#fran route

Sorry that this was yet another blog post that took a long time to be completed ><” Was planning on finishing this sooner but work and health problems recently made me tired and reluctant to write for a long time D: But my love for Fran had finally made me pull through, so enjoy!

In this alternate timeline, the story started off summarizing abit on the terrorist plan that was created by Isaac, Cardia’s father, and after the group had managed to stop the plan, Fran decided to leave the government and become a doctor. Cardia had managed to save her brother, Finis, and now both of them stayed at Wales, in this beautiful mansion.

The story changed over to Fran’s point of view, where he had opened a clinic for a few months already, and with his reputation growing, he gradually gets more and more patients every day. The patient he’s seeing today was a mafia boss, Darius, who may look tough on the outside but was suffering a backache. (His expression here is quite funny XD)

Shirley, his daughter asked him to take it easy, alongside with her bodyguard, Passy. (Though it’s definitely not a good thing to diss that your boss is getting on age, Passy =w=“)

Darius was the head of the Gordon family, and with the family selling affordable medicine to Van, he was able to keep his rates low for his customers and that was a big help to the residents since most of them were usually too poor to visit a doctor. Darius wondered why Van had decided to open a clinic in such a neighbourhood rather than heading back to Royal Society, but even though he could help the country by creating new medicine and saving those that suffer from incurable diseases, Van felt that it will be important for him to understand the things that he creates will bring upon the people in the end.

Shirley asked Fran on Cardia’s situation, to which Fran replied that Cardia was doing well, and Finis and her would come over for checkups from time to time. 

(It’s great that Cardia had actually made a female friend here on this alternate storyline ^^ Shirley looks pretty cute~)

(These characters are pretty interesting, I think more information regarding them are found on Finis’s Route in Code Realize ~Future Blessings~? Shall play that next time to figure it out~)

When the Gordon Family had left, Fran wondered what the rest of the gang was doing now. Lupin and Impey had left for France to look for someone, Van and Dora-chan had went off to search for other surviving vampires, and Saint would appear unexpectedly at times, with Fran only knew that he was affiliated with a secret society and was quite busy. Cardia and Finis had reunited and were now living peacefully in Wales. Thinking about them made Fran felt lonely as Cardia filled his mind again. (Awww~)

Even after the clinic had closed, Fran still needed to check his supplies, prepare his medicine for tomorrow’s examinations and working on his research for new medicine. When all his tasks were finally done, he sat down and looked through his mail and found a letter addressed to him from his mother. 

Fran initially lived in Switzerland but had left several years ago in order to follow his path on alchemy. But when he ended up being on the wanted list and was on the run, he wasn’t able to write to his parents and guessed that his circumstances back then. His mother had told Fran to think about settling down now that he’s a grown man, and Fran was thinking about writing his usual response when he wondered if it’s okay if he wrote about Cardia in his letter, and started writing. When he was done, he flustered as he realised that he was pretty much bragging about Cardia in his letter, but ultimately still decided to send it out since what he had written was true and Cardia was indeed important to him. 

(I do like Fran’s indoor outfit here, he looks even cuter when he blushed >/////<)

Later on, Fran found himself dreaming, a dream where he and Cardia had their last walk in London before Cardia heads back to Wales. He wondered whether Cardia and he would have a different future if he had said something different back then... But ultimately, he still encouraged her to be happy with Finis now that they are normal siblings, and that they should live together to make up for their lost time. 

(Cardia looked so adorable here and Fran was so dependable as always~ ^^)

Fran had noticed that Cardia had shown a lonely face, he assured her that she can always come back for checkups frequently so it’s not like they can’t see each other again. Cardia continued to look at Fran intensely as if she had wanted to say something, however, in the end, she decided not to say anything, and left for Wales. Actually, at that time, Fran had another desire in his heart, but he had pushed it away since he knew that it’s best for Cardia to be with her family. He pondered what if he did something different back then, and had the courage to ask her to stay, will things be different between then now...?

When Fran awoke, he found himself in Watson’s house. Apparently, Fran had decided to stay at Watson’s house the night before. Fran and Watson had met when Fran was helping the victims injured by the Nautilus bombings, and from then the two had became great colleagues and friends. Watson was worried about Fran’s health, telling him that it would be bad if the doctor himself had fainted with exhaustion while consulting a patient.

Even though Fran had felt fulfilled being a doctor and treating patients, he still experiences loneliness, to the point that he kept dreaming the above heartbreaking dream every night. (Wow... that sounds like Fran really misses Cardia very much ><”) Watson mentioned that he had heard Fran’s sleeptalk and he was repeating a single name multiple times, which led to Fran blurting out about Cardia. In the end, Fran had no choice but to let Watson know about his feelings about Cardia. He had regretted about missing the opportunity to speak openly before they parted ways, and wondered if a new path may appear before him if he had chose to say his thoughts back then. Watson suggested Fran go and meet Cardia instead rather than waiting for her to come back to London, which somehow seems to convince Fran.

When Fran was heading home later on, he met Leonhardt, who praised him that he’s like a real doctor now, and tried to convince him to come back to the Royal Alchemy. But Fran refused Leonhardt once again, saying that his mind was set on that he wanted to help people’s lives directly by treating them in the clinic, rather than staying in the lab. Leonhardt was satisfied with Fran’s answer and told him that he would be rooting for him ^^ He also told Fran that the government had managed to locate the Zicterium from the document they had retrieved from Twilight, and Queen Victoria had decided to seal it to prevent it being used as a weapon again. In the end, Fran asked for a small sample for Cardia, and requested for the rest of them to be destroyed.

(This is the first time I see Fran in such an outfit~ He really looks quite different in terms of aura when compared to his original outfit~ >////<)

On the way home, Fran came across the Tower Bridge, he remembered the day he had gone on his last walk with Cardia, and wondered what Cardia had tried to tell him on that day. He also wondered what happens if he had said the below to Cardia, but thought that he might have troubled her instead...

When Fran finally reached, he found a letter from his mother again, surprised to see a reply so soon. Turned out that Fran’s parents were glad to hear about Cardia, and had mistaken that Fran was dating her. They wanted to meet Cardia, and decided to come over to London during Christmas, asking Fran to plan accordingly. (Yikes! Here comes trouble~!)

The story then continued on in Cardia’s point of view. Fran had written to her and she was surprised that he was coming to visit them rather than them going over to London this time. Cardia’s impression of Fran was that he was the one who had helped her more than the others, since he was the only one who could examine her and Finis. Cardia remembered that Fran had reassured her countless times that she’s a normal girl, giving her strength with his words. She realised that Fran was an important person to her that even now, just thinking about him makes her heart throb. She thought about her last walk in London with Fran, and was actually expecting Fran to tell her to stay with him at that time. (Awww~ >////<) She had suspected the words were there, just waiting to come out on that day, and had thought that Fran had thought of her in a very special way too. But she also wondered what would happen, if she was the one who had told Fran that she didn’t want to leave on that day... would things be different now?

Now that Fran was arriving soon, Cardia made sure that she was dressed up and even wanted to put on the lipstick she had bought with Shirley last time. But Finis spotted her actions and started dissing her that she was smiling creepily at the mirror ^^; He had baked some cookies, ready to serve them together with some tea to Fran when he arrived. Cardia smiled, noticing that Finis’s attitude towards Fran was much better than the other guys since he was ready to chase the others like Saint or Impey when they come visiting. 

(Finis’s words of approval of Fran~ He’s indeed the most acceptable, or say, least craziest among the group XD)

(Finis looked quite cute now with his two buns on the head XDD)

Fran soon arrived and started looking around Cardia’s room, remarking that it’s cute and that it’s charmingly feminine, and his compliments made Cardia embarrassed. Fran noticed that Cardia was blushing, and wanted to take a look at her if she’s not feeling well. Cardia explained that she was just feeling restless and nervous since this was the first time she was showing Fran her room here and her reaction ended up making Fran felt abit restless too and started blushing.

(These two are both blushing which makes the situation awkwardly adorable~ >////<)

Realising the situation was too awkward at the moment, Cardia decided to leave the room, offering to call Finis. But Fran grabbed her arm to stop from heading out, since he wanted to talk to Cardia alone.

There was something important that Fran had wanted to tell Cardia that he needed to tell her in person, even though he felt that it might be really embarrassing. Asking Cardia to listen to him carefully, Fran asked her to become his significant other. (Fran finally confessed~! Yeah~~)

These words were what Cardia had been waiting for, though she wondered whether she is enough for him. However, Fran’s words later on crushed her fantasy, telling her that she doesn’t have to be his “real” significant other. She’s confused, wondered what had he meant by that. (Excuse me, Fran?!)

Fran noticed that Cardia looked confused and tried to explain in a hurry. Long story short, he needed Cardia to pretend to be his significant other. Cardia’s mood turned sour, demanding Fran to stay in the room while she left to get some tea. 

(Cardia was indeed quite pissed off if she had such thought OWO”)

When Cardia returned, Fran decided to give her a proper explanation, saying that he had written to his parents about her being a girl that he was interested in, but his parents had mistaken and thought that they were engaged, and had planned to come over during Christmas to visit. Thus, Fran needed Cardia’s help during Christmas to act as a couple together. Cardia still felt upset, but realised that she was upset about herself misunderstanding the situation from earlier on. TWT Though she knew that Fran was very troubled, she actually felt exremely opposed to it, and thus wanted a reason to reject this proposal.

(Yikes, I didn’t know which option I should choose honestly, so I just chose a random one seriously D:)

Cardia answered that she won’t be a very good actor and suggested getting Finis or Lupin to disguise and act as her instead, but Fran opposed to it frantically. He blushed as he admitted that he had written alot of details regarding her to his parents, like how adorable she was, the places they had been through together and...

(Seriously, that’s wayyyyy too much information out there, Fran =////=“)

(I know how embarrassing it is, Cardia XD)

With Fran begging like this, Cardia can’t bear to reject him in the end, though she had a special condition for accepting this proposal...

(I just love this part where Cardia played a joke on Fran, pretending to reject him to make him panic for a moment XD Look at Fran’s face of doom XDD)

The story changed to Fran’s point of view as it continues. Cardia had accepted his request, so all he had to do now was to make sure his clinic’s matter was well organised and explain the current situation to the rest of the gang, since Lupin and the others will be coming over to London to celebrate Christmas together. However, rather than Cardia arriving on the morning of Christmas, Finis and her had arrived at the train station, whom Fran had went to fetch.

(Cardia’s and Finis’s winter outfit are so beautiful and cute~ >////<)

Suddenly, a man appeared mysteriously before them, whom Finis identified him from Idea. The man reintroduced him as Hansel, asking Finis to remember his name since they’re friends. Hansel explained that he’s here to check up on them since “mother” was worried, but assured them everything’s fine. 

Finis was shocked when Hansel suddenly grabbed him, whining to put him down. Hansel reminded Finis that the latter had wanted to go somewhere in the south since the weather was cold here, though Finis had said that casually and didn’t really mean it. Hansel still wanted to keep his promise though and forcefully brought Finis away, leaving just Cardia and Fran to themselves.

(Both of them looks compatible here in the winter outfit~ ^^)

Fran proposed that they head back to the clinic to put away their luggage, and as he was about to head away, Cardia held onto his sleeve, reminding him to fulfil his condition. What follows was a short flashback to Cardia proposing her two conditions on helping Fran - (1) Fran was to act as her significant other and cares for her as well,  (2) Cardia wanted as much practice as possible with Fran before she met his parents, and came to London a few days earlier than Christmas for that. 

Since Fran had to fulfil his condition, he had to start their practice, by putting his arm around Cardia. The two of them head off, with Cardia being amazed to see snow for the first time in her life. 

(At this moment I actually get an option screen, when I’m in Fran’s POV?! This feels like I’m getting Cardia’s affection up rather than Fran, in an otome game =w=“)

Fran accidentally revealed his true thoughts, which made both Cardia and him blushed like crazy XDDD But Cardia thought he was acting when he said that actually. Fran wanted to tell Cardia that he didn’t want to act (since he wanted to be an actual significant other), but missed the chance to do so, since he was afraid of destroying Cardia’s happiness.  (*disappointed TWT*)

Anyway, they’ve completed their first mission of walking in London together as a couple. Their next mission on the next day was to tell their friends that they’re a couple~!

Turns out that Fran was the one who’s all embarrassed to tell them, but Cardia encouraged him, saying that if he can’t even tell his friends this, it’s going to be harder when facing his parents later on. 

When Cardia and Fran entered the mansion where the gang used to gather, they’re first greeted by Impey, who was glad to see his angel. But he made a weird face when he noticed something...

Fran had wanted to announce that Cardia and him were a couple as soon as they stepped in initially, but the others soon turned out and everyone was caught up in greetings and catching up... until Impey finally pointed out that Cardia and Fran were linking arms together XD

(Feels abit bad for Impey that his angel Cardia was snatched away~~~)

Now that Impey had brought it up, Fran finally had the chance to announce Cardia as his~ 

(I love this line of his so much XDDD)

The rest of the gang didn’t seems shocked and accept it easily, much to the dismay of Impey (I bet he wanted others to object to Fran and Cardia dating, but oh well....). Van remarked that it seems natural and normal to him that Fran and Cardia are together~ (Van gave his thumb of approval? XD) 

Fran and Cardia decided to explain everything in the end when the commotion had settled. Realising that Fran’s parents would be visiting on 24th December which was the same day the gang was having their party, Lupin “demanded” Fran to spend the entire day with his parents, and they would postpone the party to another day, even encouraging Cardia and Fran to have more “practice” and leave the preparations for the party to the rest of the gang. 

(Impey was glad that all of this was an act though he was crying about it earlier on ^^; You definitely thought that was real just now XD)

(I just realised this now and reading this made me a little sad...)

Even though both Fran and Cardia wanted to spend as much time as possible practising to be a couple and going on dates, Fran still had to run his clinic, and Cardia decided to help him out. The patient had noticed her and teased Fran, remarking that he’s married. 

(Fran’s explanation is so cute and definitely doesn’t stop the patient from continuing on teasing him XD)

They closed the clinic after the morning on December 23, and decided to spend the afternoon walking around the town as a couple. Along the way, they stopped by a cafe for a tea break, but the couple menu offered to them was full of dishes’ names that were embarrassing for one to say it out loud ^^;

(What follows was pretty much the humiliation of Fran X3, since you can select from three different dishes for him to order >/////< Yep, I’ve selected all of them just to listen to him saying it XD)

Cardia felt embarrassed to the point that she looked away from him, to which he complained that he’s the one who felt more embarrassed since he was the one who ordered it XD Cardia wondered if they looked like a real couple seeing that the waiter offered them the couple’s menu when they entered the cafe, to which Fran mummered whether it would be wrong if they’re a real couple. (Sounds like he wanted them to be an actual couple rather than for act, same like Cardia, but no one is taking another step in confirming their relationship TWT) 

Fran later proposed that they shall try to do everything couples do, and brought her to this beautiful place...

There was an ice rink available there, and thus Fran decided to teach Cardia how to ice skate. Cardia can’t help but feel abit pissed on how good Fran at ice-skating since she had thought of him as one who isn’t so athletic. Fran smiled and answered that since he had been skating pretty much his entire life in his hometown, he’s proud of his skating skills when compared to Lupin or Van. 

(It’s refreshing to see that Fran had his childish / boyish side as well~ ^////^)

Just then, Fran pulled Cardia away from the fence that she was holding on, making her all flustered and holding tightly to his hand, while being aware of the close distance between them. When Fran suggested whether he should let go of her arm so she could try to skate on her own, Cardia told him not to let go of her, and he replied that he won’t let go of her anymore. (In a different sense, but awww~ this part is sweet~ >////<)

Even though Cardia cherished these moments she had with Fran, she can’t help but think that Fran was doing all these with her as part of their practices and them being a couple was just temporary. Finally, on December 24, Christmas Eve, it was planned that they would welcome Fran’s parents who would arrive by train in the evening. Cardia felt that it would be hard to let go of Fran when the act comes to an end, wondering whether she would be able to refrain herself from making any sad expressions. 

They went for a walk together, talking about how they’ve felt these few days that they’ve been through together. Cardia had noticed that Fran seems to let himself free to the point that she felt that he wasn’t even acting when he looked at her with such gentle expression, leading her to be deceived that they were really a couple. 

When they arrived at the train station, Fran asked Cardia to come closer to him since he’s afraid that she would get a cold, and wrapped his arms around her. Even though Cardia tried to create a conversation with him, she found herself unable to do so and end up crying instead. 

(This part was so heart-breaking at that moment T////T) 

In reply to Fran, Cardia finally decided to let out her true feelings, she had fun for the past few days, but felt painful too, knowing that all of this would come to an end, and revealed that she didn’t want them being a couple to be a lie. She told Fran that she would keep a good act until the very end even though she’s sad, to which Fran replied that she’s very strong, even stronger than him. He told Cardia that he didn’t want both of them to be liars, nor he wanted to live with any more regrets in his life, and thus proposed a way for them to turn their lie into the truth.

(I’ve been waiting for this moment since the start of the route T////T You guys took way too long to get together! T////T )

Seeing that Cardia might now believe his words and thought that he was saying all this as part of their act, he decided to turn his feelings into actions... by kissing Cardia on the lips.

With that, Cardia believed him and both of them became a couple at last~ ^////^ Cardia was interested to know what Fran’s parents were like, since they could be her family one day. (Wow, the pace is moving towards marriage now?! O////O) Fran laughed and replied that they’re very normal, and that they loved Fran very much. (Sounds like Fran really did grew up in a loving family ^^)

When Fran’s parents arrived, Fran greeted them warmly and introduced Cardia to them, which they were curious to know since Fran had written so much about her in the letter XD

(Cardia’s reply when Fran’s parents asked her to take good care of him is just too adorable >/////<)

What Cardia and Fran would have to worry will be to explain their relationship status to their friends later on, and she looked forward to the near future where Fran’s family will become part of her family too, with Fran vowing that he will cherish every moment that they spend together, and their future was just beginning.

Final Thoughts / Ramblings:

And~ it’s the end~ Welp, I actually felt this was short (it seems even shorter than the last FD) since it feels like their sweet moments were about to start but it ended T////T Fran’s route sure likes to feed me bitter and sweet moments T/////T Overall I still enjoyed them very much since it’s “Fran”, but a part of me sure do craves for more sweet moments with him since even after two fan discs of Fran’s moment, I didn’t felt it was enough >/////< Fran is really such a great character for me that he seriously jumped up to my top favourites of guys after so many years of otome-gaming ^/////^

After competing Fran’s route, I’ve unlocked Fran’s part in the Extras, and choosing it will lead us to this short extra story below, enjoy!

This happened at an earlier part of the story where the group were all staying at the mansion peacefully. 

Unexpectedly, the group ended up having a free day, and thus everyone was spending it to do their own stuff around the mansion. Even though Cardia was told she could spend the day freely, she didn’t know what she should do, since she had spent her free days from before in training or learning information. 

She walked to the garden and met Fran there, who was planning on cleaning the garden today since he wanted to return a favour to Saint who had kindly taken care of them here at his mansion. Cardia decided that she shall lend a hand too, as other than returning her gratitude to the count, she wanted to talk with Fran more too. 

(Any quality time with Fran is greatly welcomed by me~ >/////<)

But, even though Cardia was determined to help out as much as she can, she wasn’t able to achieve as good of a result as she had wanted since it was hard to pull out these stubborn weeds. She sneaked a peek at Fran and noticed he had managed to pull out the weeds skillfully, and asked him for some tips.

(Mr Fran’s gardening lesson 1 - How to pull out weeds~)

Cardia was amazed that she managed to pull out the weeds easily after following Fran’s advice, and that sparked something in her and she started enjoying pulling out weeds one after another. 

(Side Infomation about Fran: Turned out that Fran was good at gardening since he does grow some plants for his experiment when he was practising alchemy~)

Seeing how good Fran was good at gardening made Cardia felt sad since rather than planting plants, she’s the type that makes plants wilt instead (because of her poison). Fran encouraged her to try planting some flowers, assuring her that she would do fine and the flowers will definitely bloom beautifully~

(Somehow it seems like only when Fran said that he would help her and they could plant flowers together that will get Cardia’s heartbeat race a little ^/////^)

Soon, both of them managed to clear all of the weeds in the garden. Suddenly, Fran started yelling frantically, standing up and flapping his lab coat and vest about. He screamed that a worm had fallen onto him and he thought that it had gotten into his clothes, as he frantically trying to shake it out. But nothing fell out so he started to get worried whether it had gotten inside the clothes for sure.

Cardia wondered whether Fran was afraid of the worm after seeing him being so upset, which he answered that though he wasn’t afraid of them, he’s worried that the caterpillar might be poisonous and explained how a sting from them could end up causing a rash. (I honestly wonder if it’s the translation or there’s really a caterpillar that can sting others - pardon for my lack of knowledge D:)

It was then Cardia decided that she shall give a hand to Fran, by pulling up his shirt and flapping it. Her action made Fran very flustered, as he tried to convince Cardia that he’s fine and he can look for the caterpillar himself. But Cardia felt that this was an emergency that she should try to resolve as soon as possible, and refused to step down. She even started to tug onto Fran’s pants as well, wondering whether the caterpillar had gotten inside it. Apparently, her actions made Fran even more flustered than ever XD

(I think Cardia just lacks delicacy in “that” area at that moment of time ^^;)

In the end, Fran’s scream can be heard loudly, asking for Cardia to please stop~~~ Cardia reported that they never managed to find the caterpillar after that, but thank goodness Fran did not develop any rash nor illness since there’s no sign of him being stung at all. But he looked miserable for a long time afterwards, which Cardia thought that was just him really disliking caterpillar. (No Cardia, I think Fran might have suffered a trauma from your action OWO”) She even vowed to help him look for the caterpillar if one had gotten onto him the next time. (Feels bad for Fran if such an incident is going to happen a second time, though this was a funny incident XD)

Finally~! Sorry if this was a long wait, but I decided to summarize the entire route into a post rather than splitting it up since I wanted to do a shorter playthrough than my usual ones as I find myself getting too long-winded ^^; Nevertheless, I end up adding alot of thoughts and the route was still pretty long to write so there you have it~ Enjoy the Fran and Cardia moments below ^^

Before the story starts, there was some flashback to the earlier game in regards to what had happened. (I personally like how it was basically a monologue of Fran’s thoughts, especially the part where he explained that he initially wanted to help Cardia in order to get rid of his guilt, deluding himself that by doing so, he might be able to erase his sins.)

Now, onto the future after the main game!

Fran and Cardia were still staying together at the huge mansion that Saint had left in their care. Fran had his day job as the royal alchemist at the palace, and the scene started with Cardia reminding Fran not to forget anything before he left for work. (Apparently, Fran was a little clumsy to have forgotten his stethoscope the day before, had his shoes worn on the opposite feet the week before, and had even accidentally brought Sisi to work XD)

(Fran’s explanation sounds like he didn’t have a good night sleep due to something Cardia did the night before... >////<)

Cardia noticed that Fran had a cowlick poking up on his head and was about to touch his hair to flatten when she realised what she was about to do and immediately stepped back. She isn’t wearing her gloves now, and she had been taking medicine to control her condition, but she was still afraid of her accidentally harming Fran. 

Fran took her hand and put it on his cheeks, assuring her that it’s fine and she did not need to be afraid. There’s no scent of melting, rotten flesh, and instead, she felt the warmth of her lover. It felt that only a little time had passed since Cardia had managed to touch things, so Fran tried to help her to feel comfortable about her sense of touch, which Cardia really appreciated.

Fran encouraged her not to rush, and that she’s just a regular girl now. (He even calls her his princess, awww~ >/////< When did Fran become such a sweet-talker~)

But, it’s not the time to endless indulge in touching each other’s cheeks now since Fran was going to be late. Cardia rushed Fran off to work, though she knew that she would have kept holding onto him if he didn’t have to work. Just as she lingered for Fran (when he just left ^^;), Fran came back again, claiming that he had forgotten something.

(Yep, this was what he had forgotten - to tell Cardia that he loves her, aww~ ^///^ Too bad he didn’t manage to stay for her answer.)

The story then went onto explain what other stuff had happened after the main game. Victoria had changed herself and now planned to aim for peace with progression and development for the country. Fran had rejoined the Royal Society once again as an alchemist.

In the day when Fran was working, Cardia would be cleaning and tidying up the mansion, the place where it held many memories of her and her friends. Now, only Fran, Sisi and she were the ones remaining in the mansion, with Saint, the original owner, signing the property over to them, and departed for France. (Wow, Saint just gave them a free house just like that... OWO) Cardia had decided that she shall take care and keep the mansion in top condition so that when her friends returned, the mansion would be just like how they’ve remembered it. 

(In case anyone was interested, Lupin and Impey were still travelling together, seeking of something of great import, whereas Van and Dora-chan were working together to protect the remaining surviving vampires.)

Remembering about her friends and realising the Fran wasn’t around in the house either made Cardia felt quite lonely, but Sisi nestled close to her feet to remind her that he’s still there. (So cute~) Suddenly, Sisi noticed something and ran off, thus Cardia chased after him to the dining room, and realised that there was a parcel on the floor... which was actually Fran’s lunchbox (Why is it lying there on the floor o.O?) Realising that this was perhaps an excuse for her to see Fran, Cardia decided to send the lunch box to him and set off with Sisi.

However, Fran wasn’t at his workplace when Cardia reached there, as he was attending a meeting at the palace with the Queen instead. Cardia could have left Fran’s lunchbox there actually, but she decided to head all the way to the palace instead. (Cardia must really want to see Fran badly XD) The guards were there when she arrived, and since she can’t just go through them, Cardia wondered whether she should just stay and wait until the meeting is over. 

A voice called out to her just then, and to her surprise, it’s Van~! (Van’s face when he realised that Cardia had come all the way to the palace just to give Fran his lunch~ XD)

Van decided to lend Cardia a hand in getting her into the palace by following him. Turned out that Van was here as a bodyguard for Dora-chan and this other person called Marquis Renfield, who was a supporter in Dora-chan’s aim to establish a vampire-governed zone, and their seminar for today was the one that Fran was attending. 

When Cardia spotted Fran, he was apologising to Dora-chan, revealing to him that he was the one had droved his vampire clan almost to extinction, since the poisonous Zicterium gas used to kill the vampires was ultimately invented by him. Though Fran knew that no apologies would be enough for him to atone his sins, he wanted to find someone who had survived, which in this case, Dora-chan, and attempt an apology. 

Dora-chan calmly told Fran that if he had not told him what he had done, Dora-chan himself would have never known about his sins, and thus not even have to apologise for it. But that won’t do for Fran since the guilt pained him every time they shared a conversation, and he knew that if he had continued on keeping this a secret, he would never be able to share a genuine moment with him. Dora-chan simply smiled and said that he knew what kind of a person Fran was and knew that he won’t be someone who would create a murder weapon of his own wish. He told Fran to stop taking responsibility for his creation and asked him to stop hating his own self because of that. (Now that Dora-chan had forgiven him and asked him to forgive himself, it seems that everything was much better now~ ^^)

When Van and Cardia approached them, Dora-chan blushed when he realised that they were eavesdropping on them, and also because Van had praised him that he was like his father XD Cardia told Fran that she was happy for him, now that he had finally dealt a thing that had been plaguing him for a long time.

Fran was curious why Cardia was here though, thus Cardia showed him the lunch he had forgotten to bring along with him. Dora-chan got curious and peeked into the basket Cardia had brought, then started asking whether this was a lunch packed with love and adoration, which made Fran started to blush furiously XD

(Cardia, you are not helping the situation by admitting to it XD)

(This scene is seriously too adorable <3)

Too bad that Fran had yet another talk after lunch, and thus wasn’t able to take the time to walk Cardia back to the mansion. Cardia decided to head home back herself, bidding goodbye to Van and Dora-chan, who promised that they would call on them when they passed by London again.

Before Cardia could leave though, she met Leonhardt, who told her that the Queen would like to see her. Even though Cardia was worried, Fran assured her with a smile that it would be alright. 

Queen Victoria smiled when she saw Cardia, explaining that she just wanted to have a chat with her and was even alright with Cardia calling her by her name. There had been major changes since the last time they had met, with Victoria reducing the military pressure on neighbouring European countries, and shifting towards a policy of peace. Victoria revealed that she had personally walked down the ruined street of the Lower Town of London, and saw it for herself how her actions had caused grief and misery to that part of the city. But she realised the people living there had not given up, continuing to rebuild their home, and found ways to survive and move forward. It was then she knew that the Britains themselves and Great Britain was not weak. 

(The Queen smiles here which I found it a beautiful sight <3)

Victoria decided that she shall now oversee the country’s progress rather than acting as a direct protector, claiming that she shall lay down the groundworks for future Britain. In fact, she had been so busy recently that she doesn’t even have the time to complain, which Cardia offered to listen to her whenever she’s free or even both of enjoying a teatime together.

Suddenly, Victoria motioned to Cardia to get closer, and wanted to know how things were proceeding with Cardia and Fran. Cardia smiled and answered Fran was always being very kind to her, even telling her that he loves her every day, (Aww, Fran does dotes on Cardia very much >////<) The Queen was glad to hear that and mentioned that it’s lovely to find someone that she can share her innermost self with, even remarking that she wanted to give marriage a try.

 (Poor Leonhardt did not take to this well though XD)

Victoria assured Leonhardt it would still be in the distant future that she will get married since stabilizing the country was her priority now. Even Cardia noticed that Leonhardt’s smile when he’s relieved seems more personal... (Hmm~? O////O) Cardia was glad to have the chance to share a pleasant afternoon chat with the Queen nevertheless.

As she walked home with Sisi though, she saw an elderly couple and wondered whether she and Fran would be like that someday, perfectly serene. She tried to imagine that, but couldn’t in the end...

When they were having a late teatime together after Fran came back from work, he noticed that Cardia seems abit distracted, and wondered whether she’s feeling unwell. 

(Cardia being unwell could be a good excuse to visit Fran, now that he had said that XD)

(It’s so adorable how Fran just straight up gave Cardia a peck on the cheeks with this confession~ >////< Guess what Cardia had said about Fran telling her that he loves her every day was true after all~)

However, their lovey-dovey time was soon stopped by a guest, who was none other than Saint, after coming back from France for some “business”. Saint was serious as he met them, telling them that there’s someone he wanted them to meet, or say, confront. And thus, three of them set off into the night and ended up on tower bridge.

Fran soon realised that something was amiss when he got on the bridge, remarking that it was weirdly quiet around here when usually there should still be traffic around here at this time.

The first person to appear before them was... someone in armour which Cardia remarked that she had seen before. A voice came from within the armour, explaining that they had been observing her ever since she had come in contact with Saint. An old woman in a wheelchair soon appeared next, and noticing Fran’s and Cardia’s confused faces, guessed that Saint had not told them anything at all. 

The old woman introduced herself as Omnibus, and that she governed an organisation known as Idea, where others had referred to them as “agents of destiny” or “guides of history”. Their mission was to ensure that history unfolds justly and to coax humanity away from grievous error. Turned out that Saint was a member of the organisation, an apostle as well as the woman in armour - Guinevere. 

Fran questioned their motive for meeting them here, to which Omnibus replied that she’s here to give them a warning, as well as offering a proposal for Fran. Apparently, Idea was impressed by Fran’s intelligence but was worried that he might cross into the realm of taboo like Isaac in creating what that was not supposed to, which was Cardia. They wished that Fran would consider things carefully before creating something, which Fran promised that he would take responsibility for what he had created, considering how he knew that the Zicterium he had created had caused countless of death. 

But the warning was just the beginning of what Idea had wanted to talk to Fran about. Their main aim was regarding Cardia, as even though her Horologium was currently rendered to be completely inert, there was still a possibility that it would awake someday, and that the dangerous poison would come back again. Fran was angry as he countered that this was impossible since he had used different methods available to check that the Horologium was stable, and thus the possibility of it reactivating was zero. 

However, what Idea was worried was not the Horologium reactivating in recent years, but instead, hundreds and hundreds of years later, since Cardia was still considered inhuman even if her body was not poisonous anymore, and might have a longer lifespan than one had thought of. 

(All this talk about Cardia was torture to herself, I feel bad for her D:)

And thus, since Idea was greatly fond of Fran’s talents, they wanted to offer him to become a member of the organisation, an apostle just like what Saint had become. 

Fran was shocked and wondered if this was an order, to which Idea informed him that if Fran was to choose to join them, he would be granted immortality, and he would get eternal life with Cardia this way. Obviously, this offer was very attractive to Fran, but Saint quickly stepped in and asked Omnibus to warn him about the consequences if he were to choose to become an apostle. 

In exchange for Fran’s immortality, he would have to dedicate his entire existence to Idea and carried out their orders, which was usually to kill others to remove their humanity to bring peace and prevent disasters from happening. Fran now had two choices, to accept Idea’s offer and be able to spend eternity with Cardia or to keep on living as a human and die one day, leaving Cardia alone in the world. Fran was suspicious about Idea’s purging of whoever that might bring harm to the world, since if Cardia was deemed as someone harmful, she was also considered a target by them as well. Initially, Saint was ordered to remove Cardia’s existence but Saint had pleaded with them to spare Cardia’s life, and now that Fran had managed to suppress Cardia’ poison, they decided to let her continue with her life for now. But if the Horologium was to create poison again in the future, Idea would spare no mercy in killing her. (Damn, Idea just seems really bent on on “purging” Cardia this entire conversation actually, and they kept calling her the cursed daughter D:)

Fran asked for time to think about the offer and was ultimately given three days to make his decision. When Omnibus and Guinevere were gone, Saint apologised as he had wanted to help to shield them from Idea, so that they can continue to live happily and peacefully together. Turned out that rather than going to France which he claimed to, Saint had actually gone to plead with Omnibus all these while, asking for Idea not interfere with their lives. Cardia was glad that Saint had helped them to ask for this chance though, as both Fran and Cardia knew that they would have to face with this problem regarding Cardia’s immortality eventually.

(Yes, these two had gotten so strong after what had happened in the first game T////T)

The two returned back to the mansion, but Cardia found herself unable to sleep, thinking that even though the poison was gone from her, she only looked like a normal girl and was ultimately still....a monster. Fran joined her at the garden, later on, remarking that he was unable to sleep too, and looking at his smile, Cardia wondered why can he still smile at a time like this. 

(Fran’s smile looks painful though T////T)

Fran admitted that he was worried, but he touched Cardia’s cheeks as always, assuring her that everything would be alright, but rather than worrying alone, he decided to stay by Cardia’s side instead. Cardia knew that Fran must be feeling more worried than her, but he was still so caring and warm towards her, which broke her mental defence and poured out to him that she was very frustrated and scared regarding this entire thing. She’s scared that she would end up destroying Fran’s future, her poison might come back someday and also losing Fran. Cardia realised that she had become weaker since, in the past, she was alright in spending nights alone by herself and being called a monster, but now... she could hardly bear the thought of landing herself in such a situation again. 

Fran was serious as he assured her once again that everything will be fine, and that he would never ever let her be turned back into a monster, even after hundreds and thousands of years. But in midst of his words, Cardia could sense a little amount of uncertainty in his voice, but all she could do was to break into a sob in his arms, knowing that Fran had never even mentioned what would happen to him at all. As Fran comforted her and got her back to bed, Cardia wondered what Fran was thinking about actually, and what will he decided on in answering Omnibus... Fran could only tell Cardia that he was still thinking about it, promising her that when he came to a decision, he would inform her first before anyone else. 

(I do like Fran’s determination here though, even though he had absolutely no idea what he should do at this point in time...)

The story continues on in Fran’s point of view. Two days had passed since Idea had offered the proposal to Fran, but what he had done till now was just comforting Cardia, and that was all he could do. Fran wondered what he was supposed to do, anxious to come to a conclusion before tomorrow evening. But he knew that there would be regrets regardless of whichever path he chose.

Just then, Saint appeared before him, noticing that Fran seems tired and sympathize his circumstances. Saint was considered a friend yet an enemy to Fran, since he had been acting secretly on behalf of Idea when he was with them, with orders to eliminate the Horologium, yet he did not. He told Saint that it was difficult to understand Idea’s prerogatives and he could not even forgive Omnibus for calling Cardia a “cursed” being. But, Fran was the most frustrated with himself, knowing that after all his efforts, he was still unable to mend Cardia. Saint encouraged Fran that he had actually done alot for her, by suppressing her poison, and teaching her about human warmth and learning to love others. 

Fran had initially thought that as long as he could suppress Cardia’s poison, they would be able to move on with their lives happily, but they indeed have to think about Cardia’s lifespan. Though it might be like an average person’s lifespan, there was also a possibility of her living on for hundreds and thousands of years just like what Omnibus had deduced. But regardless the length, Fran was firm in his goal in never letting Cardia becoming a monster, and will do anything in order to make her happy. 

He was about to come to a decision to join the Idea with Saint when the latter asked him whether Cardia was just a justification for him to reach a decision. Saint said that Cardia was a gentle and kind-hearted girl, which Fran should know better than others and wondered whether Fran was willing to spend an eternity bound to killing others for the sake of their future, and asked Fran whether doing that will make Cardia truly happy. 

(Off-topic but I do love this huge close up of Fran’s face here >////<)

Fran was at a lost and claimed loudly what on earth should he do. Though Fran will make sure that everything will be fine as long as the two of them are together, he worried about what will happen when he dies, thinking about how Cardia will be left alone forever and ever without him, living in terror and wondering when her poison was going to come back and turn her back into a monster... Therefore, in order to prevent that from happening, Fran saw it as a must that he had to continue living, in order to make Cardia happy.

But Saint’s words soon brought Fran back to reality. What he had said was his own vision of happiness, as Fran had no idea whether what he had thought of was Cardia’s happiness. If Fran were to pass away in the future, Saint would offer to watch over Cardia as part of his job of surveilling, but honestly, Saint wondered what would Cardia’s idea of happiness be with Fran. 

Even though Saint had tried to sound calm when he talked, Fran noticed a tint of anger in his voice. Saint warned Fran that eternity was far too long to be spent alone, making Fran wondered how long did Saint had lived, or how many missions he had done for Idea. Saint remarked that how he would be seeing them passing away one by one in the future, and when that time arrives, he would occasionally remember the days that they’ve spent happily together, and continue to live on with that. That would be the pain that Fran would have to bear if he chooses to go on this path, and Saint continued on that perhaps it was a blessing that he himself does not know of love, and thus he won’t have to bear this type of pain. (I feel abit bad for Saint when he said he doesn’t know love though TWT) Saint’s wish was that both Fran and Cardia would be able to remain as they are, and said that though a human’s life may be short when compared to the apostles of Idea, it would still be longer than what Fran had thought to be, claiming that the decades Fran had ahead of him would be enough for him to struggle through.

Thanks to Saint’s insight, Fran’s troubles seem to have cleared as he thanked him for his help. To that, Saint simply smiled and disappeared. Fran knew that Saint initially have no intention on talking about himself or his past, but he decided to, in the end, seeing that he trusted Fran enough, and had viewed him as a friend. The two paths Fran had in front of him, he decided that it was all too early for him to choose either path yet. 

Back on Cardia’s side, everything was as per normal, though she realised that she wasn’t feeling hungry and came to a revelation once again that she’s inhuman as she doesn’t need to eat to survive. She worried about herself becoming a monster once Fran was gone, though she knew that Fran swore that he would never let her become a monster and promised that she would never be alone too again. She wondered how Fran was going to carry out these promises, and knowing that she would be robbing Fran of a natural future, she’s not happy about it. Cardia could not bear the thought of sweet and kind Fran becoming an apostle and killing people an eternity. 

In the end, Cardia decided to go on a walk with Sisi to clear her head, and along the way, she noticed many royal guards and met up with Leonhardt, who explained that the Queen will be at the Royal Society today. Seems like Victoria likes to roam the city more nowadays since she felt that going out will aid her to gain more wisdom rather than staying cooped up in the palace.

Suddenly, Leonhardt apologised to her, especially for his actions against them as the Zicterium facility where they had confronted the Queen. Cardia forgave him, saying that they have very opposing beliefs at that time, but Leonhardt still felt bad about pulling his blade against her and hoped that she will accept his apology... as well as gratitude, since Cardia and Fran had helped prevent the Queen and Leonhardt himself from making a drastic mistake, smiling as he claimed that their actions had helped in creating the future of Britain. 

(Leonhardt’s smile was just too dazzling here~ +W+)

Leonhardt’s smile as he showed his confidence in the future made Cardia turned away as she found herself unable to face him, muttering that she found him amazing to be so positive about the future without any proof, and had, in fact, felt jealous about it. I really like Leonhardt’s answer towards Cardia so I’ll just let him say it below:

Leonhardt’s words reminded Cardia of the times when Fran had strived to save her life, even at the cost of his own life, and that because she had trusted and believed in him, they were all able to live today. Cardia decided that she shall be the one to help Fran and told him what he had told her before when he was suffering alone now, rather than relying on him to comfort her. And off she went to find Fran immediately, with Leonhardt chasing after her to stop her as Fran and the Queen were still in the middle of an important conference.

At that moment, Fran and Queen were discussing in the conference, which Victoria felt reassured that things would be able to proceed even more smoothly now that Fran had come back to the Royal Society. She noticed that he lacked confidence, and wondered what were his troubles about. 

However, before Fran could reply, Cardia rushed into the room and ended pushing Fran to the floor, asking him what was he going to do about Idea. Since Fran had said before that Cardia could find him at work, Cardia decided to do that since she can’t wait even a moment longer to hear Fran’s answer. Cardia revealed her wish to Fran -  she didn’t want him to join Idea and kill people just to secure her future, even if she does want a future together with him.

(Awww~ I just love this point of view from Cardia <3 Even Fran’s glasses got knocked off by the impact XD)

It was then Fran realised that his thoughts were different on what Cardia had wanted for her happiness since he had wanted to become an apostle at Idea if that was what it takes to prevent Cardia from weeping in agony and desperate for him when he wasn’t around anymore. In the end, if the future isn’t one that they would smile together, Fran guessed that it isn’t even one that they should consider. Cardia told Fran that she wanted to be the one to help Fran this time, by helping him to find the answer if he had yet to make up his mind, by finding a third path if either of those options will make either of them miserable.

(I know this was a joke by Fran, but erm... it would be scary if it’s true~)

(Confession time again~! >/////<)

Fran got up and complimented that Cardia was indeed a strong yet kind-hearted girl, and that was why he loves her, as he embraced her. He revealed that he just wanted to have a normal life with her, and doesn’t really care about maintaining the order in world history, and had made his final decision, which Cardia doesn’t have to worry about. 

Victoria interrupted them at this moment since she found it boring to be on the sidelines, though she’s glad to have witnessed this interesting scenario of Cardia pushing Fran to the floor. 

(Haha, Victoria’s teasing ended up making Fran blushed XD)

However, since Queen Victoria had heard about them talking about Idea, she was interested and wanted to know more about it, especially since she heard that they were involved in maintaining world history, though she also offered them help if they required it against Idea. Fran decided to reveal what they had learned about Idea (with some omissions though), and while they were grateful for Victoria’s offer to help them, they decided to face this problem by themselves, making a promise to report to her when this fiesta was over. 

It’s finally the night that Fran had to give his answer to Omnibus, though until the last hours, they've yet to prepare their best response. Fran had an idea though and asked Cardia to trust him, even though what he was proposing was going to be abit of a gamble. 

Saint met up with them later on and brought them to the same bridge again. Fran was worried about what will happen to Saint since his actions already proved to Idea that he’s biased to them, which Saint replied that he would be fine since he would have been eliminated long ago if it had been that bad. Saint wondered what was the odds of winning in Fran’s “gamble”, which Fran answered he had no idea, but he isn’t going to give up on this possibility. 

Sensing that Cardia seems nervous and afraid, Fran could only hold onto her hand, but that was already more reassuring that any words in Cardia’s heart ^////^

Omnibus and Guinevere soon appeared, asking for the decision to be made. Cardia could sense that the atmosphere had changed, with Fran motioning her to stand behind him while glaring at Omnibus, and even Saint’s intent to kill was exuding even though he had yet to draw his blade. 

Fran told Omnibus that the offer of being grant immortality was very appealing, and Omnibus urged him to accept it, even offering to grant him a wish of staying alongside with Cardia if he chooses to join Idea. But, even though Fran wishes to stay with Cardia and live with her, what he meant was the opposite of what Omnibus had expected. He had decided not to join Idea and just wanted to live his life with her since Cardia doesn’t wish for Fran to take the lives of others for the sake of their future together. The options for Fran were to either cease his humanity to gain an eternity with Cardia, or to erase Cardia’s existence since Idea still sees her as a threat, but both options were not what Fran had wanted, and thus he’s going to aim for another future that they had wished for.

Omnibus warned Fran again about Cardia having the possibility of reverting to a monster, which Fran promised that it would not happen as long as he was still living, swearing to protect her at all costs. Since the offer was being rejected, Idea might have to attack Fran and Cardia, but Saint warned Guinevere from getting any closer, as Fran had yet to make his offer to Omnibus.

Since Omnibus had praised Fran of his talents, Fran wondered perhaps he would be able to fully understand the Horologium within his lifespan, as he had already been able to suppress the Horologium’s production of poison completely within a year. Thus, he pleaded for Omnibus to give him time, until his death to fully analyze Horologium, though it was not to completely removing the poison from Cardia but instead ensuring that her lifespan would be similar of a human, with Cardia agreeing on shortening her lifespan voluntarily. This was after the discussion Cardia had with Fran - rather than him sacrificing his humanity to be with her, she wanted to be changed into a complete human being instead. If Fran had failed in his research to shorten Cardia’s lifespan, she asked for Idea to come and take her life away when Fran had passed away. Fran had made this proposal as a test for himself so that he could test his own potential in alchemy. He vowed to search for a way to make Cardia a human so that she will never become a monster again. 

However, Omnibus remarked that she could not see such a future working out for them, and the proposal does not guarantee peace for the world, and thus she could not accept it. With that said, Idea still viewed Cardia as a target and decided to eliminate her...

Omnibus even asked for Cardia to give up her life for the sake of peace, but Cardia just wanted to live with Fran and rejected her order. (Seriously who would actually do that =w=“)

Idea started to summon other apostles to fight against Saint, Fran and Cardia, up to eight of them which surprised Saint since he had never seen an incident which requires that many Apostles. (But that’s just how serious Idea had viewed this situation D:)

Though they were outnumbered, Saint isn’t willing to bow down without a fight, and even Cardia offered to help too, though she won’t be able to use her poison as an advantage anymore. However, suddenly there was the sound of gunshots in the air, and guess who’s here to save the day?!

Yep, it’s the rest of the gang! Saint revealed that he had actually called for them beforehand and brought them here so that they could come and give Fran and Cardia a hand when the situation calls for it. Cardia felt relieved and reassured since the appearance of her friends made the atmosphere much lighter.

(Saint was indeed in a difficult position, but I admire his courage to create a different path for his friends, even if it meant defying Idea’s orders though he isn’t planning on betraying them.)

Lupin’s gang doesn’t really believe much in helping the world in getting on the right path, all they cared now was to grant Cardia’s and Fran’s happiness since the two of them had worked so hard trying to attain them.

(I can’t help to fangirl abit over Lupin here. That was so cool coming from him! >////<)

(Woah Woah, Fran’s outburst of confession may be abit too hard for me to handle >////<)

Omnibus turned to Cardia, telling her that she foresees her future to be a path full of endless suffering, but asked even if that was the case, would she wish the happiness of being a human to herself. Of course, Cardia wanted that, saying that she will be happy, as long as she was with Fran, and she believed that Fran would do what he had promised. 

(I just love this part where Cardia tell the old lady off~ No one can decide on one’s future other than themselves! Sounds like Impey fell in love with Cardia all over again ^^;)

In the end, Omnibus decided to give up and gave Fran and Cardia a chance in paving for the future they wanted for, telling them that they shall put their current plan on hold and see how things will turn out. Cardia was glad that Idea had decided to give them a chance and believing in them.

(After pretty much being cold to Cardia the entire story, the old lady finally called her by her name and even smiled... Whew!)

As Idea left, the sun shined and it was another brand new day. Seems like they were saved (for now), and now Cardia and Fran can be together forever~ ^////^ The rest of the group pounced onto them, hugging and congratulating them. (Awww~) Cardia was thankful for the group showing up since, without them, the results of Fran’s proposal might end up differently. 

(I love the scenery of the morning sun, especially with Fran’s close up face in it~ ^//////^)

After some sweet talk between the couple, they kissed in front of their friends, with Van automatically covering Dora-chan’s eyes so he didn’t get to see them. (I guess this was still too early for Dora-chan XD) (And poor Impey feeling his jealousy fuming when he saw Fran kissing Cardia XD)

A week later, things were back to normal, with the rest of the group soon left to fulfil their life goals, and Cardia doing her housework at home with Sisi, waiting for Fran to return every day. 

Fran had reported to Queen Victoria about Idea as promised, and she was relieved to see both of them were safe and sound after the confrontation. Fran requested for an assistant to help him with the lab work since now he had yet another task (analyzing the Horologium) other than his daily duties as an alchemist. The Queen smiled and agreed, asking for the “new” assistant to make an appearance, and that person was none other than Cardia~! That really surprised Fran as Victoria explained that it was actually Cardia who had suggested it since she wanted to be of use to Fran, and... since Fran’s research would revolve around the Horologium now, she felt she should be around, though the real reason was because she wanted to be close to Fran too XD Fran thanked them while Victoria replied that she’s glad that her subjects had found happiness. Cardia wanted Victoria to find her own happiness as well, and her words took Victoria by surprise that she guessed that she shall search for her own happiness when things were more settled.

(I feel that Victoria was hinting something at Leonhardt here, but too bad the guy didn’t get it =w=“)

Fran and Cardia left the palace together after that, with Fran still feeling surprised as he had never dreamt that they would be able to work together, with Cardia being his assistant. Cardia felt that she still lacks in knowledge, but she was determined to study more to help Fran as much as possible, and Fran smiled as he told her that she will be a great assistant.

With Fran leading the way, they ended up in front of a church. (It’s a beautiful church~) Fran told Cardia that he had something he wanted to tell her today, and taught her that a church is a place for taking vows of love. He wanted to swear an oath of love to her and vowed that they shall live their lives as a couple and find happiness together. 

(I love Fran’s words here, regardless of what had happened in the past, we should always try to accept it and move on...)

(Cardia’s smile here is so adorable, I’m so glad that she found her own happiness here finally in the end ~ T/////T)

In the end, they exchanged vows as a couple and kisses at the church, with Fran promising Cardia that he shall love her with his all, forever and ever. The end~

Final Thoughts / Ramblings:

I’m so happy and touched to finish this route on the fan disc, so glad that everything turns out to be alright in the end T////T A part of me still wanted some more lovey-dovey moments though since most of the route was like bitter and sad moments D: I love Fran even more after this, he’s not a strong character, but he really works hard and tried his very best to give Cardia happiness the most he can. Most of the time I’m already touched by Fran’s feelings and motivation, rather than what he had actually done, guess it’s the thoughts that count? Fran is seriously like an angel, how can a guy be so kind seriously~ T/////T

It’s the last day of 2019, and finally, I’ve managed to finish the last chapter of Fran’s route in my Code Realize’s playthrough~! The CGs for this chapter were all great, that I’ve trouble deciding which to use as a chapter header XD I’ve been wanting to see the above CG ever since I saw it on their official website, so I’m thrilled to finally see the scene for it~ <3

Beware there might be countless fangirling over Fran in this chapter, here we go~!

Time counts down to the last 30 minutes. 

Fran and Cardia ran down the long corridor, trying their best to catch up to Victoria. Cardia could feel that her condition was getting worse and worse, even as she tried to keep up with Fran’s pace. Fran realised that, and hugged her close to him, saying that he wished to switch places with her so she doesn’t have to suffer anymore. 

(Is it me or is Fran’s face seems bigger than usual >/////<)

Cardia thought that there’s just too little time remaining to save her, and felt that to protect Fran and the others, she had to stop Victoria, and before she became a monster that, she would have to kill herself, touching the dagger that she had taken from the twilight soldiers from earlier on. However, Fran noticed her action and affirmed her that he would not let her do that, telling her that he would not be happy if Cardia died and left him surviving instead. 

(Doesn’t want to leave Fran alone in this world like this after he said that seriously T/////T)

After listening to Fran’s words, Cardia wanted to believe his words, wanting to catch onto the hope that both of them could survive and live a bright future together. But whenever she thought about that, her past memories will sneak up on her, reminding her of the time that someone had died in her place when she tried to live. She revealed her past to Fran, letting out that she’s scared and didn’t want such a thing to happen again, as even imaging that Fran would die because of her poison was too painful for her. She remembered how much her heart has ached when Fran had disappeared for a long time after she had decided to stay at the mansion, so if Fran were to die, it pains her heart that she would never see him again...

But Fran simply smiled and assured Cardia that he isn’t going to die. He felt that Cardia and he were the same where they both felt guilty that their poison had killed people, as Fran felt responsible for creating it. They had both seen people dying of the poison right before their eyes, and thus Fran felt that he was no different than Cardia, and in fact, his guilt may be even greater than hers. He continued on that perhaps his guilt was part of why he can’t bear to leave Cardia alone, though he isn’t looking for redemption nor forgiveness with his action for helping her. Seeing Cardia suffering the same pain as he does, he just... wanted to save her. 

(Fran’s smile is the best <3)

As much as he’s determined to drive away Cardia’s fears and doubts, he wanted her to promise him that she won’t give up and trust him until the very last moment.

(Who would not want to promise him at this time! ><”)

Fran’s words made Cardia’s feelings that she had tried to hide at the bottom of her heart rise up again, as she revealed her inner thoughts that she actually didn’t want to give up either as she wanted to live with Fran too. He smiled, took off his gloves and reached out to Cardia’s cheeks. Cardia tried to hide away from his attempts, but Fran forcefully pulled her towards him and placed both of his hands on her cheeks. 

Cardia panicked, worrying that she would end up burning Fran’s hands, but his hands don’t smell nor melt and was confused about how he was able to touch her. Fran explained he had known that the poison would disappear from Zicterium at times, especially now that it was transforming, which Cardia remembered that her poison was unable to melt the rope from earlier on. He was glad that he was finally able to touch Cardia, while Cardia was immersed in her first sensation of the human touch, with Fran whispering to her that he doesn’t want to let her go... (Awww~)

Fran told Cardia that he understood her fear and suffering, and knew that both of them can’t run away from the sins they had committed. But what he could do now was to stay with Cardia, and both of them could carry that weight together. He remembered that Cardia had told him that she doesn’t care he’s a criminal, and now, he wanted to tell her that he too, doesn’t care that she’s a criminal too. He confessed his love for Cardia and told her that even if she had abandoned all hope she has, he would never ever abandon her...

(I have to say I sort of teared up after reading this part. I’ll be really touched if someone told me this seriously >/////<)

After listening to Fran’s words, Cardia started wishing for a future with Fran desperately, a future that she doesn’t even dare to dream of in the past. And in order to make that future becomes a reality, she’s prepared to fight to the end of the earth for it.

As much as they would want to continue to immerse in this romantic mood, time was running out and they had to move on. Fran had noticed that Cardia looked disappointed, and remarked that her disappointed face was adorable. They held hands together and started running off again, with Cardia knowing that all she had to do now, was to trust Fran and keep going forward.

Time counts down to 20 minutes. 

Fran and Cardia were shocked to see a huge tree in a room at the end of the corridor, and wondered whether that was the diffusion device. Nevertheless, they need to put a stop to Victoria’s plan, she had spotted them arriving, and asked them whether they had decided to accept her suggestion from earlier on.

Fran was stern as he told her that they’re not here to obey to her, since their motive here was to stop her plan. But Victoria simply smirked, telling them that they won’t be able to stop the device now that it is already working unless they destroy it. Fran declared determinedly that he would destroy the machine since he had gained some knowledge under the care of Isaac last time, he knew how to destroy it. 

But before Fran could take another step towards the machine, Leonhardt stepped forward and stopped him, saying that he would not allow anyone to interfere with Queen Victoria’s plans. Leonhardt knew that Fran was not good at combat battling since he’s not a soldier, but even then, he would not show any mercy towards him, being determined to stop Fran at all cost.

However, rather than battling Leonhardt, Fran put down the test tubes in his hands instead, which made Victoria wondered whether he was surrendering to them. But Fran replied that he’s not surrendering and instead this was how he battles. Even if Fran was not attacking him, Leonhardt was determined to fight him nevertheless, and charged towards him, shouting at Fran to pick up his weapon and fight him. However, Fran shook his head, even stopping Cardia to come to his aid, firmly stating that this was his fight. He turned to Leonhardt, telling him that his action was to rule the world with power, he doesn’t want to be like Leonhardt and declared that he would fight in his own way. 

Leonhardt swung his sword on Fran, who silently endured all of his blows when these attacks were powerful enough to break his bones. Leonhardt had been using the other side of his sword to fight Fran, urging him to pick up his weapon and fight him once again since if he turned his blade this time round, Fran would definitely get killed by him. But Fran shook his head, saying that it doesn’t matter to him to give up here to prevent getting killed by Leonhardt since they would all end up dying anyway if they decided to join Victoria’s plan. Seeing that Fran refused to back down, Leonhardt dealt more blows on him, and with a terrible sound of something breaking, Fran was forced to fall down onto the floor. (Yikes, sound like his bone had broken at some part of his body TWT)

Cardia wanted to rush over to Fran’s side to help him, but he told her to stay away using his eyes. Finally, Victoria spoke, reminding them that they’re running out of time, and with a sad smile, declared that today was her last day as the Queen.

(This sad smile of Queen Victoria was heartbreaking after I’ve known her back story later on...)

However, Fran declared that he shall not let things end, with a gaze so strong and intense that it even made Leonhardt took a step back. Leonhardt tried to persuade Fran to back down and obey them since if he agreed, Cardia would be safe. But Fran knew that they would all end up dying (other than Cardia maybe) if they had all proceed along on Victoria’s plans, and he didn’t want to lose his life just to save the ones he had cared about. Fran had always seen himself as a cowardly man, but even so, Cardia had chosen to love him. That’s why he didn’t want to die and end up leaving Cardia surviving alone! Fran’s way of “fighting” was to stand in Leonhardt’s way to convince him that fighting with violence was not the way to solve things in this situation. Initially, Leonhardt was unwavering in his decision to heed to Queen Victoria’s plans, but after hearing Fran’s words that the plan would not minimise the damage to the world but instead what they’re doing now was just murder, spreading fear, and using power force the rest of the world to accept their views, Leonhardt started to doubt himself. He thrust his sword forward to try to break free of his doubts, and... ended up stabbing one of Fran’s legs. (Ouch, Fran... TWT)

But even so, Fran gritted his teeth and grab onto Leonhardt when he tried to pull the blade out, and let out his regret that he had not fight back back then when he had the chance to. Leonhardt replied that whatever he had thought about the plans may not matter, since his role as a knight was to support Queen Victoria and protect her. Fran yelled back in protest that Leonhardt was not doing his role in protecting her at all since the Queen was heading down a path of no return at this rate.

(I remember hearing this line in Code Realize’s PV and had been wondering for a long time in what circumstances would Fran say this, and here is it~)

Leonhardt pulled out his blade from Fran and that made him collapsed to the ground. Victoria coldly demanded Leonhardt to kill Fran but when Leonhardt was about to do that, Cardia could not bear it any longer and dashed between him and Fran, shielding Fran. Fran didn’t want her to do that, but Cardia declared that she didn’t want to move aside and this was her battle too. Victoria did not see Cardia as an obstacle to stop her at this moment, and demanded Leonhardt to kill her too, which made Leonhardt realised how wrong the Queen’s order was finally since there’s no way he could murder a helpless woman that was just trying to protect her friend. (But... I don’t think they’re just friends now >////<)

As Leonhardt and Victoria ended up in a confrontation with each other, Fran looked up to Cardia and smiled. thanking her for protecting him again. His face turned serious as he decided that this was his chance to try to stop the machine. Though this may be the wrong path for Queen Victoria, she said that she can’t stop her plan now, and seeing that Leonhardt was unwilling to help her stop Fran, she decided to do it herself then. But Leonhardt stopped her, which pissed her off and shouted at Leonhardt for trying to stop her plans too, even after he had known how much she had sacrificed for this plan. (Which Cardia noticed that this was the first time she had seen the Queen lost her cool and calm posture.)

The device began to rumble, but Fran was not giving up, and as Cardia was praying, suddenly everything came to a still and became silent, with Fran proudly declaring that he had managed to deactivate it and had even activated it to self-destruct after a while, so Victoria can never make use of it again. Thus, Victoria had lost.

Seeing Victoria dumbfounded face as she looked up, Cardia realised that she looked like an abandoned child, which is drastically different from the strong and confident woman she had seen before. But after a brief moment, she was back to her usual self and declared that even if they had stopped the device, the plan she had in mind was still in motion. She planned to make use of Cardia when she had turned into a monster since she doesn’t believe that Fan has the time nor strength remaining in him anymore to save her. Leonhardt tried to get Victoria to go off with him to somewhere safer since this place was going to self-destruct soon, but Victoria simply laughed and said that everything was going to end, and by then... she would finally be saved. (It was at this time that I realised that Victoria wanted to end her life and sees her life ending as being “saved”.)

As Leonhardt grabbed Victoria’s hand and prepared to run off, without warning, she stabbed the dagger she had been hiding into his back. 

But Leonhardt did not show any signs of pain, and instead smiled peacefully. He told Victoria that he had always respected Queen Victoria and apologised for being disrespectful to her, by punching her in the stomach to knock her out. Though he was still bleeding badly from his wound, he carried Victoria in his arms and told Cardia and Fran that he was going to bring the Queen to a safe place, and asked them to take care of the rest of the matter.

Fran looked over to Cardia, smiling as he told her that now all that’s left was to save her. 

Scene changes to Victoria’s point of view. While she was unconscious, she dreamt of her past. Victoria used to be a really gentle and kind person when she was young and tried to advise countless times to her father, the king, to end the war, but, that instead made her dad felt displeased about her. She had also gone to one of the colonies and had seen how the locals had hated her as they were being treated as slaves by the royalty, and decided that she shall steer this country herself before it gets destroyed by other countries due to all these hatred and anger. 

As Victoria worked towards her goal and gained more and more political power, even her father had started to see her as a threat and planned to have her assassinated. Thus, Victoria decided to counter-attack, by poisoning her father to kill him, then overtaking his throne and taking care of whatever mess he had left behind. Soon, Victoria found her hands were stained with more and more blood, and eventually, she even stopped shedding tears for any sacrifices she had made. 

Guilty of all the sins she had committed as the Queen, Victoria realised that finally, everything would come to an end, and she would be relieved of her burden as the Queen...

But, when Victoria opened her eyes, she saw that she’s being carried by Leonhardt as he walked down the corridor. She remembered that Leonhardt had saved her when she was almost been assassinated. He had always been so loyal to her, even now when she had stabbed him. She mummered out the plan had failed, and everything she had prepared had all gone to waste. Leonhardt replied that he was prepared to accept any punishment that would be put on him and that he would never betray her. 

Victoria noticed that Leonhardt’s blood was dripping down and leaving a trail as he walked, and began to worry whether he was going to die. But Leonhardt simply smiled and answered that he would never die and leave her alone. Victoria ordered Leonhardt to kill her if Cardia does not become a true monster, as part of the responsibility of her failed plan. But, Leonhardt refused, and that made Victoria to furiously beg him to save her by killing her so that she could be free of her duties.

(I can’t help but shed tears at this part actually since Victoria’s story made me felt that she had felt so tired of her burden and so guilty that she really didn’t want to live anymore.)

Leonhardt was stern as he told Victoria that he needed her to stay alive as Britain still needs her to lead them, and praised that without her leadership and strength, Britain would have been gone a long time ago. He felt that death is not the way for her to take responsibility, and thus he wanted her to continue to live so that she could continue to save Britain. Leonhardt had remembered how the Queen had been so generous with him to help him and his sister, and even if Victoria said that she was just doing that to appeal to the public, to get the people to be on her side, for Leonhardt, it doesn’t change the fact that she had helped him and his family. He revealed that he had noticed her closely, and knew that she was saddened whenever sacrifices to be made, and even now when Victoria had blood on her hands, she was even willing to face her crimes head-on. Claiming loyalty for Queen Victoria, Leonhardt smiled and told her that together, they could endure the pain, even willing to accompany her to hell. 

Seeing that Leonhardt refused to kill her, Victoria replied that he was the cruellest person she had ever seen, yet he was also the kindest person too and shed the very first tear she had shed ever since she had killed her father.

Back to Cardia’s point of view, she realised that the room was soon to be destroyed, and she would not be herself anymore, but Fran was calmed as he explained to her that he was going to extract the Zicterium and introduce it into her body to save her, though the extraction might take some time. There are only less than five minutes for Cardia before she got turned into a monster, but it would require around seven minutes for Fran to fully extract the Zicterium out.

Though Fran was being all assuring, Cardia noticed that he was avoiding to answer the very doubt she had in her mind - what would happen to Fran during this moment, when he was being so close to Cardia when she was about to transform into a monster. She asked Fran that, and he smiled at her gently, telling her not to worry since he would take care of it, which was still not answering to Cardia’s question. 

Fran asked Cardia whether she still remembered of the time when they were caught up in the poison gas of Zicterium. He guessed that perhaps her Horologium had stopped transforming for a while, which means that, rather than less than five minutes as shown by the clock, they might have more time than expected. 

Cardia still felt worried after listening to Fran’s words, she didn’t want him to risk his life but before she could do anything, she lost control of her body and collapsed onto the floor. She knew that she can’t even choose her own death now, and felt sorry that she would end up being the cause of Fran’s death as well. But Fran told her to trust him and started extracting the poison in liquid form to be injected into her body. Cardia started saying her goodbyes, telling Fran how happy she was to have met and loved him, begging Fran to kill her at this moment before it becomes too late.

(Of course, Fran refused to give up T/////T)

Cardia thought about how someone she had loved was going to die again because of her, as her Horologium started heating up through her entire body, with even light emitting from her chest. Poison started oozing out from her body, as she could feel that her body was about to change into something else...

(I never thought an option screen would pop up at this moment. Though I failed the last time I choose to believe in Fran, let’s choose to believe him one last time!!!)

Knowing that she would definitely end up killing that one person she loved if she transformed into a monster, Cardia noticed herself reaching out for the dagger, and stopped herself with her other hand from taking it. She remembered what Fran had told her to keep believing in him, and vowed to herself that she would not give up. 

Hazily, she saw Fran rushing towards her with the Zicterium in liquid form, asking her to drink it. But she no longer has any control over her body, and even as Fran poured the liquid into her mouth, it simply spilt away onto her chin. Thus, at such an emergency moment...

(I know this may be considered an overused story trope, I love it~ <3)

Cardia could feel Fran’s lips against hers, as the sweet liquid flew down her throat. Since Zicterium was such a dangerous matter, she doesn’t feel that it would be safe for Fran to feed her Zicterium by mouth. But, Fran smiled and hugged her warmly, as Cardia thought about all her adventures that she had been with Fran ever since they had met. 

(I’ll just leave the rest of Cardia’s thought here since I like them~ Kind of embarrassing to type them myself anyway >////<)

When Cardia regained her consciousness, she can’t help but feel that Fran was being reckless doing all these for her. Fran gave a weak smile and explained to her that the effects of Zicterium changed drastically when it was being changed from liquid to gaseous form to be used as a weapon. Even though Zicterium might not be harmless in liquid form, it’s not instantly fatal, and thus he was able to make use of it to cure Cardia.

(Awww Fran~)

Time fast forward to the near future. 

Cardia thought back to how the two of them had met up with the rest of the group soon after and managed to make out of the facility alive before it exploded. Overwhelmed with exhaustion, they both fell into a deep sleep.

Just then, Fran came to find her at her room to bid her good morning. The group had a farewell party the night before, as the rest of the group began to part their ways as they continued on to achieve their respective goals. Fran teased her that Cardia was so lonely knowing that everyone was leaving at the farewell party yesterday that she held onto Fran and asked him to stay with her >/////<

It seems like the rest of the group had already left the mansion by the time Cardia had wake up, which disappointed her since she had wanted to send them off. Lupin and Impey had set off together on their original goal of finding something, while Van had gone off with Dora-chan, as Van had said that he wanted to help the vampires as a part of atoning for his past. Saint, the owner of the mansion, told Fran and Cardia that he had some business that he had to take care of and force them to take ownership of the mansion before leaving.

Cardia felt bad that she ended up being the one falling asleep soundly when she was the one who had asked Fran to accompany her. Fran doesn’t mind though, since he got to look at Cardia while she slept, complimenting her that she’s adorable to the point that he could not take his eyes off her. (Oh~ When did Fran gets so good at such flirting already? O////O) Apparently, such a comment was too much for Cardia, that she got too embarrassed and hid behind the sheets.

(Fran was indeed not holding back his praises when he found Cardia really adorable ^/////^)

Suddenly, Fran blushed and admitted that he’s really happy that Cardia had wanted him to stay with her since he enjoyed being relied on by the girl he loves and even called her a princess. 

(These blushing expressions are adorable~~! Fran is the adorable one instead to me >/////<)

He started fidgetting and wondered whether he should continue on saying what he had in mind. After debating silently, he seriously asked Cardia whether they should start sleeping in the same bed now that they’re staying together. (Is it me or it suddenly just went onto fast mode for their relationship when they’ve just been a couple recently? That was fast, Fran OWO)

(I have to say you’re being abit too honest there XDDD)

(But seriously... how can you say “No” to such a cute face here >/////<)

(Yep, no way I could ever reject Fran after this >/////<)

Cardia nodded silently but then thought that she might end up hurting Fran since she wasn’t sure whether her Horologium would continue to be in a stable condition. She worried that her poisonous body won’t change, and there would be no happy ending for her in the future. Fran smiled and assured her that he had promised her since the first time they had met that he would definitely cure her of her poison no matter. He revealed that he had gotten some Zicterium samples and asked Cardia to drink it, promising that drinking it would make both of them happy. After Cardia drank it though, Fran decided to give it a try...

by kissing Cardia on the lips~

Cardia panicked as she tried to push Fran away, but he forcefully held her down with his hands. She had thought that she might end up melting Fran’s face, but thank goodness there was no smell of burning flesh nor his skin melting on her. Surprised, she looked up at Fran and asked him what was going on when the kiss had ended. 

Fran answered that the liquid he had just given her to drink was a medicine that could suppress her poison, though she would need to take it regularly. Now that her poison was suppressed, she could now freely touch Fran and kiss him. This was like a miracle for Cardia, which Fran said all of this was possible because both of them had fought hard for what they wanted and didn’t give up. It felt like their bright future was just about to start now and he promised that he would make Cardia happy. 

After two months of hiatus, I finally took out some time to write the next playthrough for Code Realize~ This chapter was played in September, so I ended up having some chapters on backlog which I’m trying to clear recently, since I really wished I could finish Fran’s route before this year ends TWT (I think we’re nearing the end soon hopefully?)

This chapter was quite a... how do I say... a reveal and abit of heartache as we get to know Fran’s backstory (Finally~!! I’ve been waiting for it since how many chapters ago TWT) I like Fran more and more after this chapter seriously >////<

Okay, enough of my fangirling now, onto the playthrough~!

Time count down to 9 hours left.

Cardia woke up from a dream from her past and found herself in an unfamiliar place. Realising how much time she had left, Cardia felt bad that she had wasted over 20 hours from fainting and in deep slumber, and that she’s going to become a true “monster” in 9 hours. 

Suddenly, Fran appeared, all smiles on his face. He was worried and asked Cardia on how she was feeling, and Cardia felt apologetic for sleeping so much since she wanted to help more. 

(Fran’s smile here is so precious~)

Fran smiled and told her that there’s nothing to be sorry about since she was feeling so unwell that she fainted, thus she doesn’t have to feel guilty about it. He explained that the group tried searching for Zicterium while she was sleeping, and managed to track down a person who was involved in the philosopher’s stone’s project in the past, which might be a lead to where Zicterium was located. The rest of the group were already on their way to visit the man, while Fran stayed behind to take care of Cardia. Fran vowed that they would definitely find the Zicterium before the government does, and get rid of it. He was apologetic that he had yet to find a cure for Cardia’s poison, but he knew he was getting close to getting a breakthrough.

Cardia looked at him and knew that he was telling the truth, though she realised that his expression looked pain when she thanked him. 

(Though there are doubts about Fran, I do like what he said to Cardia T////T)

Cardia felt that Fran’s words were as if he’s telling himself to prepare to die for her sake, and asked him why was he sacrificing so much for her, since she knew she wasn’t human and viewed herself as a monster created to spread deadly poison around, thus felt that her life isn’t worthy for Fran. Cardia knew that her words must sound like rejection to Fran, but he simply smiled and assured her that she’s not a monster, and just a normal girl who deserves her happiness.

(Awww... Fran >////<)

But Cardia could only imagine herself causing Fran’s death by the time she had lost control of herself, and being terrified of the near future, she made a choice...

(I swear I’m just blindly choosing at this moment since both choices are hard D:)

Cardia told Fran not to be so kind towards her, saying that doing that will just create more painful memories for them since their relationship (be it friendship/romance) would be over once she turned into a monster. But Fran shook his head and insisted that he’s going to stay with her, and told her with a determination that while he’s afraid of death, he’s even more afraid of himself running away from her, and that he can’t bear the thought of him screaming and crying and leaving Cardia behind. 

(Just when I thought there isn’t going to be any more close up, I get surprised again O////O)

But for Cardia, Fran’s kindness towards her was painful, as she thought back to Fran’s diary entry of blaming himself that she was being created. She wondered what was her to Fran, and whether she was the only one who had seen Fran as a friend or perhaps even more... (More, as in? O////O) She could derive from the conversation he had with the Queen earlier on that he was not her father, but still, she wondered what he had meant by that entry in his diary. Thinking about this and the thought that she might not even be herself a few hours later, Cardia started feeling more restless and anxiety, which caught Fran’s attention.

Cardia decided to come clean with Fran, apologising that she had seen his diary when she looked through his room and asked about his entry on blaming himself that she was being created. Fran fell silent after that, struggling whether he should tell the truth to Cardia, but after some urging from her, Fran decided to reveal the truth to her. 

Turned out that his journal was initially used to just record the research of his subjects, but he soon added his own thoughts and emotions to it which he could not say out loud to it, and thus, that entry about Cardia, was something that he had can’t help but write down. Though Fran had wanted to rip out those pages about his thoughts, he ended up leaving them nevertheless.

Fran warned Cardia that she might end up despising him after listening to his story, but he knew that deep down that he perhaps deserved that and decided to reveal everything to her, and by that, it’s pretty much his entire life till this day.

(Long story short, Fran was selected to become a part of the researcher’s team in the Royal Society, where they were being tasked to create the philosopher’s stone. But he didn’t manage to recreate it but instead created a deadly toxic - Zicterium. Fran was being held responsible for the project being a failure and was asked to leave the Royal Society. However, Cardia’s father, Isaac, took him in and got him yet another job at the government, and this time his job was to research on Zicterium. Fran had believed that his research here would be helpful to the country in the future, being glad to have the affirmation from someone else when it seems like everyone had abandoned after he had failed to recreate the philosopher’s stone.

Fran had no idea what his research of Zicterium was used for until he heard that it was being used in the Vampire War that broke out. Realising finally that Zicterium was being used as a weapon, Fran felt angry and mad at the government and Victoria for making use of him, as well as thinking himself as being an ignorant fool. 

He had run to where the war had taken place thinking that perhaps there was still a chance to stop it, but...

All he saw were faces of the agony of the corpses lying around him by the time he had reached there. 

Fran wondered why had he been so proud of his research back then since this was nothing that he expected as it was definitely not a “research” to help mankind. He could only cry out that he’s sorry and for the dead to forgive him, as he ran away from everything of this incident... being too afraid to fight back and do anything at all. 

In the end, Zicterium was used alot during the Vampire War, causing lots of deaths, and Fran knew that this was all because of his research was being abused. He later heard that the government had kept the remaining Zicterium, and knowing that they might be using it for murder again someday, he vowed to get rid of them.

Regarding Cardia, he had heard from rumours that Isaac was experimenting with Homunculi, which later turned out to be Holorogium, and he was able to make that connection soon after seeing it engraved onto Cardia. Knowing that Horologium would not have existed if Zicterium was not created, Fran blamed himself for Cardia being created, telling her that it was because of Zicterium that there’s deadly poison in her, thus all those pain that she had suffered in her life... Fran blamed it all onto himself.

Fran came clean that him trying to save Cardia was actually him trying to save himself since he had thought that he might be able to run away from the crimes of his past if he had managed to cure her. 

(Really can’t help but feel sorry for him T////T He tried so hard to be a good guy but ended up being deceived and had to work even harder to get rid of his guilt... T////T)

Rather than questioning Fran any further though, Cardia hugged Fran and thanked him instead. Fran was shocked and told her that he had not done anything deserving of her thanks since his experiments had instead been used to create the poison in her. Cardia told him that it was because of him that she existed, and it’s a fact that because of Zicterium, she’s alive. She’s happy with the life she had lived until today, and was glad that she had the chance to meet him and spend time with him. Though Fran’s research had created a deadly weapon, Cardia was still thankful that she’s being created because of it. 

Fran started trembling as Cardia continued to hug him, and he thanked her for telling all this to him. Cardia realised that Fran might have always hated himself this entire time, but though he had run away once, he had now decided to face his mistakes, even if he was the one who had also suffered and hurt because of it. Cardia wanted to stay by his side and was thankful that he had given her a chance at this life.

(I just love this closing sentence on what a great guy Fran is T/////T)

It was night time when Fran had calmed down, and he assured Cardia that he was going to save her, no matter what it takes, and he’s also not going to let the government gets away with terrorism. 

(Perhaps this is a hint of Fran’s feelings towards Cardia? >/////<)

Cardia had felt that it was a very sad thing that Fran was being held captive by his guilt, as though he had wanted to be held captive by it and to suffer from it. (Hopefully, he would finally be able to relieve from it when this incident all came to an end T////T)

Time count down to 8 hours left.

The story took us to Lupin’s gang’s point of view, where they had arrived in front of a mansion, hoping to track down the man who might lead them to the location of Zicterium. 

(Interestingly, Dora-chan had gone with them for this expedition as well, though he doesn’t respond well when he heard about the word “Zicterium”... I don’t blame him at all, poor kid D:)

However, Van had felt that something was off when he took a closer inspection at the door. It seems that it hasn’t been opened for a long time. Impey wondered whether the man had moved away, but Saint suspected that the man might be in a situation that he was not able to leave the house. The group decided to go into the house and check it out, and though Lupin offered to unlock the door, Van decided to just fire at the lock to unlock it violently instead. (That’s totally stealing the limelight from Lupin XD)

They soon realised that the man was dead for quite a while as soon as they stepped into the house. Van deduced that the man had committed suicide by shooting his own head, and Saint guessed that the man must have not been able to stand the pain of guilt anymore and thus decided to take his own life. 

(It’s a sad ending to this man’s life...)

Though they could not question the man on regarding Zicterium, the group looked through the documents in the mansion, looking for any leads that might lead them to the Zicterium. Suddenly, Van found a parchment, which turned out to be a letter written by the man before he committed suicide. It detailed about the terrorism plans that Queen Victoria had planned to carry out, and the first part of the operation will be carried out at the area where Fran and Cardia were located. He ran out of the mansion, shouting to the others where Victoria’s next target is, which means Fran and Cardia would be in danger. The group ran to notify the two of them about it, but it seems like the terrorist plans were already happening, with explosions thundering from the other side of the city...

Back to Cardia’s point of view, she was deeply affected by the explosion, being thrown off the bed by the impact. Fran rushed into the room, and upon realising what the sweet scent in the air was, quickly covered Cardia’s mouth with his hand. Cardia panicked, thinking that his hand would be melt upon touching her face, but thank goodness Fran’s gloves were made of the same material as her clothes so he would be alright. He warned Cardia not to breathe in the smoke, as it contained Zicterium.

They decided to run away from where they’re residing and saw many people running away from the smoke, running in all sorts of direction. Some of the people stayed behind though, being concerned for their loved ones who were trapped (or maybe wanting to loot something in midst of all these commotions), and thus were running into the smoke instead. Cardia saw them writhe in agony and fell down after some time, and Fran quickly shouted out to them to run away from the smoke as it was poisonous gas. It was no use as it seems like no one had heard him, and thus, he decided to go into the smoke once again to warn the others, telling Cardia to leave first. Though Cardia was worried, Fran assured her that he had countermeasures against the smoke and won’t die that easily. (That sure doesn’t sound convincing...)

Even though Cardia grabbed hard onto Fran to prevent him from leaving, he was determined to stay and help the others and ran off to warn the others instead... 

(And here we get yet another super close up of Fran’s face >/////<)

(I’m stubborn and end up staying and running back to Fran again ^^; Even though he scolded Cardia, I know he’s just worried about her~)

Cardia ran back to catch up to Fran and told him that he’s just in as much danger as she does, and helped a man who was about to collapse before Fran does. After helping the man, Cardia faced Fran and told him that she’s not going to leave and was going to help him instead. Fran agreed in the end and requested her to go around the buildings and give people directions on where to escape. Fran was determined to help as many people as he can since he doesn’t want to relieve the nightmare of the past ever again. Some people stayed and helped them out too, and surprisingly, Cardia actually felt even better after staying in the smoke.... (Hmmm?! OWO”)

However, Cardia noticed that Fran seems to be feeling worse and worse, and though Fran was an expert on Zicterium, there’s still a limit on how much Zicterium he could take, as much as he was trying not to inhale any of them.

The smoke finally dispersed in the end, and both of them quickly left the place just before the Scotland Yard arrived. Fran was coughing badly, though he urged Cardia that they need to go back and help anyone that might still need help, Cardia stopped him, telling him that he can’t help anyone when he’s in such a bad condition. 

Fran was confused that Cardia doesn’t seem affected by the Zicterium at all, and instead, she remarked that she seems to have recovered a bit. It was impossible that Cardia had not inhaled any of the gas, and hearing that she had recovered, Fran wondered whether the transformation of Horologium had stopped for a while and suddenly he figured something out. He started scribbling furiously on the floor using a rock he had picked up nearby and started exclaiming that he made sense of "it” now. 

(Well, I’ll just let Fran explain below on what he had figured out~ His shining expression was just so interesting and funny~ XD)

Since it would be too late to make Zicterium right now, their goal now was to locate the hidden Zicterium, and Cardia would finally be saved if she gets in contact with them~

(Awww~ This is a new expression of Fran, him smiling so happily like a child is just soooo adorable~ >/////<)

But... it was too early for them to be happy, as Twilight members appeared before them...

Time count down to 7 hours left.

The scene changed towards Queen Victoria’s point of view, as she smiled to herself, thinking about her terrorism plan that had been carried out, and that everything would be going smoothly just like how it had happened during the Vampire War last time. This would be considered the second terrorist attack, and she believed that fear must be deeply planted in the citizen’s hearts by now, wanting them to be cautious, expecting the next attack. Using that fear, she could propose a war which no one would be able to oppose. 

Victoria shared what she had planned to carry out her terrorism plans next, making use of Zicterium to cause the entire Europe to fall in fear. If they launch a war at this time, Britain should be able to squash out all the other countries and they would all be under her rule after that.

She looked over at Leonhardt and gave him her next order - to obtain the Horologium and Zicterium so that they could proceed to the final stages of their plan...

This chapter has no new CG so we’ll just have to make do with a nice-smiling Fran as the cover chapter~ XD The story is getting more and more intense as we made our way towards the end, but there are still one or two sweet moments.

Next chapter will be the finale~! I’m looking forward to writing that out~ ^^

Time counts down to 6 hours left.

Cardia and Fran were making their escape away from Twilight, but with Fran being weak to the point that Cardia had to help him to move along, it would be a matter of time before they were being caught up. Fran suggested that he would be a decoy to distract Twilight while Cardia escaped joining Lupin and the others, but Cardia stopped him instead and told him that she had thought of herself being a monster, and if that time comes... she would choose to take her own life. For her, it’s important to be with Fran as much as possible and thus she decided that she shall stay with him and not abandon him. And what goes on, is sort of like a confession from Cardia to Fran:

(Awww~ >////<)

Fran blushed and mumbled something about love, which Cardia thought hard about it and decided that she shall tell Fran right at the moment she loves him XD (I do envy Cardia for being so straight forward in her feelings at this moment O////O)

But Fran showed a glum face and replied that he doesn’t deserve to be loved. But.... apparently, Cardia gave quite a cute answer~

(How can you reject her after she confessed to you like this? Fran blushing like this is really adorable too~ >////<)

Fran was about to reply to Cardia when... who was to appear to destroy the atmosphere other than Twilight? =w=“ Aleister appeared too, and remarked that the Twilight is here under the Queen’s order, passing on the message from her that if Fran obtained Zicterium for them, she will let both Cardia and him go. Twilight had already known of someone who was related to the project in creating Zicterium, but when they arrived at the man’s house, they realised that the information had already been removed and deduced that Lupin and the others had already obtained them - handwritten notes which contained the location where Zicterium were being hidden. 

To force Fran to obtain the Zicterium, Cardia was being held as a hostage by Twilight, giving Fran four hours to locate the Zicterium, and if he failed to do so, Cardia would be killed, as a “safety prevention” that she would get turned into a monster. Though Fran confronted Aleister that the Queen would definitely want to keep Cardia alive as a weapon, Aleister coolly revealed that he had not planned to obey the Queen’s instructions anyway. In the end, Fran had no choice but to obey Twilight and the Queen’s instructions, and a tracking device was put onto him to keep his whereabouts, warning Fran that he would also be under surveillance to prevent him from doing anything funny. 

(I seriously don’t think to beg for help is going to be of much use at this moment so...)

Cardia tried to assure Fran to go find the Zicterium and not worry about her and instead wanted him to destroy the Zicterium once he had found them, even if Aleister warned her that she would eventually become a monster without it. Though Cardia appeared that she did not care about her life and will put an end to her life if the inevitable happens, Fran gave his word that he would find the Zicterium, warning Aleister not to harm her.

(This is probably very important to take note of in the later part of the game. Trust may or may not make things turn out right in the end...)

Cardia had tried to take her own life, by throwing herself at the blade which the Twilight member was holding against her throat, but ultimately failed to do so. Fran promised that he would come back to her and begged her not to give up on her life so easily just yet. (Damn, I’m a bit sad to know that Cardia actually attempted to commit suicide when Fran was still there. It’s too early to give up! ><”)

From here on, the story continued on in Fran’s point of view:

An hour after the confrontation with Twilight, Fran found himself running along the streets of London. With only three hours left to find Zicterium, it seems that there isn’t enough time to think up of a strategy to work against Twilight, but it’s still too soon to give up yet. Fran knew that there isn’t any guarantee that they would make it out alive even if he had brought the Zicterium to Twilight, but he had no choice but to do that now, in order to save Cardia.

(It’s interesting to see from Fran’s point of view for this scene, where we actually get to see Cardia appear as a character.)

Knowing that Aleister had planned to use Zicterium as a weapon, Fran’s nightmare from two years ago was going to come true all over again, and he isn’t going to let that happen. His plan was ultimately to find Zicterium and destroys it, but memories of Cardia filled his head and he knew that he had to save her, while still destroying Zicterium, though the logical part of his brain told him that this was not possible.

Fran ran until he arrived at the meeting spot where he saw Van waiting for him. He remarked that Impey had gotten worried about the explosion and went looking for Fran and Cardia, and the rest had continued onto the location of Zicterium since it had been written down on the researcher’s notes even though the person himself was already dead by the time they went to his house. 

Noticing that Cardia was not with Fran, Van asked him why was he alone. Fran knew that he should not say anything suspicious since he knew that Twilight was watching him, and thus told a fake reason to Van while using his finger to drum out a morse code revealing the real reason at the same time. 

(I have to say that this is my first time seeing Van looking so surprised XD)

From Van’s slight expression changes, Fran knew that he had already realised what was going on, and begged Van to tell him about the location where Zicterium was kept (since ultimately he needs it to save Cardia). Van told him the location and asked Fran to keep up with him as they ran towards there. 

Time count down to 4 hours left. 

The story goes back to Cardia’s point of view, where she found herself being tied up on a chair and thus could not move. Even her hands were tied up to the point that she can’t remove her gloves to melt the rope using her poison. (Wow, the villains were actually detailed and careful to this degree OWO)

Aleister entered the room, being all polite and asking Cardia on her body condition, but after some chit-chat, he revealed that Fran had already figured out where the Zicterium was being kept, and that he had also sent some of his Twilight agents to the location, since he had not planned for Fran to bring Zicterium to him anyway, knowing that even if Fran wanted to, the rest of the group may not agree to it. He soon left the room, but not without some remarks of how “alive” Cardia was even though she was supposed to be just a “doll”, wondering whether she was pretending to be angry. (Who will do that at a point like this? =w=“) After Aleister left the room, Cardia could sense her condition gradually worsening, and know that she might not be able to move much any longer.

(At this point, a choice was given and... stupid me believing to wait for Fran to come back with the Zicterium, chose to wait. Cardia started feeling really dizzy and having a headache to the point she collapsed and knowing that her body is changing to a monster... and she lost her conscious. And I ended with a bad end. Welp, that was a fast ending D:)

(Luckily, there’s always a second chance~!)

Knowing that her being kept captive will only prevent Fran’s progress and put the group into a disadvantage if they were being attacked by Twilight, Cardia decided to make a run herself. She decided to scratch her wrist with something sharp in this room and use her blood to melt the rope, but when she finally managed to do it, she realised something strange... her blood isn’t melting off the rope like it used to! She wondered whether the poison had weakened as part of the Horologium’s transformation, but managed to stay calm in the end as she tried to untie the rope herself using what Lupin had taught her. She finally managed to free herself, and seeing that she had just three hours left before she transformed, she quickly made her escape out of the house she was being kept captive in, shattering the window and jumping out of it.

Unfortunately, Cardia soon met a Twilight member outside of the house as she jumped out, but managed to knock him out with the techniques she had learned from Van, taking a dagger from him too in the meantime. (The reason why she took a dagger is to use it to kill herself if it’s needed. Cardia... TWT)

As Cardia tried to run away, she found herself surrounded by Twilight members. Luckily, Impey had arrived with the Ornithopter and grabbed Cardia away from them. (Yeah~~! Thanks, Impey~!)

(It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve heard Impey said anything like this~ Probably because I’ve dragging out this route for so long ^^;)

Cardia filled Impey in quickly about the current situation, and they both made their way there just so that Cardia can assure the others that she’s safe now.

The story changed to Fran’s point of view.

As Van and he arrived at the location where Zicterium was said to be hidden, he looked at his watch and realised that there are only three hours left till the Horologium transforms, and that would mean there’s only one hour left before Aleister would kill Cardia. They soon meet up with Lupin and Saint there, where Lupin sighed and commented that they’re currently stuck since they can’t move past the huge doors at the end. 

While Fran was giving the fake explanation about Cardia to the others, Van passed on the real message using morse code once again. (Wow... did all of them learned morse code and could understand it already? OWO) But soon, Twilight had arrived at this place and started attacking them. Since it seems like Twilight wasn’t holding up their end to the bargain, Van suggested that they fought back, but Fran was worried about antagonizing them since he knew that Cardia was in their hands. He tried to think up of a plan where they can gain an upper hand and noticing the transmitter on his clothing where Aleister was using to keep tabs on him, a plan started to form in his head as he asked Van regarding the chain of command in Twilight. 

Knowing from Van that the Twilight soldiers were still able to relay information to Aleister even if he isn’t here, Fran decided to shout out to them that he wanted to negotiate with Aleister, declaring that they had a trump card and that Aleister won’t be able to access Zicterium without it. As expected, the soldiers ceased their attacks, while Fran continued on that he knew how to decipher the trick to access the room, and if Aleister killed them here, he would never be able to decipher it within two hours and get accessed to the Zicterium. Though Aleister threatened Fran again that he had Cardia in his hands, Fran was not scared and said that both he and she were already prepared to die anyway. Part of it was a lie actually since Fran had no idea how to decipher the trick to the hidden room yet, but all he can do now was to cease fighting to buy for more time before the Horologium finishes transforming. 

Aleister finally agreed to negotiate with Fran, and Fran wanted Twilight to bring Cardia here so that they can make sure she’s safe before they open the door. But Aleister refused, telling him that he would dispose Cardia and also kill all of them instead since he doesn’t want to take a risky bet. (My bet is Cardia wasn’t even there anymore so he can’t bring her to where Fran was if he wanted to =w=“). As the group resumed their battle with Twilight once again, Fran heard a familiar voice he felt that he hasn’t listened to for a long time...

(Yeah~! Cardia is here, along with Impey~ I have to admit they look kind of good together here XD)

Fran hurriedly ran to her asking her how she managed to make her escape. Now that the group was reunited, Impey joined Van and the others to battle against Twilight.

(Though while they were battling, Fran was hugging Cardia and telling her how glad he was that she was safe. And here’s how Cardia looks like when she blushed in front of Fran. Awww~)

Fran declared to Aleister that the latter had lost. But Aleister simply smiled as he stepped away from his communication device in the mansion. Realising that Twilight had been surrounded by the military as Queen, Aleister decided that he shall end Twilight today, by killing his own men and even the Queen’s troops as he made his escape... 

(Hmm... I wonder if we would ever see Aleister made an appearance someday...)

Time counts down to 1 hour left.

The military had also arrived at the location where Fran and others were at, with Leonhardt leading them to destroy Twilight. While Twilight’s soldiers were good at combat, the military was too, and soon Twilight was put under control by them. 

Though the military had come to get rid of Twilight which was a good thing for Fran and others, it didn’t seem like they were here to help them. The soldiers quickly surrounded them, with Leonhardt warning them not to move as the soldiers would shoot them if they had shown any resistance. Van cautioned the group to be careful since, in Van’s eyes, Leonhardt was a very strong and powerful soldier.

Suddenly, Queen Victoria made an appearance as well, thanking Fran and the others for keeping Twilight distracted, so that none of her soldiers was harmed. Van realised that they were being used as a bait all this while to cause trouble with Twilight, to which Victoria explained that she had been keeping an eye on Aleister and noticed that he was being rebellious, and knowing that danger that Cardia could cause if she were to fall into the “wrong” hands, she decided to take this matter into her own hands in the end.

Victoria explained that she had let Cardia and Fran escaped from the palace since she had wanted them to “roam free”, to help them locate this place where Zicterium was being kept. Cardia asked her whether she had intended to continue on with her plan involving terrorism, to which Victoria calmly replied that in order to let Britain continues to survive, she needed a war to break out right now, and claimed that for that to happen, she just need to a little bit of Zicterium and sacrifice. Obviously that “little bit” was actually alot of deaths and it greatly pissed Fran off when he saw how Victoria had belittled them.

Victoria once again explained on how Britain would be caught up in terms of technology in ten to twenty years, and how the other nations had hated them and would definitely trample on them when it comes to war by that time. Thus she wanted to get a head start on putting all the other nations under her control by declaring war now. Saint actually agreed with her, though it’s a half-agree, and told the Queen that she’s only looking at a part of nation when she thought up of her plan.

Victoria wasn’t glad to hear that her reasoning was very one-sided, determined that thinking from Britain’s standpoint was what she’s supposed to do. She then decided to reveal to Fran and the others that the facility they were at now was, in fact, a weapon itself, a device that could spread Zicterium across the entire country. In fact, this was what Victoria had been searching for a long time, and was determined that to start a world war right now, she had to activate the device and sacrifice the entire London, thus causing hatred among the people to fuel it.

(I don’t know why but I find it scary yet sad that Victoria could smile when she knew that she’s being a villain and was willing to carry out her plans at all cost...)

Cardia had found it scary that Victoria had spoken with so much confidence about her plan and was sure that it would succeed, even if she knew that she would die from this plan. For her, the plan would be even better if she was being sacrificed, and even calmly said that she had already made arrangements on the rest of her plans would proceed smoothly after her death. For Victoria, she doesn’t even plan to mourn on her own death and seems that she just wanted to bring an end to her duties as the Queen.

Fran didn’t care about what Victoria had said though, he didn’t believe in her logic, and didn’t want innocent people to be killed as part of the plan, to which Victoria expressed her envy to him that he was able to stand up for his own justice and wished she had the choice, slightly revealing her emotions that she didn’t want to take such a huge responsibility actually...

But, she soon changed the topic and told Fran that she knew what he had told Aleister was a bluff since she knew how to open the doors here, holding up the pendant that once belonged to Finis. (Finis had been gone for so long in this route that I almost forgot about his existence =w=“) Activating the pendant, she managed to open the doors, revealing a new and eerie path before them.

Victoria also revealed that she knew that Cardia needed Zicterium to cure herself and that if Cardia was to transform into a monster, even Zicterium won’t be able to cause any damage to her. Thus, she wanted to cooperate with her to help prevent Cardia to be transformed into a monster, though once everything is over here, she would have to be under the government’s protection, and became one of the Queen’s weapon. 

Cardia knew that she might get dissected by researchers, and would be taken advantage by Victoria to be used as a weapon if she had gone with her. But if she doesn’t, there’s a high chance that her own poison will end up destroying the whole of London and killing all of her friends, wondering what she should do at this point of time. But the Queen ended up giving them just two choices, surrender Cardia to them so only she gets to survive, or all of them would have to die together. Cardia refused to obey her, saying that it would be worthless if she’s the only one who gets to survive alone and wanted to stay with them until the very end.

Since Cardia had made her choice, Victoria decided that they shall all be killed and summoned her soldiers to fight them, while Leonhardt and she made their way down the path to where the Zicterium device was being kept. However, Fran told Cardia to go off together to where the Queen had gone since ultimately, he wanted to cure Cardia of her poison. Cardia was mad that Fran had intended for her to be the only survivor, but Fran sadly explained to her that though all this while he had intended to destroy Zicterium to run away from his crimes, he realised that Zicterium was required to save her and if he destroys it, he would also be destroying a future he wanted to have with her. Fran knew that the Queen’s plans will only generate more hatred and war in the future, so he still wants to stop her, while still saving Cardia at the same time. He isn’t going to give anything up and would try to attain both of his goals, thus, wanting Cardia not to give up on her life too and come with him 

(How can you say no to this face though >////<)

With Cardia agreeing to go with him, Lupin teased them for declaring their love for each other at such a moment and asked them to go ahead, since the rest of them had their back and will take care of things here.

(I just love these guys’ friendship with each other~ <3)

Finally, I made my way into Fran’s route~! It’s been a long time since I’ve played this chapter actually (since I couldn’t take out much time to write blog posts recently), I’ll try to recap what had happened in this chapter with some of my own doki doki comments ^^;

As Fran had gone missing after his last conversation with Cardia, she found herself unable to concentrate on her daily life after that and kept thinking about him. The rest of the group had no idea where Fran had disappeared to either, and though Cardia wanted to join the rest of the group in search for him, she felt strangely tired since the day Finis had died, thus she decided to rest at the mansion in wait of news.

One day, she heard a knock on her bedroom door and quickly jumped to open it as she wondered it may be Fran who had returned. But... turned out that it was just Saint, who looked sad as he answered her that he was just here to bring some tea for her. (Aww....) Cardia can’t help to feel disappointed at the lack of news of Fran though she was thankful that Saint was concerned about her. Even though Cardia told Saint that she was confident that Fran would be alright, Saint looks through her as he knew that she was just trying hard to stay strong.

(This made it sounds like Saint is older than how he looks like...)

Saint asked Cardia why she was very concerned about Fran, (Saint are you trying to fish out something from Cardia?) which she shyly answered that he’s just a friend.

(Yeah, Saint is definitely trying to dig out Cardia’s feelings towards Fran, but does that really mean that Cardia is indeed feeling something more for Fran from now on? O////O)

Cardia felt that words just seem to pour out from her mouth as she revealed how she felt about Fran, saying that she felt at ease when she talked to Fran and wanted to keep talking to him. Though she believed that she would be able to see Fran soon, it now pains her to leave him. She also felt happy while having a little heartache when she sees Fran smile... (Aww...) After listening to Cardia’s answer, Saint replied that he would be rooting for her though she can’t do much. (But Cardia was cute in that she doesn’t understand what Saint was saying XD)

After Saint had left, Cardia realised that Fran had become a very important person in her life. She felt a warm feeling in her heart just remembering Fran’s face as he assured her that she was not a monster and was just a kind-hearted girl, wondering where Fran could be right now...

In the evening, everyone had returned to the mansion, but no one could find Fran nor had any clues on how to locate Cardia’s father. However, Van announced that he had something important to tell them instead, which turned out to be grim news for the group. The Queen had called off protection for Fran, which includes the rest of the group too. This means that the government would be after them soon again to capture them for the crime of being accomplices of Fran who was still being framed as the “wanted terrorist”. 

This came as a shock for Lupin since he had not heard anything about this. (And Lupin was very confident in picking up news ^^;) Van simply replied that this news will be publicised the next day, and they would all be branded as criminals by then, while Cardia wondered why all of this is happening suddenly as it was unlikely the Queen would just go back on her word like that. Van revealed that it seems that Fran had committed a terrorist act at Buckingham Palace, using a poison called Zicterium. This was the same experimental poison used during the Vampire War, and it seems that the terrorist act had landed in at least 20 deaths with many people still being unconscious. 

(So now Fran was being aimed as being the main suspect... but of course, I would not think of Fran being someone like this!)

Cardia shocked everyone when she shouted as she can’t believe that Fran would do something like this. The rest of the group agreed as well, and though Cardia felt her chest suddenly heating up, she assured Lupin that she was just a little dizzy when he noticed her being weird.

(Saint revealed a little detail which showed what a gentle person Fran was >/////<)

When Cardia retreated to her room, she noticed that the Horologium on her chest is pulsing with light, and knew that her body has definitely changed ever since that day she had encountered Finis in the lab. She found herself calling out Fran’s name all of a sudden, wondering whether she was doing that because she’s worried about him or she had wanted to see his face again... She started to think about Fran, feeling a sudden urge to see him and noticed that Fran had always seemed to be hiding something from everyone, including her ever since they had met. She had thought that what he was hiding at that time was the fact that she was not a human, but now... she had a feeling that Fran was still hiding something else from her. 

Deciding to find out more about Fran’s secret, she decided to take a look at Fran’s room for clues, apologising before stepping into his room. She started to search for clues that may point out to where Fran may be, feeling guiltier by the moment. But most of the documents aren’t even written in a language that Cardia could read until she came across something that might end up being a clue - a leather-bound book. Though the book contained formulae that she could not understand, Cardia soon came across a single sentence that caught her eye...

She found herself leaving Fran’s room as if she was fleeing from the words. She wondered whether the sentence had meant that Fran had “created” her and was actually her father, Isaac. But on further thinking, she knew that there’s no way Fran could have a daughter at Cardia’s age since he was still young. If Fran was indeed her father, it would mean that he had been lying to the group the entire time, and Cardia wondered what he was thinking when he was pretending to help them if that was true.

(But nah, I never really did suspect Fran would be her father. This just sounds abit too absurd to me ^^;)

Just then, Cardia heard a sound from the window and noticed that a letter had been left there. She opened it to find this note written in Fran’s handwriting.

Wondering what Fran had meant that there’s a traitor in the group, Cardia decided that she shall go alone to meet him to talk about it.

However, when Cardia had reached Tower Bridge, there was no sign of Fran even when she had called out to him several times. She soon realised that something was wrong and soon enough, she was surrounded by an army from Twilight, with Aleister leading them. Aleister revealed that he was actually the one who had sent her the note, forging Fran’s handwriting. 

Cardia wondered what Twilight want with her since Finis was already dead, which Aleister revealed that they’re now under the direction of a new organisation that’s much larger and more sinful than ever, and the leader of that organisation had requested him to bring Cardia to them. Thus, he ordered Cardia to come with them if she had wanted the answers to her questions.

Though Cardia quickly thought through what she could do to resist them, she realised that she was unable to come up with anything effective against so many enemies. However, a voice called out to her to shut her eyes, with a bright light soon shining through and blinding the enemies. She realised that someone had grabbed her arm, and that turned out to be Fran, coming to save her~!

(The shining knight had come to the rescue~ >/////<)

Fran grabbed her arm as they ran, and then he suddenly lifted up into his arms (princess hug? O////O) Cardia had thought that he would run to the end of the bridge, but he was running to the side of the bridge instead and soon leapt off it with her still in his arms...

As they jumped into the water, Cardia could sense that Fran had grimaced for a second, but before she could ask him what had happened, they were already in the water, with Fran gently taking her hand and started swimming while guiding her forward.

They soon reached the shore, and though Cardia asked Fran whether he was alright, he answered that he’s fine and she doesn’t have to worry about him. The two quickly marched on to escape from Twilight, and though Cardia was not affected at all, Fran’s strength soon began to decrease and thus it became Cardia being the one to pull him forward when the latter ran out of energy. 

In the end, Cardia decided that they took cover in the forest, even asking Fran whether he needs to lean on her shoulder ^^;

(Yep, it seems that Cardia was the one saving Fran instead now XD What a turn of their positions... ^^;)

(This is really sweet coming from Fran~ >////<)

While they were waiting for their clothes to dry for abit and for Fran to regain his strength, they started chatting, with Fran being amazed that Cardia was able to get the Twilight off their tracks. Cardia replied that she had not expected that Fran would appear at all to help her like that since she never thought he was the sort of person who would take such risks since no one could expect what Twilight might do to Fran if he was caught. Fran gave a weak smile and confessed that it’s as though his body had just moved on its own~

(Awww~ That’s adorable >/////<)

Cardia thanked Fran for saving her and told him that she’s really glad that he’s safe since she was really worried about him. That caught Fran by surprise and he replied that hearing her saying all these made him happy. He knew that Cardia definitely has a lot of questions about him on why he had suddenly disappeared, but he was really happy to know that Cardia’s first priority was being concerned on whether he was safe and sound~ (Aww~) 

(Fran’s surprised face here is quite cute as well~ XD But Cardia telling Fran that he’s important to her and they’re friends just sounds like she’s friendzoning Fran suddenly to me T////T)

Suddenly, Cardia noticed that there’s blood on Fran’s abdomen. Though Fran assured her that it’s just a scratch that he had gained while they were making a run earlier on, Cardia soon realised that Fran had been shot and decided to give him some first aid.

(Look at Fran being all flustered while Cardia took his clothes off from him XD)

Upon removing Fran’s lab coat and lifting up his shirt to see his injury, Cardia saw that his cut was severely bleeding. Fran kept assuring that he was fine and the injury isn’t that bad, but Cardia went on to giving him some first-aid regardless, telling him that they’re going back to the mansion after that. Fran smile and asked Cardia to calm down, reminding her that he had once taught her that one should compose themselves and stay as calm as possible when administering first aid. 

(There’s no fanservice of Fran removing his clothes to treat his injury =w=“)

Seeing Cardia being more upset about his own injury than him made Fran felt happy though, as he thanked her for worrying about him and admitting that he was a terrible person who doesn’t deserve that concern. Cardia doesn’t understand why Fran would see himself as being terrible though...

When the first aid was done though, Fran told her that he has to go, explaining that he was not the one responsible for the terrorist attacks and that it was done by someone else instead, in order to mobilized Twilight to come after them. Fran wondered who could it be since Finis was already dead. Though Fran had no idea who was behind all of this and what they were hoping to gain from it, he knew that more people would die if there were to be another terrorist attack. Realising that what he had read about the terrorist plans in the underground lab was about to become a reality, Fran could only reveal that he was looking into something regarding the Terrorism and this was why he had left the mansion. 

(Fran looks so sad here... T/////T)

Fran told Cardia that he was going to speak directly to the Queen and inform her of the dangers of the terrorism. Though Cardia suggested that both of them go back to the mansion together so they can meet with the rest of the group to find the Queen together, Fran stopped her midway and tell her that she’s the only one who can go back and informed the rest of the group that they have to leave the mansion as soon as possible since Twilight now knew where they were staying at. 

Cardia tried to stop Fran from leaving by himself, informing that it’s too dangerous since the government had now thought of him as a terrorist. Fran assured Cardia that it’s alright if it’s only the government who was after him since the Queen won’t dare to harm him since she cared for his knowledge.

(This sentence made Cardia felt that she was being rejected though T///T I have mixed feelings about this since Fran looks so cool saying this though...)

However, before Fran could leave, a familiar voice called out to them. It was Lupin and the rest of the group, who had come looking for Cardia after reading the note she had left behind. Lupin asked Fran whether he was thinking of taking off by himself again ^^;, and apparently, he was also looking into the terrorist plot too and decided to investigate it together with Fran.

(I really like Lupin’s words of them being a gang together here, though Van quickly appeared and remarked that he doesn’t remember being joining his gang XD)

Cardia told Fran that he had always told her to rely on her friends more and to ask him anything since he had never found her to be troubling, and now she shall ask Fran to do the same too, to rely on them more since he’s their friends too~ Fran finally agreed, though he was still hesitant on dragging them all into his personal matter, but he smiled as he confessed that he had really felt reassuring seeing that they would all help him.

(Fran’s smile while blushing here is seriously so precious~! O////O)

(Impey’s joke about turning Fran in order to earn his bounty, though 100% he would be arrested as well as Fran’s accomplice~ XD)

Fran thanked everyone for deciding to accompany him, which Van coolly replied that he just doesn’t feel right to dump Fran on one side after what they have been through together. Fran later noticed Cardia looking at him and asked her if there’s anything wrong. Though Cardia answered that there’s nothing, she can’t help to wonder whether Fran was her father, though she knew that she won’t be able to know the answer to this right now...

The scene then changed to reveal something that happens a few days earlier, where two figures appeared at the underground lab. One of them had gone to the room filled with documents with information that the Royal Alchemist and Royal Society would shed tears on joy if there were to get their hands on it. The figure decided they could use this plan to prepare everything to be set in motion, and all of it was for the sake of Britain...

(Frankly speaking, I have no idea who these figures are and what this part was regarding at all =w=“ - Please don’t spoil even if you knew though! ><”)

And that’s all for this chapter~! Really enjoyed the various little details about Fran throughout the chapter, guess I’m really starting to like how things are gradually going into Fran’s route~!

Welp, it has been two months since my last playthrough so I’ve almost forgotten where I had played till until I started writing this post ^^; This brings back so many memories. This chapter was quite long (and honestly abit boring since it touched on politics and history which I’m bad at it), but Fran’s moments with Cardia were seriously so sweet and cute even though overall there’s like only two moments(?)

Enough with me ranting, and onwards with the playthrough~!

Now that Fran’s back to the party, the group decided to move away from the mansion and into one of Lupin’s hideout - a cheap apartment in the poor part of the town. Fran was serious as he explained what he had known about the situation now and proposed what they should do from now on, as he felt that they should not be sitting back now that the enemy was onto them.

Firstly, Twilight’s planning a large-scale terrorist attack, which was the plan Lupin had knew about and was going to prevent. The plan would require the use of a powerful poison - Zicterium, which was being used in the vampire war and created huge losses for vampires at that time. Cardia noticed that Fran always seems different when he talked about Zicterium, wondering how he was connected to them. However, that’s what Fran knew up till at that point, as he had not yet figure out how Twilight was going to make use of Zicterium in their terrorist plan, until he investigated the recent terrorist attack and realised that the use of Zicterium there was exactly the same as the plans which the group had found in the underground lab, and this was an extremely efficient method.

Saint concluded that since it would be difficult for someone else to obtain such information from the underground lab, which was all along under Finis’s control, he could only assume that this was done by Twilight. Lupin also voiced out that according to the information he had found, Cardia was a key part of Twilight’s terrorist plan, which was why they were planning to capture her, and all these discussions just made Impey felt confused since he can’t believe that Finis’s plans were still going ahead when they already knew that he was dead. Van, however, isn’t so sure that Finis was really dead, though Saint confirmed that he had made sure that Finis had breathed his last at the hidden lab.

Cardia thought back to her last encounter with Aleister and remembered that he mentioned that Twilight was now under the leadership of a new mysterious commander. The group had many questions, but there were no answers for them all. 

Fran was serious in stopping the terrorist plan at all costs since, at this rate, a war would be unavoidable so he wanted to stop that. He proposed to appeal about this matter to Queen Victoria, but it was too risky since Fran was now a wanted criminal yet again. Van deduced that Fran was going to use the same plan again and forced the Queen to protect us, which Fran continued that he knew that the Queen will take action once she knew about it, though he knew it would be dangerous. (Lupin isn’t helping when he warned him that he might really end up in prison for real this time ^^;)

Since Fran had decided to take the risk, the group decided to make a plan on how to do it. The best scenario for them would be to inform Victoria about the terrorist plans directly and they don’t end up in jail. Fran was confident that with all their abilities and talents together, they can do it, though Impey doesn’t have a good feeling about the Queen...

Cardia approached Fran when he was not engaged in a conversation, and told him about the condition of Horologium in her body, fumbling to find the right words. (That actually sounds kind of cute~) Fran’s reaction was kind of amusing though (but I get it might be a very serious matter ^^;) He decided that it’s best that he took a look at Cardia right away, which while him being aggressive was rare and took Cardia by surprise, she’s glad to see him being so serious about her condition. (Awww~)

Cardia had thought that it would be a quick check-up, but poor Fran realised that he had left his medical equipment behind when they moved from the mansion, and thus they had to head back to the mansion, with Van accompanying the two of them like a bodyguard. (Haha Van can be very useful in such a time~) With Van keeping watch outside, Fran and Cardia head into a room, beginning the check-up.

(Fran’s expression here in the flashback is hilarious though XD)

Cardia explained to Fran the symptoms she had experienced recently regarding the Horologium - sometimes the Horologium gets hot and it would glow in a rhythm, and then the heat and pain would spread all over her body. Fran wondered whether this had started happening ever since Finis had touched her with the pendant he had, and noticing that Cardia’s face looked more flushed than ever, he peered closer, wondering whether she had a fever. 

Cardia thought to herself that she indeed felt abit feverish, wondering why she felt the heat build-up even more in her when she looked at Fran, while Fran, who did not realise her feelings, was thinking about whether this could mean that the changes to the Horologium were becoming latent. He asked Cardia to show him her chest so he could take a look at the Horologium, which she blushed and hesitated, and that made Fran felt worried about whether anything’s wrong. When she finally agreed to, Cardia noticed too that Fran’s eyes were as if he doesn’t know where they should look...

(This huge close up on Fran was seriously so pretty and cool~ >////<)

Cardia told Fran that he won’t be able to examine her if he doesn’t look in her direction, which he mumbled out a reply that he had become a little bit self-conscious due to what Cardia had mentioned just now (about showing her own chest to a grown-up man I guess), and that made Cardia blushed too. She said that she would appreciate if Fran considers her feelings too since it’s apparently more embarrassing for her being the one showing herself to him. Fran wondered why they had started to feel awkward about this sort of stuff when they were both completely fine when they first met, and stop mid-sentence when he felt that it was probably Cardia’s fault, though Cardia felt that it’s his fault instead.

(i don’t know why I’m giggling while reading this, the two of them were like little kids doing little quarrels like this XD)

In the end, Fran decided to go on with the checkup, stating that it’s very important that he examined her, and with that, his expression turned serious as he started checking on the Horologium. Cardia thought about the possibility of him being her father as the check-up continues...

(How great is the game that it even gave us close up of this expression~ >/////<)

The check-up was soon over, with Fran telling her not to worry, though she should let him know right away if anything changes in her body. He also told Cardia to stay close to him so he can take care of her right away. (Awww~ This part is so sweet and is it me or Fran’s face is closer than ever >////<)

Cardia was glad to hear about it, being surprised how happy his words had made her be. She still thought about Fran having the possibility being her father and thought that if that was indeed the truth, there would be a reason behind it, and decide that for now, it would be best to trust Fran instead. She wanted to ask him about the truth at the moment, but decided not to in the end, worrying that if she discovered that he was indeed her father, this sweet yet painful emotion in heart would vanish... (Why do I have a feeling that it’s going to be a bitter love story at this moment... TWT)

A few days later, the group get ready for their plan, which is to get into the Buckingham Palace that was heavily guarded. Fran and Cardia were the only two selected to sneak into the palace, by getting in through the sewer line which Lupin had told them about. The sewer lines spread all through the city, including the palace, and thus was considered a great recommendation by Lupin as the way to enter it. Lupin and the rest helped with other preparations and would also be standing by to help them if it’s required. The group had selected Fran and Cardia since it would be easier to avoid the enemy eyes if there’s less of them entering, and with Fran being a scholar and Cardia being a female, the enemy’s guard would be lower as both of them don’t look threatening. 

The two of them head in and made their way through the tunnels, with Fran holding the lantern and Cardia reading the maps. Cardia knew that they would both be captured if they request to meet with the Queen, thus they can’t land using the Ornithopter like how it was the last time, and it would be best if they entered unnoticed and meet with her in secret, since the Queen was always in the palace all the time.

Lupin had helped them to get the Queen’s schedule, and from there they knew that there will be a period where she would be alone in the throne room today, which would be the time slot they’re targeting to negotiate with her. Fran remarked that Lupin’s amazing to know all these - the Queen’s schedule, entering the palace and even the guards’ patrol routes. Cardia guessed that perhaps he had planned to sneak into the palace on his own and had thus already got his hands on all this information. Noticing that Cardia seems to be nervous, Fran smiled and took her hand gently, assuring her that he will protect her~ >////< 

Cardia was glad though she wondered how he’s seeing her as when he said that. A friend? Or is it because he had made her? She had many questions on what would happen if they were to be captured, as she climbed up the ladder that took us out of the sewer lines and right outside of the palace where they had once landed with the Ornithopter.

Fran had looked around ahead of them, and assuming that there’s a gap in their security currently, they decided to hide in a bush and then to begin their actual infiltration. He held up a simple version of an Aether communicator, which was built by Impey, and could help to inform the group of their location, though it won’t be able to transmit their voices. However, the device exploded when Fran pressed the button, and that explosion alerted the guards to their whereabouts instead. (Yikes!)

Cardia and Fran decided to retreat, panicking as they tried to return to the sewer, but they were met with Leonhardt, who had come to keep watch every night after knowing that Lupin would definitely target this shortcoming of their security, trying to sneak in here. 

(Fran’s words here sound like a diss XD It’s kind of rare coming from him~)

Suddenly, Leonhardt decided to attack them with his sword, which Fran managed to dodge it. He quickly took out his test tubes and threw them, creating a blast of smoke that went straight for Leonhardt. In midst of the commotion, Fran told Cardia that they need to use this chance to run back to the sewer, but ultimately they still failed, since they couldn't avoid the guards without fighting back... (Sounds like a bad end if the game were to end here ^^;)

(Forever liking how cool Fran looks like when he’s in a battle mode like this~ >/////<)

Soon, both of them were captured and locked up in separate cells, being handcuffed as well to totally strip them from their freedom. However, it seems like the soldiers of the palace had no idea of Cardia’s poison and its effects. She can’t help but think of her father again, wondering why he had made her like this, and once again, wondered whether Fran was her father.

Suddenly, Leonhardt came and visited her cell, apologising for locking her in a cell as it goes against his personal code but he had to do it as part of his job. He also wanted to apologise for attempting to kidnap her in the past, and for his subordinates who had been rude in calling her a monster. (Seems that Leonhardt isn’t such a bad guy after all...)

Of course, coming to apologise to Cardia isn’t just what Leonhardt wanted to, he wanted to know the truth from her too, asking her what was Fran’s plans for being here in London. Cardia answered that she doesn’t know but she knew that Fran was a kind person and would never commit an act of terrorism, and had even wanted to stop the terrorists instead. That took Leonhardt’s interests as he continued on to ask how Fran was going to do that, which Cardia decided to use this chance to ask him whether they could speak with Victoria about it. However, Leonhardt replied that that would be for the Queen to decide. 

Cardia asked him whether he had trust Queen Victoria and whether she would be able to stop the terrorists. She doesn’t understand her and in Cardia’s eyes, she had seen the Queen as if she was tricking everyone and forcing his hand from her treatment to Fran. Leonhardt replied that the Queen was just trying to do what is right and he greatly respected her, since she had not only saved him from brutal beating when he was caught pickpocketing in the past when trying to gain money to support his sister, she had also given him one of her brooches to sell for money, and later on even offering a paying job that turned his life around. (Hmm? From his words, it doesn’t sound like Leonhardt was that old... Or I’m just thinking that because the Queen looks quite youthful too =w=“)

Seeing how Fran had seen the Queen as an enemy and how greatly Leonhardt had respected her, Cardia wondered which is the real Queen. Cardia’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Leonhardt walked away. Now that she’s alone, it’s time to start their plan, since getting caught and being put in the palace dungeons was actually one of their first steps, to begin with. Cardia made sure that the prison guard had fallen asleep, then she started to melt her handcuffs by putting it to her lips. (Guess no one should kiss Cardia if they did not want to get melted XD) With her hands free, she then destroyed the door lock but putting her finger through the keyhole, and later on, knock out the sleeping guard with just her hands with a technique taught by Van. 

Using the keys she had taken from the unconscious guard, she locked him up in a different cell and went straight for the location where Fran was being held. However, Fran’s cell was heavily guarded with four guards in the hallway, but Cardia and Fran worked together, and managed to knock out the guards, with Fran’s button creating a cloud of smoke and Cardia knocking them out in confusion one by one. (Even Fran was impressed by Cardia’s skills~ I think it’s kind of interesting and funny that the heroine is the one saving the guy when usually in other romance stories it would the other way round~)

However, when Cardia was about to break Fran from his cells, the Horologium started to give off an intense heat which made her felt so painful that she had to kneel down. It was only for a short moment though, and she assured Fran that she’s fine, and suggested that they keep moving forward to stop the terrorist attacks. With Fran free from his cell, they decided to make their way to the throne room, since it wasn’t too far away from here, even though there will be a few guards on duty which they would have to get past.

Both of them soon made their way into the throne room, which had been too successful for them since they had not run into a single soldier, and Fran was serious as he realised that something was wrong. In fact, the throne room was empty with no sign of Victoria either. There’s no way Lupin could be wrong, so Fran guessed that someone must have known that they were snooping around, and Cardia was getting a strange feeling that many people are being careful not to make any noise in this room. Their questions soon get answered when they found themselves surrounded by soldiers, led by Leonhardt himself.

Fran stood protectively in front of Cardia and soon enough Victoria showed herself, greeting both of them warmly. But both Fran and Cardia showed a stern face at her with Fran telling Victoria that he would never do what Victoria had told him to do, even though Victoria had said that she would make a visit down to their cells if they had stay put.

However, Victoria had simply laughed and remarked that they had walked straight into her trap, since she was the one who had called off the protection and framed Fran as a criminal again, knowing that the group would definitely take action to reach out to her once again seeing that Fran was wrongfully accused. Her schedule today that she would be alone was all along a bait to lure Fran here, and she wondered whether Fran was here to discuss the same matter again of wanting his status as wanted criminals to be revoked.

Fran voiced out that though he wanted to talk about that too, there’s another more pressing matter that he had wanted to talk about, which Victoria wondered whether that matter was so important that he was even willing to risk getting caught for an offence. She finally stopped smiling when Fran glared her, saying that she shall listen to what they have to say, wondering what they’ve come all the way here to discuss.

Fran told her everything about the terrorist plan which Twilight was progressing on, that would make use of Zicterium and that attack had also led the Queen to put another arrest warrant for him. Knowing that Twilight wanted to cause mass murders in capital cities of every country in Europe, he urged Victoria to put a stop to this terrorist conspiracy. However, Victoria calmly replied that she won’t be able to take any actions based on Fran’s words, and it was not because she does not believe in Fran... The truth was... she was actually the one pushing this plan forward!

(I guess Fran’s expression really showed how shock he was to hear this from the Queen...)

Victoria confessed that she was behind the attack on the palace and felt that it’s unfortunate that she had to waste precious Zicterium for a show, and did not seems to care that it had involved the murder of countless innocents. She was also the one who had made use of Twilight to launch the terrorist attack, by taking over Finis’s and Isaac’s plan. (So I take it that Victoria was the new leader of Twilight they were mentioning about?)

Fran was furious, screaming at Victoria whether she was out of her mind to do such a thing, but she simply calmly replied that it’s an option she had to take for the sake of Britain, just like what she had done for the Vampire War two years ago. That did not help to make the situation better since Fran said that she had made the worst choice, even though Victoria rebutted that the choice was a necessity to her, even if she had already seen that “hell” which Fran had talked about for many times.

Cardia wondered why the Queen had said that the terrorism was necessary and decided to ask her, which she lifted her head and declared this was for Britain to continue its way of life and everything she had done was out of love for this nation. She explained that the previous king had taken strong measures against other countries to pursue his own colonial policies by taking over foreign colonies and monopolizing trade. But this was a high price to pay as now other nations across Europe had united and waiting for an opportunity to bring Britain down. The conflict between these countries was brewing and thus it had become a top priority for them to maintain their national defences.

Victoria was glad that Isaac had appeared since his inventions and discoveries had helped Britain to achieve massive military power, but that was not enough in Victoria’s eyes to protect them from the entire world. Thus, to make their forces look bigger than what they actually were and to intimidate the other countries to leave them alone, she needed a live demonstration to show off their military powers, and that’s how she targeted the vampires and sparked off the vampire war two years ago. And now, Victoria who had been guarding Britain's military technology strictly was afraid to see this information fell into the hands of other countries, where Britain will then lose its superiority and she’s afraid that all that left for this land and its people would be destruction and catastrophe. Therefore, to prevent such a future from happening, she felt that it would be best to launch a world war right now to bring all of Europe under British rule and the greater the gap in military strength they have against other countries, the smaller the damages there would be in war. 

Cardia could see that it was a heavy burden being the Queen of Britain, and her decision was not easily made and with her tone and words of delivery, Cardia could find herself almost being swept up in her views. Even though the Queen had been increasing her authority and weakening the voice of the Parliament, she knew that there would still be others who would object to the idea of war if she decided to launch one suddenly. Thus she needed a way to unite the parliament members with her, and the best way was to direct their anger at countries outside of theirs. This was why the Queen had launched the terrorist attack at the palace, it was all along a show to push the entire country to side with her. The queen had been even planned to capture Fran and publicise that he was an informant for France, and later on similar terrorist attacks will take place in the various European countries, where those who were arrested will be connected to Britain and making all the nations to fall into confusion and creating a war in the process. Victoria was confident that if the war was to happen, Britain will the country that would be left standing. 

Fran, however, definitely did not agree to Victoria’s views.

Victoria only laughed in his face though, saying that Fran was only suited to devote himself to research since she knew what she was doing was evil and she deserved to be hated, but, she was also prepared for all these evil and corruption as long as she can protect her country. She smiled at Fran and Cardia, telling them that she was in no hurry to kill them since she needed the two of them, especially Cardia after she had come across Isaac’s documents in the lab and discovered about her. Victoria was amazed that Isaac had created his own daughter and mentioned about his death which Cardia immediately reacted to it. From Victoria’s attitude, Cardia knew that Fran was not her father (since her father was Isaac, an entirely different person anyway =w=“), and wondered why Fran had written “that” in his journal. 

Since Victoria had not planned to kill Fran, she instead had a favour to ask of him, and even proposed to lift the wanted notice on them if he agreed. That favour was that he begins producing Zicterium again, claiming that he was the creator of it. That took Cardia by surprise when she realised that Fran was actually the one who had created Zicterium, and the look of her face was noticed by Victoria as well, wondering that perhaps Fran had not told her about it. 

Fran explained that Zicterium was something he had happened to discover, and knowing that it had led to the loss of many lives, he could not stand in silence and wanted to destroy it, but Victoria told him that Zicterium had now become necessary for Britain in order to survive and since he was the only one in the world who knew how to produce it, he has the ability to change the fate of the nation. Victoria had known from the documents found at the lab that a massive cache of unused Zicterium was hidden somewhere in London, but she could not find any trace of them and thus had to count on Fran to create some more. She ordered him to begin refining Zicterium once more and share his knowledge with them in order to have the government’s protection. 

But even if Victoria threatened him, Fran shook his head, saying that his answer would never change no matter how many times she asked. He did not feel that it was right to kill innocent people just to protect the country as a whole, and his reason for studying alchemy was not to create a deadly weapon in the first place. In his eyes, a weapon was not being used to save lives, it’s a tool to hurt instead. Victoria easily gave up from convincing him though, saying that they shall discuss on how to deal with him later on, but now she had a gift for Cardia instead, smiling at her and asking her to accept it. (Welp, that’s kind of scary seeing how the Queen changes her attitude like this...)

Cardia received a small box from Leonhardt, which contained a small gold pocket watch.

Victoria smiled as she explained that this was a special timepiece made just for her, a watch that shows her the time she has remaining... until she’s not herself anymore... She noticed the expression on Fran’s face and realised that he had known all along about Cardia’s condition and yet deliberately did not tell her, remarking that it’s unlike of Fran to be so sentimental and weak.

Fran turned his face away to avoid Cardia’s eyes, speaking with caution. He explained that the Horologium is going through a transformation and its properties were changing. Victoria continued on by telling her that she’s going to become a monster soon, and would be an unstoppable force of death. (Yikes... that sound really scary D:) Even though Cardia already knew that she’s a monster, as she was an artificial form with a deadly poison all over her body, she can’t help but feel anxious at Victoria’s words. Victoria explained that Finis had done something to her at the underground lab - he facilitated the awakening of the Horologium, using the pendant which was now in Victoria’s hands.

The Queen continued on that once Cardia had been “awakened” she will be changed into a different form after some time - which is the force of death, and when she had become that state, she would be completely unstoppable, as the poison in her will be fully released and even the current methods of keeping it contained will no longer be effective. Fran worried that in the worst-case scenario, the entire London will perish from the poison. The watch was created using calculations of the critical points found in Isaac’s documents, and thus she now has 30 hours before she becomes the most destructive monster in this world. (That’s really not much time left now...)

Victoria told Cardia that she had the means to protect her, that she can control her and prevent her from killing anyone if she did turn into a monster, in the end, inviting Cardia to join her. Fran butted it and told Cardia not to listen to her since he had promised her that he would take care of her poison. (Aww~ I can’t help but get touched at this type of moments again TWT)

Victoria warned Cardia to make her decision carefully since if she doesn’t take action for prevention, she would be responsible for the deaths for people she cares about, even Fran who stood next to her could die from her poison. The thought of Fran dying definitely made Cardia felt uneasy and listening to Victoria calling her to come with her and she could save her had moved her to take a step towards her. Fran immediately stopped her from going forward, telling Cardia that the Queen only wanted to make use of her, and not to listen to her.

More words from Victoria once again moved Cardia to move forward again, making Fran trying to stop Cardia once again and telling her to calm down and she must not go to Victoria’s side. (Ahhh~ This was a climax point in this chapter and seriously I’m feeling very conflicted at this moment.)

(All the while I’m thinking, please don’t let me have to make a choice and yet this pops up D: Seeing how much Fran had tried to stop Cardia from going, I really can’t leave him behind - if that turns out to be heading down to a bad end, so be it~)

In the end, Cardia calmed down and declined Victoria’s invitation, since she had decided to trust Fran that he would be able to save her. She knew that her happiness was staying by Fran’s side and supporting him, and thus she can’t go with her.

(Seeing Fran being so happy just makes me feel that this choice is worth it~~)

Seeing that her suggestions had failed to get both Fran and Cardia on her side, Victoria now had no choice but to capture them by force. She called for Leonhardt to command his army to shoot at them, but Leonhardt’s face had a flash of doubt which Fran took the chance to throw something to the floor that created a high-pitched noise and intense light blinding the entire room, and then running off while taking Cardia’s hand. 

Both of them managed to evade their pursuers as they tried to escape from the palace grounds. However, they soon found themselves surrounded by the palace guards once again. Fran pulled Cardia close to him (awww~) and looking up in the sky, he declared that it’s alright since they’ve got backup. Guess who came to their rescue?

The gang had come with the ornithopter, with Lupin dropping several orbs down at the soldiers to throw them off guard. Turned out that those were just fireworks and Cardia and Fran managed to escape into the streets in the commotion. 

(Haha, Fran was indeed not at athletic, being very tired after running at full speed for a long time~ while Cardia was not even panting at all ^^;) 

Fran realised that his words have come out meaning that Cardia was unlike a human, and guessed that Cardia must have felt very confused to have all the truths being revealed to her all at once. He’s sorry for keeping the truth from her and realised that he was only being selfish for doing so, thinking that he should avoid causing her any pain. Worrying about the time she might turn into a monster, she told Fran that perhaps she should stay in hiding at someplace where she can’t hurt anyone, but Fran pulled her close to him, saying that he won’t let her do that. 

(This part is so precious so I decided I shall just show you guys instead~ T/////T)