Yvlena opened the door to find a large bedroom decorated for what seemed to be someone younger. A previous Harvest Guardian perhaps? From the portraits, Yvlena knew some of the previous Harvest Guardians had been young women and men.

Each one of them must have claimed their own space within the Rose Manor, meaning once Yvlena reached the Manor's third floor she would be able to learn more about Rael and the others.

The room's walls were painted a pale shade of pink, having none of the wallpaper design from the hallway save for the very edges of the ceiling. A large canopy bed fit for a princess sat in the middle of the room under a marbled ceiling in the shape of a rose.

Beside the bed was a small vanity and stool. What must have once been a frequently used piece of furniture had long since faded, losing its original color to age.

The vanity's mirror was cracked, its shattered remains falling all over the room in twinkling shards. The vanity's drawer and its hand carved flower knobs had been pulled out, with some of the drawer compartments laying on the floor, broken and missing pieces.

A study desk decorated with several dead flowers rested facing opposite the bed, papers, and books laid strewn about as if the person had left in a hurry. Yvlena was instantly reminded of William Brackett's desk from the Outpost.

Yvlena, Sprite, and Rabbit Knight walked in, crunching dead leaves under their feet as they walked around to explore the large room. The wood shuddered under Yvlena, letting her know some areas were prone to breaking.

"I was expecting some ghosts or something," Yvlena said with a relieved laugh. She walked towards the study, leaving Rabbit Knight and Sprite to go about exploring the room on their own terms.

Yvlena ran her fingers over the dusty wood of the study, wondering what it would take to restore the room or even, who it belonged to.

She dragged a chair out, patting away the dust, and picked up the dead flowers lying on the desk's surface. Yvlena held the withered petals in her hand, finding them familiar.

It only took a moment for her to realize they were the crumpled and dried petals of the Bloom Lilies and other local plants of Bloom Forest.

"Quite the sad sight," Yvlena said. She leaned over to inspect the vase, taking note of the greenish moldy water.

Giving it a sniff, she pulled back immediately, making a face of disgust at the rank odor. Yvlena gagged and picked up the vase to tip its contents out the nearest broken window.

"Gross!" She said, placing the vase back on the table. It would need to be replaced with some fresh flowers.

She took some Bloom Lilies, Luna Orchards, and Fox Gloves out of her inventory then arranged them into a simple bouquet.

"There you go," Yvlena said with a smile.

[Special Subclass Quest

***

Restoration of the Rose Manor 2.1% Completion]

She gasped softly, reading the notification. The quest didn't go up by much but this only meant that fixing this room up would unlock something for her. Maybe something about this person or even Rael.

There were some books and papers left on the study table, Yvlena picked them up unable to make heads or tails of them for now as she skimmed through them.

She arranged them in a neat pile, resolving to sit down and read through them later.

She examined the chair as well noticing the once elegant floral upholstery was ripped up and faded but still retained some of its original glossy woodwork. She pushed the chair back into the wooden desk study.

For now, the room would remain a mystery until she had time to play again, It was almost time for her to log out and meet Mars upstairs.

It looked like a princess might have lived here.

"I wonder whose room this was," Yvlena said as her summons played around.

"What's this!" Sprite gasped, flitting her way over to a table. Yvlena turned her attention to the summon letting her gaze fall upon an old dollhouse resting on a table within a far corner of the room.

She walked towards it, coming over to inspect it closely. The doll house was a replica of the Rose Manor in its original glory, though quite old now Yvlena thought it just needed a little shine.

She touched it and was prompted with the option.

[Clean With Silk Rag?]

[Yes/No]

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Silk rag? It must be a quest item, then again maybe I need silk rags to clean a bunch of things. I don't think Risel will lend me that feather duster," Yvlena said.

"I would have to weave and craft it, it seems," the elven girl said.

----------

Aya pulled the Revista off her head and checked the time on her phone to see it had hit early in the evening. She got up and was just in time to hear a knock at her door. Aya put the Revista back on her bed and rushed to the front door.

"Oh Mars you're a bit-" she opened the door to come face to nose with Lydia's cronish figure. The woman stood with a sneering expression, looking down at her niece through condescending eyes.

The brunette glared.

"What are you doing here? Rent's not due yet or are you going to bump it up again," Aya asked folding her arms.

"Mandatory inspection," Lydia said about to step in, Aya blocked her path with her arm, meeting Lydia's confused gaze with a sharp glare. No longer the timid girl who wasn't afraid to talk back. If Lydia wanted to search her apartment, she would have to fight Aya for the chance.

"You've never inspected the apartment even when I've asked you to, what's this really about?" Aya asked, in all her years of living within the complex Lydia had never once come by to check if the dingy, leaky little studio had a problem.

Not leaking pipes, fried electrical sockets, or backed up toilets and sinks from the neighbors above her.

Previously Aya would have been cowed and stepped aside knowing that Lydia could punish her with higher rent at the slightest displays of displeasure even though she had nothing to hide.

But the lack of tenant protection went both ways. If Aya had no grounds to refuse the search, then Lydia had no grounds to search.

Her grandmother's deed wasn't in her possession, but Lydia didn't know that. Aya resolved not to make it easy for the woman to find out.

"The circumstances are different, step aside,"

"What are the circumstances? I'm not the one cooking substances on the roof," Aya protested. Despite Lydia towering over her, Aya didn't see the older woman as a threat.

She had options now, and Lydia wouldn't be able to keep her here very long. Lydia furrowed her brows, trying to come up with an excuse to enter the premises.

"I said step aside," Lydia hissed, injecting more force into her voice.

"No. Come back with a warrant," Aya said with a scoff, she was about to close the door when it was suddenly forced open by a beefy arm not belonging to Lydia. "I just said!"

"Hello Aya," a voice said, the young woman came face to face with her grandmother's former friend, the man who put her in this situation.

"Mr. Fido," Aya said softly in surprise.

The man rubbed his head sheepishly, opening his arm in a welcoming manner.

"I suppose I was trying to surprise you," he said. "But you and Lydia haven't always had the best relationship," Fido tried to step into the house but he was once again stopped by Aya.

He stared in confusion, expecting Aya to move aside and welcome him with open arms. He was after all her grandmother’s best friend and one of the few people who’d been around in her childhood.

"I don't have anything to say to the man who abandoned me," She knew he was only there for the deed, she couldn't pretend she didn't hear what he had said outside her door.

Trying to break into her apartment of all things and then cursing her name when he couldn’t.

Aya's heart pounded at the sight of him, restraining herself from leaping at the man with a ceramic plate and shattering it on his head. She stepped back into her apartment and tried to shut the door but the man refused to remove his arm.

Aya looked up at him, Fido’s friendly smile was barely hanging on. She noticed the twitch of his lips as he strained to keep up his mirthful expression. Aya felt the repressed rage hidden by his calm demeanor.

"Now Aya, don't be like that," Fido said with an edge to his tone, his fingers dug into the wood of the door firmly.

"What do you want?" Aya asked, punctuating every word with a shift against the door, "You haven't spoken to me in nearly three years,"

"Things came up, I was busy. You're a working girl you should know how it is," Fido said trying to come up with an excuse. By now he sensed Aya would not let him into the apartment, but the girl couldn't be sure what he was thinking either.

Would he force his way in? Or would he simply give in and try to break in while she wasn't there?

Aya waited with bated breath for the outcome of the standoff. Fido grew more impatient with her.

"Why don't we talk about this inside, I'm sure we have a lot of catching up to do," he said with a cheerful smile. Aya saw through it immediately.

She swallowed the rising pain in her throat as she remembered he didn't give a damn about her and only thought she had the deed to her grandmother's house.

"Not until you tell me why you're here after all these years, you dumped me here!" Aya pointed at Lydia, forcing as much indignation into her voice as she could to keep up an act of ignorance. "With this witch!"

Lydia's forehead creased in anger at the accusation. Fido gave a hearty laugh, holding his belly as he tried to control the sound of his lips.

"What if I told you I was here because you're the only connection I have to Mira, you know," Fido said solemnly. "Every since your grandmother died, well I've just been by myself,"

Aya would have fallen for it, the way his eyes went glossy with unshed tears, it tugged at her heartstrings, the way this aged man seemed to long for his best friend who had passed away.

The act was convincing, Aya admitted. It would take heartlessness not to pity the man standing before her.

Heartlessness or Discernment.

'Do not be fooled, chaos isn't always evil, just as order isn't always good. Nature in itself is chaotic, One must always be discerning' Aya thought, remembering what the game had told her.

Now she was even more certain, that message was left for her.

Fido appeared to be a sweet old man visiting the granddaughter of his deceased best friend. But Aya knew his façade hid something dangerous.

Perhaps dangerous enough to kill.

But that left the question, what would she do now? She couldn't let him in and the man wouldn't leave.

"What do you people think you're doing?”