"How is she?" Rose whispered as Emma gently closes the door.

"She needs rest. Her body needs time to fully recover, but I think she will be fine." Emma smiled warmly, the tightness within her chest had lightened significantly.

"That’s… well it’s not good, but it could be worse..." Rose whispered melancholy as she stared at the door.

The older sister’s eyes filled with worry as Emma nodded back. "I could only pray for our luck. Though I have to say, she does remind me of a certain someone." Emma said as Rose visibly flinched.

“P-please sister, I was young back then." Rose said as she hastened her steps, giving Emma little time to give her own piece. Sensing an opportunity she seldom receives now, the older sister pounces on the opportunity.

"Oh? But I have never thought such a rough lady could become so sweet today?" Rose reddens further as Emma could only laugh at her reaction.

"...But she's worse off than me..." Rose added weakly, the heavy silence settled in once more.

"I had time but… kalva be damn, she is too young sister.” Rose said in pity, finding her gaze drifting back towards the door, worry filled her eyes. Emma could not help but give a small smile. You’ve grown so much, sister. The older sister thought before replying.

"It could not be helped." Emma finally replied with a sigh. "What's done is done, we could not change the past as much as we wanted to. We could only change the future and live the present." Rose nodded in agreement as they continued to walk.

"So... what should we do?" Rose asked. Emma sadly could not give her a clear answer.

"I...I am not sure sister... but I do know we have to help her." Rose nodded her head in reply as Emma continued. "I do not know what exactly, but we will figure it out... somehow." Emma said sullenly.

"Ah sister Emma, sister Rose! Good timing, I’ve been looking for you two.” The two stopped in their tracks as a man appeared around the corner. It was the same red-haired man that Lucy brought the grain with prior and the archer who teamed up with Rose.

The two eyed the man warily as Emma replies. "Can we help you, sir Seth?" Emma asked.

"Please, call me Seth instead." Seth smiled as Emma shook her head.

"With all the gifts you had given us sir Seth, I believe it is only right. Besides… I doubt we could save any children if we were left to fend for ourselves." The relief within the sister’s eyes sparkled amidst the light.

“It’s just a house with some provisions.” Seth replied weakly, embarrassed by the praise.

“Calling this manor a house would be a disservice wouldn’t it?” Emma said with a smile, reminiscing on the shock and relief she and the others had felt when she saw the stone manor first. Before, she worried their dwindling supply would prove to be a harsh winter. Now, she can eat and sleep through the winter from all the donations Seth had given.

Seth sighed, finally relenting to the nun. "But I must ask." Emma added in. "...What do you intend to do with us with these gifts?" Seth gave a plain smile like that of a merchant.

"Have I not told you before dear sister Emma? It is all in goodwill." Seth replied as Emma slightly frowns.

"...Forgive me for the rudeness sir Seth, but I do not believe you have given us these things without compensation..." Emma said as the smile Seth had slowly crumbled.

"... Don't be mistaken, I am grateful of course, but I wish to know why you are doing this... the real reason..." Emma said as Seth had a complex expression. It looked as if he was calculating the words he was about to say next.

"If you are asking why I am doing this... I guess it would be for sister Lucy?" The two frowned immediately as Seth hurriedly added in.

"Ah, it's not that kind of attention I assure you. It's just that... her scars tell a complicated story." Rose and Emma's eyes widen in shock as they reply.

"What do you mean by that sir Seth?" Rose asked this time, alarm was rich in her voice.

"I have a... hobby you see? The stories in books are nothing but fairytales for children, but people like Lucy? Now that is something worth hearing." Seth smiled as he continued.

"Their battles, their hate, their love, their scars, all of them are so much more intriguing than fairy tales. They might be the same soldier or mercenary, but their stories? It is simply just fascinating to learn.” The discomfort grew as Seth continued to talk.

“In my travels across the continent, Lucy is the first one I had seen to be so... different. A girl who's almost the same exact age as me with those scars? The stories she has must be worth knowing!" Seth answered with glee.

The two sisters looked at each other as if they were dealing with a particularly strange child as he babbles on, but one thing is for sure though. They were not glad to hear the news of his strange habit, especially since it had involved Lucy.

"With all due respect sir Seth, we would appreciate it if you avoided talking to Lucy about her past." Rose responded as Seth shook his head.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Of course not! Forcing them to tell their story is nothing but counterproductive!" Rose's eyebrow twitches at the word as he continues to explain.

"The trick is to let their guards down and let them tell their stories on their own even if you did not ask them! The more genuine and compelling you are when they share, the more likely they will continue to share!” He explained with a childlike twinkle in his eyes.

“Forcing someone to tell their story would only have a reverse effect. They have to tell their stories willingly or else nothing good will come out of it! If I had to spend a pretty coin for it, then so be it. I need to earn her good graces if I want to succeed!”

Rose had to swallow her anger. The way Seth described Lucy as if she was a thing to be played, she could not help but taste the disappointment from within. "So, you are simply helping us for your own interest?" Rose asked as Seth let out a grin.

"Well, I won’t deny it. It is one of the reasons why. You wanted to know the truth, yes? Well, how was it?" The blunt yet honest words of Seth had left the two stumped. The words he spoke were simply too brash with no tact as he openly showed his intentions.

The two were heavily contemplating how to reply when Seth continued. "...Well, even if sister Lucy was not at your small orphanage, I am not so heartless to leave the children to die in the cold winter." Seth said as the two blinked.

"I certainly would not give this villa I have but I would still find a suitable house for you to spend the winter and some essential supplies for the children... though I would have not needed to do so since you all be dead were if not for sister Lucy." The two flinched at his words.

They could offer no reply nor retort to his words. It was the truth after all. Cold, but true nonetheless. Emma shivered at the mere thought of their lives hanging on a balance… on the shoulder of a child nonetheless.

"Do tell me when sister Lucy has woken up, I have a lot of things to hear from her." Seth smiled as he walked past the two.

"And if sister Lucy does not share her tale?" Rose spoke up as Seth turned. "...Would you kick us out?" Rose asked as she watched Seth frown.

"I may be a merchant sister Rose, but I am not one to take things I have given. If sister Lucy does not wish to do so then it is her choice just as I made the choice of helping you all.” Seth with conviction before whispering softly.

“…Though I hope she would.” He said as he opened the door. “Maybe then I could understand why…" Seth left before he could finish his sentence.

The two mulled what the young man had said before they simply let out a heavy sigh. "Well, at least he's honest about it." Emma quietly added in as Rose flinches. "Come on, the others still need our help." Emma said in hopes to comfort Rose as they continued walking.

Rose let out a heavy sigh before following the older sister ahead.

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Iva's small brown eyes stared at the sleeping Lucy as she mumbled something underneath her breath. The words were barely recognizable as her thoughts and mind wandered off far away from her body.

The sound of her finger tapping against the table resounded in the bedroom as everything else was silent. "Why did you save me?" Iva whispered as she simply could not understand why. She had been saved three times now, but she still could not comprehend why.

What did she have to be saved time and time again? She was nothing. She had nothing in her name. Not even a single copper coin, yet Lucy had still risked her life to save everyone, including her.

"...Why would you save me?" Iva asked once more as she stared at her chest rising ever so slightly in a rhythmic pattern. The child was aware of the dangers of the world, even if she did not understand it. Yet Lucy… she acted as if she had lived through it already.

Iva had to put her guard on for as long as she could remember as it was the only thing protecting her from the adults. Lucy… Lucy had her guard raised as if she was going to be abandoned. Terrified to fail and to be discarded with. Almost like… her.

"...Maybe you could have understand..." Iva whispered bitterly. She hated the mere idea of it, but she could not deny it. She hated how she was so similar to her, but more mature, more dignified... and in so much pain.

"...But... why did you kill dad?" Iva whispered in pain as she simply could not understand. "S-surely you would have understand... but why did you have to kill him?" Iva muttered bitterly as her heart wrenched up from the sorrows Lucy had given her.

The hate inside her was real, but it did not discredit the fact that she saved her. It was for the first time Iva found someone who might understand her... but that someone was also the one who had taken and gifted her at the same time.

She can’t fight back now... Iva thought to herself at the unconscious Lucy. Dark thoughts clouded Iva's mind as she stared at Lucy. She could grab a knife and slit her throat with it or choked her to death with a pillow. But… then what? It won’t bring him back. He was dead. Dad was dead.

"Ah... I don't know... I don't know..." Iva scratched her head as the conflict within simply grew stronger. The thirst for revenge had grown significantly weaker after she had seen Lucy break down.

Iva could still vividly recall how Lucy had cried. The way she howled as if she had lost everything in the world was simply haunting. Hearing it from others and hearing it yourself are two completely different things. It was simply too painful, too pitiful.

Iva slowly gazes down at her small right hand. It may be small and malnourished, but it was clean and smooth. Iva turned her gaze to Lucy, specifically her right hand. Unlike hers, Lucy's hands were scarred as if she had fought a great battle. Not even her face was spared.

"... I can't even hurt you..." Iva muttered quietly as she stared at Lucy. The scars she bore looked so painful. She might have been a beauty that rivals that of the arrogant nobles if she simply did not have that scar.

Iva never thought herself to be pretty, but she at least knows the pain it must have been to have a scar. Bruises can heal up with time but scars? They stay for life. No matter how expensive a medicine can be or how powerful a magic can be, scars can never be erased once it spread its roots.

It is a curse that women, young or old, noble or not, dreaded to have... and Lucy was full of these scars. From her face, down to her legs, there was not a single trace of abuse and pain Lucy had not endured.

How could you hurt someone who has already experienced the worst possible pain imaginable? Despite the cold masks she wears and the air of dignity she excluded; Lucy must have at least longed to have her lost beauty that could never be reclaimed.

Iva truly wondered if it was even worth taking her revenge on Lucy. She was not sure, but Iva instinctively felt Lucy had already hit rock bottom when she broke down. Cries and smiles could be faked but the pain... the pain could never be.

Iva suddenly felt empty as she contemplated these words. What's the point? Iva felt lost as she fought back the tears from escaping. If I can't even hurt you… then what was the point? Iva thought in distraught as Lucy continued to sleep.