighed. The big spoiled missy in her wished she'd taken advantaged and kissed the beauty awake but her logical self took over and halted her devious thoughts.

The man's eyes glistened as he looked at her knowingly, and she felt herself blushing. Why did it feel as if the man read her thoughts? That was not possible, no?

She cleared her throat. She had already mistaken him as someone having an emergency earlier, so she might as well stick to her earlier ȧssumptions.

"Mister, are you alright?" she repeated her question, but the man just continued to look at her without speaking – and then it dawned on her.

She's a total idiot if she didn't realize he must be a foreigner – well Kazehaya Gin was originally a foreigner but his family had settled in Japan for five centuries. But the Homura CEO had lived in the country all his life, and this man, who was probably his brother since they looked similar might not. After all, she'd never seen him before.

The Homura House was a very high profile clan. Even the current Koutaishidenka who was a recluse would still appear in public from time to time. For this man to remain unknown must mean that he did not stay in the country.

Hmmm…

"Monsieur, ça va?" She didn't know what came to her mind but she translated her question in French to check if the man would understand her.

The amethyst eyes reacted then. The indifference she'd seen initially when the man first saw her that bordered on icy warmed over. They glistened as a ripple of something akin to amusement appeared in their depths as the corner of his eyes turned up.

Although the man still looked otherworldly, the flicker in his orbs made him somewhat human.

But of course, he's human. What else was he? She felt totally silly with her thinking. The silence went on between them after that which made Yuuka start to feel upset and very awkward. She wondered if she should have tried asking him in German instead when the man finally spoke.

"Yes, I'm alright. Thank you for asking."

His clear voice rang in her ears, making her stop and stare. She had no idea why but a sense of déja vu ȧssailed her, making her stand up and jump back as if burned. Still, her body was programmed not to be rude so she opted to squat in front of him, a decent number of paces away.

"Ah, that's okay th –" Yuuka suddenly stopped as she realized something.

The man answered her in Japanese.

Urgh…

Why did she bother speaking in French then? She internally ġrȯȧnėd as she slapped her forehead with her palm, not noticing the amusement in the man's eyes deepening.

"I understood both, but you needn't bother with other languages," the man told her as if he read her mind again.

"That's good then…"Yuuka didn't know what to say afterwards, and it was getting awkward again, and so she stood. "Since you're okay, I'll be leaving then. Sorry to bother you," she told him sheepishly before giving him a small bow and quickly turned to leave.

However, she hadn't gone several steps away when the man called out to her.

"Miss…"

Yuuka stopped and turned to him with a puzzled expression. The man didn't have any expression on his pretty face once more as he looked at her.

"Are you sure you want to go there?" he asked, and she frowned.

"Y-Yeah…" she glanced at the direction where she was headed and became confused.

Damn! She got sidetracked by the beauty that she forgot where she came from, much less where she was supposed to head, and she tensed.

Yuuka, you careless dimwit…

"The manmade lake is over there. But it's getting dark," the man added as he lifted his perfect hand and pointed at the direction opposite to where she was headed earlier. "If you're planning to return to the house, then the way is over there…"

Ah…

Yuuka was surprised as she followed the direction where he pointed at, and sure enough, it looked familiar. She turned to the man again and bowed in thanks before scurrying to leave. She didn't have to rush, but she had an unexplained nervous feeling and suddenly wanting to run away from those pair of amethyst eyes, most especially when she could feel the man's gaze on her back as she left.

She didn't know how long she had been walking when the familiar sight of the mansion welcomed her, and she was relieved.

"Yuuka, are you okay?"Alinea asked as soon as she reached the house, and helped her change her shoes to slippers by placing the latter on the floor so she could wear them easily. "I'm sorry we bombarded you with so much information. We didn't mean to make you feel bad. But it was urgent."

"Y-Yeah, I'm alright," Yuuka answered as she tried to recall what Alinea was talking about.

Oh…

Her father!

The infection!

"Oh, God…" She realized that she had cried a lot earlier too before seeing that man on the ground. She was sure he'd seen her swollen face, and she felt upset.

"What's wrong?"Alinea asked her.

Before she answered, Ryuu, Gin, Aki, and Chiaki appeared, but her eyes were only on Gin, who found her staring at him strangely.

"Er… is there something wrong with my face?"

"Gin-nii, your face is wrong," Ryuu countered with a stoic face, ruffling Gin's feathers.

"Ya!"

"Quiet down," Alinea shushed them as she took Yuuka's arm in concern. "You don't look alright."

Yuuka shook her head. "I'm fine. I think I just have allergies," she answered glibly with a wry smile.

"Allergies to what?"

There were many plants and trees in the garden, and Alinea was probably wondering which one of them caused her allergies, so Yuuka chuckled to ease her worry.

"Allergies to men prettier than me…"