Deciding to leave that conversation for another time when Thaddeus would be more comfortable speaking, the trio finally headed towards the inn where Avalynn and Yulia booked rooms for the group

Although for some reason, Claude wanted Fae's help with one thing and so Thaddeus went to the inn by his lonesome

"So? what is it?" She inquired as she walked alongside her

"My parent's mansion is here" Claude replied to Fae with meek eyes and a pleading tone that preceded the question itself

"I have to go pay them a visit and so I thought that maybe you wouldn't mind being by my side?" Claude didn't seem to be very ecstatic about meeting her parents, and Fae understood her in a way

"Of course, are we going now?" She replied to with a smile, one that Claude overshadowed with an even brighter one

"Thank you, I am truly blessed to have you as a friend of mine" Claude spoke, walking side by side with the person that she made laugh

"Feeling's mutual, just wouldn't be as well articulated" Fae replied with a smile while her friend gave away a small chuckle

"Oh that reminds me" Claude continued further, attracting Fae's attention yet again as she looked at her with an arched eyebrow

"Since I still have my duties to perform as a knight of Flora" She said, resting a hand on her chest and putting on a slight sadness over her face

"It is highly unlikely that I can accompany you further on" She told Fae who gave her sorrowful friend a small smile

"It's fine" She answered

"Just know that your place will always be free for you to take anytime you want, Claude" Those words prompted her friend to replace the frown with a much more fitting smile

"Thank you" She replied to Fae

"Although I can see if there is any I know that would be going to the same places you are, Fae" Claude suggested to her friend

"Maybe they could accompany you for a while and fill the gap" She offered to her friend that crossed her arms and gave Claude a smile

"I think I'll pass, I said there is a place for you, not for anybody else" Claude smiled with gentle eyes

"I'm flattered"

The duo then kept on talking about Rose, the capital that they were currently in for the time being, Claude seemed very enthusiastic about showing Fae the diverse stores that they've passed, blacksmiths, bakeries, clothing stores and all the fancy things fitting of a noble in the likes of jewelry and other shinning belongings

Fae wasn't surprised in the least to see how isolated the noble quarter was from the rest of the population, this world was after all, just her own world's medieval age mixed with magic and the supernatural, the more she explored the least surprised she has gotten

Though a good surprise to her was how many people recognized Claude and came to say hello, all speaking to the woman in a tone mixed between respect and gratitude, whether they were young or old, men or women, they all put the female knight in very high regards, it was quite a nice sight for Fae to be the witness of

"And this is their house" Claude gestured at the mansion ahead of them, it was quite big in a city that was even bigger, its front garden and inner perimeter sheltered and isolated behind a tall iron fence

The duo walked towards the front gate as the middle-aged man that stood guard in front smiled as he saw Claude coming

"My lady, it is a pleasure to see you" He said, giving both of the woman a slight bow that Claude chuckled at

"Don't worry, this is a friend of mine no need for formalities" She told him, and immediately his elegant tone dropped

"Thank the four" He replied alongside a sigh of relief

"Where have you been girl? busy being a knight eh?" The guard spoke, a smirk growing on his face that made Claude laugh

"Of course, it is my duty isn't it?" She answered

"Are my parents here?" She then asked him, getting an answer in the form of a sharp nod

"Yes, the lord and lady are both here, they just came back from their trip" Claude had a bitter expression when she heard those words, terribly hiding it with a forced smile, the two of them spoke little after that except for small talk

As Fae and Claude got in, the former could see the same friendliness given to Claude by the guard, given to her again by the maids and servants, it seems that she treated them less like employees and more like family, and them, the same towards her

One of the servants went to inform Claude's parents about her arrival while Fae and her friend went to the latter's room, she opened the door for Fae and then walked in behind her

"Your room is really tidy" Fae muttered, bringing a soft snicker to her friend

"I think the word you're looking for is bland" Claude replied and she wasn't really wrong, there wasn't much inside the room except for a bed, a closet, and a desk

"It wasn't like this before" She added, slowly walking towards her bed as she sat down, followed by Fae who did the same

"I had a couple of toys and some very cute dolls" She told Fae, the latter smiled in surprise at Claude using the word 'cute'

"Alas, my father took all my things away when he decided to push me towards knighthood" She added, looking aside for a second, a gaze of sorrow

"Though no matter what there was one thing I refused to let go of" She then drifted her emerald eyes at her desk, Fae's own brown eyes followed and they landed on what seemed to be a little box

Claude got up to walk towards it, grabbing it and holding it close to her stomach before gently caressing the top, and as she did that the box seemingly opened to reveal itself to be an elegant music box, crafted with care from what it displayed inside alike of emblems and carvings alongside the man and woman embracing each other and slowly spinning around to the rhythm of the music emanating from the box

The melody was ever so gentle and slow, almost like it was trying to convince its listeners to take their lives slowly, to take care of things, and to work at one's comfortable pace, that nothing would be gained by forcing one's self into things, it was such a soothing and reassuring sound

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"I love it" Fae muttered, her eyes enamored by the box and the two embraced dancers inside it

"I'm glad" Claude grinned as she then put the box down on the desk, leaving it to bless both women's ears with its music, she put a hand on that same desk and gazed at her own music box

"Claude gave it to me as a birthday gift" She said, her tone drenched in the feeling of happy nostalgia

"She even had it enchanted so it could only open to my touch" Those words prompted Fae's eyes to slowly drift towards her friend's own green eyes, seeing a small yet ever so warm smile plastered on Claude's face

"Always was one to put so much heart in the details" Claud then crossed her arms while her smile stayed unwavering, her head turned to then lock eyes with Fae

"It's a great gift huh?" She asked of Claude, who kept her smile as she nodded

"The best"

Soon enough a servant came knocking on the door to inform Claude and Fae that the former's parents were waiting for them, the walk was short and mostly silent, Fae could feel her friend being slightly uncomfortable and that brought a faint touch of sorrow to her heart, and before she knew it, both of them were at the door

Claude stood in front of it before clearing her throat and knocking once on the door

"You can get in" A manly voice replied, and with it, Claude opened the door and got in followed closely by Fae

The room was obviously set up to receive guests and Fae could tell from the lavish decorations and the unnecessary amount of gold fitted on the furniture, two long sofas were in the middle of the room while the two sofas themselves had an elegant wooden table between them

On one of the sofas were seated two adults, a cleanly shaven man with short black hair and blue eyes, dressed similarly to Derrek while the woman had long blonde luscious hair and green eyes, wearing an equally beautiful dress

"Father, mother" Claude did a polite bow with a hand on her chest

"It is good to see you in good health" Fae just to not put any trouble to her friend did a similar bow, as elegantly as she could, though she didn't expect herself to look elegant in the very least

"The feeling is mutual, please do take a seat" Her father gestured, Claude and Fae followed and made themselves comfortable, or at least as comfortable as they could because Fae could clearly tell that her dear friend wasn't very close with her own parents with how formal and business-like their tones were, though it wasn't as if Fae had any experience in the warm parent-to-child conversation

"I assume your friend here is the one you were tasked to escort?" Claude's father gestured towards Fae

"Yes" Claude herself had a very dry and on-the-point tone of voice, it was the first time that Fae witnessed her behave like this, Claude's father however drifted his blue eyes at Fae herself

"You must be quite the person to have queen Sofia herself assign a knight to play as your bodyguard" He told her with a polite smile, it was more of a work smile than a friendly one, Fae could merely nod slowly alongside a small smile

"My name is James Valeguard, and this is my wife" He gestured to the woman beside him

"Alexandria, it is a pleasure to meet you" She told Fae, her smile was a slightly more genuine one

"And my name is Fae Walker, thank you for your hospitality" Fae introduced herself to her friend's parents with a polite smile

"Where are you from Fae?" James inquired with a slightly tilted head

"Oh, uh" Fae wasn't quite sure how to reply to that question

"I apologize but lady Fae's identity is to be kept confidential" Claude interjected as she locked eyes with her father

"Is it now?" He narrowed his eyes as he stared at his daughter

"The same confidentiality as your botched mission I assume?" He said with a mocking arched eyebrow, the words he spoke alongside that gesture got Claude to slightly widen her eyes

"Botched mission?!" She exclaimed in surprise

"Knights have died there, how can you mock it like that?!" Fae was quite taken aback by Claude raising her voice, the sheer shock she felt was written all over her surprised face

"Most did, some went missing, and yet here you are" Her father crossed his arms

"Alive and well, must feel awfully nice being the only survivor" He added on, his cold gaze landed right on Claude's green widened eyes

"But we'll talk about this later, do not put a disgraceful scene in front of your own guest" He looked away for a second and right as he did that Claude stood up sharply

"No, I'm not letting you mock all of what happened!" She exclaimed, looking down at him and locking eyes with his freezing gaze yet again

"Ser Archard died for my survival and you're mocking his and the other's deaths?!" Her words prompted Fae to part her lips and are in even more shock at what was unfolding right under her eyes, sadly it wasn't as if she could just talk her mind

"What are you going to do next? mock Claude's death?!" She exclaimed, her father crossed his arms as he then replied

"Claude died an honorable death, just like those knights that allowed a person like you to run with your tails tucked between your legs" Fae desperately wanted to intervene but each time she tried she got cut off by either one of them

"Honorable death?!" Claude spoke with a threatening tone

"You pushed her into the life of the sword! you got her killed! nobody else!" She sliced the air with her open hand as she talked

"You never cared about what she wanted to do in life! all you wanted was a child to push to the knights so you can continue living your lavish life under your undeserved title of nobility!" She loudly exclaimed, pointing at him with her finger and pouring all her repressed feelings into her sharp words

"You're nothing more than a manipulative insane man who pushed his eldest to death and is pushing his youngest to follow suit" Her words made his eyebrows furrow as he too, got up

"Do mind your tongue, or else you shall push me to do something I will regret" Even with his intimidating tone, Claude stood tall across the table

"You didn't even regret forcing her into the knighthood that got her killed, how could you regret anything?" Claude sharply responded

"Uhm, dear I think what your father is trying to say is that Knights should always think about their honor" Her mother interjected between the two, pushing Claude to widen her eyes at her as she replied

"You need to be an extraordinary person both in and out of your military life to join the knights, what have you accomplished to be talking about knighthood hm?" Claude said with a mocking gaze

"The only thing you have ever done in your life is being father's trophy wife" Claude said to her mother, and it was right at that moment where James slapped Claude so hard it echoed throughout the room, finally bringing Fae to get up from her seat as for her, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, Claude was left speechless with her head turned from the sheer impact, not uttering a single word after that as she just stood there holding her red cheek

"Do not speak to your mother like that ever again" He told her with a freezing gaze and a threatening tone

"That's enough-" Fae exclaimed wanting to speak more until she saw Claude grab her own father by his collar and then punch him with such force that it brought him to fall down on the ground

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Both her parents and her friend had shocked expressions as she looked down at her father holding his bloody nose

"I'll never forgive you for killing Claude! if you want me to die for your luxurious life too then you can find somebody else!" She exclaimed at him with a face red with anger

"From now on I'm not a knight of this damned kingdom and certainly not your daughter!" Grabbing a necklace she had around her neck and ripping it with one swift pull to then throw it at her father, and just like that, Claude left the room, Fae followed her immediately

She didn't utter a word as she walked past the servants who all had worried looks when they saw the expression Claude had on her face, but she didn't speak to any, she walked to her room and took the music box she was once gifted by her sister and then left the mansion with Fae

Claude walked until she found a bench in a quiet place with little to no city folk walking around, she sat down and Fae joined her, the latter not knowing what to say to her friend who didn't speak a word ever since, embracing the music box in her arms

"Fae..." As Fae wanted to speak and to comfort her friend, Claude beat her to it, speaking with an almost broken voice

"I know you said that you didn't want anybody but Claude to join you, but-" Her heart was filled to the brim as her eyes started tearing up just to let those emotions out

"There's somebody that really wants to join you" She could barely speak through her sobbing as she wiped her eyes with her arm, refusing to look at Fae as she spoke

"I p-promise you she'll be a good addition and she'll never let you down" Fae looked at her crying friend with a gentle gaze and a tiny smile

"What's the name of this person then?" She asked of her friend who as she sobbed, gave Fae a side look

"S-Sierra" She said

"Just Sierra, nothing more" She then said as she looked at Fae with her drowned red face and her emerald tearing-up eyes, getting back a warm smile from Fae

"Then Sierra and Claude are welcomed to join our group anytime they want" Only now did Sierra smile through her tears and sadness

"Thank you" She spoke with a broken voice and shivering lips

"T-thank you so much!" She exclaimed to her friend who put an arm around her and held her in a hug that to Sierra, was all she needed