A week before Daerin Academy's first day of classes, a letter had arrived at the northern wall. It was delivered and received but idled unread atop a desk worn from frequent use. That is, until one late morning.

The door to the room had opened and a stern-looking man in dark, leather armor entered with an unconscious young girl in his arms. He laid her gently on a couch next to the desk before staring blankly at his stiffened arms.

“Hah...” a puff of white air escaped Gideon's mouth. His gloves as well as his sleeves had been layered with frost, but he made no effort in shrugging them off— only repeatedly making fists to recover feeling in his extremities as he walked towards his desk.

He saw the letter stamped with the Loeth family seal on the desk. A letter from his wife living in the city of Daerin with their youngest son. He opened the envelope and went through its contents as he sat on his chair.

Gideon's eyes occasionally shifted from paper to the young girl, and after reading its entirety, he fell into thought. A few seconds later, abrupt knocking from the door interrupted his musing.

Three knocks in three precise intervals. He knew who it was on the other side of the door.

“Vigril.” Although this room was different, his eldest always carried this habit whenever entering his study. Gideon spoke loud enough to hear, “Come in.”

An intelligent-looking young man bearing his semblance opened the door. Ashen-haired and golden-eyed, fitted with the same dark, leather armor; the only difference being the color of the cloak that determined rank. His being a dark red while his son, Vigril's, was a shade of blue.

Vigril placed a closed right hand on his chest, bowing in salute; and spoke with eyes straying towards locks of red flowing on the couch, “Reporting, I heard commander returning from the forest inspection with a child?”

Gideon gestured to dispense formalities, “At ease, I want you to call for the Vinney Head and your brother. We have something to discuss.”

Vigril stood proper and brought a hand on his chin, displaying an expression of mischievous intrigue, “Does that discussion perhaps have something to do with the young miss sleeping on the couch?“

“Hah... I found the girl at a pool in the outskirts of the forest, just before this morning's return. Undine raised quite the commotion to catch my attention.”

“Oh!” Vigril blinked with surprise, understandably because anything that had to do with the spirits was a serious matter. Accepting Gideon's request with another salute, Vigril said, “Then I'll be right back with Sacha and Kyron. Excuse me, father,” before leaving to call on his younger brother and grandfather.

“Hah...” After he left, Gideon rested his arm on his desk and pondered how to handle the matter of the mysterious young girl.

Meanwhile, on the couch beside the desk— the young girl in particular, with her eyes still purposely closed, had subtly wrinkled her nose.

—W-Where am I?! Who are these people?!

She had already awakened the moment Vigril knocked on the door.

—What's going on? I can't remember...

A crease appeared between her eyebrows as she wondered about her situation. An unfamiliar couch, an unknown room, and voices of strangers— Her stomach churned with anxiety and she unwittingly uttered a groan.

—Did he notice?! He did. Did he?

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She promptly tightened her lips and had unconsciously brought her hands closer to her stomach. With one eye, she peeked to ascertain if the man had noticed that she was awake.

“Are you hungry?”

The young girl flinched when she heard his stern voice, it seemed the man was aware. She knew she couldn't keep mim as her feigned unconsciousness was already seen through. Her vision was hazy when she opened her eyes but by the time they had adjusted, she squinted at the sight of the window past the desk.

—Why is it so bright here?

The light spilling from the window had reminded her that she was not anywhere near home. Her face turned sour, her hands dug into her clothing, and she uttered another groan.

Gideon showed concern, “Are you not feeling well? Maybe I should bring you to the infirmary?”

“Ah...?” her attention at the window returned to the desk. She only noticed him seated when he had spoken again, and shook her head sideways in reply.

Gideon posed another question, “Then, do you want to eat?”

The young girl stared silently at his face for a moment before lightly nodding her head. Seeing she agreed, Gideon suggested, “Then, let's head to the mess hall for some breakfast.”

—No! I don't want to leave here...

She shook her head sideways in protest, and halfway up the chair, the stern-looking man sat back down. Silence began to fill the room as the two locked eyes and failed in simple conversation.

“Hah...” Gideon had no problem issuing commands but lacked interest in simple pleasantries.

“Hah...” The young girl bore caution for her predicament while at the same time, felt the pangs of hunger beginning.

Neither had an inkling of what the other was thinking, except that both, for their own reasons, were in awkward discomfort. Thankfully, bringing a welcomed end to the silence was another abrupt knock on the door.

Sounds rapidly alternating between knocking and tapping; before the permission to enter was even given, an unruly looking young man had already opened the door and walked into the room with a swagger.

“Father! Big brother said you were calling for us?” he asked in a loud voice, causing the young girl seated on the couch to blink her eyes in surprise.

The unruly young man teased, “Oh? Who is this cute little miss?”

The young girl turned her head to the side as the unruly young man leaned in closer with a grin, only for her to meet with the gaze of the stern-looking man seated at the desk.

“Enough Kyron, you're making her uncomfortable,” Gideon scolded. He let out a sigh as he thought about this second son of his. The boy, Kyron, was competent when handling serious matters, but would be rather unrestrained when dealing with others casually. He was just like his mother.

“Father, what is a child doing here this close to the wall? Moreover...“ his unruly son's eyes had fixed on the young girl's crimson hair.

“We'll speak of this later when your brother arrives with the Vinney Head,” Gideon interrupted.

“What!? He called grandfather as well!?”

“I called for him. There's an important matter we have to discuss. Since you got here early, I want you to go to the mess hall and bring some food over for the little girl to eat.”

Kyron's grimace disappeared with a nod, then he turned to face the young girl with a playful expression. He began chattering, “Hey, little miss! What would you like to eat? Why don't you come with big brother here to the mess hall? It's too stuffy in this room. Let's go outside!“

With the barrage of words, the young girl showed a troubled expression. He was speaking too fast for her to understand.

“Hah... It's fine, she will stay here.” Gideon spoke with slight irritation, ”Now hurry so she can eat before your brother and the Vinney Head arrive.”

The unruly-looking young man rolled his eyes and turned to her once more, “Ah, what's your name, little miss? You do have one, don't you? Or would you like me to call you Little Re—“

“Celes— My name is Celeste!” The young girl blurted out. She didn't want to be called any weird names. When she turned to face the unruly young man, she saw a long scar stretching down from his left cheek down to his neck. She thought,

—That must have been painful.

“Celeste, I'll come back with some food then!“ Kyron wore a smile and moved to leave the room, but as one foot was outside the door, he teased, “Be careful of the old man with a receding hairline!” He left as loudly as he came.

The young girl had a dumbfounded look, mulling over the last words Kyron had said.

—Be careful of the old man?

"Hah..." Another sigh coming from the desk reminded her of the other person in the room. Celeste placed her hands on her stomach once again as the awkward silence made its return.