[ plate held in her lap, Ruby similarly picks at her food, pausing every now and then to check with her fingertips that she hasn't started pouring blood again. the food has no taste to her, as usual. she focuses only on the mechanical motions of chewing and swallowing, forces each bite into a body that wants to reject the intrusion.

in all honesty, she's not sure why Felix is bothering. back then, Iske couldn't have had her die because it would have caused political strife, but there isn't any such motive here. Felix's responsibility to her ended when he stopped her skull from being cracked open on the floor. does he just want to push her off onto someone else, so that she won't be a bother to him anymore? in that case, all he wants is to be assured she won't cause trouble again. but he's stubborn. ]

A few years ago, Father called doctors for me. None of them could find anything.

[ that's all she can bring herself to say. as ever, she gags on explanations. ]

I know the Dottoressa Sakura is a good doctor, and she's kind to her patients, but... [ she trails off, and takes another bite just so she can spend a moment chewing in silence. ] ... It's okay. Really, I promise. It only happens once a year, and it doesn't last very long.

[ the fact that it seems to be getting worse—more frequent and more severe—is something that shakes her rather badly. she keeps it to herself. ]