The middle-aged man dressed in the multicolored rose-patterned attire glared at her with a bit of surprise. Although she wouldn't mind chuckling at his clothes, the fact that he had that oversized bronze needle within the honey girl, made her unable to laugh.

“Ah, a good evening to you too, missy,” the man said with a low voice. “If you wouldn't mind, I am-” he twisted the needle again while he spoke, inciting another cry from the girl, “rather occupied at the moment. So, how about you continue your stroll on this wonderful night?”

He stared at her with a grin, waiting for her to decide. Lisa still smiled a small, calm smile and shifted her attention from the man to the lovely girl. The girl was pleading with those honey-colored eyes for Lisa to save her. Her cute face smeared with dirt and tears. Her clothes were torn at various and an ominous long needle impaled her chest.

Lisa lost her smile and sighed, causing the middle-aged man to narrow his eyes and the cat to crouch low, an uncharacteristic growl escaping from it.

“Unfortunately,” said Lisa, breaking the silence. She looked at the girl in that misery state and then at the middle-aged man with a smile, “I have become quite fond of her, so walking away would leave me with a night of rather bad sleep.”

The man gripped the needle tighter while the cat growled once again and the girl cried even more.

Lisa and the man stared at each other. Neither moved till the man turned the needle again. This time, however, the girl only gasped as a dark shadow began to crawl from the needle onto her. The shadow began to dye her body, causing the girl to clutch her head and scream.

Not caring for her misery, the man put his foot on her back and pushed the girl off the needle. Instead of blood, only liquid colored in black dropped from where the needle has been. The girl fell down on the ground, clutching her heard as her face distorted. Shadows still crawled all over her body, like moving black tattoos.

“Ah, that is indeed unfortunate, missy,” the man said to Lisa while he twirled the meter length needle in his hand. The darkness surrounding him and Lisa bent with the movement of the needle.

It rotated in a slow-motion between his fingers. Then, in one motion the man gripped it tight and swung down the oversized needle. Shadow-like tendrils appeared from within it. They rushed towards Lisa. She took a few quick steps back at the same time as the cat jumped before her.

A high-pitched ear-grating sound came from the cat once it landed, followed by a shockwave destroying the shadowy tendrils before they could get anywhere near Lisa. The darkness blanketing the alley was also swept away by it. The shockwave, however, didn't harm any of the people in the alley.

The scream traveled further through the air for some seconds before it quieted down. In the now moonlit alley, the cat stood between Lisa and the man with an arched back. It growled while its fur began to lengthen and harden. Slowly, it began to move toward the man.

Clicking his tongue, the middle-aged man backed up. The long needle in his constantly vibrated, sending violent thought in his head.

“A rather interesting creature, it seems, for you to want to eat it up that much,” the man muttered and then looked around the alley. The light of the silver moon had already returned after the darkness was swept away by the cat. It shone onto the alleys guests and seemed to especially favor the girl before him.

Her blonde hair glittered under the moons glow. She had a hand behind her back while the other one was just below her calmy smiling lips. On that hand, sitting on her pinkie, he could see an exquisite silver ring. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the ring and brought his vision up to her eyes.

Mellow blue glowing eyes stared right back at him with abnormal calm. Silver moonlight shone on them, their glow deepening with it, and with it grew an inhuman cruel intent in them. He couldn't help but widen his eyes. He hadn't expected this.

“Ah, what a shame. This night isn't it, huh. Well, it doesn't matter if now or later,” the man said abruptly. He relaxed his posture but still kept a firm grip on the shaking needle. “Well, missy, it was fun playin-”

With an abrupt change in expression, the man dissolved into darkness. Not even a second later, a white light struck the ground where the man had stood. Once the dust cleared, Lisa saw a white sword purely made out of energy sticking out of the ground. Then, the sword exploded in a small pillar of light.

From within the pillar, a knight in white light armor holding a white sword stepped out. He first looked at the brown-haired girl lying on the ground, clutching her head while a shadow slithered all over her skin. She had stopped moving at some point. He frowned and then looked at Lisa, confusion, and uncertainty filling his eyes. However, a look into Lisa's twinkling blue eyes and the cat behind her the uncertainty.

Lisa nodded at Cale, a bit of surprise in her heart to see him appear like this. However, she didn't linger on it and walked over to the girl on the ground rather hurriedly. Cale, in the meantime, followed her with his vision before he glanced at the white cat trotting behind Lisa. He pondered for a moment and then disappeared in a flash of white light.

Once she reached the girl, Lisa sat down beside her and lifted her head up. The cute, pleased expression she had when she tasted that ice cream was gone, replaced by tears and dirt. The honey-colored eyes that had been so lively and shy at that time were now so hollow and dark.

Lisa caressed the girl's face and wiped away some of the dirt. However, the shadow still crawled all over her skin and couldn't just be wiped away by her hands. Even if she rubbed her skin all red, the shadow continued to grow.

She looked into the honey eyes that had been staring at her this whole time. As if a candle about to go out, the light within the girl's eyes began to dim. Hollow darkness filled them, causing Lisa to pause. Then, she brought the girl close to her and hugged her. She squeezed her even tighter when she felt her cold breath.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

She stroked the girl's long brown hair, kissed her forehead softly, and then leaned near her ear. With a tender, warm voice she whispered to her words she had once been told. Words that had brought light into her life in the form of her sister.

“It's fine. If you're cold, I'll hug you and keep you warm. If you're afraid then I'll be your safe place and keep you from harm. Don't worry and live,” Lisa whispered, again and again, the words her sister had told her once, while tightly keeping the girl within her arm. However, the girl only stared with hollow eyes at her. Without realizing it, her words changed as she saw the light still fading.

“It's fine, I am here, you're safe. Fight and live, don't disappear, please, don't leave me,” she whispered with pleading in her voice. As her fingers ran through the brown hair, the ring on her pinkie began to emit a gentle light. A soft light began to surround them. It danced around them and left silvery sparkles in the air.

Then it began to curl around the girl in Lisa's embrace. That's when Lisa noticed. She frowned and looked at the silver ring on her hand. The stream of silver light was slowly flowing out from it.

The silver stream curled around the girl and began to graze her skin. Everywhere it passed, the taint on her skin was cleansed, leaving only her fair skin as if freshly scrubbed.

Lisa relaxed when she saw the light cleanse the shadow and dirt of the girl. However, no matter how much the light cleansed, the girl still sat unresponsive in her arms and looked at her with those dark hollow eyes.

The silver glitter reached her face and cleansed all the dirt and tears on it. The last shadows on her skin hurried into her eyes, hollowing them even further and causing Lisa to squeeze her even tighter. The silver light followed in its steady pace and obscured Lisa's sight of the girl's eyes.

Seconds passed, and under Lisa's stare, the silver light suddenly retreated back into her ring. She didn't care where it went and just looked into the honey-colored eyes.

The candle that was about to go out earlier was now lit again, as the girl's eyes began to light up with life. Then, the girl started to blink again. She blinked a few times and then looked up into Lisa's glowing blue eyes. Tears welled up within her eyes as Lisa put a hand face, and stroked her skin.

“Welcome back,” Lisa whispered with a warm and tender. She smiled deeply at the girl in her arms and kissed her forehead. After, she hugged her tightly to her chest and felt the tears rolling down the girl's face on her clothes. She whispered again, with a soothing voice, “You're safe now, so don't worry and cry. I'll keep you warm throughout the night if you need it.”

Lisa held her close and stroked her silky brown hair as the girl sobbed. The moon was by now high up in the sky and shone a gentle light on the two sitting in the alley. The cat beside them stared at them with curiosity while it licked its paws. Lisa glanced and muttered a quiet thank you, getting a getting return.

She continued to caress the girl's head while tightly hugging her. Her tears still flowed as she felt the wetness her clothes, however, she didn't care. She just soothed her but stopped speaking so she could cry as much as she wanted. Lisa only felt that she could now understand how her sister must felt when she had helped her back then. Having a cute girl in your embrace as she trusts you and cries within your arms is quite a fulfilling feeling.

Eventually, the breathing of the girl in her arms steadied and her sobs stopped. She must have fallen asleep from all the mental exhaustion. Lisa still stroked her hair and looked down at her with warm eyes. She felt glad, really glad. Glad that when she tried to be like her sister again, the one she tried to help this time didn't disappear.

Metallic footsteps suddenly rang out in the quiet alley. Lisa looked up to see Cale returning with a calm but somewhat annoyed expression. His white sword already sheathed by his side. He opened his mouth to speak but Lisa brought a finger to her lips, to indicate for him to be quiet.

“How is Her Highness doing?” Cale asked with a whisper, causing Lisa to glare at him. He smiled wrily but still waited for her to answer.

“She is fine, just sleeping from all the exhaustion,” Lisa whispered in an equally quiet tone. She brought her vision back to the girl addressed as ‘Her Highness’ and asked Cale, “Her Highness? So she is royalty?”

“Correct, The Third Princess of Rinel, Her Highness Felicia Vanessa of Rivanel, to be exact,” Cale said in a quiet voice while he looked at Lisa. Her mellow blue eyes directed at Felicia in her arms caused him to sigh. Although he was a bit disappointed, perhaps this could be an opportunity for the princess. “What is your relationship with the old man from the tower, miss?”

“I'm his apprentice,” Lisa said without looking up. She saw how he had looked at the cat, so he probably knew where it came from. She parted some of the brown hair concealing Felicia's face and began to caress it. With a whisper, she said to Cale, “Call me Lisa not miss, and thank you…”

“I said it, didn't I? To help anyone in need is a Sacred Knights duty, but still, glad to help, Lisa.” Cale put a fist under the sunlike emblem on his chest as he spoke. He smiled confidently but to his dismay, Lisa's eyes weren't on him. “Anyway, since you're a Towers Apprentice, it would maybe be a good idea for you to take care of Her Highness for a few days.”

Lisa hesitated once she heard his suggestion. She wanted her to be safe, to hold her, and keep her warm, but maybe she would be safer within the palace. If she were to just taker her home, wouldn't that also create problems for Felicia? And if she were to upset someone in her family by doing this, perhaps this would only create more problems for her…

“Her Highness would be in better care with you, Lisa,” Cale said abruptly. Lisa looked up and saw him gazing at her with confident eyes. “Her highness is not exactly welcomed within the palace with His Majesty, The King gone on his outing. Additionally, as an Apprentice of Ibrahim's Tower, anyone would hesitate to make a move on you. It would also keep away that man and his companions.”

Cale's eyes were calm and confident as he locked eyes with Lisa. He spoke with a steady and sure voice. To Lisa, he looked so much different from his look earlier today. So unlike from a simple knight patrolling the streets.

Lisa let her head drop and gazed at the peaceful and cute sleeping face of Felicia. Her steady breathing felt a bit tingly against the hand stroking her face. In the end, she could only sigh. She was again acting reluctant to decide on something. Just like in her old world, when she ignored all problems around her and just lived on the spot after her sister died because of her.

She sighed again and then smiled warmly. She was now in a new world in a new body. Maybe trying to change a bit wouldn't hurt. Furthermore, she really wouldn't mind taking a cute girl home on her first day in a new world.

“Fine, I'll take care of her for a few days,” Lisa said after she had made up her mind. She moved Felicia within her arms around a bit, trying very carefully not to wake her up. Although she didn't even wake up with them talking the whole time.

Once she had her in the right position, Lisa stood up and lifted Felicia up, carrying her in a fitting princess carry. Lisa frowned as she felt the lightness of Felicia. She decided to make sure Felicia would eat a bit more.

“Should I carry Her Highness instead?” Cale asked while he observed Lisa steadying herself with Felicia in her arms. He only got a side glance in return, causing another wry smile to appear on his face. He shook his head and followed Lisa walking down the alley.

Under the silver moonlight, her beautiful silhouette walking before made him feel even more disappointed. But at least, he could try to help her out a little so she can have a happy ending since it was the first time he took a liking to someone.