“...Okay,” she sighed. “I’ll come alone.”
She felt Dante’s grasp tighten on her hand.
“...It won’t be long,” A. said, more for Dante than for her.
“It will also be safer if she leaves this place with us,” added Lecky.
Eden took a second to realize what they meant. Despite the apparent truce, Dante would become a target again the second he stepped out of the Dragon’s territory... no, perhaps even when he stepped out of this place. It was exceptional enough that the Zodiacs had stayed together in a room for about an hour without trying to kill one another. Guns and knives had been pulled once, and it felt like the real fight was only postponed... or perhaps the upcoming war against the Core would be enough to keep everyone’s thirst for blood at bay.
Next to her, Dante didn’t react to their words, so Eden sighed and turned to him.
“You’re going to have to go home without your bodyguard,” she said in a low voice.
“No can do.”
“Dante. ...Please.”
Her voice was a bit more insistent this time. Eden didn’t want to undermine Dante’s authority in front of his peers, which is why she was seemingly asking for his permission, but this was her decision, and she wasn’t going to back down. She wanted to go, despite his opinion. Finally, Dante ended his staring contest with Thao to turn to the duo on their far left, glaring at them next.
“We’ll watch after her,” said A. “Eden will be back on your territory before sunset.”
Seeing as he was still glaring at them without saying a word, Eden pulled his hand slightly under the table.
“...She’d better,” he finally said.
He had said this with so much threat in his voice, Eden was suddenly reminded of his short temper with anyone but her...
“Thanks...” muttered Lecky, although he looked a bit bitter about Dante’s attitude.
“Can I know where we’re going or who it is I’m meeting?” Eden asked.
“No, sorry.”
She expected as much, but she had at least tried to ask. When Lecky and A. stood up, Eden stood too, ready to follow them, but Dante held her hand back, making her almost fall on his lap. She saved herself by grabbing his shoulder with her free hand while glaring at him.
“Dante!” she muttered angrily.
However, the shameless man pulled on her hand a bit more to bring their faces closer, and kissed her. Eden immediately blushed, well aware of all the pairs of eyes on them. Not only the remaining Zodiacs, but their respective bodyguards were still standing there as well! She pulled back as soon as she could, annoyed at him, but Dante spoke before she could scold him.
“...Come back to me safe,” he said.
“O-okay.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Thao rolled her eyes. “She’s going with two herbivores, why are you acting all cranky?!”
Eden felt even more embarrassed by Thao’s words, so she turned around quickly, and walked out of the room with the two men. She silently prayed Dante wouldn’t lose his cool and end up murdering that woman once she was gone...
She couldn’t do anything about it, though. After all, Dante was a Zodiac and knew his position well enough without Eden needing to worry about him. If he had survived this long without her, he probably could get out of there alive, even if he got into a bit of a fight with the Rat. Meanwhile, Eden reminded herself that her situation was a bit more complex. She had already noticed most of the Zodiacs seemed to address her almost as if she was one of their own since her identity had been revealed. From the beginning, all Zodiacs always seemed to behave as if everyone else was below them, insects that could be gotten rid of without thinking twice. Even their own bodyguards weren’t allowed to speak a word during the dinner, but Eden had been left to speak freely. Her new position was definitely singular. They knew of her relationship with Dante, but even the Zodiacs who held animosity toward the Tiger had seemed to show her some sort of respect. A lot of it probably had to do with the fact that even the Dragon himself acknowledged her... The two men she was following out right now were those who seemed to respect her the most. Eden could easily see why Thao had called them “herbivores”, not just as a pun on their respective Zodiac titles. She had been around dangerous people long enough to spot those who were practically harmless, and these two did not have the aura of killers. Among the Zodiacs, A. and Lecky definitely stood out as the aloof and placid ones. They didn’t even seem to have proper bodyguards. Lecky was accompanied by one tall woman and a skinny man, both wearing ordinary clothes and hoods over their heads, without any notable traits except for their tattoos. A.’s people were two men dressed the same as him, with Arabian traits and simple dark outfits. If she had crossed paths with those two sets of trios in the street, Eden would have never believed them to be Zodiacs and their second-in-commands…
Right before she walked out, she crossed paths with Circé, who gave her a little nod.
“Let’s keep in touch,” whispered the goth woman. “...Try not to get yourself killed.”
“Right back at you.”
“Ugh... I feel like it’s going to be a long trip home, now that your man’s unhappy. ...I think you should be fine with those two, though.”
Eden felt the same and gave her a little nod before stepping out. The little group went down in silence, no one apparently minding their presence at all. Things were the same as when they had entered the Palace, with more and more going on as they went down the stairs, all the way to the ground floor.
