"Lucina? Wake up," my mother's voice danced through my ears and I cracked open my eyes. I had passed out from crying so much and slept through the journey. My body was sore, but the pain had subsided to only be a dull ache. Gentle fingers ran through my hair as my mother softly jostled me. "We're here." She moved with me still in her arms to the window of the carriage and pointed outside. Down the road from us, gleaming in the setting sun's light, were massive stone walls with towers dotting their way around the perimeter. Banners with the symbol of a blue hawk holding yellow wheat in its talons, the crest of house Ordrin, flapped from atop the towers. "Unlike us, the Duke lives in a castle along with his order of knights. And, instead of a mansion, they live in a beautiful keep."

"A keep?" My eyes were fixed on the walls of stone that we were slowly encroaching upon.

"Yes," my mother loved teaching me things and was enjoying my renewed curiosity, "It's like a giant mansion made of stone and brick giving it the luxury of a home and the same sturdiness of the castle walls that surround it. It needs to be that big in case an enemy attacks Wortrest." My mother motioned for me to look back down the road from where we came from and I saw a sprawling town was sitting peacefully down the hill we were ascending.

"So, is the town Wortrest, or the castle?" I liked seeing Mom excited to teach me.

"Both," she chuckled and stroked my hair affectionately. "The castle was built because of the tall hill we're riding up, and people flocked to it because of the rich soil and convenience of the nearby Helker River that weaves across the kingdom making it the capital of the Holst Duchy. As a show of unity, the founder of the Ordrin family proclaimed that both the castle and town would be called Wortrest as a declaration to all that both were under his family's protection. However, most people will refer to the town when talking about Wortrest since it's easier to get into town than into the castle. And-" My mother abruptly cut herself off and looked ahead. The carriage slowed down and stopped. When I turned to look at what was going on, a knight on horseback trotted up to the window of the carriage. They wore chainmail and leathers, a sword jostled in its sheath on his waist belt, and he had on his great helm, but they didn't wear any plate mail like in the pictures my mother had shown me of knights. They also wore a tabard that depicted the Ordrin's crest.

"Hail, Countess Felswore," the knight greeted and bowed from his horse.

"I apologize for the inconvenience of my sudden arrival, Sir Thomas," It seemed like my mother knew the knight from just his voice as she greeted them with a smile on her face.

"It is no inconvenience at all, Countess, as we were expecting you."

"You were?" My mother gave the knight a confused look and held me closer to her chest.

"Yes, the Duchess received a letter just a few hours ago," Thomas explained to alleviate my mother's obvious concern. "It stated you and your daughter would be visiting for a few days in the near future but didn't give an exact date; though I don't think anyone expected you to come the same day as the letter. In either case, I've been ordered to be on the lookout for your carriage and escort you inside whenever you arrive."

"But, I never sent a letter."

"It was signed by your young Lord."

"...Ah, I see." My mother's voice shook despite her best efforts to put on a composed front for the knight. "I'm truly blessed by Lady Alm with a caring son."

"And with a lovely daughter, too," Thomas added as his helmet turned to look at me. "Greetings, young Lady, I am Sir Thomas of the Order of the Azure Hawk." He didn't sound condescending as he spoke, and even if I couldn't see his face because of the helmet I could feel the gentle smile he was giving me.

"Hello, Sir Thomas," my voice was quiet as I was still a bit groggy from sleeping the whole journey.

"She has impeccable pronunciation for a three-year-old, you must be proud Countess." Thomas' innocent remark instantly soured the mood. "...Did I misspeak, Countess?"

"She turned five, last winter," my mother corrected in a somber voice.

"Five? But she's so sma-" Thomas didn't finish his remark as he looked back at me. He had mostly been looking at my mother while talking, and the inside of the carriage was dark since the sun was setting so he didn't get a good look at me the first time. But, now that he was putting his full attention on me, he noticed the ragged dress I was in as well as the obvious bruise on my right shoulder that crept up my neck. "I apologize for my inappropriate words, Countess!" Thomas hung his head low. "The road inside is still the same, so please follow that to the front of the keep. I will ride ahead to inform the Duchess of your arrival. The Duke and Elder priest are out right now but I will summon the doctor!"

"Thank you, Sir Thomas." My mother sounded exhausted as Thomas rode ahead and into the castle. There was quite a bit packed into the castle's walls as we passed multiple buildings including a knight's barracks, exterior servant housing, and even a horse stable. Dark clouds started the gather overhead.

"Greetings, Countess Felswore and the young Lady," a maid greeted us when the carriage pulled up to the entrance of a massive building; the keep. "The Duchess is still getting ready, so I'm here to lead you inside. We should hurry as the weather seems to be turning for the worse." She glanced up at the dark clouds.

"Thank you, please lead on." My mother was still intent on carrying me in her arms and refused to let me go no matter how much I wriggled. "Just a little longer, Lucina," she reassured me as we entered the keep. Like my mother had told me, despite its stone exterior the keep held all the luxuries of a mansion. Polished granite floors were topped with rich blue carpets, large wooden pillars reached upward to beautiful arches that held the high ceiling, and fine art hung from the walls that all came together to give the feel of wealth. The maid turned and bowed to us.

"I'll take you to the drawing room to-"

"Elizabeth!" A woman's voice came from the top of the stairs along the far wall as a woman with pitch black hair held in a bun, piercing blue eyes, and who wore a beautiful white dress appeared from the second floor.

"It's been a while, Alice," my mother returned the greeting to the Duchess and she gave a tired smile to her friend.

"A while!? It's been over a year since I last saw you!" The Duchess rushed down the stairs, her heels clacking against the stone, and two maids were following her with accessories still in their hands they hadn't been able to put in the Duchess' hair. It seemed like she was impatient to see my mother. "You don't even respond to my letters, anymore!"

"...A lot's happened as of late." Despite their difference in rank, my mother and Duchess Alice spoke casually to each other. None of the servants seemed to mind and acted like this was normal for the two women.

"A lo-?" as the Duchess was about to keep going off, she noticed me. Or, more precisely, she noticed the obvious bruise on my shoulder, as well as my worn clothes. "...We'll talk later. Nancy?" She turned to a door that just opened as Thomas and a woman holding a large bag entered the hall. The woman with the bag, Nancy, perked up when the Duchess called her. "See to the young Lady's wounds. Julie," she looked over her shoulder at one of the maids with accessories in their hands, "Prepare a bath and some clean clothes. An-"

"...!" Both my mother and I's stomachs growled causing everyone to stop and look at us.

"...Did you rush here without even stopping to eat?" The Duchess' voice dripped with a venom that both sounded friendly and terrifying at the same time. "Thomas, tell Greg to make some soup, then see to Elizabeth's horses and coachman."

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"Right away, Duchess," Thomas gave a bow and disappeared down a hallway.

"Thank you, Alice," my mother said sheepishly.

"I don't want to be thanked for fixing you starving yourself and your daughter. Ah, speaking of," something caught the Duchess' attention from the top of the stairs, "Olivia, come greet our guests." From the top of the stairs and peering around the corner of a pillar was a young girl who looked my age but was taller and healthier than me. She had long white hair but the same blue eyes as the Duchess. "Elizabeth, this is my daughter, Olivia. Olivia, this is my friend Elizabeth Felswore, and her daughter Lucina."

"!?!" Upon the mention of my name, and after looking at me, Olivia Ordrin seemed to panic and bolted away.

"Olivia!?" the Duchess called after her daughter, but the girl was already gone. My mother's expression saddened and she hugged me closer. "I'll talk to her later, Elizabeth, I'm sorry for my daughter; she's an odd one."

"It's quite alrig-"

"Stop saying things are alright when they're not," the Duchess chastised. I got the strangest sense of déjà vu. "Nancy?"

"Right away, Duchess." Nancy, the doctor, gestured to the stairs. "I can examine her in one of the guest rooms. Please, this way." She led the way as my mother, the Duchess, and the maids followed her to the guest room. However, calling it a guest room would be an insult as it was more luxurious than most of the rooms back in the Felswore mansion. My mother gently set me down on a couch and Nancy examined the bruises and the rest of my body while my mother and the Duchess were behind a divider for privacy. "Fortunately, nothing's broken, but you're going to be sore and covered in bruises for the next few days."

"It's fine," I said to try and reassure the doctor that it didn't bother me.

"Of all the things to inherit from you, why did she inherit that terrible habit of yours!?" the Duchess once more chastised my mother.

"Ahaha," Nancy gave a nervous laugh before turning back to me, "Regardless, you should still rest while you're here and eat plenty of food. I'll also leave this ointment that will help with the swelling in your shoulder and legs."

"Okay." I did my best to sound upbeat.

"..." Nancy gave me an awkward smile before getting up to leave. Because of the maids back at my family's mansion, I had developed really good hearing to avoid them. As Nancy passed the Duchess and my mother, I heard her whisper, "There's bruising over her whole body, but thank the gods none of her bones have broken. I would recommend at least three, but preferably four large meals a day. She's extremely malnourished for a child and won't heal properly, otherwise. Her height is also concerning."

"...Thank you, Nancy," the Duchess whispered back. Although I couldn't see my mother because of the divider, I had a pretty good idea of what expression was on her face. "Lady Lucina?" the Duchess called as she came out from behind the divider, "I'll leave Julie here to help you take a bath and change clothes." She motioned to a maid who gave a respectful bow to me. "I'll be with your mother in my room catching up over lost time. Will you be alright on your own, or would you like to come to my room when you're ready and be with your mother?"

"I'm alright alone, I'm a big girl!" I hope this will help since I knew my mother needed time away from me whenever she was stressed. Hopefully, being with the Duchess would help since I would only get in the way.

"..." The look on the Duchess' face said she wanted to refute my choice, but couldn't bring herself to do it. "If you need her, my room is down the hall on your left. Take care of her, Julie."

"I will, Duchess." Julie gave a bow to the Duchess before turning to me and saying in a soft voice, "Lady Lucina, let's take a bath." She sounded used to softening her voice for children. While taking a bath she was also extremely gentle when helping wash me. Even the water was warm, which was a blessing for me to receive back home. Maybe that was why Julie looked so sad at my excitement over the warm water; perhaps she also wanted to take a warm bath? After drying me off, Julie helped me into the most comfortable clothes I had ever worn. She said it was Lady Olivia's old night gown from two years ago that didn't fit her anymore which was why I could use it. The softness kissed my skin and felt weird but in a good way. I wondered if the maids here didn't get comfortable clothes like this since Julie, once again, looked sad over my excitement about the nightgown. Or, how she looked at me when I finished the soup I was brought. This place was strange. "If you need anything, just pull that rope next to the bed and I'll be over as quickly as I can," Julie pointed to a rope next to the bed that went up and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Thank you, good night Julie." Since Adam wasn't here, I gave my usual good night to Julie.

"...Good night, Lady Lucina." She seemed conflicted over it, but I didn't mind since she was really nice to me. My only complaint about being here was-

"!?!" Thunder cracked across the sky outside my windows. The dark clouds had opened up and rain pelted the windows while the wind howled across the castle. My legs trembled and I hugged myself with my arms. I hated thunder. The deafening sound it made terrified me; it was like someone was coming to hurt me and was tearing the world apart to do it. I know that rain was a blessing from Lord Sen, but that didn't help me through the storm. Usually, my mother would come to me when it stormed and held me until I fell asleep, but she wasn't here. I didn't want to disturb Julie, so I snuck out of my room and followed the hall on my left. The hall was dark making it hard to see, and Sailest's light was blocked by the clouds, but there was a light at the end of the hall coming from a room that had its door left cracked open. Another blast of thunder sent me hurriedly running to the light, but I was soon to halt in my tracks.

"I'm losing my mind, Alice," my mother's tired voice came from within the room. Peeking through the door I saw my mother crying into her hands while the Duchess sat next to her. Two glasses of wine sat on the table in front of them. "Lucina fell down the stairs and no one moved to help! What if Adam hadn't heard, or been nearby?"

"Don't think about that!" the Duchess did her best to console my mother.

"But, what about next time!? Or the time after that!?"

"..." I...couldn't enter the room. My mother needed time with her friend, and I was causing enough problems as it was. I moved to leave, but a crack of thunder sent me to the floor. The storm was picking up and the rain hammered the keep. Nothing but darkness surrounded me with the only light coming from the cracked open door; a light I didn't dare go towards. I sat down against the wall and huddled into a ball. As the rain and thunder pounded on the roof, all I could do was hold my ears and tremble myself to sle-

"Here." Suddenly, a blanket was wrapped around me and pulled over my head like a hood. I looked up to see Olivia Ordrin kneeling in front of me. With what little light there was, I saw an expression of sadness on her face as she looked at me. She tiptoed over to the cracked open door and looked inside. After listening to our mother's conversation for a few seconds, she returned to me and offered her hand. "You can sleep with me, tonight."

"...I-" A crack of thunder cut off my words and I huddled myself deeper into the blanket.

"...It never said you were afraid of thunder," Olivia muttered weird words to herself. What never said I was afraid of thunder? I peeked out of the blanket to look at her only to find her hand still outstretched to me. "Come on, I'll hold your hand the whole way back to my room." She gave me a calm smile that was similar to the one my mother gave me when she would comfort me. Why was Olivia so good at making that smile?

"Isn't it too dark?" I asked seeing that she didn't have a candle with her.

"Don't worry," she reassured me in a voice that wrapped around me just like the blanket, "I've memorized the layout of my home. Even in the dark, you can trust me to lead us." The confidence she held convinced my hand to move and take hers. Her grip was soft even though her hand was covered in calluses. And, true to her word, Olivia perfectly navigated us through the keep and to her room. Along the way, thunder would break against the window at the end of the hall, and Olivia would always stop and wait for me to compose myself before continuing. I...liked that. "I'm back," Olivia said when she entered her room, but no one responded and I couldn't see anyone in the room with us. "Ah, sorry," she caught herself and embarrassedly rubbed the back of her head, "That's still a force of habit." She was really weird. "Sorry about the mess, by the way." Mess? The room we were in was certainly filled with a lot of furniture and toys, but I wouldn't call it messy.

"I-It's fine." While I didn't understand her, I still wanted to reassure her that I didn't mind the 'mess' in her room.

"Good! Then, come on. The sooner we go to bed, the sooner the storm will pass." She pulled me along to her massive bed. It was at least two or three of my beds wide and I struggled to climb up the soft mattress and sheets while still huddled inside the blanket. "You're like a small puppy trying to climb up something tall," Olivia laughed. While I was used to hearing insults mixed with laughter, Olivia's words didn't feel like that. She sounded joyful without a hint of malice. I'm glad it was dark because I didn't want her to see my face turning red from embarrassment. Eventually, I managed to clamor up the side and moved into the bed.

"It's soft." Olivia's bed was unimaginably soft, even compared to the one in the guest room, to the point I started to sink into it if I stood still.

"It's a bed, of course it's..." Olivia started to say in a matter-of-fact tone, but her words trailed off as she watched me softly poke at the bed with genuine curiosity. She fell silent.

"H-Huh!?" Arms wrapped around me and pulled me down onto the bed. Olivia was holding me in a hug and started to gently stroke my back through the blanket I was still wrapped in. She made sure my back was to the windows of her room so I wouldn't see any lightning. "L-Lady Oli-"

"Just Olivia!" she declared and brought me to arm's length to look me in the eyes. "We're the same age, so just call me Olivia."

"I-I can't jus-"

"I'm giving you permission, as my friend, to call me only by my name!" Friend: a word I knew about but had never experienced. Something inside my chest started to throb, but not in a painful way. "I'm sorry about my behavior earlier when we first met, but I genuinely want to be your friend. So, can you call me by just my name?" Without either of us realizing it, the storm had passed just as quickly as it had arrived. The clouds parted from the sky and allowed Sailest to light up the night in its' gentle glow. Because she was facing the windows, Olivia was bathed in the soft light and I felt my breath get stolen away. Her hair shined as if it were a waterfall of diamonds, her white skin seemed to tenderly glow like Sailest's rings, and her blue eyes shimmered like two lakes reflecting stars. And, the smile she gave me... "Lucina?" The throbbing in my chest refused to die down.

"I'll try...Olivia." I'm glad she pulled me into a hug, again, because I don't think I could sleep if I had to keep looking at her. What was this feeling welling up in my chest?

"Thank you, Lucina," she whispered and continued to stoke my back which made me tired. "Don't worry." As my consciousness drifted away, Olivia began to mutter strange things to herself, "I'll change the future, mine and yours. I won't let us suffer that fate." I had no idea what she was talking about, but the conviction in her words soothed my heart for some reason, and I quickly fell asleep.

***

Olivia held Lucina close in her embrace. Thankfully, the young girl had stopped trembling and seemed to be sleeping soundly. When Olivia first heard Lucina's name back in the entrance hall and saw her appearance she panicked and ran in fear, but now she berated herself for doing such a thing. It wasn't even guaranteed this was the same Lucina since her surname wasn't Sanguine; it was Felswore. She also wasn't in the Empire of Arlexia, but the Kingdom of Urldrusk. So many things were different, but just enough was the same as that otome game she had played in her past life as Ayaka Fukuda that she had accidentally hurt this young girl.

"She's still just a kid," Olivia bitterly muttered as she was disappointed in herself. This wasn't the Lucina whose eyes held no light and whose smile was a practiced mask. This wasn't the Lucina who helped the Saintess steal the crown prince and the other capture targets, and enslave Olivia Ordrin. This was Lucina, a young girl suffering from the wrongful declaration of illegitimacy, and who was afraid of thunder but couldn't even ask her mother to hold her. "...Status." A semitransparent pink square appeared and hovered in front of Olivia as it displayed her stats. Olivia Ordrin was a boss during all routes except for the reverse harem route, and since she had cleared the entire game she knew her future self's stats by heart. Her current stats were still nowhere near her boss's version, but the progress she'd made wasn't insignificant for being only five years old. "But it's not enough," she swore to herself and closed the screen. She would train more and do anything she could to avoid her fated death or enslavement. Olivia would carve a future for herself, and for the small girl that was fast asleep in her arms.