Chapter 29: White Princess

"Stop trying to tempt me for no reason! Sit properly!" Nightfall, brimming with integrity, decisively ignored Bai's irresistibly provocative words and flicked her smooth forehead with a finger. With a sting on her brow, Bai obediently knelt by the table as Nightfall had instructed, her childlike demeanor fixed on him as she listened intently.

He nodded, noting that her current obedient appearance somewhat resembled the Bai of the past. Anyone would be skeptical if a fox they regarded as family suddenly transformed into a human—especially when her personality had shifted slightly. It was only natural not to believe it at first.

Suddenly, Nightfall felt his arm enveloped in softness. Assuming Bai was up to her tricks again, he raised his hand, ready to rap her on the head, only to find Bai was still sitting demurely at the table, curiously watching the hand he'd lifted. It was then he realized the one clinging to his arm was not Bai, but Ruochan.

"Ruochan, what exactly are you trying to do by inserting yourself into this?" he asked, scratching his head in exasperation and forcing a bitter smile.

"Hey, Nightfall, people of different races can't be together, right?" Although it was phrased as a question, Ruochan's tone left no room for doubt. Nightfall was at a loss, not knowing how to respond.

"People of different races can't be together! Especially not with that fox—absolutely not!" This time, it wasn’t even a question; it was a statement laced with warning. For the first time, Nightfall saw the usually gentle Ruochan in such a state.

"But Bai is my family. Why can’t family be together?" Though Ruochan’s presence was intimidating, Nightfall stubbornly countered.

"Because Xingchen can only love me and my sister. Xingchen belongs to us—always!" Ruochan’s forceful declaration sounded more like a creed, her unyielding conviction taking Nightfall aback.

"So, you're saying you and Ruoxing knew me before the split—before I became Night Xingchen—and were very close? Yet, I have no memory of you, and I believe my memories are intact, untouched." Nightfall scrutinized Ruochan for the first time, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. With each tap, Ruochan lowered her head a little more.

"Forget it!" Noticing Nightfall’s suspicious gaze, Ruochan’s sense of grievance exploded. Tears welled in her eyes as she shouted petulantly before retreating into the Twin Swords of Fantasy.

"What on earth did you say to Ruochan?" Not long after Ruochan disappeared, Ruoxing appeared, her face twisted in anger. She grabbed Nightfall by his collar, hoisting him in the air and shaking him back and forth, as if determined not to stop until he was thoroughly dizzy.

"It was my fault! I just wondered if you two had known me long before the split, back when I was Night Xingchen. I didn't expect Ruochan to cry so suddenly. Please, apologize to her on my behalf!" Knowing he was in the wrong, Nightfall offered a sincere apology. After all, if you make a sweet, gentle girl cry, it’s surely your fault. His voice, broken by the relentless shaking and his spinning vision, only made the apology more earnest.

"Hmph, that’s better. I’m warning you—not allowed to bully Ruochan. Even if you’re one of us, I’ll still teach you a lesson!" With that, Ruoxing released him, letting him crash to the floor. She shot him a warning glare, made a couple of fierce gestures with her little fists, and then returned to the Twin Swords of Fantasy—presumably to comfort her tearful sister.

"Truly a sister who cares for her sibling," Nightfall muttered as he climbed off the floor, still dizzy. After all, Ruoxing had just shaken him at a hundred times per second; the fact that his collar hadn’t torn spoke volumes about its quality.

"Xingchen, can you tell me what just happened?" Bai, still kneeling on the other side of the table, had begun to ask questions. She had seen Nightfall talking to thin air, then suddenly being yanked up and shaken wildly before being dropped to the floor. To her, the whole scene seemed utterly neurotic. Even before she took human form, Bai had noticed something odd, but she still didn’t fully understand.

"Honestly, even if I don’t explain, I’m sure you’ve guessed some of it already. Well, after I was swept into the dimensional rift, I met a pair of twin girls..." Nightfall gave Bai as detailed an account as he could of what had happened after he was drawn into the rift. Bai, in turn, zeroed in on the details that mattered most to her.

"So, now you’re telling me you’re constantly accompanied by a pair of twins who can’t be separated from you, and before returning home today, you acknowledged someone as family who isn’t me or C.C.?" Bai’s gaze was piercing as she stared at Nightfall.

"Uh, yes." It was unsurprising that Bai would focus on these two points; the bond between them was so deep that neither wanted anyone else to come between them. If it were just a friend, both Bai and C.C. would be supportive, but the concept of family was different—family held the same place as Bai and C.C.

Now, Bai was already harboring some resentment toward the never-before-seen Kanade Tachibana, because her presence threatened to shake her own place in Nightfall’s heart. That was certainly not good news. Perhaps she should find an opportunity to take control of this newcomer.

"Bai, calm down. Kanade is a kind and pure-hearted person; she’d never do anything to harm you," Nightfall said with a wry smile, having immediately sensed what Bai was thinking.

"If she’s family in your eyes, I won’t hurt her. But tomorrow, I want to meet her. I’ll observe her for a while—she must earn my approval!" Bai declared, refusing to yield on this point. It was her final line of defense; if someone was deceiving Nightfall, she absolutely could not be allowed to stay.

"Don’t worry. She’s a good girl. I’m sure you’ll like her once you meet her. Besides, even though I’m not well-versed in common sense, it’s not so easy to fool me—I don’t misjudge people!" Nightfall replied with absolute confidence in Kanade, speaking of her as one might a beloved younger sister, perhaps because, like him, she’d been cared for by C.C. and now he wanted to look after someone else.

"All right, then. Let’s see who it is that’s won so much of your affection..." Bai’s face wore a mysterious smile, and Nightfall was certain she was up to no good.

"By the way, humans have special names, don’t they? ‘Bai’ sounds so awful!" Bai shot Nightfall a resentful look, for he had been the one to decide on that name in the first place. Though she had tried to resist, neither he nor C.C. paid her any mind, and so ‘Bai’ had stuck.

"From now on, only you and C.C. are allowed to call me Bai. My name now is Baiji."